Tag: Always

Bon Jovi – ‘The Extras LP’ (2017 – from The Albums Box Set) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Bon Jovi released a box set that contained every vinyl up to that point. It was called The Album Box Set and it was released on February 10, 2017. Now it was released on both vinyl and CD which I chose the Vinyl collection as I love to have their albums on vinyl. The set carries all studio albums from the debut Bon Jovi album all the way up to ‘This House is Not For Sale’. But that isn’t all, it has both Jon Bon Jovi solo albums as well as an “Extra” LP with a bunch of their international B-Sides which is a nice treat. But that is it. There no extra posters, stickers, booklets or anything. Each album though is remastered on 180g LP and the 16 albums are spread over 24 LPs. At the time this was released, 7 of the albums had never been released on vinyl and then you have the “Extra” LP which is the first time this had ever been released. So, for the vinyl collector in me this was the easiest way to get everything.

We are here to talk the ‘Extras’ LP which was rare tracks and international B-Sides and a couple songs from the ‘Cross Road’ compilation as that compilation is not in here (but I do have that on vinyl as well). We get 10 tracks and we will go through all 10 just for you!

“Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” is from ‘Cross Roads’ and was released as a single in various countries on February 13, 1995, but not the U.S. It went to #7 in the U.K. and of course never charted in the U.S. The song, according to Wikipedia is about optimism in the face of adversity. The song’s first verse introduces the characters Jim who struggles to find employment and is forced to sleep in his car, and Billie-Jean who was abused by her foster father and has turned to prostitution at the age of sixteen (remarking that the street-life ain’t much better but at least I’m getting paid), mourning the loss of her childhood. It has a country flair to it with its acoustic feel and an accompanying organ. It is catchy for sure and a great tune as who doesn’t struggle through the week hoping for Saturday Night.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection’ (2010) – DVD Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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To coincide with the release of the band’s ‘Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection’ on CD, the band also released a DVD full of the band’s video hits and live versions as well. The DVD was released on November 10, 2010 about 2 weeks after the CD. It isn’t a full career retrospective as it is only 17 of their numerous music videos. And it omits anything from the first two albums which is a huge misstep by the band as they continue to ignore those two albums. I honestly hate when a band does that. It is stupid and an insult to fans who love those albums even if they don’t. You guys truly suck for this!!!

But what is here, is really great. It kicks off with two tracks from ‘Slippery When Wet’ with “Livin’ on A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name”, two videos that really showcased the band’s live performances and what helped draw millions of fans in to the fold. They then jump to “In These Arms” from ‘Keep the Faith’ and surprisingly enough, it is another live concert performance to the studio song. Honestly, these type of videos are great as they aren’t some cheesy video telling a story that is not what is in the song, but gives you an idea of what the band is live. Now, I say that and you then get Sam Kinison and people talking through cut-outs of Elvis for “Bad Medicine” But that was only the opening as the rest was live concert shots as well.

“Born to Be My Baby” is full of studio shots as if the band was recording the song for the first time done in black & white. Very laid back and I like it because it isn’t the exact studio version of the song, it is a different edit. Then we go full on color with the ballad “I’ll Be There For You” which is more stage performance except this time it is in front of an empty arena. A great song shot perfectly here. “Lay Your Hands On Me” gives us another live style video. Honestly, I don’t remember all their videos being basically concert style.. They did not waste a lot of money on videos and it paid off for them and save them a ton of money. The videos are all professionally done, no denying that.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection’ (2010) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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After the Circle and subsequent tour, I am guessing the band was taking a little break because it would be 3 more years before another album. In the meantime, why not another greatest hits package since the last one was ‘Cross Road’ which was about 15 years earlier. This time around it was simply called ‘Greatest Hits’. Well, that is unless you bought the 2 CD set which was called ‘Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection’. The package was released on October 29, 2010 and it di really well going Gold in the U.S. and selling millions in Europe going multi-times platinum in numerous countries.

