Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – 2020

Greetings, Glancers! This is it. We’re in the future (past… or present) and have caught up to Bon Jovi’s most recent release 2020. I’m listening to this for the first time in 2021, so hopefully I’ll actually post this before the band’s next album comes out. It’s been a journey. I’ll continue to give my thoughts on any new albums the guys do make, and I have the small matter of briefly going through the bands B-Sides and Rarities to come. Before then though, we have to talk about 2020. I don’t know a single thing about it beyond the unusual choice of having the artwork focus solely on Jon. Interesting to cut the rest of the band out. Interesting that he kind of looks like Iggy Pop having swallowed a fly in the middle of a news interview. For possibly the last time then, lets do this.

‘Limitless‘ doesn’t exactly blast out of the speakers, but it’s a clear single. We’re in firm classic Bon Jovi territory with ‘woo-oohs’, and grainy vocals. It lacks the punch of their 80s beasts or the subtlety of their best 90s work, and as such comes across as just another middle of the road BJ song. The production is glossy and lacks the vocal and musical issues of much of the album – though Jon’s voice here still sounds like it’s had too much tinkering. Lyrically, the song, and the album, is all about hanging on, dealing with and overcoming struggles both personal and global, but it’s less on the nose here.

‘Do What You Can’ is the first of several heavily patriotic songs on the album. Not necessarily patriotic in the ‘God Bless The USA (and her guns)’ sense, but more in the universal, humanist way. It’s a message of togetherness in the midst of the pandemic and the lyric ‘when you can’t do what you do, do what you can’ just about works. The other mentions of PPE, social distancing, and other Pandemic speak already sound dated and out of place in a bouncy pop song. It’s cheery and hopeful and fans will lap it up, but it’s too far into cheese territory to convert anyone else.

‘American Reckoning‘ deals with the many protests which have spread across the US in recent years – racial hatred, gun attacks, the abuse of power by those who are supposed to protect the innocent. It’s certainly touching and sweet, it would have been provocative if it came from an artist with more mass popularity than Bon Jovi have now, and the lyrics work well. But Jon’s voice is all over the place – at best he sounds like he’s singing while eating, and this warbling does lessen the impact and enjoyment of the song. The main guitar melody is very similar to that bit at the end of Every Breath You Take. 

‘Beautiful Drug‘ continues a decent run of easy, relaxed hits. The lyrics once again have the subtlety of a pig on a spit at a Vegan convention, but the ‘ooh ooh’ hooks should be enough to please the existing fans. It’s not quite a carbon copy of Limitless, but it feels like more of the same.

‘Story Of Love‘ is very sweet. Saccharine. It’s a song about family, love for sons and daughters, but it’s ooh so sickly. I’m sure he means it, but the Cliff Richard Mistletoe & Wine swaying and swooning rhythms, the strings and piano, they’re all too contrived to tug at the heartstrings. I’m sure the mums who were kids in the 80s when Jon was on their bedroom walls will be in floods of tears, but it tips over from genuine sentiment into cutesy bunnies and baby cuddles. The lyrics are actually poignant and well constructed.

‘Let It Rain’ is good old fashioned blue collar American defiance of the Springsteen/Jovi/bring it on we can do this style. It just lacks a bit of oomph to be considered one of their stronger anthems. Had this been written in the 80s, there would have been thicker guitars, a more prominent solo, and more focus swarming around the chorus, but melodically it’s one of the most memorable songs on the album.

‘Lower The Flag‘ is probably the emotional centrepiece of the album. While it’s far from the first song about gun violence in the US, it’s maybe one of the most significant to come from a band who probably have a large Conservative audience. That’s somewhat of a sweeping, problematic statement – many Democratic Party voters have firearms and many Conservatives would be in favour of greater gun controls, and Bon Jovi have a widespread fanbase across the nation and the world. But, a big 80s Rock band hitting their peak during the Reagan administration, a band who has never been obviously political but is very patriotic, it’s not a stretch to say a large whack of their US listeners lean Right. The song isn’t pushing a narrative or any opinion beyond ‘Jesus, there has been ANOTHER mass shooting, what the hell are we going to do about this?’. The lyrics are among Jon’s best, listing any number of towns which have been attacked, and pointing fingers at (essentially) everyone and the triviality of it, the routine of it; there’s a shooting, people die, others offer meaningless thoughts and prayers, some protest, the media makes it a talking point until the next shooting takes place and the cycle starts anew. Musically it does the job – somewhat sombre, not depressing or beating us over the head with sentiment. Good song, better lyric, though when nothing changed after Sandyhook, when all those wonderful children were killed, the US admitted it didn’t give a fuck and the rest of the world shook our heads in shame.

‘Blood In The Water’ is a suitably downbeat follow up, almost like that shame has seeped in and all that is left is a sorrowful man walking a hollow road. It feels like a song which could have fit on These Days, just that little touch of Cowboy, that sprinkling of class which dragged the band into a more mature period from their 80s Party days. The guitar and overall vibe is very Dry County, and I can only assume it was intentional but the intro synth and guitar and atmosphere is very similar to Dire Strait’s Brothers In Arms which, oh look, happens to be the name of the next track. Lyrically we’re on topic again with all of the media mass manipulation being equated to Satan. Sure, I get it, but at least we know one of those things exists, and is not some hoof-clad furry trident poker.

‘Brothers In Arms‘ has little or nothing in common with the aforementioned Dire Straits song – instead this is more like a shit-kicking rocker which they filled their early albums with, except with a slower pace and a more interesting collection of melodies. The chorus comes close to being a copy paste of Sleep When I’m Dead. It gets the band pumping again after a couple of darker songs – another likely fan-pleaser, but a solid, by the numbers song for the rest of us.

‘Unbroken‘ closes the album, another statement song, this time tackling the kids drafted into the military by choice or by ‘choice’. Another decade, another war in a foreign country, another generation of kids wiped out or jaded by its government’s ill-informed choices, another group led by a lie and uncovering truth and the aftermath of that truth. War, guys… war is not patriotic, war is not a thing to put on your CV, war is not a badge of honour, war is bodies, grief, horror, and stepping stone to a life of regret if you’re lucky enough to avoid an early grave. The song is a dedication to those kids, the ones who made it, the ones who did it, and while it does feel rousing and patriotic, and could be misread by any number of listeners, it’s still a poignant and thought-provoking way to close the album.

Bon Jovi have become a little more political (for lack of a better term) in their recent output, which could be nothing more than a by product of getting older and seeing the state of the world they’re passing on to the kids, or it could be a by product of the various cultural events which have struck the country and the world since 2001. This album is the most overt example, tackling global and localised hatred, US politics, the military, gun violence, climate change, the pandemic etc etc. Some of the early songs feel rushed and lack the lyrical nuance of the later tracks – it’s largely in the second half where we’re reminded the band has the ability to pen something meaningful which isn’t a silly love song. The album’s strength lies in those subtle moments, turning back the clock to a time when they could craft a slower, powerful song, while the more upbeat tracks are serviceable, probably work well in front of a crowd, but won’t be a substitute for their hits. Will this be the final Bon Jovi album? I think not, but for now we’re all caught up, beyond checking out their rarities. What did you think of 2020 – let us know in the comments!

Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – This House Is Not For Sale!

Greetings, Glancers! I seem like I say this every post, but we’re definitely getting towards the end of this Bon Jovi series. The only things I know about this album are thus; it has that creepy house from The Outer Limits as its cover, I keep thinking it’s a compilation (it’s not), and it’s the first album to not feature Ritchie ‘Hat Luvin’ Sambora. The things I don’t know about this album; everything else. Lets do this.

‘This House Is Not For Sale‘ is the opener, the title track, and was a single. Not a hugely successful one it seems, but that’s to be expected this deep into their career. Without Sambora, in these early moment it doesn’t seem like their sound has changed – similar tone and there are still backing vocals to fill the gap. It’s a bouncy pop rock song with a couple of hooks in the chorus. The verse is tame, but still catchy. A solid opener without excelling in any particular direction.

