In 2003, the band decided to released an E.P. that was exclusive to Target. A giant retailer here in the States (and probably other countries, I don’t know). The CD only release included 8 tracks consisting of demos from both the ‘Crush’ and ‘Bounce’ eras as well as several live tracks from those albums as well. It was only available for a limited time and came in a clear shell with red translucent CD tray as you can see in the pictures below. The back cover had buttons of all the band members and then only little Target shaped button thrown in since it was a Target release. I don’t have a specific date of release, but I do know it was in 2003.

The demos on here were also all on the single to the song “Everyday” from the ‘Bounce’ album. In fact, there were two CD singles released for “Everyday” and on CD 1 you had “Lucky”, “No Regrets” and “Standing” while CD 2 had “We Can Dance” and “Breathe” as well as a couple other tracks. So, you could’ve gotten these tracks before a year earlier, but would’ve had to buy both singles. And that doesn’t count the live tracks that are on here though.

The first track is a demo called “Breathe”. It opens with an acoustic guitar, but the band comes blowing in with drums, maracas and bass. For a demo, it sounds pretty complete in my book. It isn’t over produced which is why I think it sounds so good. It is a little rough around the edges, but I like it a lot. It isn’t a full on ballad as it has a little more pop in its steps. A great track. The song ends up on the box set, ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ so we will talk about it again later.

“Lucky” is the next demo and this one sounds rough. The “na na na na’s” don’t sound as crisp as when Richie is doing backing vocals. This one needs a little work as the lyrics are average at best and the “na na na na’s” are good enough for me. It is a throw away track at best.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=V_RLEh_7V8U%3Fsi%3Dn14eN9zDiufJkhce

Next up is “No Regrets” and this one does sound like a demo as it feels incomplete, but it is a cool track the way it is also. The drums on here are great from Tico as he pounds pretty heavy. The song slows down tempo during the verses and rocks out in the chorus and has some questionable sound effects on it, but I get what they were going for and if this was worked out a little more, it would’ve made a great track and a nice addition to ‘Bounce’ as it sounds like that album. Also, Richie’s solo is pretty freaking great on this one.

“Standing” reminds me a lot of “It’s My Life” as it feels like they were going for something anthemic with a positive theme about standing your ground. This is the problem with a lot of Bon Jovi songs after “It’s My Life”. He was chasing the feel good rock anthem and trying to repeat that success. This one quite doesn’t hit the mark. Now, it does have some good moments like Richie on the solo and Tico beating the crap out of the drums. Have I ever mentioned that Tico is a beast on the drums. Well, he is.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bLF21rasnuk%3Fsi%3DXAx1WaP9s44HeMUJ

The final demo is “We Can Dance” which is a ballad. Jon’s vocals haven’t been smoothed out in final production, but I like that roughness on here. As far as ballads go, this one is pretty good. The album had enough ballads so I get while this was left off, but it was actually a little better than a couple of the ballads that were on the album. It has tender moments that you need, but the chorus just doesn’t have the pop that is needed.

Then we get a live track for the song “Misunderstood” which was recorded on August 23, 2002 at the Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center in New York City. I believe this is the live version from the European issue of the single for “Misunderstood”. It is a pretty good live version as the band sounds great. It feels intimate and that is cool. I imagine the Grand Ballroom isn’t a massive arena and was probably a great place to see them.

Then we get an acoustic version of “Everyday” which sounds like a live studio recording. A really great version of the song. There is an urgency to it even though acoustic. I like the bongos and all-in-all, it is fantastic. This can also be found on certain single issues for “Misunderstood” and for “Bounce” as well.

The final track is another live song and this is for the ‘Crush’ song “Just Older” which is one of my favs from that album. It was recorded on August 21, 2002 also at the Grand Ballroom. This is a full on rocking band version. There is no denying it is live as Jon struggles just a hair on some of those notes, but that is fine because a live song should not be perfect. The girls in the crowd loved it as you could hear them scream during the song. Jon does have fun with this one as he interacts with the crowd a little. I like this one a lot.

And that is it. A nice little set of tracks all in one place. I like that they did this, but the thing is you still need a lot of those singles to get other versions of tracks that you might not have. Still, a fun piece for the collection. I didn’t do a track score since these are demos and live versions plus this is more of a compilation than an album. I am not sure it is fair to score this one either, but I will. My Overall Score is a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars. As it is cool getting the demos in one spot, but there are ore out there so it is not complete. I will just say, if you see it and you collect Bon Jovi, grab it. If not, that is up to you what you do with it. Thanks for hanging around.

NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘THIS LEFT FEELS RIGHT’ (2003)

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 – Target E.P. (2003)
31. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (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