Track by track thoughts on Bon Jovi's Forever

Bon Jovi's Forever album cover

Bon Jovi's latest album Forever dropped on June 7 and I've listened to it quite a few times in the last two days. My pre-ordered CD from Japan also arrived this weekend so it was great timing.

Obviously the album is still a shiny new toy, but here's my initial take on each track (with lyric videos where available). Feel free to add your own thoughts, including completely disagreeing with me

Legendary - written by Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Falcon & John Shanks

 "Legendary" was the lead single so I've written about it already, but I didn't post the lyric video at the time. My thoughts haven't changed too much -- I like the song without being blown away by it, and it does still make me happy to see Jon looking happy. (The demo version actually sounds better though, but more on that further down.)

We Made It Look Easy - written by Jon Bon Jovi, Ryan Tedder, Andrew DeRoberts & Nick Long

A look back at the early days of the band. I really like those high backing vocals in the chorus -- is that Everett Bradley? There are no personnel credits listed in the liner notes as far as I can see, so I'm just going by the sound of the voice. Glad Shanks didn't write this, lol... oops, am I letting my snark out?

Living Proof - written by Jon Bon Jovi & John Shanks

Already wrote about "Living Proof" as well, and I'm still digging it. Wish it'd been the first single now, since "Legendary" seems to be the one that's getting played whenever Jon does promo for the album -- and I think it would've been more interesting for casuals and randos to hear this instead. And yes, Shanks co-wrote the song... but I'm not that perturbed about his songwriting, really. It's his influence over the Bon Jovi brand that's the issue; his writing is fine in itself.

Waves - written by Jon Bon Jovi, John Shanks & Jason Isbell

My ears really perked up when I first heard this. Cool sound, great lyrics. I'm not overly familiar with Jason Isbell's body of work, but if that's his contribution, they should write with him more.

Actually, this would also be a more interesting single choice than what they usually go for, but it won't happen because no one in the Bon Jovi camp cares for my brilliant ideas, lol.

Seeds - written by Jon Bon Jovi, Ryan Tedder, Sean Douglas & Michael Pollack

Jon said "Seeds" is probably his favourite song on the album. I like this one too, it's got a catchy little poetry to it.

Kiss the Bride - written by Jon Bon Jovi & Billy Falcon

This one is pretty gooey. But most wedding songs are written from the point of view of the couple, so it's sweet that Jon wrote one from the father of the bride's perspective for Stephanie. Just not really something I'm likely to gravitate to ordinarily. I do prefer "I Got the Girl", which was written for a then-five-year-old Stephanie... speaking of which, do Jesse, Jake and Romeo have songs written about them?

The People's House - written by Jon Bon Jovi

This song wouldn't sound out of place on a much earlier album. Like, say, something from the 90s? A tick from me.

Walls of Jericho - written by Jon Bon Jovi, John Shanks & Philip Lawrence

This was the other track (after "Waves") that I immediately wanted to play again when I heard it. I also totally want this to be a single, and know it almost certainly won't happen. But the song rocks, it's rousing, it's anthemic, Jon sounds great, and the only thing that would make it better is a guitar solo.

I Wrote You a Song - written by Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Falcon & John Shanks

It's a good thing that Ed Sheeran is probably the least likely artist to go around suing people at the moment, because this song has "Thinking Out Loud" all over it. I'm going to assume it was accidental, lol.

Living in Paradise - written by Jon Bon Jovi & Ed Sheeran

But befriending and collaborating with someone is also a good way to avoid getting sued by them, haha. 

Funnily enough, I've seen every Ed Sheeran concert in Perth so far, including a gig at the Riverside Theatre, where he was literally tuning his own guitar between songs. (Less than a year later, he played two sold out gigs at Challenge Stadium and has just gone upwards from there.) I don't know if my Ed attendance record will continue, but I'm a big fan of his acoustic songs and what he does with the loop station, while not being as keen on some of his big poppier stuff. I like "Living in Paradise" though -- it's good, solid power pop.