‘Living With The Ghost‘ fades in with a charging dash of guitar, piano, and drums. The verses have the feel of an anthem, hopefully building to a satisfying chorus. It’s not 100% satisfying, but it’s fine. I wish he’s gone for a higher not on ‘ghost’ to really reach for the more emotive sound. Plus, picking the higher note would have opened up the melody in the second chorus line to be less samey than the first. Mr X, if that is your real name, pulls out a simple enough solo before the song withdraws and the vocals take the lead for a quieter piano based section. They keep it gentle for a while before building up the volume for a final run at the chorus. Two fan-pleasing songs.

‘Knockout‘ is another single, feels more pulsating than the opener. It’s another return to the defiant ‘we can do this’ spirit of their early singles, using boxing imagery to get the point across. It’s another decent lighter rock song, with enough energy to bring in a varied audience. Good melodies and the backing vocals provide an extra hook.

‘Labor Of Love‘ immediately makes me think of Dark Shines by Muse, which is quite funny. It’s the same guitar tone, and obviously that relates back to Wicked Game. It’s a ballad, but with a little more energy. I’m not convinced by the vocal approach, but I can look it over. The vocals and song open up somewhat for the chorus. Yeah, it’s another good song. I would have picked different vocal and drum approach. Each of these songs so far I’d happily hear again, but I’m not sure any have the power to make my long term playlist.

‘Born Again Tomorrow‘ is another rallying call for people to live their lives and make the best decisions so that they won’t regret anything. It’s a pretty nifty song, with a little touch of dance synth in the background. It’s very much in the vein of their bigger songs and I feel like it would have been a hit if it was released at their peak. Big chorus, big verses, plenty of moments to sing along to, and a good solo to top it off.

‘Roller Coaster‘ is one of those terms which always finds its way into music – criticism and lyrics and song titles. This attempt at a roller coaster song begins well, steady beat and decent pace, quiet, good melodies. It builds and builds, and the chorus is a good one. I’m almost certain I’ve heard this melody in the chorus before, but I can’t place it. There is something odd going on with Jon’s vocals here, its throughout the album but it’s noticeable in the chorus – it sounds like he’s had a little work done post recording, just to even out any rough edges. This is a very catchy and sweet song, another which I think would have been more impactful in the mid 80s to early 90s.

‘New Year’s Day‘ continues the same tempo and uplifting feel as the previous track. Most of the album has been very positive in tone so far. Lots of songs touching on new beginnings, moving forwards, taking life’s turns. All the videos are cheesy as f*ck and it’s a little sad seeing how old the guys now look. Getting old sucks. Still, this feels like another hit though it’s very much a re-tread lyrically and musically of many of the previous songs.

‘The Devil’s In The Temple‘ opens with Physical Graffiti era chords before plunging into an optimistic slow tempo rock verse. The tempo has the vibe of a deeper urgency bubbling beneath the surface, as if a faster beat wants to unleash but is being held down. The song doesn’t really have a chorus – or at least the chorus feels more like a pre-chorus. There’s something enchanting but all over there is that sense of holding back – not restraint, but physically forcing something else back to stop it from erupting. I guess that is restraint. I think I would have preferred the eruption.

‘Scars On This Guitar‘ is surely a ballad with a name like that. Yes, acoustic guitar and piano. Singing about Friday nights again. It feels like we’ve been here before. Something weird going on with Jon’s vocals in the higher register moments. Look, we’ve heard them do songs like this before but it’s still good, inoffensive, and fans will surely lap it up. It could have been better for me with one simple change – when he sings ‘nowhere left to run to’, if he had gone for a higher note on the ‘to’ it would have peaked the emotion instead of leaving it as it currently stands – middle of the road emotion rather than yanking my soul out through my nostrils. It’s a lovely, gentle song for married couples everywhere.

‘God Bless This Mess‘ is… fine. I’m running out of platitudes or interesting things to say about these songs. You know by this point what you’re getting – it’s generally well written, it doesn’t have any edge but you can dance to it in a crowd, it has a pleasing enough chorus. There’s no blistering solo, not much in the way of harmonies, but if you’ve always been a Bon Jovi fan or if you’ve just discovered them through their bigger hits, you should like this to. If anyone else had recorded the song it would sink without a trace, but as it’s Bon Jovi it’ll find an audience – the audience it was designed to find.

‘Reunion‘ opens like a U2 song without the Edge’s delay effects. Another pleasant song. Good verse which builds neatly to another tame but catchy chorus. It’s wholesome, it’s hopeful. It looks back and looks forward. It’s one of those songs, and Bon Jovi are one of those bands who make me wish I had been an American teen in the 80s, falling in love, growing old together – the band has always had a way of making this feel so appealing and vital. It’s another winner for long time fans, for someone like me it’s another decent, average MOR rock song that I’ll have forgotten in a day’s time but wouldn’t complain if I were to hear it again.

‘Come On Up To Our House‘ is the closer. As much as I have enjoyed this album – or maybe as much as it hasn’t pissed me off – I’m still holding out hope for that one killer song from the band. Just out of nowhere, another Livin On A Prayer  or Always or Bed Of Roses. Maybe this is it. It’s clear within the first five seconds that it’s not this one. A sweet closer. Welcoming. Mid-slow tempo. Quiet and tame but nice. The musical equivalent of sitting with a sleeping cat on your lap and doing absolutely nothing while not being aware of the nothing you’re doing. It doesn’t feel like an album closer but it’s as good a song as any to complete this batch of songs.

Very much like the more recent Madonna albums I’ve listened to, I’m surprised by how much I have enjoyed these songs. None of them are life-changing, and while Madonna is still updating her sound somewhat, Bon Jovi are happy doing what they’ve always done – they’re a little softer, they don’t have has much energy, the passion has less edge, but the songs are still fun. This is another collection of big bouncy songs which longstanding Bon Jovi fans will lap up. There isn’t a lot of variance on the album – even between ballads and heavier tracks – they mostly follow a very familiar format but there are still enough hooks and melodies that most listeners should be pleased. In this era of manufactured guff and songs specifically designed to only be consumed by the youngest age brackets, it’s good to have easy nostalgic Rock music to fall back on, being made by the very people who we grew up with and who played the music of our own youth.

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Living With The Ghost. Knockout. Roller Coaster. Scars On This Guitar.

Let us know in the comments what you think of This House Is Not For Sale!

Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges!

Greetings, Glancers! I wasn’t originally going to listen to this album as it is highlighted as a compilation release. When I decided to read a little about it, its seems to be a compilation of new songs…. isn’t that just a new album? Then it turned out they were mostly unreleased or unfinished songs from the last few albums with a couple of new songs thrown in. That’s close enough to a new studio release for me, so I’m going to give it a go. The name seems to be a play on words regarding Sambora leaving the group, but apparently they had left their long time record company too. Like I mentioned on their last album, maybe these circumstances translate somehow to the music and tone. Lets do this!

‘A Teardrop To The Sea‘ kicks things off in moody form, slow and neat, building in volume as the ‘ohh ohh’ vocals come in. That’s a very good intro and not something the band does often. The verse pulls things back a little, volume-wise, and delivers a strong melody. The chorus brings the happy a little more than I would have liked, but it stops itself from getting too jubilant. It’s a song which suits Jon’s vocals such as they are now – no need for the big notes, but still able to bring the emotion. A good, understated opener.

‘We Don’t Run‘ is a familiar name. Wasn’t it on another album? Who knows. It’s a similar tone to the opener, but more bombastic. The verse is heavier, the vocals more talky, and it has the unnecessary ‘hey’ shouts in the background. The verse is middle of the road Bon Jovi fare – it’s crowd-pleasing stuff but one which reminds us that they have at least ten very similar songs which are much stronger than this. Lyrically, it’s all very positive and us against the world.

