When Bon Jovi came out of virtually nowhere to score a hit with It's My Life in 2000, I was, for the first time, kind of on the outside looking in. It had been five years since their previous album, These Days, and my tastes in music had shifted dramatically. It didn't help that when I got Crush, the album in question, out of the library, I thought it sucked for the most part. It was too restrained for my liking, as if the band had intentionally tried to make an album of Adult Top 40 songs.
That didn't stop me from seeing Bon Jovi in the summer of 2001 though, and maybe it was the front row seats, but that was the night where I once again fell in love with the band's music.
So when the band put out Bounce late last year, I was excited; excited that is until I heard the first single, Everyday. I don't know, it just didn't strike me at all as being "lead single material" and it seemed kind of generic, even though I really liked the chugging guitar on the track.
Once again, it was the library that made my decision for me. Bounce belonged in my collection, somewhat weak first single aside.
That being said, this album is far from perfect. It is however, a much better example of a band changing with the times and yet, somehow staying the same, than Def Leppard's newest pile of dung, X.
I really like the lead track on this disc, titled Undivided. I love how it just pounds forward with intensity, and it's 9/11 inspired lyrics are simple yet effective.
My favorite track is probably the second single, Misunderstood, a song I'm just relating to a lot right now. I just feel like this song has gotten into my head and expressed exactly how I feel about myself in so many ways. It's definitely more "pop-rock" than anything else on the album, even the ballads, but I find myself digging this song more and more with each listen.
Love Me Back to Life, meanwhile, is probably the best power ballad the band has written since, well, since the best song they ever wrote period, Dry County. Not that Love Me Back to Life is anywhere near the same plane as Dry County, but it's solid nonetheless. Richie Sambora's guitar work reminds me a lot of how Creed's Mark Tremonti approaches his work, but I find this song to be more enjoyable than Creed's overly bombastic approach to ballads. This is a near perfect mix of heartbreak and inspiration, and it puts a smile on my face everytime I listen to it.
The out and out best rocker on the album, without any shadow of a doubt, is the title track, dedicated to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in the liner notes. It's definitely very similar to It's My Life, with the musical stops and the pounding drums, but it stands out on it's own well enough. It definitely should have been the first single, as it's energy and attitude make it perfect single material.
In terms of other ballads, and there are probably one or two more than necessary here, I'm mostly drawn to The Distance, which has a bit of creativity to it, and Open All Night, where Jon sounds as good as he ever has vocally.
All that being said, I wish this album rocked just a tad more. Don't get me wrong, this is a much stronger album than Crush, I just wish that a song like Joey didn't make the cut. To me, Joey is the band's latest attempt to be Springsteen, and it fails miserably. And the upcoming 3rd single, All About Lovin' You, is a song that doesn't really cover any new territory for the band, it's your basic Bon Jovi ballad and you've heard it before.
All in all though, Bounce is a solid enough album. It's not groundbreaking by any means, but it is enjoyable enough. I give it a heartily recommended 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 because I just don't feel I should promote this as a four star album.
Their eighth studio album, Bounce is a complete work of art. Each song tells a chapter of the story; each song paints a portion of the portrait. Bounc...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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