One thing they did with this release is that depending where you lived, what version was available. All single disc versions had 2 new songs on them. All 2 CD versions had 4 new songs on them. The difference was the U.S. version on had 26 songs while the International version (Europe/Australia) had 30 tracks and Japan had 31. The U.S. didn’t get any songs from 7800º Fahrenheit, International got 1 and Japan were blessed with 2 (including “Tokyo Road” of course). I will say it does suck they ignore that album here and only give us one from the debut. And it does effect my score. There is nothing else to say about the release so let’s get to the music as there is a lot to get through so I hope you’ve had a nap and are well rested.

DISC 1:

The first disc kicks off with “Livin’ On A Prayer” from ‘Slippery When Wet’. It opens with a wicked bass line, finger cymbals and a talk-box. But that wasn’t all that was great about it, it is the story of Tommy & Gina in “Livin’ on a Prayer” that makes this such a great song. Jon has a way of making the songs human and easy to connect with. The everyday person with problems just like you so the songs feel personal.  The song is loosely based on Desmond and his girl-friend as she worked in a Diner, but he was a taxi driver and not working at the docks.  It was that Blue Collar feel to the song that made it resonate with so many people.  It was a time when Bon Jovi actually wrote songs that told a story that connected with people and not try to write just to make a hit. 

“You Give Love a Bad Name” is next and also from ‘Slippery’. It was originally written for Bonnie Tyler and called “If You Were a Woman (and I Was a Man)”, but the song did nothing so Desmond Child re-wrote it for Bon Jovi and the rest is history. The song went to #1 and the beginning of the rise to super stardom had begun. The song checks all the boxes, big chorus, epic guitar solo, killer bass line, pounding drum fills and pure intensity. The song will have you singing along instantly as the song feels familiar and exciting. You can’t get it out of your head.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Live at Madison Square Garden’ (2009) – DVD Review

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Bon Jovi at this point is still putting out material on a steady basis. This time around we get their 5th live video called ‘Live at Madison Square Garden’. It was released on several different dates around the world, but here in the U.S., it was released on May 11, 2010, but elsewhere around the world it was released in November 2009. In the States this thing did go to #1 on the Video charts.

The show was recorded on July 14 & 15, 2008 in New York City at the famous Madison Square Garden…I know, that was a shock given the name of the video. It was directed by Anthony Bongiovi and Brian Lockwood, glad to see Jon keeping it in the family. The version I have is the DVD, but if you buy the Blu-Ray, you get the great documentary we discussed last week, ‘When We Were Beautiful’. The story around that DVD centered around the free Central Park show which was like a day or so before these fine concerts. The band was tight and ready to go.

The video doesn’t waste anytime and once you hit play, the band is there ready to go at full speed. They open with the song “Lost Highway” and not just because I don’t like that album, but what an awful song to kick off the show with. They used to kick off with something so powerful and energetic that this falls flat. With that being said, this is probably the only mistake they make the whole night. You get a band that is still in their prime, Jon’s vocals sound amazing and the band is as tight as ever. They go in to “Born to Be My Baby” and then Jon pulls out his acoustic guitar, Richie picks up his slide guitar and they go in to “Blaze of Glory” and things pick up from there.

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Bon Jovi – ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ (2004) – (Disc 4 – Part 5 of 6) – Box Set Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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We are in the year 2004 and Bon Jovi has now been around for 20 Years at this point. To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, they released a really cool box set of mostly unreleased tunes and a lot of little extras titled ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’. The Box Set is a collection of 50 songs spread over 4 CDs, 38 of which had never been released. The others were songs from soundtracks, remixes and/or B-Sides. This was a band dumping everything sitting by the wayside in to one set and I applaud them for that. Us diehard fans love this kind of stuff. And if that wasn’t enough, if you have the Japanese Edition, which i do, you get another CD of B-Sides and Japanese Bonus Tracks. That is another 10 songs. 

This is a lot of music to absorb and we won’t be absorbing it all here. Nope. I’m going to go through each and every CD, track by track over 6 posts. We are now on the fourth disc which had a total of 13 tracks, 10 of which were previously unreleased. So let’s get started and dive into the music as that is why we are really here any way.