My First Guitar - written by Jon Bon Jovi

Jon wrote this about buying back his childhood guitar. I like the verses more than the chorus, which feels a bit melodramatic somehow, but it's alright.

Hollow Man - written by Jon Bon Jovi

Jon's always sounded good on these pensive acoustic songs. Some fans hate them, and you obviously don't want the whole album full of them, but they suit where he's at in his life right now and feel genuine. The masturbate line made me laugh (or smile), which I guess was the point, ha.

That Was Then, This Is Now (Japanese bonus track)

My Japanese is very rusty but I don't think the Japan CD listed the songwriter(s) for "That Was Then, This Is Now". It contained the same album booklet as the Australian CD (and I'm assuming other markets), but included an additional insert in Japanese. This insert had what appears to be an introduction of the band's history by music writer Masa Ito, and the Japanese translation of the lyrics.

Anyway, really cool sounding, wistful rock song that coulda/shoulda made the album proper, but whatever. I've felt that way about other outtakes before. Jon clearly ain't gonna listen to my awesome advice, as we've established. 😉

Legendary demo (Japanese bonus track)

Not drastically different from the version that made the cut, but I just like it a lot better. It sounds less polished, but in a good way. It feels more real, not so much like Jon sitting in a studio with John Shanks, crafting what they think a Bon Jovi single in the 21st century is "supposed" to sound like.

Conclusion

Very early days, but I love the album overall. Yes, Shanks' fingerprints are on it (I should probably make peace with that) but Jon can still write a great song. He sounds pretty good if not amazing, though obviously he's not going for crazy high notes. 

But I'd love the rest of the band to have more direct input. My main gripe with current Bon Jovi is that it seems to be the JBJ + Shanks show, when you have these other awesome musicians at your disposal. Give them the freedom to be as brilliant as they can be, and I have every faith they will be.

Maybe on the road or on the next album. But for now, we've got Forever and I'm happy with it.

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Living Proof brings back the talkbox: Bon Jovi's new single out now!

 "Living Proof", the second single from Bon Jovi's upcoming album Forever, dropped on Friday.

My verdict? This song is pure flipping joy and I will be taking no questions at this time. (Just kidding. Questions are always welcome, as are comments and messages, even if you disagree with me.)

Here's the official lyric video:

The talkbox sounds sooooo damn good and it's nice to hear Phil X actually getting to do something interesting. It doesn't happen nearly enough, and that's probably my biggest gripe with "new Bon Jovi" -- because I do still rate Jon as a songwriter, but Phil's talents have been seriously wasted over the last decade. Especially in the studio. John Shanks, for whatever reason, has a massive hold and influence on Jon (and I acknowledge he co-wrote "Living Proof") but the dude is already producing everything... so he can take a back seat on the guitar and let Phil cut loose like the rock star we know he can be. Just sayin'.

Sound-wise, "Living Proof" is reminiscent of parts of the Have a Nice Day and Bounce albums, plus "This Is Love, This Is Life" (which deserved a little more than being a throwaway track on the deluxe edition of the Greatest Hits). 

"Living Proof" doesn't break any new ground but I don't need it to, nor do I think anyone has ever considered Bon Jovi the world's most original band. I just dig the song. It pumps me up, it makes me happy.

What do you think of "Living Proof"? Good, bad, meh? Let me know!

PS. Richie stans, I haven't forgotten about his new songs. I'm just super busy with work, plus I wanted to talk about all four together since the cover art and press release suggested they're meant to be part of a set. I'll post after I'm finished with a conference this week.

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Thank You, Goodnight: a Bon Jovi fan's reflections

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story dropped a little over a week ago -- it was waiting for me on Disney+ in Australia when I got home on a Friday night. 