‘Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning‘ gets stuck in immediately, buoyant melody and big vocals. Good verse, a lot of promise. A good chorus too, these type of songs have a habit of falling down at the chorus for me, but this one makes the grade. The lyrics are pretty sappy but I can overlook that based on the strength of the melodies and the overall warmth and conviction. Even the middle is good. This feels like one of their best late career songs.

‘We All Fall Down‘ is another mellow starter. The move into the chorus made me feel like Westlife more than anyone else, or some other blanket boy band. The music is more like background noise without a lot of character. Still, I quite like it. It’s an uplifting ballad but is far too plain to have any impact on me. I’m always talking about how much I love ballads – but in general they need to be over the top or something special for me to really get on board. This is your average mid album ballad – nice and airy, but no substance.

‘Blind Love‘ opens just like the previous song – more focus on keyboards. It immediately feels more up my alley in terms of ballads. Yeah, it’s unashamedly sweet and cheesy, but as I say I’m usually a sucker for these things if they feel authentic. This one works while the previous one didn’t. Bonus points for the strings. It’s very simple, and the lyrics get better as the strings grow and peak.

‘Who Would You Die For‘ is another ballad? Three in a row is rarely a good idea. At least it’s another different sonic approach, this one using Dance beats. It feels like a late 90s Dance track, just without the bass beat. The bass beat is replaced by a big guitar chord for the chorus, which gives the song enough venom to take it out of ballad territory. It cranks up for the second verse thanks to a simmering solo and some more threatening drums – could do without the organ and the drum break though. And the vocal standalone. A song which could have been more to my tastes if they’d kept it simple – they experimented a little to get to the first chorus, but they try to take it further and it doesn’t pay off. An interesting one which is sure to stand out but just misses out on hitting the higher grades.

‘Fingerprints‘ opens with guitar hinting at another cowboy epic of sorts. The verse takes it more down the ballad route than the dusty cowboy path. I’m not sure how I feel about this one on first listen. The melodies aren’t doing it for me, the strings are doing their best to pull it up, and I can feel the emotion from the band but it doesn’t translate to me. Even with the double solo, I’m not sure it does enough to justify its length.

‘Life Is Beautiful‘ is a song whose opening ten seconds I already know because YT keeps making it the automatic next song after any of the ones above have finished. Now I get the full thing. It feels like a single, it feels like any number of recent Bon Jovi singles – fun, light, singalong chorus. It’s a little forgettable for all that. They miss a melodic trick in the chorus by not ‘going up’ in the ‘away’ in ‘wash away’. If you’ve heard the song you’ll understand. It’s satisfactory for a band long past having to try to please the fans.

‘I’m Your Man’ is another moderately up tempo song, feels like one of those mid-album tracks which flies under the radar of most people but leaps out at me. The verse confirms the sentiment – it’s as simple but as effective as you can get with this sort of thing. It’s not great then that there isn’t really a chorus, just one recital of the title followed by instrumental. It’s a song I don’t think will knock anyone;s socks off, but I like it.

‘Burning Bridges‘ is the title track, obv. You don’t usually get these left until the end like we have here. I put my hands over my face when it started because it opens like a joke song with spoken parts and hippy beats. It is a joke song, but thankfully it’s better than what the opening ten seconds foretold. The lyrics are pretty funny and they’re clearly ripping the arse out of things. It’s not great, not bad, but at least they had the balls and wit to do it.

Another album and another solid, fan pleasing effort. This time they don’t take any risks or aim to bring their sound towards a new direction. It’s exactly the sort of sound and the type of song you would expect them to make thirty years after starting, with a little less exuberance and vitality. Of course, we all lose those things with age. I keep expecting to dislike more songs than I like, but that hasn’t been the case for a few albums now – sure most are going to be forgettable to me, but there’s always a number of standouts which I’ll throw on the playlist and introduce in my car journeys. Bon Jovi were never the sort of band I would simply stick on and listen to for the pleasure of hearing an album, like I do with other bands. Outside of a small collection of outstanding songs, they’re a band for getting pumped up or partying to thanks to their biggest hits, or for having in the car to accompany driving and chatting with melody and memory – and that’s a lot more than I can say for most groups.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: A Teardrop To The Sea. Saturday Night Gave Us Sunday Morning. Blind Love. I’m Your Man.

Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – What About Now!

Greetings, Glancers! I’ve now listened to two ‘new’ Bon Jovi albums with Lost Highway and The Circle with the general consensus being that I thought they were better than I was expecting, particularly the latter. With today’s listen-though, I haven’t even heard of the album title before and know absolutely nothing about the songs or music or style. I was aware that Richie Sambora left the band at some point, but it turns out that this was the last album he worked on with the band. I don’t know anything about the background or his reasons for leaving the group, but maybe that has some sort of effect on how the album sounds. I don’t know, I’m clutching straws. I don’t think that, even though I was pleased with the last two albums, that I’m going to raise my expectations in any way so I’m still placing the bar quite low for this one. Let’s do this.

‘Because We Can‘ has a very poppy opening – lots of layered vocals and keyboards, light on the guitars. John’s vocals sound a little strange, not sure if they were being tweaked in the studio. I quite like the verse melody, it’s an easy ear worm while the chorus has lyrics which are easy to remember and sing along with. It feels like a dedicated attempt at making waves in the charts and it’s quite a distance from their harder rock roots.

‘I’m With You‘ is more like what we know from the band, even if they guitars lack whatever bite they may have once had. I’m happy they’ve returned to a focus on melody, something they had slipped a little from but have grown back into in the last album. I am drawn more to the verse melodies on this one, same as the first, and in the chorus here the mass vocals feel over produced and possibly modified a little from how they originally sounded.

‘What About Now‘ is the title track, and sounds like another obvious single. It’s much more generic and middle of the road than the first two songs, but it’s still going to appeal to their core fan group. It’s a little more emotive in the second verse but I don’t see it having the power to draw in any new fans.

‘Pictures Of You‘ continues the full melodic sound. The songs may lack punch and are ever more pandering towards fans of the softer side but they’re not overly repetitive in terms of this album yet. This is sweet enough, obviously another love song but with a fast enough tempo to keep it out of ballad territory. If you already like the band, you’ll enjoy this. If you don’t like them, this will be more evidence. It’s not strong enough to convert any newbs if we compare it to their big hits.

‘Amen‘ is straight into ballad land, starting with an acoustic guitar as soft as a harp and lots of loving metaphors. There’s not much to it – the odd swell of strings and organ as it proceeds, but very simple and not any new ideas. Once the vocals and strings soar it gets better, but he needed to take the vocals one notch higher – in the past he would have. One for the ladies… just not enough force to get it into that A class of ballads.

‘That’s What The Water Made Me‘ increases the pace once more with a clattering of drums. More poppy melodies, very commercial, very much ticking all those ‘how to make a hit’ boxes without hitting the ‘how to make a classic’ ones. It’s fine and another great song for existing fans.

‘Whats Left Of Me‘ is more of Jon aligning himself with or imagining himself as the working man, and jotting down his thoughts on blue collar life. There’s an ever so quiet hint of Nashville similar to what they were doing a couple of albums ago. No new ground here and not strong enough of a copy to make any impact.

‘Army Of One‘ opens with a drum beat which should be familiar to most Bon Jovi fans. The organ grows as the vocals prepare for an anthem of some description. The guitars and bass join in slowly but the sudden chorus blast breaks this rhythm and any crescendo falls apart. The chorus is too simplistic and repetitive to drive its point home with any conviction. Instead it sadly comes across as the sort of attempt at an anthem or rallying call that a one year’s success boy band’s manager would devise. It’s supposed to be inspirational and I hope it reaches the ears of those who need it and who it would work for, but it misses the mark wildly for me.

