Bon Jovi dusted off the cobwebs on September 11 by kicking off their Asian Tour in Jakarta. It was their first concert in Indonesia since 1995 and marked the debut of Matt O'Ree on guitar. We Don't Run was performed live for the first time. Here's the full set list:
September 11, 2015 - Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno - Jakarta, Indonesia
Then it was revealed that New Jersey musician Matt O'Ree is joining Bon Jovi on tour. He is replacing Bobby Bandiera as the touring rhythm guitarist, while Phil X will continue as lead guitarist (live at least; John Shanks played on Burning Bridges). Despite sometimes raising the wrath of fans, Bobby's been playing with Bon Jovi for a decade, and with Jon for almost two decades, so I'm not sure whether this change is permanent or not.
"It is the end of an era," says the singer just before taking the stage for a show with his sideband, Jon Bon Jovi & The Kings of Suburbia at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
The news comes one day after the release of Bon Jovi's "fan album," Burning Bridges. The record, he explains, is a collection of songs that was meant to accompany the group's upcoming 12-show tour of Southeast Asia, but in reality, it was something more, he said.
"[It fulfills] a commitment to Mercury Records," he tells Billboard. "After 32 years, we have parted ways. That is the big news. If you listen to 'Burning Bridges,' the song, it is clearly spelled out."
We don't know whether Bon Jovi's going with another label or if they're releasing the next album independently (although they did sign a new management deal with Irving Azoff earlier this year). But hopefully everyone can now calm down about the non-existent attack on Richie.
Bon Jovi's latest release, Burning Bridges, has now been released around the world.
Here's the tracklist if you haven't got your copy yet:
A Teardrop to the Sea
We Don't Run
Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning
We All Fall Down
Blind Love
Who Would You Die For
Fingerprints
Life is Beautiful
I'm Your Man
Burning Bridges
Take Back the Night (bonus track - available on the Japanese version and the Walmart edition in the US)
We know that at least some of the songs were written for previous albums and didn't make the cut. Here was Jon talking about Burning Bridges at a fan club gig just after Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning first dropped.
He said "there's no band stuff, don't look too deeply, it's not that" and now I think I know why. Many people have interpreted the title track as a parting shot at Richie Sambora. To me, it seems obvious that it's a dig at the record company. Especially since the band has done virtually no promotion for this album (Bon Jovi's Facebook page hasn't mentioned the album once), and Jon has downplayed it as a contractual obligation whilst insisting the "real album" is coming out in 2016.
What do you think?
Here are the lyrics (or a pretty close approximation, since we haven't seen the official lyrics yet):
Sayonara, adios, auf wiedersehen, farewell
Adieu, goodnight, guten abend, here's the last song you can sell
Let's call it Burning Bridges, it's a singalong as well
Ciao, adieu, goodnight, guten abend, play it for your friends in Hell
Someone shut the lights off, turn the page, the stories I could write
I’ve seen a million faces and I've lived a couple lives
Here’s our history for all to see, the smiles and all the scars
First the rising, then the falling, call this chapter Shooting Stars
(Must sound good from where you are)
Sayonara, adios, auf wiedersehen, farewell
Adieu, goodnight, guten abend, here’s one last song you can sell
Let’s call it Burning Bridges, it’s a singalong as well
Ciao, adieu, goodnight, guten abend, play it for your friends in Hell
Oh, check the box, yeah, mark this day, there's nothing more to say
After 30 years of loyalty, they let you dig a grave
Now maybe you could learn to sing or even strum along
But I'll give you half the publishing, you're why I wrote this song
(Everybody, sing along)
Sayonara, adios, auf wiedersehen, farewell
Adieu, goodnight, guten abend, here's one last song you can sell
Let's call it Burning Bridges, it’s a singalong as well
Hope my money and my masters buy a front row seat in Hell
Ciao, adieu, goodnight, guten abend
Play it for your friends in Saint-Tropez
The two lines that give away the real target of this song are "Here's one last song you can sell" and "Hope my money and my masters buy a front row seat in Hell". Richie doesn't sell the songs, and he doesn't own the masters... but the record company does.
Jon Bon Jovi has sung a Mandarin love song, The Moon Represents My Heart. It was done to commemorate the Qixi Festival (aka Chinese Valentine's Day), which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Lunar calendar. Bon Jovi will play their first ever shows in China in September.
The song was popularised by Teresa Teng, whose music my father loves. So now I have to go and tell him that some white kid from New Jersey is speaking (singing) better Chinese than me, a woman of Malaysian Chinese heritage... Thanks Jon! :P In all seriousness though, I think it's pretty cool that Jon has done this. Not only is it a nice gesture for Chinese fans, Mandarin isn't exactly the easiest language to get your tongue around.