We are now to the final disc of music for the original box set. We still have the Japanese Bonus Disc to do and the DVD. This set starts off with two versions of “Love Ain’t Nothing But a Four Letter Word”. A song about domestic violence which is a serious topic for the band. However, the music doesn’t make it feel all that serious. This is an upbeat version with a real R&B, Motown feel to it with the horns and the angelic ladies on the backing vocals. That sound is why they never used it on an album. The other version of this song is Jon’s original demo with I think just him on the song. Some different lyrics and a more rocker feel to it the final studio version.

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Bon Jovi – ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ (2004) – (Part 1 of 6) – Box Set Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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We are in the year 2004 and Bon Jovi has now been around for 20 Years at this point. To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, they released a really cool box set of mostly unreleased tunes and a lot of little extras. The Box Set is a collection of 50 songs spread over 4 CDs, 38 of which had never been released. The others were songs from soundtracks, remixes and/or B-Sides. This was a band dumping everything sitting by the wayside in to one set and I applaud them for that. Us diehard fans love this kind of stuff. And if that wasn’t enough, if you have the Japanese Edition, which i do, you get another CD of B-Sides and Japanese Bonus Tracks. That is another 10 songs. 

The Box Set is titled ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ which is a play on the 1959 compilation of Elvis Presley’s album ‘50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ and you will see they copied the cover pretty well…

This is a lot of music to absorb and we won’t be absorbing it here. Nope. I’m going to go through each and every CD, track by track over 5 more posts. That is why this is Part 1 of 6. Here we are going to talk about what is included in the set. And as I mentioned, I have the Japanese Edition of the box set which comes with a lot of different things. Let’s take a look and see what we get…

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Bon Jovi – ‘This Left Feels right Live’ (2004) – DVD Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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In 2003, Bon Jovi was going to do a little acoustic side project, but that turned in to ‘This Left Feels Right’ which was released on November 4,2003. To commemorate that album, they did two shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 14 and 15, 2003. The DVD, ‘This Left Feels Right Live’ was the result of those two shows. The DVD was released on February 9, 2004. Now, if you read my review of the CD, you will see I wasn’t very fond of that, but this is a little of a different animal. This is live. Live shows, I don’t mind when a band changes a song up as it is fun to see their different interpretations of their own songs. That for me is the perfect time for re-imagined songs. Not a full studio album of them.

The small crowd in attendance was ready for anything Bon Jovi and the women were ready for anything from Jon Bon Jovi as they were screaming a lot. The show was also broadcast on the web as they were filming so some people saw the show before the DVD release. I was not one of them. You knew this was going to be different from the first song as it was “Love for Sale” from ‘New Jersey’ and I loved hearing that one live. What a great way to start things off. Then they go in to the classic, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and I will admit I did not like this one much as Jon kept saying “Bad” over and over in a stupid way that annoyed me.

With “Wanted Dead or Alive”, Jon changed his mic for a radio voice type vocal and the band rocked out a little on it and I actually enjoyed this one enough. With “Livin’ on a Prayer”, they went all acoustic and it was perfectly fine in this new version. Not much different then a regular acoustic version of the song. Richie’s backing vocals are what helps make this song great and he did not disappoint at all here. Speaking of acoustic, they turn “It’s My Life” in to an acoustic masterpiece. They turned the rock anthem on its ear and slowed it down and gave it a whole new feel that really made the song shine in a different light even though it took a dark turn. 

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Bon Jovi – ‘This Left Feels Right’ (2003) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Once the ‘Bounce’ Tour was complete, the band was ready to do a side-project. It was originally supposed to be an acoustic album of all their hits, but someone thought why not re-imagine the hits so the band re-recorded and re-constructed numerous Bon Jovi classics in to what became known as ‘This Left Feels Right’…but does it??? The album was released on November 3, 2003 and charted at #14 in the U.S. but did much better in Europe like most of their albums did. They sold over 500,000 copies in Europe, but I have no sales figures in the U.S. I know a lot of people that did not buy this album and we will soon see why.

