After the success of the song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” with Jennifer Nettles, the band wanted to do a Nashville Influenced album. Heck, they had a #1 song on the country charts, won a Grammy for that song as well, why not try and repeat that success…and that my friend is the problem with this album. They were chasing that country hit. But don’t worry, the whole album doesn’t sound country, but that are a handful of tracks that you can definitely hear that influence.

The album came out on June 8, 2007 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts while also going Platinum status. The band was still finding success. The album is the band’s 10th album and the title, “Lost Highway”, was taken from the Lost Highway Records in Nashville. They recorded the album in Nashville with John Shanks back at the helm and Dan Huff who handled the country aspects of the songs. Now, it wasn’t all Nashville as they did spend time in Hollywood and Los Angeles recording some songs too…but this basically came out as a Country Record.

Jon and Richie wanted to write with some Nashville writers, but in the end, they weren’t that inspired so most of the songs on here are actually done by Jon, Richie and John Shanks. They did get a couple of Country artists to appear such as Big & Rich and LeAnn Rimes. The songs are influenced by a lot of what was going on in their lives with both Richie and David Bryan going through divorces, parents dying and basically life happening. And all that is inspiring, but did it translate in to inspiring songs? We will have to walk through the songs and find out.

The album opens with the title track, “Lost Highway”, which is about going down that road that no one knows exist and explore where it leads. There is definitely a country flair to the song which normally doesn’t make it a bad thing. It has its catchy and hooky moments and isn’t all that bad. What loses me the most is that it feels so uninspiring and like they are going through the motions. It doesn’t feel authentic. I don’t hate this song, but it isn’t one of my favorites on the album.

Things don’t get any better with the song “Summertime”. It feels like Summer and that should be a good thing as I like a good Summer type song. It is upbeat and fun sounding plus it makes it feel like you are driving down the road with the top down so that is a good thing, but it is also so cheesy and contrived. It has a great catchy drum beat, but man it doesn’t feel like Bon Jovi. It is a paint by numbers type track.

WIth “(You Want To) Make a Memory”, we finally see a Bon Jovi I can get behind. It is a dark, brooding ballad. There some string orchestrations to it, David’s piano parts are spectacular and musically, this is fantastic. The song slowly builds until you get a big payoff on the chorus. This one has heart and soul and sophistication. Plus it is what I love about Bon Jovi and when they get it right they put out a great song.

“Whole Lot of Leavin'” is a song that seems to be about the divorces of Richie Sambora (from Heather Locklear) and David Bryan as well as the passing of Richie’s father which was all happening around the same time. I hear some pedal steel guitar work going on as well as Richie doing a great little solo. The song is up tempo and feels like Bon Jovi despite the Country tweaks to it. Another decent track.

Then we get the song with Big & Rich which came about in about 5 minutes after meeting them in a bar. The song is said to be inspired by the Beastie Boys but I think that is an insult to the Beastie Boys. It is a fun, uplifting party song that will get you moving and lives up to the title “We Got It Goin’ On” as they certainly do. I like that even Richie finally has some killer backing vocals on this one. But the preaching style speaking vocals from Kenny of Big & Rich is cheesy but it leads in to a killer talk-box guitar solo from Richie which is the best part of the song. This is another that it has its moments both good and bad (when the namecheck themselves…oh please help me).

“Any Other Day” is one of the better songs on the album. It has that big catchy chorus, the classic Bon Jovi story-telling vibe and Jon does sound great. A lot of great musical choices with the riff, the drum beat and it is a solid, well-written track overall. I get lost in the song and that is the sign of a good one.

Then we go back to the Country vibe with “Seat Next to You” and it is the first song that started to lose me completely. I found it a downer and lacking any real heart that would draw me in. It felt derivative of so many other Bon Jovi ballads. A big yawn for me as way too mellow.

“Everybody’s Broken” doesn’t pick things back up as we get another ballad type song…a little more power, but not much. There is a cool little ‘chu-chu’ guitar riff I like that pops up every now and then as well as a decent Sambora solo, but it is not enough to save the song. The chorus sounds like it might be a big payoff, but it doesn’t cash in at all. A song that wants to go somewhere but gets lost.

We get to the next full-fledge country song with a duet with LeAnn Rimes. Now, I love LeAnn Rimes voices so I will be honest, I’m not disappointed with her being on the album at all. “Till We Ain’t Strangers” is huge when Jon and LeAnn sing together, but overall the song is a little weak. There are good moments, more Richie solo work, but it starts out a little slow when Jon and LeAnn sing separately. I don’t know, it just doesn’t connect with me like I am sure they were hoping. Still though, it isn’t awful and I’d keep it on the list. I think I was disappointed in execution of the overall song.

“The Last Night” finally picks up the tempo after three slower, ballady songs. A song about the troubled times we live in and gives it an uplifting, positive message in the end. Telling the person it is the last night they will have to be alone as he will be beside her tomorrow and forever. The chorus is great and huge which we love from Bon Jovi. It is a song that could be great, but is only okay. Just missing a little something.

Back to the country-vibe with “One Step Closer” that has some nice picking and some fine mandolin work. It is a simple song, very pleasant sounding and a catchy chorus. Another song that wants to be so much more than it actually is which is a shame because there is a good song here that didn’t find its way.

The final track is “I Love This Town” and is so freaking country. Bon Jovi in the past would end their albums sometimes with a strange, unique song that was lots of fun. This isn’t one of them. It is strange, but it is cheesy, corny and too much of what I don’t like about this album. Ugh!

Track Listing:

1. Lost Highway – Keeper (1/2 Point)
2. Summertime – Keeper (1/2 Point)
3. (You Want To) Make A Memory – Keeper 
4. Whole Lot of  Leavin’ – Keeper
5. We Got It Going On (with Big & Rich) – Keeper (1/2 Point)
6. Any Other Day – Keeper
7. Seat Next To You – Delete
8. Everybody’s Broken – Delete
9. Till We Ain’t Strangers (with LeAnn Rimes) – Keeper (1/2 Point)
10. The Last Night – Keeper (1/2 Point)
11. One Step Closer – Keeper (1/2 Point)
12. I Love This Town – Delete

The Track Score is 6 out of 12 Tracks or 50%.  I think this was the last Bon Jovi I bought for awhile. They started to lose me here. Yeah, there are some great moments, but they were heading down a path of chasing the hit and trying to be something they were not.  And that loses authenticity and my respect. There a lot of songs on here that are just okay, but only a few that are great and a few that totally suck.  This is the first Bon Jovi album that doesn’t keep me fixated from beginning to end.  My Overall Score is 2.5 out of 5.0 Stars.  An album that wanted to be great, but got lost on the rock & roll highway…because it went down a country road chased a hit and failed miserably.

NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘LOST HIGHWAY: THE CONCERT’ (2007)

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 – “Burning For Love” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1984)
6. Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
7. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
8. Bon Jovi – “Borderline” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1986)
9. Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
10. Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
11. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
12. Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
13. Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
14. Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
15. Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
16. Bon Jovi – “Keep the Faith” – CD Maxi Single (1992)
17. Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
18. Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
19. Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
20. Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
21. Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
22. Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
23. Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
24. Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
25. Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
26. Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
27. Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
28. Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
29. Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
30. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
31. Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
32. Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
33. Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
34. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
35. Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
36. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
37. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
38. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
39. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
40. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
41. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
42. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5 & 6, Part 6) – (2004)
43. Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
44. Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
45. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
46. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
47. Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
48. Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
49. Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
50. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
51. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
52. Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
53. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
54. Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
55. Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
56. Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
57. Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
58. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
59. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
60. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
61. RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
62. Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
63. 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