‘Thick As Thieves‘ feels like a more honest ballad. There’s a dual keyboard and organ, smooth in your eye vocals, and a slow pace. It’s touching, I can see it working for most fans. It’s not perfect, it doesn’t have the emotional peaks I look for in ballads, instead going for a more matter of fact approach. Their existing fans who prefer the ballads will surely adore this too.

‘Beautiful World‘ gets the pace back on track, though we’re hardly getting out of third gear. Plenty more hooks, more positivity, and another big chorus with enough bounce and energy to serve it well in the live environment. There are quite a few songs on the album which feel like singles, but none of them would crack the band’s own top twenty or my personal favourites.

‘Room At The End Of The World‘ starts with great promise – straight in with no messing or elaborate intro. The melody and atmosphere I look for are there and it feels like it’s building towards something interesting. The chorus hits and it’s… well it’s like any number of the band’s choruses in their previous ten years. They’re very interchangeable and don’t stand apart from the crowd. I keep saying it, but long time fans shouldn’t mind.

‘The Fighter‘ draws the album to a close. It starts with promise – uncomplicated guitar which Jon follows with his vocal melody. It’s very sweet and the lyrics aren’t as obvious. The chorus for once feels like an extension of the verse and melody rather than an attempt to sound as commercial as possible. A pleasing ending.

Well, another good album better than what a cynic like me would be expecting. It doesn’t leap out of the stereo, it doesn’t challenge, but it does give fans what they want. It’s wonderful for the fans that the band keeps giving the fans what they want and that the band are happy to keep doing what they do. They’re probably doing what they do better than anyone else, even if they’re not doing it as well as they used to. That’s the part which is to be expected as few artists can continually reinvent themselves or get progressively better. Most hit a peak and stay there or tumble off the other side into oblivion. Maybe there are songs here with the strength and quality to bring in new fans, if only the listeners had regular easy access, but as healthy and fun as most of the songs will be for existing fans I don’t see the audience growing. On a personal note there are fewer songs that I’d chose to listen to again than on the previous album, but I was never really the target audience.

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Because We Can. I’m With You. The Fighter.

Let us know what you think of What About Now in the comments!

Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – The Circle!

Greetings, Glancers! Can you taste it? Can you feel it? We’re almost there, almost at the end of our Bon Jovi adventure. Of course, I could have listened to all the albums and posted about them in a matter of weeks rather than dragging it out for years, but I prefer to be languid in all things. The band’s 11th album was released in 2009 and was promised to be a return to their big chorus rock roots, rather than the more Country inspired 10th album. If you read my post on Lost Highway, you’ll know that I didn’t find it (thankfully) overly Country. So naturally, this album is probably going to be filled with fiddles. Looking at the twelve tracks there isn’t a single one I recognise, so this should be an entirely new experience.

We Weren’t Born To Follow: Opens promisingly enough, with a driving MOR beat. Inspiring lyrics. Good enough chorus with some ‘yeah yeah’ stuff which the crowd will lap up. Verses okay too. Doesn’t break any new ground and could be something they’d written twenty years earlier. A safe fan-pleasing start.

When We Were Beautiful: With a name like that, it’s bound to be a ballad. Musically it starts out that way, a lone guitar plucking a simple two note riff. Lyrically, it doesn’t seem like a love song at the outset, more a song of desperation. A threat of a surge of chords comes. Then it aims at being an inspirational epic rather than a ballad, with growing beats and additional layers. It’s a little too melodically simplistic to get there, so far. The vocals at times sound very heavily edited. At least they’ve taken care to make something distinct. It’s a song which grows towards a peak which never comes – the chorus is less of an explosion, more of a nice long arm stretch when you’ve been sitting for an hour.

Work For The Working Man: Wait a minute, that riff sounds like You Gave Love A Bad Name, but modified ever so minutely. More lyrics about living instead of dying – see more on this later – verses a little aimless. Chorus feels like one we’ve heard before and the shouts of ‘work’ in the background… I understand what they’re going for but it comes off as cheesy, as many of these things do when Bon Jovi tries them. People who don’t know any better or care will still chant and fist pump to it. The way he sings ‘man’ in the chorus – as ‘maeehhhhhheeen’ is not good.

Superman: A lone guitar and a single note this time. Wafting and light. Better verse melodies, a classic Jovi style pre-chorus, and a big classic Jovi style chorus. Much better, just lacking a bit of that youthful urgency which most artists lose as they age. The bridge isn’t the best, but doesn’t take much of the charm from the whole.

Bullet: There’s the mouth box. This is another song where it feels like they’ve cherry picked from their greatest hits and done some revisionist re-constructional surgery. This one is clearly Keep The Faith churned and made anew. Merged with It’s My Life. It’s not as good as either of those. The chorus is pretty good, and they play around with their usual structure with all of these cut and paste antics.

Thorn In My Side: Good start. I half expected this to be a cover. They try to be more urgent here – it’s a fun song which could have been a single if it had been written and recorded in the 80s. I like the verse melodies and guitar parts – very simple but that usually all you need as long as the emotion and idea are solid. Chorus isn’t bad – I can see others liking it more than I do. This one retcons Born To Be My Baby.

Live Before You Die: Based on name only I expected this one to be a revision of Living On A Prayer. But no, it begins with piano and vocals only. An introspective, nostalgic, sweet song which is meant to be inspirational – doesn’t quite match the message with the melody. Some violins in the background. The bridge tries to go full emotion/full heart-string tugging and is somewhere between a noble effort and a cheesy failure. This one fans will absolutely love, just misses something for me.

Brokenpromiseland: Fades in with promise, the ‘woo oohs’ take the promise away, then the verse gets better. Not their usual sound, sound more like a British Indie band in the guitar approach. This one’s pretty good too actually – now that I’ve worked out what it reminds me of – Cessation by The Music, of all things. It’s slower and not as potent as that song, but it’s similar enough while being more gentle and having a more commercial melodic approach. More strings too.

Love’s The Only Rule: Yikes, this one I was about to say also sounds like The Music, but then it stopped. Still, that riff sort of had that dance rock vibe. Verses are fine, pre chorus is better, and the chorus is better again – the formula a band like Bon Jovi should be following. The spoken vocal piece is silly and reminds us the band will never lose that cheese-tag.

Fast Cars: Feels like a weaker song, or a mid-album track too many. Still not bad, just the idea of the lyrics and the metaphor is silly. Melodies are a mixture of twenty other Bon Jovi songs. Fans will enjoy it, but it’s not great.

Happy Now: Drum building. Another simple, few-noted riff. The verses aren’t worth much, but the pre-chorus and chorus swell nicely into an emotive whole. The vocals are more strained than in the good old days and you wonder what it could have sounded like with a younger Jon giving it a crack. The emotion is there, the melody is there, that’s all I need to get started.

Learn To Love: Strummed acoustic and single piano soft notes. More inspirational stuff for people who need it. It’s very nice – somewhere between the dreaded Coldplay, and U2, done Bon Jovi style. Very good chorus and a strong ending to a pretty good album.

It’s another album which was better than I was expecting. They shouldn’t really be this consistent this deep into their career, so a lot of credit should go to them for keeping things going at a certain quality. Of course, they’re not doing anything amazing, not reinventing themselves anymore, and if anything on this album they decided that safe was best and simply took certain pieces of their most famous songs, added a few new words and twists and slapped them together into something new. They’re not getting better with age, but after a few blips, they’re not getting noticeably worse.

Lyrically it’s the same old subjects – love, memory, working hard, freedom. Musically – well you know it’s them. On a good day I might say this was one of their best, most consistent albums – just Jon’s vocals aren’t quite so searing as they once were and 11 albums in it’s more difficult to distinguish the more average songs from the rest. I see no reason why existing fans wouldn’t absolutely adore this and there’s a few songs which could intrigue enough listens to explore their back catalogue.

