Review Summary: Great introduction to a band that thrives on catchy and hook filled singles
This review may be a little vague but I'll save the more detailed song reviews for the albums that the songs originally appeared on...
Bon Jovi are known mostly for their catchy hit singles like "You Give Love A Bad Name", "Bad Medicine" and "Runaway", so 'Cross Road' is the best way to hear Bon Jovi at their best. Casual listeners will undoubtedly recognize the talk box driven "Livin' On a Prayer" and the country western influenced "Wanted Dead or Alive". "You Give Love A Bad Name", "Bad Medicine" and "Runaway" are guilty pleasures for any fan of hard rock.
Right after the opening track "Livin' On a Prayer", we come to "Keep the Faith". While it's not as popular as the aforementioned tracks, it's just as good because it features one of Jon Bon Jovi's best vocal performances as well as one of Richie Sambora's greatest solos. The other song taken from the album 'Keep the Faith' is the amazing and deeply poetic ballad "Bed of Roses". These two songs (as well as the whole 'Keep the Faith' album) shows that Bon Jovi can be serious and technical while keeping the catchy choruses that made them so popular in the 80's. Other lesser known tracks on 'Cross Road' are the extremely catchy and choir made track "Lay Your Hands on Me" from 'New Jersey'. "I'll Be There For You", also from 'New Jersey, is a pretty good ballad but nothing compared to "Bed of Roses". "In and Out of Love", the best song from '7800° Fahrenheit', is most likely here just so at least one song from every Bon Jovi album up to that point is represented. The only flaw I can see in the track listing is the absence of "Born To Be My Baby", "Dry County" and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" which probably didn't make the final cut due to time restraints.
Like most greatest hits albums, there are usually a few unreleased or non-album tracks featured. The first, and my personal favorite, is "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" which is a very catchy and country influenced tune that will surprise you that it never made it on any of Bon Jovi's albums. After that comes the extremely cheesy "Always". Another version of "Livin' On a Prayer" is featured called "Prayer '94". The original is much better than this version but it's nice to hear a different take on a great song. It's really not bad at all. The last non-album track is Jon Bon Jovi's solo single "Blaze of Glory" which is a nice addition.
For the most part, greatest hits albums may be a crap shoot but when it comes to Bon Jovi it's absolutely amazing. Their singles are extremely catchy without being too cheesy. I've always thought of 80's Bon Jovi as Bruce Springsteen music for teenagers. It's about real issues and problems just with very melodic choruses and text book song structures. I still believe that 90's Bon Jovi is far superior to 80's Bon Jovi but they almost seem like different bands. The 80's, for them, was all about being catchy and getting played on the radio while the 90's seemed to be more about texture. No matter what era you like from Bon Jovi more, whether it be the flashy 80's, textured 90's or 'what the hell are they thinking' Bon Jovi from the 21st century, you can't deny that Bon Jovi is one of the best bands ever.
