Tag: Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night

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 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 – ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ (2004) – (Disc 1 – Part 2 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 on the first disc now which had a total of 12 tracks, 11 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.

The opening track to the whole set is “Why Aren’t You Dead?” which was written and demoed for the ‘Keep the Faith’ album. The song didn’t make the cut because the band felt the song was more of where the bad had already been and not where the band’s sound was going. If you know that album, you understand why this didn’t make the cut. It is a great play on the line “If you can’t live without me, then why aren’t you dead” which is a cool line and probably a great country song. A band that was moving forward, easy to see why they left it off as it sounds too much like older Bon Jovi.

Next up is the only promo single released from the set for the song “The Radio Saved My Life Tonight”. The song was written on a piano and no sign of that piano on this version. Jon was very burnt out from the New Jersey record and tour and was becoming a little jaded. This song reflect a lot of those feelings. This is a really cool song and one of the better ones on the album. It sounds like old school Bon Jovi and it shows how great his writing was becoming. However, it would not have fit on ‘Keep the Faith’ either. Glad to see this one getting to finally see the light of day.

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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 – ‘One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001’ (2001) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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2000 was a big year for the band with a hit new album, a live DVD and to follow it up, the band gave us their first ever live album. But don’t get your hopes up as it isn’t one show from the tour. No, I guess the Crush DVD was enough for that. Instead it is really a greatest hits compilation with live songs taken from shows from 1985-2001. So, not a true live album in my book. But I’m being petty. We do get 14 live tracks and one remixed studio track of “One Wild Night 2001”.

The songs are taken from 8 different shows and some are actually repeats as the London shows were on the Live From London DVD and The Crush Tour DVD so we’ve heard a few of the songs before. And the band has one small change during the songs. We get Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres on all the songs. But we also get Alec John Such on bass for only 2 of the songs from Tokyo back in 1985 and then Hugh McDonald on bass for the rest. And we get one special guest with Bob Geldof on one song.

The album came out on May 22, 2001 and went to #20 in the U.S., but was never certified Gold. However, the album did better around the world as Bon Jovi continues to actually be more successful in Europe then their home country where the album sold over 1,000,000 copies in Europe making it Platinum status. It went to #2 in the UK as well as several other countries including Spain, Austria and the Netherlands and to #1 in Switzerland and Belgian. Europe continued to love on Bon Jovi.

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Bon Jovi – ‘The Crush Tour’ (2000) – DVD Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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The album ‘Crush’ saw Bon Jovi back on the scene and having major success. The album sold over 5 million copies worldwide and go to #9 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The band had a huge successful tour and to capitalize on the renewed love for Bon Jovi, they recorded one of the shows and released it on DVD and sold over 100,000 copies in the U.S. The show was recorded on August 30, 2000 in Zurich, Switzerland at the Letzigrund Stadium. The show was directed by a Jon relative by the name of Anthony Bongiovi. When all was done, it was released in Japan on December 7, 2000 while Wiki says it was released on May 28th, 2001, but since the date on the back cover says 2000, I’m going with the December date.

The boys are the same as it is Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and of course, Hugh McDonald on bass and not yet a full time official member. The DVD has the full show, plus some bonus features as well along with some music videos so it is jammed pack with goodness. My copy is a standard edition from the U.S., no extras above and beyond what is expected. I picked this up used and it was in great shape and probably cost about $5 so I was pretty happy. Enough chit chat, let’s get to the show.

The show kicks off with “Living on A Prayer”…how solid is your catalog when this classic opens the show? When Richie gets on the talk box and the drums kick in, the crowd goes nuts and starts bouncing up and down for the entire song. They don’t let up. Jon commands the crowd like a good frontman should. They go right in to “You Give Love A Bad Name” and they keep the party going at full force. The crowd doesn’t let a little rain dampen their spirit or their energy.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Live From Osaka E.P.’ (2000) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Bon Jovi’s 7th Studio album was ‘Crush’ and it was released on June 13, 2000. The Japanese Edition, which I have in my collection, wasn’t released until September 27, 2000. It contained 2 Bonus Tracks, which we discussed when we went through the album on the last post, as well as an entirely new disc which is an E.P. of a live show from Osaka, Japan. The E.P. is called ‘Live from Osaka’ and that is what we are discussing today.

Before we get to that, let’s talk a little about the Japanese Edition. My copy has the OBIT strip as you can see below. That is the prize you want when you get a Japanese Edition CD. Also included, but not pictured, is a booklet that gives the lyrics to the songs in both English and Japanese as well as some commentary that is all in Japanese so I have no idea what it says. All together, it is the copy to get if you want this album…which you do! Bet you didn’t know that.

The Crush Tour started in Japan during July 2000 and this recording is taken from the July 20th show at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan. There are only 6 tracks taken from the show, but it is a great snapshot of the show. We would get a full DVD from one of the stops on that tour which we will review later. It wasn’t the Osaka show, but that’s okay.

The CD opens with the classic Bon Jovi song “Runaway”, but it is done in a way that has never been before. It opens with David on piano and Jon talking a little about the song how he wrote the song 18 years earlier. The song is slowed down, done only with Jon and the piano and it changes the whole dynamic of the song. It is as if This Left Feels Right actually worked because this new interpretation really works. The song feels so dramatic and important. It is the best versioin of this song I’ve ever heard live. Yes, it is that good.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Cross Road’ (1994) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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After the release of their last album ‘Keep the Faith’ in 1992, the band set out on an extensive worldwide tour. They hit 37 countries while performing over 177 shows and those shows saw reached over 2.5 million people. The boys were busy and as a result of this tour, very tired. They also needed more time to work on their next album. To hold fans over, a greatest hits compilation was released by the band and the label. The album came out on October 11, 1994 and contained songs from every album including 1 from Jon’s solo album and 2 unreleased tracks. The U.S. version got a special track of Livin’ on a Prayer which had been redone and called “Prayer ’94”, however, my vinyl set of the album does not have that song.

The album was titled ‘Cross Road’ which is possible that was where the band saw themselves at. The music landscape was changing rapidly, their 80’s rock glam style was no longer popular, yet this band kept on chugging. ‘Cross Road’ sold went to #8 in the U.S. and #1 in so many country. Worldwide they sold over 21,000,000 copies as Bon Jovi was even bigger around the world than at home. The cover art was taken at a diner called the Roadside Diner and it was near the crossroads of Rout 33 and Route 34 so it was a very appropriate cover.

The one strange thing about the album was inside they had a picture of all the band’s albums including Jon’s solo album and even Richie’s solo album, but no song from Richie’s album made the set yet Jon’s did. Another prime example this was Jon’s band and even the back cover only had Jon on it. A picture says a 1,000 words I believe is the saying.

The compilation kicks off with one of their most popular songs, “Livin’ On A Prayer” off the album ‘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. The funny thing about this one is that Jon didn’t like it, but Richie was able to convince Jon that this was a hit and it should be on the album. Thankfully for the band, it was as it went to #1 as well. Hugh McDonald who is currently the bass player for Bon Jovi in 2023, was the bass player on this song back in 1986.

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