Now, I didn't try to rush out and be the first to write about it because:

a) "breaking news" isn't my vision for the blog -- and there are plenty of other fans, podcasters, etc. covering that ground;

b) I didn't want to just binge all four episodes right away at the expense of being able to process what I was watching;

c) I do have other things in my life, including needing to be awake and alert for Saturday morning commitments, instead of being tired and distracted by thoughts of Bon Jovi.

So I watched it over a few days, chatted to some people about it, and then came back here.

What do I think?

Honestly, I love it. Is it perfect? No, but it was enough for me. Is it very Jon-centric? Sure, but the elephant of the decade (Jon's voice) was a key factor in Bon Jovi's success during their prime, and is integral to any future they may have.

At times it was quite heartbreaking to see his struggles with his voice laid bare. I mean, we've all heard it. I've blogged about it. Other fans have talked about it. News articles were written about it on that rough 2022 tour. But we also saw him being aware of it and trying to do something. We saw the other guys on stage trying to pull him through and support him.

As for Richie Sambora... well, I'm really glad he's in the documentary. I think he still has a massive chip on his shoulder, but I also completely understand him feeling pushed aside by John Shanks during the What About Now sessions. An album which, given what transpired afterwards, I don't think I've listened to since 2013.

Speaking of which, Shanks comes across kind of badly in his interview -- his little smirk and chuckle about being the guy between Jon and Richie made me uncomfortable. It could've just been nervous laughter, of course. I giggle when I'm nervous, and since I don't know Shanks at all, I can't possibly say he had any malicious intent. But yeah, it just didn't look that great.

There are plenty of fans who simp for Jon or Richie, think the other is the devil, and had already made up their minds long before this documentary aired. Nothing about it would've changed their thinking. But most of the criticisms levelled at one man could easily apply to the other. They both have rock star egos, they both twist or embellish details to make themselves look better, they're both stubborn AF. Like seriously, bros, you were both in your goddamn 50s when all this went down... be better!

But I'd love to see Richie back in the band, Phil X as the "other guitarist" and Shanks just... not? I don't hate the guy. I mean, he came on board to produce Have a Nice Day, an album that probably saved my life when I was a teenager. But it seems weird for him to have had this much influence over the band -- and particularly Jon -- for such a long period of time.

Speaking of guitarists, Bobby Bandiera should've been interviewed. He was around for almost a decade, from the Have a Nice Day tour until the end of Because We Can tour... and I think he'd have had some interesting things to say about that time, if he was willing to share.

Before anyone else brings it up, long-time manager Paul Korzilius wrongly claimed the 1995 "Live in London" shows were the last shows at Wembley Stadium, but I'm very confident he just misremembered, and there was no deliberate lie there. (Probs could've been fact-checked in post-production though.)

Super cool to hear a decent sounding recording of "Cadillac Man" from the archives. Here's a performance of this underrated song, from Osaka in 1991 -- how freaking good:

So yes... in summary, I enjoyed the documentary. Wouldn't have hurt to hear a little more from the rest of the band, past and present (though Alec John Such passed away before he could be interviewed). And it might have been a bit tighter with less previous footage woven in (e.g. from Access All Areas and When We Were Beautiful). But all in all, it was worth watching. For me, at least.

I know there are a lot of folks for whom Bon Jovi ended when Richie left, or when they "went country", or "got too commercial" or whatever.

There's an Australian band that I used to absolutely love, and a big part of that was their long-term lineup (which wasn't the original lineup, but the one I got to know on tour over about 10 years). Now that lineup is no more and I find myself just not being able to get excited about them, not going to their live shows anymore, etc. There were many times I thought that could be happening with me and Bon Jovi, but... no, not yet anyway. They're my band. They're still my band. Even as they are now, not quite where I want them to be. I guess that's the realisation I got from Thank You, Goodnight. The heart and dagger tattoo on my back is forever -- literally, but also figuratively.

Have you watched Thank You, Goodnight yet? What do you think?

