Bon Jovi - Crush

1. It's My Life
2. Say It Isn't So
3. Thank You For Loving Me
4. Two Story Town
5. Next 100 Years
6. Just Older
7. Mystery Train
8. Save The World
9. Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars
10. She's A Mystery
11. I Got The Girl
12. One Wild Night
13. I Could Make A Living Out Of Loving You

Album Cover:

Total Playing Time: 62:36 m:s

Review date: 10/08/2001

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Bon Jovi took a break after "These Days". This album was released amidst a sea hype last year that proclaimed it to be a return to the heady days and style of "Slippery When Wet". Much of this was based on the fact that the first single was a sequel to "Livin' On A Prayer".

Like Journey, I wouldn't claim to be a huge BJ fan, but I do have "Slippery When Wet", "Keep The Faith" & the aforementioned "These Days".

The aforementioned "It's My Life" is indeed a decent tune which conjures up a few memories, but doesn't quite have the magic of "Livin' On A Prayer". "Say It Isn't So" is an up-tempo rocker with a Beatle-esque qualities to the chorus. After listening to "Thank You For Loving Me" you might be thinking that the mature attitude from "These Days" hasn't been retired completely. I find this type of BJ tune very predictable and subsequently tedious after a few listens.

"Two Story Town" is much better. It swaggers onto your speakers and demands your full attention. Forget about that opening track which attracted all the hype, this is BJ on top form. The urban cowboy is on the loose again with the predictable "Next 100 Years". If BJ did attract stick for the last album's mature attitude, then this song, "Just Older", is maybe a better reflection of where the band are at these days :( Not old, just older. Yeah, we can all identify with that one.

"Mystery Train" is best described as gentle rather than slow. When writing the review I really couldn't remember what "Save The World" sounded like, which says it all really. You're going to remember "Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars" for the name, if nothing else. It is a rousing mid-tempo good-time tune that gets your foot a-tappin'. The band try their hand at another gentle rather than slow ballad on "She's A Mystery" & it actually work well and keeps the listener engaged throughout.

Next up is a slice of uptempo jangly pop called "I Got The Girl". "One Wild Night" has at least got a bit of energy about it and could easily have been from their earlier lives a young rockers rather than middle aged musicians amusing themselves. "I Could Make A Living Out Of Loving You" is a bluesy/soul influenced slice of rocking.

Whereas the Journey album has returned to my CD player piles of times since I bought it, then same can't be said of this album. Sure I listened to it quite a bit after I got it, but it ain't been there much since. And that really sums it up. An OK album. The guys are just too comfortable to create another "Slippery When Wet". The band seem to be getting more Springsteen like with every album. It has it's moments, but unlike Journey who had the impetus of a new member to get them off their fat asses and rediscovering their music, BJ have tried to do it on their own and the truth these guys aren't 'hungry' enough anymore. This is their youth looked at with half hearted eyes.