I can’t believe we are already to the 2000’s with Bon Jovi. Man, has this series been flying. However, we are no where near being done. We are now on the band’s 7th Studio album with ‘Crush’. After the band’s hiatus after the ‘These Days’ Tour, the band took some time to themselves and even released a couple of solo albums. But it was time to get back to work. Well, it was for Jon as he started planning to do a third solo, but that fell through because the band talked and it was decided it was time to start work on the next album.

Richie Sambora, Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan and Tico Torres were ready to go so they planned on getting producer Bruce Fairbairn to handle the producing duties. However, that wouldn’t work out. Sadly, Bruce died in May 1999. The band decided to hold auditions for new producers, but they didn’t like anyone. They asked their old friend John Kalodner if he knew and new, up & coming producers that could help bring their sound in to the 21st Century and he suggested Luke Ebbin. And Luke helped do just that to amazing success.

The album was done and released on June 13, 2000 and it show up the charts thanks to the first single, “It’s My Life”. The album went to #9 in the U.S. and debuted at #1 in the UK which made it the fifth #1 album in the UK for the band. The album saw 3 singles and a fourth in Japan with overall sales reaching well over 4,000,000 copies which easily matched the success of previous albums for the band. Bon Jovi is one of the few bands to survive the 80’s and still see success in to the 2000’s. The album was nominated for a Grammy and Bon Jovi was back in a big way!

The copy of the album I have is the Japanese Edition with 2 bonus tracks and a bonus E.P. called ‘Live in Osaka’. We will talk more about that and the E.P. in the next post and stick to the main CD here. I do have the vinyl as well if you were wondering. You can see all of the Crush collection in the final picture. Let’s go ahead and get to the music.

The album opens with the first single “It’s My Life” and the song is huge. It is a pure rock anthem with hooks for days, great guitar riffs and Richie on the Talk Box. Hell, they even name check Tommy and Gina from “Livin’ On A Prayer”. The song went to #33 on the Top 40 charts and no one expected Bon Jovi to explode back on the scene. Even MTV played their video over and over again. It introduced Bon Jovi to an entirely new generation and took and 80’s band and brought them in to the 21st Century all thanks to Luke Ebbin and Max Martin who co-wrote the track with Jon and Richie. The song was exciting and really made me run out and buy this album. Whatever they were going for, it worked.

Next up is “Say It Isn’t So” which sees the band lean more to Jon’s solo album sound from ‘Destination Anywhere’. I also felt there was a lot of Beatles influence in this one as well. The song was pure pop, not much rock, but the writing is brilliant, the chorus is catchy as hell as the song is a slick and makes you sing it even long after it is over. There is no guitar solo, but David Bryan gets a little solo on the keyboards. Richie did get a part as he was co-lead on the vocals. I really liked Jon’s second solo album so sounding like that is not a bad thing for me.

Then we get to the first ballad with “Thank You For Loving Me” and third single, but only second in the U.S. The song title was inspired by Brad Pitt’s character in the film ‘Meet Joe Black’. The song was full of ballad cliches with a full on string section and some nice guitar licks from Sambora giving us the power in power ballad. The song is a little over-the-top at times, but Jon still delivers it as only he can. Not their best ballad, but pretty damn good nonetheless.

“Two Story Town” sees Bon Jovi pull inspiration from Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen at the same town. Again, Bon Jovi’s style on most of these songs is more like ‘Destination Anywhere’ then old Bon Jovi, but maybe that is how you modernize the Bon Jovi sound. It does have western vibe to it as it sounds a little like a cowboy story too. Richie lays down a rip-roaring solo in this one for good measure.

Bon Jovi goes a little epic in “Next 100 Years” as the band goes on for over 6 minutes. With a slow build in to some weird effects and crunchy guitars to Jon singing with some great backing vocals by Richie. When the chorus kicks in the band is off and running. A classic love story and the band even has a “Hey Jude” moment before the instrumentation kicks in with a lot of “na-na-na-na’s”. But the winner of this song is the long coda of playing and some great Richie guitar moments throughout. His guitar playing is some of his best on the album and the string arrangements are just the right touch. A great song.

“Just Older” is a rousing, rocking song that is pure fun. It talks about how they might have aged but they aren’t old, just getting a little older. Tico’s drum work on this one is some of my favorite as his fills are perfect. The chorus on this one is one of the catchiest on the album and might be my favorite song on the album. The song is inspiring as well telling you to keep on dreaming and going for your dreams as it’s never too late. And Richie slays another solo as Tico pounds away behind him. Damn, this one is great. I love how it slows back down at the end with David playing piano and Jon gets all soft and thoughtful and then BAM! It explodes again. Just fantastic. This should’ve been a single!!

