Thursday, January 27, 2011

Bon Jovi's taking a break...

Bon Jovi will go on hiatus at the end of this tour. They've implied, suggested, and outright said it so many flippin' times now that it must be true. :P
"I think we need to take a break," drummer Tico Torres told Billboard.com during a conference call with reporters. "It's a long, extensive tour since last February, not just the tour but putting it together, doing the record ['The Circle']. It's a long process, and I think it's important for us to just get away from the audience for a bit. Sometimes you need to get away so people can appreciate you better, and you also have to get away to live your life and create and recharge... So the best thing I can tell you is we're gonna need a couple years off for sure."

Guitarist Richie Sambora, however, countered, "We do need a little bit of a break, but not that much of a break, 'cause what's going to happen is there's more songs to be written and... Y'know, guess what? We want to be the Rolling Stones. I know I do."
Read the full article from Billboard here.

I did note with interest that Richie alluded to some "disappointment" about missing out on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
"I think it's a boys club over there," he said. "I don't know what they're doing, [if] they're looking for ratings or what they're doing. Is it legitimate? That's my question. Our legitimacy comes from our fans; you sell 125 million records and have the two biggest tours in the last three years, I'll take that. If I would complain, nobody would listen."

So, how do we feel about the boys taking a break? Is it the right time? Is it overdue? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

4 comments:

  1. "Sometimes you need to get away so people can appreciate you better."
    Overdue, I would say. I think they're starting to run out of steam at the moment, especially considering the fact that everybody and their mother seems to be criticizing their song writing and whatnot.
    I also feel that Richie needs to do a legitimate album with somebody who is not Nikki Lund and create something awesome and Stranger/Undiscovered like.

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  2. "Sometimes you need to get away so people can appreciate you better."
    It's sounds like epitaph... like break forever...

    I hope that I'm wrong.
    I wish.

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  3. It is time for a break. I would say it is overdue... their last great album IMO was Have a Nice Day. However if they never released Lost Highway or The Circle, we wouldn't have gotten Make a Memory, When We Were Beautiful, Love's the Only Rule, and Brokenpromiseland, as well as two amazing tours.

    Their song writing has suffered on their last 2 albums but their live show has only gotten better.

    It is the right time to take a break. Relax. Put your feet up and when you come back, write songs that mean something to you again. Put thought into them and please forget the It's My Life/Bounce/HAND/ Etc formula. Mix it up. Write a 9 minute long song for fun. I know it won't get played on the radio but it is something you haven't done for 15 years. And for crying out loud, realize that your true fans adore These Days. Listen to it from time to time.

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  4. Hi LeeAnn,

    I think it is definitely time for Bon Jovi to take a break; the old adage is true in this case, "familiarity breeds..", not contempt, but perhaps a wee bit of overkill.

    The sheer amount of albums that are good if not great, the DVD's, the tours; it becomes a little like an asembly line of 'product'.

    Take the time off - come back when the songs are so damn good that they simply need to be released to the world!

    'Slainte' from Ireland.

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Thanks for giving me your time.