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: We Weren’t Born To Follow. Superman. Bullet. Thorn In My Side. Brokenpromiseland. Love’s The Only Rule. Happy Now. Learn To Love.

Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – Lost Highway!

Greetings, Glancers! Here we are, the first Bon Jovi album that I legit haven’t heard a single song from. Before I listen, I take a quick glance at the song’s Wiki page to get a little flavour for what’s in store. It was released in 2007 – by that point I was long gone from University and well into long term employment, so frivolous acts like Bon Jovi had fallen by the wayside for me. If they weren’t one of my favourite bands, or if they weren’t some new exciting act that I had just discovered, then I wasn’t going to listen to them much. It’s sad how it goes, but go it does. Wiki claims the album is heavily influenced by the Nashville sound, which is another way of saying ‘Yo Nightman, you’re going to absolutely despise this’. There may be collaborations with other artists, the album was a success on Country music charts…. arrgh… let’s just get it out of the way.

Lost Highway: Starts okay, typical Jovi sound. Slight banjo jangling. Oh Lord, here comes the slide guitar. I cannot abide slide guitar. Laughably trite and generic lyrics. Very middle of the road, soft stuff, appeasing the denim wearing, wandering patriot that the US inexplicably loves. The video, incidentally, is horrendous. The bridge doesn’t help, some terrible pronunciation. There’s a certain type of listener who swallows this stuff as if it’s scripture. I’m not that person. No edge, no emotion, just empty notes and not adventurous from a band capable of much better. Middling stuff then.

Summertime: I like songs about Summer. When they work, they’re very evocative. They make me happy, not something you’ll often hear me say. In fairness this one does come close to evoking those thoughts. It’s not quite strong enough and some silly decisions in the arrangement don’t help. The main chord chugging and the central riffs do fine – it’s nothing special, but for a band in their third decade it’s fine.

You Wanna Make A Memory: Different intro than what they usually go for. Vocals and a slight beat. Is that some female backing vocals. I was expecting this one to explode like they often do, but it keeps to a more restrained ballad form. Some slight violins, some piano. Gets marginally louder for the second chorus. I do like how it builds. The main vocal melodies are good and it quickly establishes itself as another traditional second tier Bon Jovi ballad – not up their with Always or Bed Of Roses, but still good.

Whole Lotta Leavin: Thankfully the album hasn’t been too country yet, at least not in the way I was dreading. There’s the quite intro followed by explosion I was talking about. Lyrics once again about that yearning for leaving, for adventure, for love. It’s a gentle foot-tapper to be sure, but by the numbers. More middling fare which should keep the band’s most ardent fans happy, but won’t recruit any listeners to the cause or excite someone like me.

We Got It Going On: Wait, wait, wait. Is this a cover band’s version of Enter Sandman. That’s hilarious. It’s a honky tonk rip off of Enter Sandman mixed with Have A Nice Day or It’s My Life. Like those songs, this has a stomp to it and a catchy chorus meaning you can both sing and dance to it. We get an unfortunate spoken part in the middle, followed by voice box solo. It’s pretty funny, but still middling stuff.

Any Other Day: This opens with a summery vibe too, and a nice guitar tone. Songs like this have a tendency to grab me immediately, so I get disappointed if the rest falls away. The lead riff, well it’s not really a riff, but it’s very nice and suits the verse melodies perfectly. It’s all smooth and likable. A late career goldie for me – the chorus doesn’t go overboard with the anthem but acts as a more joyous extension of the verse. A very nice surprise.

Seat Next To You: The opening riff here is almost the same as the one I mentioned in the previous song, though decidedly more slow and peaceful. More female backing vocals. The Country stuff is there, but thankfully it’s more in the background and doesn’t leave me with a bad taste. So far this is a much stronger ballad, reaching close to those upper tiers. Verses and choruses again – not obnoxious, not amazing, but emotive and mature. Two very good songs in a row – can we continue this trend?

Everybody’s Broken: Well, it begins promisingly enough. I don’t know why they went for that drum sound though. Gentle but good melodies. Decent lyrics. A better drum sound joins in. Decent chorus. The song has a carefree sway. The chugga-chugga-chug guitars in the second verse don’t quite work, but I see what they’re going for. Mutterings of keyboards towards the end. It’s not as good as the previous two songs, but better than the ones before those.

Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore: This is veering close to the whining strings I can’t stand in Country music. For a few seconds at least. Feels like another decent ballad, not up there with the best, but not far behind. Going in on the full duet in the second verse. It’s LeAnn Rimes. She adds something different, she’s always had a (kind of) distinct voice, and while she’s Country the whole thing doesn’t go as far down that terrible road as I feared.

The Last Night: There hasn’t been that one bombastic, arena rock song on the album yet. This one doesn’t feel like it’s going to get there either, based on the opening. It has a middling pace, a soft rock approach. The verses are catchy enough without getting the claws in, with the chorus following in the same vein. It’s another which will please a certain section of the fans but will leave listeners like me asking for something stronger. It’s fine, a step down from the last few.

One Step Closer: Is this going to be the straight Country song I dreaded? No, the verse wises up. Another ballad then, and more soft rock. It’s getting a little samey now – that happens when you get beyond six albums and don’t really change your sound much from the core. Fans will be happy, there’s nothing much wrong with the song, just at this point it sounds too much like everything else. The chorus is nice enough, and I like some of the additional guitar parts which linger in the background.

I Love This Town: Is this the Country song? It starts badly enough, with hand clap type nonsense. And yet… and yet there’s something fun about it. The band sound like they’re having fun and that materializes through the waves into my veins and that feeling becomes infectious. This sounds like about a hundred different songs – everything from Bon Jovi’s own past masters to, most obviously, Dance The Night Away by The Mavericks. What was very close to being an awful closing track instead becomes a crowd-pleasing mini-anthem of its own. I imagine the band employs this one when playing live, singing about whatever town they’re playing in to the delight of the crowd. It’s strange but it somehow works by virtue of being a lot of fun.

A lackluster, if not poor first half gives way to a much improved second – there are definitely a number of songs I’ll be listening to again and would gladly put on my Bon Jovi playlist. I don’t think any of them will crack the band’s best ten or twenty songs, but they’re not far away. A better album than I was expecting by all accounts, one which thankfully didn’t live up to its Country promises and while it lacks that one great single there are enough good songs to keep loyal fans amused.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Lost Highway!

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Any Other Day. Seat Next To You.

Nightman Listens To Bon Jovi – Have A Nice Day

Greetings, Glancers! We’re back with another slice of MOR tunes courtesy of those mulleted 80s minstrels Bon Jovi. Last time around we checked out Bounce, and since that album the band released two curios – This Left Feels Right which was basically updated versions of classics, and that one about millions of fans which was a boxset of some sort. Have A Nice Day was their ninth studio album, and their first of original music in three years. I’ve heard the title track on this one but beyond that I don’t recognise any of the other songs listed below. Maybe listening with refresh my memories.

Have A Nice Day: This has always been a straight-forwards, no nonsense rocker with an inspirational set of lyrics with just enough rebellion to bridge the gap between chart sensibility and those looking for something just a touch harder. It’s a step down from It’s My Life but for most people probably not noticeably so. You should know the score with their hits now – big chorus that forces you to shout along.

I Want To Be Loved: This opens like a very specific Bryan Adams song but soon transforms into what feels like an under the radar Bon Jovi hit. It’s very middle of the road and commercial but it continues the inspirational theme – not giving up, always fighting and all that. The verses aren’t the most adventurous but they do build nicely and allow the two part chorus to be the focal point. It’s another good chorus but the song as a whole never reaches that top gear to tip it into their upper echelon songs.