PS. I have not forgotten about Richie's new music. It's cool that he (or his new marketing/PR person?) realised that there's a lot of renewed interest in him thanks to the documentary, and he should totally take advantage of it. I'll make a separate post for the new tunes.

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Unexpectedly emotional - Legendary and Thank You, Goodnight premieres

Bon Jovi dropped a new single, "Legendary" on March 14 and... it was unexpectedly emotional for me. The song isn't going to change the world, but I didn't know if we'd ever hear new Bon Jovi music again, given Jon's vocal situation and jadedness with everything. So seeing the joy on his face just made me smile. And I like the song, although a ripping guitar solo would've Phil'd the track out more. (See what I did there? Your girl's got dad jokes.)

Bon Jovi's new album, Forever, will be out on June 7. Hugh McDonald's wife Kelli posted a big tease back in January saying she'd heard the album and it was awesome so... fingers crossed. I mean, obviously she's not gonna say it's terrible, but she also didn't need to say anything at all.

The full official trailer for Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story has also been released. Interesting to hear Richie Sambora say he regrets the way he left the band, though not the actual leaving:

Thank You, Goodnight had its first screening at the SXSW in Austin on March 14. The rest of us will have to wait until April 26 when it drops on Hulu, Disney+ or Star+ (depending on where you are in the world)... but here are some of the SXSW red carpet interviews and the Q&A with the band members and filmmakers:

The video above features red carpet interviews with producer Alex Trudeau Viriato and director Gotham Chopra, as well as Jon Bon Jovi, Phil X, Everett Bradley, Hugh McDonald, Tico Torres (in order of appearance). The Q&A was moderated by Deepak Chopra and features the remaining founding members of Bon Jovi (Jon, Tico, and David Bryan) and Gotham Chopra.

I'm pretty keen for the documentary; it looks like it'll be gritty enough to be worth our while, but obviously I'll have to wait and see!

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Life begins at 40: the second coming of Bon Jovi?

Okay, that title sounds a bit dramatic -- but it is the 40th anniversary of Bon Jovi's self-titled debut album this year. And things are happening! 

First up, Jon Bon Jovi was honoured as the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year. The benefit gala was a ticketed event that wasn't streamed, but credit to Brian Baumwoll who took some videos on his phone so we could catch a glimpse -- and a listen.

Here's Bon Jovi performing "Legendary" (the expected lead single from their upcoming album), before Bruce Springsteen joins them for "Who Says You Can't Go Home" and "The Promised Land" (the latter being from Bruce's Darkness on the Edge of Town album). Jon sounds decent in his first live performance in two years, and looks in good spirits -- and seeing him pull out the harmonica is such a vibe! 😀

Richie Sambora was rumoured to make an appearance at the MusiCares event, but he didn't show. (Orianthi did, performing with Sammy Hagar.) People Magazine reports that needing to care for his mother after a fall was the reason Richie didn't make an appearance, but given the apparent frostiness between him and Jon in the last decade, it's possible he wasn't planning to attend anyway. Then again, Richie keeps alluding to a possible reunion so who knows?

Jon also addressed his vocal issues during a Pollstar Live! Q&A with music executive Rob Light (who also happens to be the father of Jesse Bongiovi's fiancee, Jesse Light). Here's what Jon had to say about getting reconstructive surgery on his vocal cords:

More info is set to be revealed in the upcoming documentary series Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which will premiere on Hulu in the US on April 26 and Disney+ internationally.

Here's the teaser trailer for Thank You, Goodnight:

The band minus Jon also talked about the docuseries on the MusiCares red carpet, with David Bryan doing most of the talking, plus a bit from Tico Torres. Apparently all past and present members of the band took part in the doco, so hopefully it will be an interesting watch.

Until then, Backstage with Bon Jovi is a virtual exhibition of various band-related artefacts from the past 40 years, available now to explore on their website.

You can also download or stream a deluxe anniversary edition of Bon Jovi, the album that started it all.

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