Bon Jovi – ‘Lost Highway: The Concert’ (2007) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

Bon Jovi’s ‘Lost Highway: The Concert’ was actually a Live DVD released on November 13, 2007 where the band played the album in its entirety. This was the firs time the band had played any of their albums this way live. It was shot in Chicago, Illinois in front of an audience of around 2,000 people. And if you look at the picture below, it looks like the stage was set-up to look like a gas station as I see a couple of gas pumps. A much smaller stage and a more intimate setting. The band played an additional three songs at the end. However, I don’t actually have the DVD, but I do have a CD of the concert that was released as a Deluxe Edition of the album. In the UK and Germany, it was called the “Tour Edition”.

The big the DVD and the CD was that the DVD had the song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” as the finale, but here, we end at “Wanted Dead or Alive”. I guess I will have to live with that difference…until I get the DVD. But there were no changes in the band. The regular band was all there including Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Hugh McDonald. But there were a few additional musicians on stage with them including Bobby Bandiera on rhythm guitar, Lorenza Ponce on violin (and vocals) and Kurt Johnston on pedal guitar and mandolin. I guess the band needs help making the songs sound country. I guess that is probably because they are a rock band not a country band. Sorry, off topic there for a second.

Since they are playing the album in full, you already know the setlist and first up is the title track “Lost Highway”. The band sounds great and Jon’s vocals are spectacular. The smaller setting let’s him sing for the song rather than for a large crowd where he might have to sing with more gusto. Richie’s solo feels more exciting and lively here. The crowd sounds like they are in to it and that makes the energy and vibe feel really great. “Summertime” is still as cheesy I remember but in a live setting with a fun crowd, I can see how this would be an exciting song live and they make it just that.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Lost Highway’ (2007) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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.

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