Welcome To Wherever You Are: A soft intro, so assuming we’re in ballad territory. This one has a video, so assuming it was a single. Nice enough verses, again with a focus on the self – don’t be hard on yourself, you’ll be okay, you’re in control, chin up etc. It’s another B grade Bon Jovi song – good, probably feels better to me than it actually is because it hasn’t been over-exposed, but not any chance of it being promoted to the A grade status.

Who Says You Can’t Go Home: Bon Jovi have always been a band about lifting your spirits up – musically, lyrically, and making you feel good, but this is four songs on the trot which are specifically about those very ideas. This one has a very nineties video which adds a nice touch of nostalgia for me. It sounds very much like a song I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s so damn happy that I don’t care. I believe I have heard this one before and while it’s most likely a B Grade for them, it’s fresh enough, charming enough for me to allow it to sneak in to their A Grade. A nice surprise and good to see that they can still make music at this point in their careers that I would gladly hear again.

Last Man Standing: Faster, heavier, and with a different atmosphere that the previous tracks. I would have preferred the verses to have a little more of the oomph of the intro, but by and large the atmosphere and energy is continued. The chorus is a marginal let down for me – as a standalone chorus it is fine, but as a chorus to follow that intro and verse, it doesn’t feel as impactful. Still, this is five decent songs so far that I don’t have anything truly negative to bring up.

Bells Of Freedom: I realise that the album has had, not on the nose patriotism, but a definite sense of the spirit of the USA thanks to the inspirational sounds and themes. I haven’t clicked play on this yet, but I expect this one to be more up front with a name like that. It actually opens with a bell, then acoustics and vocals fade in. The verse is good but the chorus feels an awful lot like This Ain’t A Love Song. It isn’t exactly on the nose, but the lyrics do evoke all of the traditional apple pie USA stuff without explicitly calling them out. With a better chorus this could have squeezed into the upper tier Bon Jovi stuff, but it doesn’t quite get there and is more lower B tier for me and the fact that it is dragged out pushes it more towards average.

Wildflower: A brief intro suggests another softer ballad. Piano and drum led verses are a little different and the chorus doesn’t get much heavier. It adds some dynamics thanks to some strings and guitars and it all fits together coherently. I like the melodies throughout, Jon tries a little too hard to add unnecessary vocal tics, but on the whole it’s another decent song.

Last Cigarette: Five songs to go and I’m not sure they can maintain this momentum. Hopefully they can, but the album runs the risk of becoming too samey. This starts with single chords and vocals, followed up by an edgier drum and vocal piece, and then straight into an upbeat chorus – it all works. The rest of the song follows this format with some additional energy sprinkled on top. The guitars haven’t been at the forefront in this album, with only a couple of basic solos not really worth mentioning so far – there’s one here too. The band goes for a strange childlike choir section after the solo, unusual for them, but they pull it off before closing out with another chorus.

I Am: Instantly with the atmosphere. This is quite funny to me because it sounds very close to a British band you won’t have heard of but which I love, called Haven. Not the vocals, but that intro and some of the melodies are scarily close to a couple of their songs. This is more like the Bon Jovi stuff I enjoy – understated yet powerful at the same time. I’ve no idea how well known or popular this song is but it’s another one I wasn’t aware of which I think goes well with their best hits. The lyrics are once again concerned with the self, with positivity, encouragement.

Complicated: Gets straight down to business. The verse is quite similar to the opening track as well as It’s My Life and the verse feels too by the numbers. The band landed on the word ‘complicated’ and built a simple chorus around it, making sure it rhymed and scanned okay but with little imagination. As a radio rock song it does the job, but it lacks any of the adventure of their hits. When a band has been going for a while, you can tell the songs which didn’t take a lot of care in construction from those which did.

Novocaine: A breathless, wordy verse kicks things off, slowly builds to a decent drawling chorus. Standard drug/love metaphor lyrics. I like how there are very few breaks in the vocals between sections. I like this – not sure how many more times I’d want to hear it though. A strange whispering, talking section closes it out.

Story Of My Life: Closing with a ballad it seems. Piano intro. Are they going to go full piano or – no, there’s the explosion. It’s a booming end, with jubilant melodies and the same care-free energy which has symbolized their career. No complaints about this one, though I think the chorus could have been more emotive. A good end to a good album.

A very consistent album without a single weak link. There isn’t a standout track for me – a couple of quite good ones, a couple of weaker ones that it’s clear not a lot of effort or thought was put into, and the rest are better than average without quite hitting the heights. As I mentioned throughout, the whole thing is designed to be uplifting, comforting, and very easy to get along with – sing and dance easily. As much as I like to make fun of the band – I give them more credit than most – but to be this far into their career and still making worthwhile songs while retaining what made them popular in the first place, gives a warm sense of security. I have many favourite bands who burned out after a couple of albums, so for the big Bon Jovi fans out there it must be wonderful to hear the band still putting out stuff which they should love. I believe this will be the last album I’ve definitely heard tracks off, and while I’m not sure if it was their last big hit, every other album they’ve released since will be almost 100% unfamiliar to me.

Let us know what you think of Have A Nice Day in the comments!

Chart Music Through The Years – 1994

Nineteen and ninety four. A year of change, for me and for the world. It was my first year in big school, meeting all these new weirdos and saw me trying to find some new people with similar tastes in music and movies. Most of my closest friends did not pass the good old 11+ exam (a British transfer test which miraculously ensures whether you get into a good school or crap school, though many could cheat and pay for the privilege) and those were the friends that I listened to Guns’n’Roses, Nirvana, and Alice Cooper with. Luckily I met a few like-minded folks, but in April Kurt Cobain decided to kill himself. After that, music sort of seemed shit. Even music I had previously loved. I went through a bit of a faff, listening to nothing, or more accurately I listened to stuff but felt no connection. Naturally that didn’t last and I fell back in love with music again.

The charts of 1994 were an odd place – we had the grunge from the US, the tail-end of 80s rock still hanging on to relevance, europop, boy bands, the continuing emergence of homegrown bedroom DJs and lady singer-songwriters singing about their lady problems. It was a wonderful diverse world away from today’s chart of Tosspot Feat. Wanker taking up every position. There was good and bad, as it should be. Elsewhere in the music world, Blur released Parklife and Oasis released Definitely Maybe, Tupak went to jail, Michael Jackson married a Presley, Jeff Buckley released Grace,  and Woodstock 94 happened. In the rest of the world, Clinton and Yeltsin made sure no nukes would be flying, Lillehammer had some Olympics, Ayrton Senna crashed and burned, The Channel Tunnel opened, and a bunch of my favourite movies were released. What of October’s Top Ten Singles?

1: Pato Banton: Baby Come Back

This is one of those one hit wonders that was everywhere this year, and another which is almost entirely self contained within the year of its release. To add to the annoyance, it was a cover too, of a song from twenty years earlier. Make things worse by throwing in people from UB40 – one of my most hated bands ever. If there’s one thing I can’t stand in music, it’s anyone who isn’t Bob Marley doing reggae. So you get all these British guys adopting this culture and accent that they may or may not have anything to do with, and making shitty sub-standard knock offs with faux accents. In short – this is terrible. The only good thing about this is that I still will randomly shout ‘but a bye bye bye bye, bada bye bye by bye’.

2: Whigfield: Saturday Night

This was a beast when it arrived, a one-hit wonder which transcended that odious nomenclature and permeated into pop culture. As a pop song it’s still perplexing as to why it became such a monster, but these are questions we’ll never find answers to. I suspect it had something to do with ecstasy. And yet, it’s a perfectly good pop/dance song. It’s repetitive as hell but there’s a cheery likeability to it, no doubt partly due to Whigfield’s smiling Scandinavian otherness. You can usually gauge a song’s true quality in direct relation to how much young girls dance to it – I have clear memories of roaming the streets near my house with my friends shortly after this was released and stumbling upon a group of girls from my school dancing and ‘doing makeup’ to it in their living room. Zoe – I’m looking at you. Somehow it remains both dreadful and not bad at the same time.

