 REVIEW by : Total Guitar magazine , volume 71 July 2000
Bon Jovi- Crush
Rating : * * * * * (five stars)
By Jovi they're back! And they're on top form. Crush sees the New Jersey boys back doing
what it is they do best, big songs, big production and big vocals. Opening with the
talkbox led number It's My Life - a bona fide Living on a Prayer for Y2K, even the
latter's heroes Tommy and Gina get a namecheck - Crush is the sound of a band happy to be
back. It's a departure from 1995's darker These Days and has a tangible positive vibe.
Richie Sambora continues to impress with his guitar playing, the While My
Guitar Gently Weeps-esque solo of Two Story Town, the rifferama of Next 100 Years complete
with its solo packed with squeal-y harmonies are
particular high points. It's not a total rock fest though, the first big ballad - the
self-explanatory Thank You For Loving Me - is as consummate
as the epic Always and deserves similar success. Clearly invigorated by having had the
time to concentrate on their solo projects, songwriting
team Jon and Richie have come up with the goods for Jovi. In Just Older, Jon sings
"it's not old, just older...". He could be speaking about his
band but Bon Jovi haven't sounded as young or as vital for a while. It's great to have
them back."
Reviewed by Sian Llewellyn. |
Jon
Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora's track-by-track
guide to CRUSH
"It's My Life" - Richie - "Lyrically, it nods towards
Tommy and Gina (from Livin' On A Prayer) and we brign back those characters in the second
verse. We also bring back the talk box because it seems to be one of our signature
sounds, but we also used a drum loop to give it the classic Bon Jovi sound, but an updated
2000 version."
"Say It Isn't So" - Jon - "You have to be able to dream,
to believe in role models, heroes or Santa Claus. When you forget those dreams it
becomes a boring life."
"Thank You For Loving Me" - Jon - "I sometimes get stories
from movies. In this case I went to see Meet Joe Black, Brad Pitt was holding Claire
Forlani in his arms and said 'Thank you for loving me' I just ran home and wrote that
chorus."
"Two Story Town" - Richie - "The way Jon sang it was very
appealing because it was fresh. I don't think we could've done it on past records, but
Jon's maturing as a vocalist.""Next
100 years" - Jon - "The Japanese market called and asked if we had a
song that would fit this thing called the J-Friends, which is the boy bands of Japan,
could record. Did we have something with a lyrical message that would support future
generations? As a matter of fact, we did."
"Just Older" - Jon - "The lyric says ' I like the bed I'm
sleeping in, just like me it's broken in/it's not old/just older...' and that sums it
up."
"Mystery Train" - Jon - "My lyrical heroes, Leonard Cohen
ans Tom Waits, could be proud of the pictures that I've created in this song. It's a
wonderful story, it's a big-girl song, but there's more to it than it's cover. It's one
that I'll love to play."
"Save The World" - Jon - "I put it away when I found out
they had their ballad with Aerosmith, but the basis of it comes from the script of the
Armageddon movie."
"Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars" - Jon - "
A strange one. There's these two screw-ups who think that they're on the cover of
Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone all in the same week - they're endearing characters, but
completely fictionalised."
"She's A Mystery" - Jon - "I wrote it at a songwriters'
retreat at a castle in the South of France. It becamse one of the truly great
experiences of my life, because all you could talk about was songwriting."
"I Got The Girl" - Jon - "It's about my daughter.
I've never written a song about my daughter, nor have I ever wanted to, I just spat it out
one day."
"One Wild Night" - Jon - "The old team of Richie, myself
and Desmond Child wrote the first part of this song together. Certainly in the vein
of 'You Give Love A Bad Name' you'll want to play it at night."
"I Could Make A Living Out Of Loving You" - Jon - "In the
vein of AC/DC, stadium rock, but a fun song." |