“Mystery Train” reminds so much of Soul Asylum’s song “Runaway Train”. Is that on accident or on purpose. A great deep cut with another chorus that will sweep you up and stick in your ears. It isn’t one of the standout tracks, but I really dig the sonics and tone of the song. It is another ballad, but not nearly as cheesy as some. A pleasant pop song at the very least.

The final single for the album was “Save the World” and only released in Japan and there is a reason for that I am sure. It is not a good song at all and my least favorite song on the album. It drones on and doesn’t go anywhere. It feels lifeless and boring for me. I really don’t like it. If you want to “Save the World”, delete this song immediately.

Then comes another great song on the album. “Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars” is a classic track with a nod to David Bowie and the whole glam era. The song feels like Mott the Hoople and Bowie combined. It is an upbeat track and Tico even has a swing-like vibe to his drumming. If there is a fun song on this album, this is it. It is a blast and that crazy title is so fun to sing it as well. I get a big smile when this song comes on as I can’t wait to sing along.

Things slow down again with “She’s a Mystery” and man, is this great. There is a softness and tenderness to it all. It is dramatic and Jon’s vocals are some of his best on here. The song is a little hypnotic in its delivery and it also feels a little islandy as well (is that a word?).

Then we get “I Got The Girl” which starts off slow with a great Hugh McDonald bass groove, then the song kicks in and the song rocks out. The song is the closest thing to the old Bon Jovi sound and probably might be why I don’t like it as this doesn’t fit with the rest of the album. This song doesn’t do much for me even though we get a nice Sambora Solo. I think it is Jon’s singing style on this one that I don’t like either. Sorry Jon.

The final song on the album is the wild and crazy and “One Wild Night” with its cartoon tune opening and then full on rocking out. They thought about naming the album after this song, but they changed their minds, but we will see that title again later. The song is another anthem and if you had heard this live your hands would be high in the airing, pumping along with the beat. The song is throwback to the early rock legends of the 60’s. At the very end of the song we get a band joking around about James Brown in some weird voices. It is nice to see them having fun.

That wasn’t the last song on the Japanese release as we get two bonus tracks. First up is “I Could Make A Living Out of Loving You” and it is easy to see why it was left off the album. I’m not sure it is even done as it sounds a little like a demo. It wouldn’t fit the album at all. It sounds unfinished to me and still needs some massaging to make it better.

“Neurotica” is a bonus track in Japan and Australia. Again, feels like a demo, but it really rocks out and has a promising chorus. It still needs work but there is some hope with this one as I think they could’ve made this a good one. It is just not there yet.

Track Listing:

1. It’s My Life – Keeper
2. Say It Isn’t So – Keeper
3. Thank You For Loving Me – Keeper 
4. Two Story Town – Delete
5. Next 100 Years – Keeper
6. Just Older – Keeper
7. Mystery Train – Keeper
8. Save the World – Delete
9. Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars – Keeper
10. She’s A Mystery – Keeper
11. I Got the Girl – Delete
12. One Wild Night – Keeper
13. I Could Make A Living Out of Loving You (Bonus Track) – Delete
14. Neurotica (Bonus Track) – Keeper (1/2 Point)

The Track Score is 9.5 out of 14 Tracks or 68%.  Now, the album I feel is better than that score. There are a couple of tracks on here that are some of my favorite Bon Jovi tracks like “It’s My Life”, “Just Older” and “Say It Isn’t So”.  Bon Jovi succeeded in making the album sound more modern. It leans more pop rock than 80’s hard rock and I feel they made that change feel natural. There is a new life to the band. They sound fresh and reinvigorated.  There is an excitement that hadn’t been there in a while and was it a sign of things to come or a recipe for disaster? We will have to wait and see.  For ‘Crush’, My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars and this might be the last great album by the band…who knows.

NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘LIVE FROM OSAKA E.P.’ (2000)

THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:

1. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
2. Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
3. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
4. Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
5. Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
6. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
7. Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
8. Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
9. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
10. Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
11. Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
12. Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
13. Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
14. Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
15. Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
16. Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
17. Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
18. Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
19. Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
20. Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
21. Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
22. Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
23. Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
24. Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
25. Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
26. Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
27. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
28. Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
29. Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
30. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
31. Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
32. Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
33. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
34. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
35. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
36. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
37. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
38. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
39. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5, Part 6) – (2004)
40. Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
41. Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
42. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
43. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
44. Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
45. Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
46. Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
47. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
48. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
49. Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
50. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
51. Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
52. Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
53. Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
54. Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
55. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
56. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
57. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
58. RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
59. Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
60. Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)

We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:

1. Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
2. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
3. Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
4. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
5. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
6. Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
7. Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
8. Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
9. Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
10. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
11. Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
12. Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single