3: Bon Jovi: Always

I’ve been going through the Bon Jovi albums elsewhere on this blog and this was always one of my favourites. I loved it upon release and I happily defend it now. Yes it’s cheesy and yes it’s Bon Jovi, but as far as well written effective rock ballads go, there are few better.

4: Take That: Sure

I mean, I avoided Take That as much as I possibly could back in the day, so looking at that song name I don’t have any memory of what this is. Watching the video in the link above for the first time presents a rather creepy introduction, with the lads swarming around a child and asking if she’s ready for bed. Why in God’s name is it seven minutes long? Was this the group trying to channel Michael or Madonna and make a video which was something more than an excuse to smile and unbutton their shirts? I’m gonna have to skip forward because this is painful. Oh fuck, here comes Robbie. Three minutes and still nothing has happened. Finally the song begins and what the balls is this? What in the name of all that is holy went wrong in peoples’ lives that made anyone this happen? Arguably the most bland song I’ve ever heard – and I’ve heard Dido.

5. Michelle Gayle: Sweetness

The 80s gets all the credit for being a decade of WTF, but with stuff like this you’d be forgiven in thinking the 90s should take the hotspot. Michelle Gayle was an actress in Eastenders who had a brief series of hits after leaving the soap. That kind of thing used to happen a lot, but to her credit at least she had more than one. I never liked this, but ironically I find myself singing the chorus every so often. The weird thing is that I don’t really remember the verses and when I sing the chorus I always do it with a strange accent and a faster pace which makes me think it must have been parodied somewhere and I’m doing that version instead. Otherwise I created my own parody when it came out and that’s what’s stayed with me. It’s not very good, just your typical slice of British 90s R’n’B – read – standard pop but with a black singer instead of white.

6: R Kelly: She’s Got That Vibe

Well. I’m not sure what we can really say about R Kelly these days. If I’m honest, I don’t remember him being all that relevant before Space Jam. Or after. I didn’t know that’s who did this song. Your typical light, commercial rap bollocks. Give it credit for a catchy chorus, but keeping things honest – it’s balls.

7: Cyndi Lauper: Hey Now

I like Cyndi Lauper. This is her basically remaking her best known song Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, but with added ‘hey nows’ and a slower pace and more annoying production.

8: Snap: Welcome To Tomorrow

Snap. Is that who I’m thinking of? No. No it’s not. And once again, what the balls is this? Look at the state of that video! Even in 94 this looked worse that Liza Minelli’s feces. There aren’t strong enough words to describe how bad this is – musically, visually. I don’t remember this at all, thank fuck, and I hope by tomorrow I’ve forgotten it again. Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you, the Human Race. Yes, this actually happened. Someone wrote this, someone made this, and people actually paid money to own it. Looking at the comments, people still enjoy it. Reasons we should get nuked #42319877. The only positive thing I can say about this is ‘hey look, that lady has her legs spread’.

9: Sting: When We Dance

Sting was apparently still alive in the 90s. Who woulda known? I do remember this one. It was okay then and it’s okay now. Still bland and uneventful, but then it is Sting.

10: Lisa Loeb: Stay

Finally, one I actually liked at the time. What’s not to like, for younger me? A hot girl with that not-quite grunge look looking at the camera and singing sweetly. It’s not great or anything, but it does have that 90s grrl charm which bled into other artists and shows I enjoyed more.

That’s definitely a snapshot of parts of my childhood right there, and definitely a look at what was popular on these shores. It’s not a great depiction of what was actually good in 1994 though – it was genuinely an excellent year for music – so here’s my alternative playlist.

1: Alice In Chains – Nutshell

2: Green Day – Basket Case

3: Oasis – Live Forever

4: Jeff Buckley – Lover, You Should Have Come Over

5: Portishead – Roads

6: Soundgarden – The Day I Tried To Live

7: Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You

8: Tori Amos – Baker, Baker

9: Pantera – 5 Minutes Alone

10: Pink Floyd – Lost For Words

What are your favourite songs and memories of 1994? Let us know in the comments!

Nightman Listens To – Bon Jovi – Bounce

Greetings, Glancers. Like my Bryan Adams posts, we’re at the point now where I had stopped listening to new music by Bon Jovi. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard some of this album, and I’m almost certain I heard the title track upon release, but as I type this I can’t recall what it sounded like. Looking at the rest of the albums there isn’t a single song that I recognize. According to Wikipedia, the album was heavily influence by 9/11 – unsurprising. I’m hoping then that there are some insightful and emotional songs here which I will enjoy, but given that we are entering unknown territory I’m not holding out hope.

Just an additional note: In these previous Nightman Listens posts I’ve literally been listening to songs for the first type and typing my thoughts as they play. From now I’m going to try to listen to the songs twice – first to get my initial thoughts, and then the second time for the nuances and to allow the song a chance to grow on me before ripping it apart.

‘Undivided‘ has an unexpected start, lots of chugging distorted chords. Near spoken verse. Lyrics seem to hint at 9/11. Decent chorus. Repeat. Decent middle eight/chorus. Decent solo. Decent softer ending. Decent all round then.

‘Everyday‘ starts with beats and a bit of the old mouth robot. More heavy metal chords. Decent verse again. Decent bridge. Chorus doesn’t really work, thought it was building up to something better. Seems like an okay single but doesn’t get me pumped like their bigger hits – not quite as good as the first song.

‘The Distance‘ opens with a screechy riff and fast drums before giving way to a more mid paced intro then settling into a calmed verse. This feels like a traditional old school Bon Jovi power ballad. I hear some strings. Moves into a pretty good chorus. It’s odd how the guitars have a much more metal tone on this album – they’re really crunching – but the songs are soft at their core. Still, this is probably the best song of the three so far.

‘Joey‘ has a soothing piano intro. It’s not quite Baywatch, but close. It’s another storytelling lyric with near spoken vocals. More strings. Unfortunate it’s very plain – verse, bridge, chorus are almost indistinct. The piano part is the best part.

‘Misunderstood’ starts in typical soft rock Jovi style – you’ll have heard them play this style many times before. The verse doesn’t do a lot for me in the first instance, the pre-chorus is nothing out of the ordinary, but then the chorus comes in and raises the rest of the song – the next verse etc feels better based on the strength of the chorus. I like the ‘I-I-I-I-I’ hook a lot, but the vocals sound strained – it feels like he managed to hit it once in isolation and they just shouted ‘cut, let’s use that one throughout’. The solo is generic, there’s some phasing effect on it, but nothing new.

‘All About Lovin’ You’ gets me worried that it’s the band going country again, but this moves away into soft ballad territory. There’s a weird choice of guitar tone for the lead in the intro – usually the sort of tone reserved for some blistering solo. The lyrics you’ve heard a hundred times before, all about pages of life and faded memories. There are some plain strings in the background, I don’t like the drum effects in the verse, it’s inoffensive stuff that loved up couples can sway to, but the chorus rips shamelessly from Never Say Goodbye – same chord progression, melodies, even the strings. On its own this is fine, but they’ve done the same much better before.

‘Hook Me Up’ makes me think of drugs. Bon Jovi has never been a drug band, right? It certainly begins heavier than most BJ songs, the same crunching chord over and over with some strange effects in the background. A simple progression comes in, this breaks off into an atmospheric piano and bass section which is nice, though I could do without the scratchy, whispery stuff in the background. The verses are sharp, fast, I like how the central chords fade back in to add a dynamic layer – it’s nothing revolutionary for the band, but it keeps things fresh. The solo reminds me a little of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World riff, the rest of the song and the chorus has quite a lot of hiss and its melodically familiar territory, though the sudden finish is appreciated and caught me off guard.