The band had written two new songs for this project, but Jon and Company decided to drop them as one of the songs he felt didn’t send the right message to up and coming artists. The song in question was “Last Man Standing” which had Jon singing about his anger towards the music industry. The song did see the light of day as it was re-worked for the ‘Have a Nice Day’ album. The original wound up on the box set ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ along with the other new song “Thief of Hearts”. Okay, let’s get right to this painful journey…I guess that gives away a little of how I feel about this one. Oh well…

The album opens with the classic “Wanted Dead or Alive”. It still has an acoustic feel to it, but there is a loud electronica sound bass and a horrible ass electronic drum beat that grates on my last nerve. The backing vocals are more gang style and not just Richie’s backing vocals and it is awful. Richie’s backing vocals made this song and they destroyed it by removing him. If this would’ve been the original version, the band would’ve faded away into oblivion never to be heard from again. It is simply awful.

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Bon Jovi – ‘The Love Songs E.P.’ (2001) – Promo CD (The Bon Jovi Collection)

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Bon Jovi and the label were really pushing their single “Thank You For Loving Me” off their 2000 album ‘Crush’. The single was released on November 6, 2000 and only went to #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. So, to help promote the song even more, they created an E.P. with that song and other love songs. This is a rare bonus CD, that was available only on Valentine’s Day of 2001 with the purchase of the studio album Crush. It contained five Bon Jovi love ballads; “Thank You for Loving Me”, “Bed of Roses”, “Always”, “I’ll Be There for You” and “Never Say Goodbye”. I also read that it was sent to radio stations as well as promo to be played as it contains the radio edit of “Thank You For Loving Me”.

The CD comes in a cardboard gatefold sleeve with a bunch of hearts on the front. The gatefold opens with the chorus of the song on the right and a heart shapped cut-out that is holding the CD on the left. It is pure Valentine’s Day cheese. I’ll tell you, it isn’t that hard to come by and not real expensive so if you need to complete your collection with this, it won’t be to difficult. Hit up eBay or Discogs and you should find it easy enough. As I mentioned, the first song is a radio edit and so is “Always”. The rest are the original versions from the albums. Let’s go through them all.

The song title, “Thnk You For Loving Me” seems to be inspired by Brad Pitt’s character in the film ‘Meet Joe Black’ where he tells Claire Forlani’s character “thank you for loving me”…or it could be a giant coincidence. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora and was inspired by Jon’s own personal experiences and observations on how love can change you and it was a giant thank you to those special people in his life. It is chock full of ballad cliches with a full on string section, soft & gentle piano and some nice sweet guitar licks from Sambora giving us the power in power ballad. And yes, it is a little over-the-top at times and cheesy, but Jon still delivers it as only he can with all the emotion needed to draw in the listener and pull at their heartstrings. Not their best ballad they’ve ever done, but honestly, its pretty damn good nonetheless.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Live From London’ (1995) – DVD Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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The band’s first live concert video, ‘Live From London’ was released in 1995 on both VHS and Laserdisc. The tour was in support of their new album at the time, ‘These Days’ and the show was from their stint at Wembley Stadium on June 25, 1995. They played several shows I believe and all to a massive crowd of 72,000 screaming fans. This isn’t the full set either as I believe some tracks were cut for time and to get the runtime down to around 90 minutes, but it is a great setlist.

The version I have is the International DVD release which was in 2003. There was a DVD release in 1998 in the US and Canada, but mine is the 2003 release. There is absolutely no difference between the VHS and the DVDs, no remastering or anything. It is the same cut. The film is directed by David Mallett and produced by Andy Picheta. These two have to reign in Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres along with touring member and studio member, but not band memer yet, Hugh McDonald.

The show kicks off with a couple of old classics with “Livin’ on a Prayer” starting the show. Richie comes out and immediately puts his mouth around the talk box and you know the song that is coming. The band kills it and like almost every song on here they don’t do a straight album version of the song, they change things up a little with either more musical breaks or longer, drawn out jams at the end of the song which makes things more interesting as you don’t know what they are going to do for each song. Then we get “You Give Love a Bad Name” and the crowd screams along with the band. Jon sound’s really great as he was still in his prime. Richie’s solo is quick and stellar and then the crowd gets involved with the chorus. Always a fun song live.

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