It's pretty interesting how there seem to be some things that simply defy the laws of time and space. They've simply been around as long as you can remember and they keep going on and on forever. In the music world it's a little more rare to come across a band like that. Songs for sure, but a whole band or singer, not so much.
@mrsbozz and I were watching a special on TV the other night about Billy Joel. It was a live showing of one of his 100th concert at Madison Square Garden. During the show, we learned that he had a new song out called "Turn the Lights Back On". It started a discussion between us about why after 30 years he was finally releasing new music.
I mean, the guy is iconic right? He has dozens of hits that pretty much anyone of any age can sing by heart. Okay, maybe not "We Didn't Start the Fire", that one is a bit of lyrical acrobatics for sure. You know what I mean though. My wife suggested that maybe when you have so many great hits to play, what's the point of writing new stuff. I get that I guess, but it also makes me a bit sad, because he does have a ton of great songs, so how many other great songs are we missing out on?
Like I said, there are some bands that just seem to go on forever. Take the Rolling Stones for example. If you haven't listened to their latest album "Hackney Diamonds", you really should. It's quite good in my opinion.
Then we have Bon Jovi. Quite fitting that their most recent album is called "Forever". I've always been aware of Bon Jovi and I like their songs that came out while I was growing up in the 80's, but as they continued to re-invent themselves, I kind of lost track. That is of course until I met my wife who is a huge Bon Jovi fan. Over time, I have come to love all their stuff. Except maybe the 2020 album. I know they were trying to get a message across, but it's probably one of their weakest works I think.
Forever flips the script and gets back to what made the band fantastic in the first place. Upbeat rocking anthems that you can't help but sing along with. For this weeks #threetunetuesday sponsored by @ablaze, I am going to share with you three new songs from the Bon Jovi album "Forever".
"Living Proof" is easily my favorite song off the new album. Sure, it has that classic mouth guitar thing that a lot of people have associated with Bon Jovi even though Frampton did it years before. It's just a good song that has an upbeat rhythm and positive message. I know I keep repeating that phrase, but it's true, and it's kind of what Bon Jovi has become associated with.
Living Proof actually gives me a vibe similar to Work For the Working Man from their Circle album that was released in 2009. Mostly just the chorus, but yeah, kind of similar to me.
If I had to critique this song at all, I think it would be the bridge. That's the only piece that feels a little cheesy to me. It's like they weren't sure what to put there so they threw in some disjointed lyrics.
I don't know, maybe it's just me.
"Legendary" is actually the first single that was released from the "Forever" album. After the 2020 album that both @mrsbozz and I were quite tepid on, we were kind of nervous to see what this song would sound like.
We were both pleasantly surprised with what we ended up hearing. Legendary is another one of those positive upbeat Bon Jovi anthems that we have come to know and love. My wife and I agree that the album Forever actually gives us a lot of Lost Highway vibes. It has a bit more of that pop feel than a completely rock feel.
We recently finished watching the Bon Jovi documentary on Hulu and the struggles he has had with his voice in the past five years makes a lot of sense. Personally, I don't feel like he is back to 100%. He probably never will be given his age, but his voice is definitely stronger than it has been in the recent past.
Again, if I had to critique this song at all, I think the chorus would be my biggest issue. Don't get me wrong, I love the song, but it's been done a million times before calling out Brown Eyed Girl and Sweet Caroline in a song. Yes, the lyrics fit the chorus well, but it would have been cool if they could have come up with something a bit more original.
I wasn't really sure what song to include for the last tune here. I finally decided on "Seeds" simply because none of the other ones jumped out at me. Sure, I could have included "Kiss The Bride", but that's a slower song and doesn't fully fit with the other ones. I have little doubt it may have been inspired by Jon Bon Jovi's sons recent nuptials with Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame. Nice catch Jake!
I actually feel like Seeds is kind of cheesy. Maybe the cheesiest song on the album, but it's still good! It's laden with metaphors and maybe some rhymes that are a bit on the nose. I don't know. For any number of reasons, it's sad that Richie Sambora left the band. I understand he had things he had to get taken care of, but when you listen to old Bon Jovi vs. new Bon Jovi, it's pretty obvious that Jon and Richie had a song writing chemistry.
I'd never say they were on the level of the Beatles, but when you look at Wings, Paul was good, but the combination of Paul and John was just something magical. I feel there was the same kind of synergy between Richie and Jon.
With that, I'm going to leave you with a final bonus track. It's not Bon Jovi, but I hope you still enjoy it because some things are good enough to last forever!
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