‘Right Side Of Wrong’ has an almost great intro – I have a thing for piano and string intros anyway, so I’m hooked at the outset. Lyrically we’re in Springsteen territory again, the verse is fairly plain with just the piano, Jon, and some light acoustic guitars low in the mix. Unfortunately the rest of the song doesn’t live up to the opening 10 seconds. In fact, it’s one of the more boring songs the band has written – it’s very plain and unadventurous and like elsewhere on the album it just makes me wish I was listening to a better BJ song. This one borrows very heavily from Bed Of Roses, but it comes nowhere close to reaching the standards of that classic – disappointing.

‘Love Me Back To Life’ feels like a potential single from the get go. There’s a brief crunch chord intro, giving way to simple rock chords, strings, and voicebox – all BJ trademarks. The verses are commercially brief, the pre-chorus sets things up nicely, and the chorus is pleasingly melodic – another you can see crowds singing to. It’s nothing extraordinary, but a decent stab at a soft rock single by a band deep into their career. The solo is accompanied well by the strings, and it’s followed by a softer section where Jon attempts another forceful high note, this time it mostly works if sounding a little strained.

‘You Had Me From Hello’ kicks off in classic acoustic ballad territory – if you’re a regular glancer then you’ll know I enjoy simple acoustics and vocals, so this is promising for me. I could do without the organ. Good vocals, and simple, endearing lyrics and melodies which come across as meaningful and honest. Everything flows well, verse into pre-chorus, and on into chorus. It’s all understated and the volume is never raised beyond gentle. I would drop the organ/keys and change up the shitty drums. Not for the first time the harmonies help things immensely. There’s a slight change for the middle, I don’t know if the song really needs it, the volume gets marginally louder and gives the rest of the band thirty seconds to do their thing before returning to form. A welcome surprise, and maybe my favourite on the album.

‘Bounce’ is another song that’s clearly a single candidate – I’m assuming it was a single given it’s also the title track, but I don’t believe I’ve heard it before. Again the trademark BJ sound rips out of the stereo, stadium guitar tone, voicebox and commercial melodies. At least this time the band sound urgent – there’s a lot of ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ here, and it sounds as if they are attempting another ‘It’s My Life’ as a lot of the tricks used there are front and centre here. This song doesn’t come close to reaching those heights, but it’s still a perfectly good radio friendly rock song. Special points, I guess, for the ‘I don’t give a fu-fu-fu-fu’ pre-chorus which is sure to be a live favourite.

‘Open All Night’ closes the album. I typically want my rock albums to end in buoyant, energetic fashion, but this is one of the softer ballads on Bounce. It’s nice enough drivel, the verses are pleasant but uneventful, while the chorus has some neat hooks. It’s not one of their best ballads, closer to the bottom than the top but it will obviously have plenty of fans singing its praises – just doesn’t move me.

Overall I mostly enjoyed the album – as mentioned I knew very little about it and while it’s heavy on the ballads, there are a few decent rock songs I wouldn’t mind hearing again, and one or two others which hit the mark. No bad songs, but quite a few plain songs which feel too often like overly safe remixes of former glories. Some bands continue to churn out the same sort of song, the key is to make people want to listen to the new stuff rather than hear the new stuff and wish they were listening to the old. Let us know in the comments what you think of Bounce!

Chart Music – 1992

Yes! Back thanks to an almost universal lack of demand, I stretch back the scalp of time and feast upon the mushy innards of the past – in this instance I return to the UK music charts. If you’re interested, you can read my original post here – https://carlosnightman.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/the-uk-top-40/

Greetings, Glancers! It’s time for me to think of another absurdist metaphor concerning looking to the past, as we look to the past – 1992 to be precise. In 1992 I was already a bite-size metal and grunge kid, watching Headbanger’s Ball and reading Kerrang magazine. Thanks to my love for those genres, even by that point in my life I was pretty miffed at the state of UK music charts. The bands I liked never got any credit or praise from the mainstream media and the radio would play the same shite. Sometimes of of course they were forced to bow to audience pressure and play something with a rock vibe – I remember many times that certain stations would play something like Sweet Child O’Mine or Smells Like Teen Spirit, yet cut the song short before it had ended. Even when the genres were at a commercial peak, they were shafted and pushed to the side.

But what else was happening in 19 and 92? George Bush senior disgraced himself and his nation by barfing all over the place, then officially ended The Cold War, The Maastricht treaty was signed, The Bosnian War kicked off, LA had some riots, Barney The Dinosaur appeared, Denmark won Euro 92, the Olympics were held in Barcelona, and Slick Billy prepared to become President. In music, Nevermind was number 1 in the charts, Mariah Carey went unplugged, John Frusciante left the RHCP, November Rain became the most expensive music video ever, James Hetfield got burnt, and The Bodyguard became the biggest selling soundtrack ever.

1. Tasmin Archer: Sleeping Satellite

This was everywhere in 1992, and is still one of those songs that you can’t forget once you’ve heard it. I did like it then and listening now it’s still pretty great. Those gruff vocal parts are funny… I don’t think I’ve heard another Tamsin Archer song so I’ve no idea if she was a one hit wonder. I don’t remember the wacky organ solo.

2. Boyz II Men: End Of The Road

Speaking of songs that were everywhere, this thing was at number 1 for about 12 years. I’m not sure why it was so popular – I get why it was successful – but not why it was such a monster. It’s a decent ballad, but it’s cheesy as fuck and that video is horrific – four funny looking blokes with incredible voices moping about in funny looking clothes. This is what women were into in 1992 apparently.

3. Bizarre Inc: I’m Going To Get You

From the name alone I don’t remember this so I’m going to guess it’s a one hit wonder chav mess. Aaand, with the first second I remember it. Okay, I managed the first minute, that’s all you need to hear. I mean, it is dreadful. The singing, the repetition, the music, and the theme which seems to be rape.

4. Madonna: Erotica

We’ve covered this on the blog before.

5. Bon Jovi: Keep The Faith

We’ve covered this on the blog before.

6. Doctor Spin: Tetris

Now we get into the really bad shit. This wanky dance music was seriously popular at the time and if today’s charts are anything to go by, wanky dance music won the race. It’s basically the main Tetris theme tune with some weird voice in the background and other Nintendo noises zooming around. Just think for a second – someone actually made this, and enough people bought it that it reached the Top 10 in the UK charts.

7. Dr Alban: It’s My Life

The second medical practitioner turned shit music maker in our top ten this year. This one at least is less repetitive and has a weird, creepy, industrial vibe. I don’t think that was intentional. The overlapping beats are actually cool and this one has held up much better. Only the vocals really date it.

8. The Shaman: Ebeneezer Goode

Congrats, it’s another one that I refuse to link to because it’s an absolute abomination. One of undisputed worst songs of all time.

9. Take That: A Million Love Songs

And this is one of Take That’s less annoying songs.

10. Arrested Development: People Everyday

I’ve no idea what this is, so I’d better give it a listen. I don’t think I’ve heard this before, but I could be mistaken. It sounds so generic that any of these type of songs from this period all sound similar to me. It is quite annoying, all the call, response stuff, and weird backing vocals stuff, plus the kind of rap which was successful in the UK at this time was so tame.

So, a mixture of dreadful and bearable. 1992 saw plenty of major, genuinely good releases – Generation Terrorists, Vulgar Display Of Power, Little Earthquakes, Somewhere Far Beyond, Countdown To Extinction, Dirt, Tourism, Automatic For The People etc. For a much more invigorating and lovely list of songs from 1992, have a gander at these boys.

1. Alice In Chains – Nutshell
2. Del Amitri – Always The Last To Know
3. Manic Street Preachers – Condemned To Rock And Roll
4. Soul Asylum – Runaway Train
5. 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up
6. Nirvana – Aneurysm
7. Dr Dre – Fuck Wit Dre Day
8. Mr Big – To Be With You
9. Richard Marx – Hazard
10. Shakespears Sister – Stay

Feel free to share your memories, musical or otherwise, of 1992 in the comments below!