Bon Jovi's These Days album is 20

I haven't blogged here in a few weeks and These Days is my favourite Bon Jovi album so I think I should say something about this.

Yep, These Days is 20 years old! It was officially released on June 19, 1995. I was an oblivious six-year-old at the time, but I'm actually glad I discovered the album later in life because I wouldn't have appreciated it as much as a kid. As a teenager or young adult, however, it helped me through some of the toughest periods of my life. And that's why I'll always consider myself a Bon Jovi fan, even when they do things that make me want to rip my hair out. :P

Let's relive the singles of These Days, just because.

Bon Jovi - These Days


Bon Jovi - This Ain't A Love Song


Bon Jovi - Something For The Pain


Bon Jovi - Lie To Me


Bon Jovi - Hey God


Which track from These Days is your favourite? Where does the album rank for you?

Meanwhile, Bon Jovi is working on a new album (No official word on who's playing lead guitar, but it's not Richie Sambora) and have announced a string of rare dates in Asia in September and October. Jakarta, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Macau, Abu Dhabi, and Tel Aviv are on the bill.

Lost and Found: These Days

Chris Calarco recently wrote a great blog post reviewing what Bon Jovi's These Days album means to him.

As I finished my junior year of high school the band released their sixth LP These Days. It was a time of darkness and disillusionment in my life as I lay deep in the muck and depression of heartbreak. I strayed from my friends that summer as my passion for baseball, my other childhood love, faded. It was like Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence” was plastered inside my heart. Instead of the former Eagle, I listened to These Days.

Read the full post at his website. It's a great story about the healing power of music and, given the popularity of the album among diehard fans, probably something a lot of us can relate to.

Videos from Udine

July 17, 2011 marked Bon Jovi's first Italian show in eight years and it was one to remember.

Spanish Harlem / Bed of Roses

Spanish Harlem was a surprise but nice little intro to Roses.

Lie to Me / Always

Lie to Me was unplanned (it wasn't on the printed setlist) but I love this song pairing. And how good does this crowd sound!

Just Older

Jon dedicated this to Max, the fan who organised the crowd choreography to form the American flag and the word "JOVI".


These Days

One of the best songs this band has ever released... The "whoa oh ohs" were a cool finish.

There were a heap of great songs at this show and great videos too, so be sure to check out Hath's Circle Tour Blog for a complete video guide! :)

Lie to Me / Always from Italy

I'll probably do another video post from Bon Jovi's Udine show (June 17, 2011) when more vids pop up, but I couldn't log off tonight without posting Lie to Me and Always...



There was a bit of a false start with Lie to Me, but it was a great lead-in to Always... love the cheer that went up as Jon began to sing!

The irony of The Circle

It might be too early to make that call, but based on the samples we've heard, The Circle could well be Bon Jovi's best album this decade, song-wise at least (I promise not to whine about the production until I have a physical copy of the album in my hands). But ticket prices are growing more ridiculous by the tour. I think I touched on this when the fan club show was announced, and when mentioning the Prudential Center shows, but lofty ticket prices are a recurring theme in Joviland so here we go again.

How can you justify telling every interviewer that you just had to write THIS album NOW in light of the economic downturn and hunger for political change, and then turn around and rape the wallets of your loyal fans? Hell, fans in Europe kept the band going strong through the 90s. How can you go on stage every night singing about Tommy and Gina while ripping off all the real life Tommys and Ginas out there? AEG might be the promoters, but Jon is the self-proclaimed CEO of a company and I don't believe for a second he is Mr Innocent when it comes this particular brand of daylight robbery. Sure, Bon Jovi is one band that can probably get away with charging exorbitant prices for every show because at the end of the day, they have enough fans who are eager or desperate enough for live shows to scrape up the cash. And as long as people are paying, the money making machine can keep jacking up prices. But does that mean they should?

It might have been a slightly different story in North America, but Jon might do well to remember the half empty stadiums at some of their European shows on the last tour, despite it being probably the best tour of the decade.


(On an unrelated note, some of you may have noticed the above clip is from Hey Hey It's Saturday which was the source of recent international controversy...)

LH Magic Memory #15: Lie To Me in Bristol

Firstly, a little housekeeping: I've been reviewing these "Magic Memories" from the Lost Highway tour since it ended in mid-July and I can tell you that there will be 25 Magic Memories in total to coincide with the band's silver anniversary. This is obviously #15 so there are 10 to go including this one. Rest assured I will still find things to write about when this gig wraps up!

Now onto LH Magic Memory #15. It was the June 25, 2008, at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol -- the third last show of the European leg. After playing "Whole Lot of Leavin'", Jon started asking people for song requests. Eventually someone held up a banner for something that hadn't been played this tour and Bon Jovi obliged, performing "Lie to Me" for the first time in 12 years.

Now this is a song that only diehards are likely to know and admittedly, it's probably a song that's not going to pack a huge punch in a stadium if you don't know it. But it's a good emotive song with some killer lyrics. While Tommy and Gina are not specifically mentioned, the song is a continuation of their story -- to which we were first introduced in "Livin' on a Prayer" of course -- and ongoing struggle to make ends meet. And man, Jon's vocal coach is my hero. This is yet another song that I didn't think he would ever sing again, let alone with any real power. But close your eyes and it's like 1996 all over again.


When this cold world comes between us, please tell me you'll be brave
'Cause I can realise the danger when forgiveness fades away
If you don't love me, lie to me
'cause baby, you're the one thing I believe