Bon Jovi What About Now : Album Review

Outside of family and friends, there are few things I love more than the music of Bon Jovi.  I have folllowed their career for twenty five years now.  The songs were there to act as a friend through my parents divorce, or to see me through the fear of learning to drive.  I reviewed their latest album when it was released in March and I wanted to share it here.  I'm really proud of the review and I hope you enjoy it.

Here’s my main issue with Bon Jovi’s twelfth studio album, What About Now.  There are several moments where I am left scratching my head over either the musical composition of the songs or the lyrical content.  There are very few instances where they both come together to form a cohesive whole. 

That’s not to say that I dislike the album.  The first track and single, Because We Can, is exactly what one expects from Bon Jovi these days.  It’s catchy, sounds good when played loud and has a defiant “us against the world” attitude.  As a single, the band has done much worse.  You hear the chorus once and you swear you know it already.  It worms it’s way into your head and stays there, for better or worse.  However, that’s what a good pop song is supposed to do.  While it doesn’t break any new ground, Because We Can offers a solid glimpse into the rest of the album.  

Make no mistake, What About Now is a pop album through and through.  There are few, if any, moments that stand out as rock, as it’s defined today.  That’s to say, those expecting a callback to the days of Slippery When Wet with actual guitar solos and pounding drums will be disappointed. Then again, Bon Jovi have always had a strong pop element to their music.  The “rock” songs have been few and far between, especially since It’s My Life signaled the band’s comeback in 2000.  If you’re on board with the band’s direction since Crush, chances are you’ll enjoy this one as well.

There are songs here that remind me of why I feel in love with the band in the first place,  Their ear for melody has always been unmatched in my opinion, especially among their musical peers.  Pictures Of You and That’s What The Water Made Me are two of my early favorites for totally different reasons.  Pictures Of You has a nice modern vibe to it and if the band were smart, it would be the second single.  The painting/art metaphors feel a little forced and the line “I brought you tea from China/sitting in your sacred tower” is unfortunate but the song moves along at a good pace and feels fresh.  That’s What The Water Made Me is the quintessential case of the best song on the album that nobody will hear.  This is what I feel Bon Jovi of today should sound like.  Not waxing poetic about the problems of the world, or adding country elements into their music, just full on, straight ahead rock and roll.  The pieces all come together on this one, with Tico getting his moment in the sun on the drums.  This is the song on the album that I feel longtime fans will appreciate the most.

I feel Bon Jovi as a band, are in a really odd place.  On one hand, Jon has an almost overwhelming desire to remain relevant, which I’m afraid means something different to him than it does to the rest of the world.  That desire is what fueled the trip to Nashville for the Lost Highway album in 2007 and the politically charged songs on the 2009 set, The Circle.  The band has become, more or less, an avenue for Jon to voice whatever he feels strongly about from year to year.  In more recent times, that passion has been found mostly in his philanthropic efforts.  I have always admired and respected Jon for his charity work.  He seems to have a very strong understanding of life outside of the rock star bubble and has used his celebrity as a way to help others. However, I feel that passion has bled through to the albums and oftentimes have colored the songs in a painfully obvious way.  Never has that been more evident than on the title track.  

What About Now abounds with every possible cliche  about getting up off your knees and powering through adversity.  While it is true that Bon Jovi have made a career out of writing songs with a similar message, this is just too much.  “If you want to start a fire, it only takes a spark/you gotta get behind the wheel if you’re ever gonna drive that car.”  Repeat similar relationships throughout.  Wanna start a fight? Gotta take a swing.  Wanna raise your voice?  Don’t be scared to breathe.  Thanks for the life advice, Jon.  The chorus is the same empty rhetoric about believers and the faithful and asking who will stand for them in hard times  Perhaps I’m being a little harsh, because it’s obviously not just empty rhetoric to Jon, he clearly believes in the message with all he has.  I will say, that I would have loved this song at eighteen. I’m not sure if that says more about he or I at this point.  

Army Of One is a song that I was referring to earlier when I mentioned how there are many times where the music and lyrics don’t come together as one on the album.  The music and verse structure is actually pretty good here to only be brought down by a repetitive chorus that sounds as though it was written in five seconds.  That said, I still like the song in spite of myself.  It’s as loud as the band gets here and I feel like with a little more time, it could have been a strong effort.

What’s Left Of Me and I’m With You are both very good tunes that do a good job of highlighting what the band does better than most.  The ability to identify with the everyman is what brings What’s Left Of Me to the forefront.  Similar in tone to Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night, it paints a picture of trying to find a place in the world after losing nearly everything you have.  While What About Now was cloying and came off as forced, this one has a very real feel to it and retains one of the best qualities of the band, hope in the face of despair.  Their strongest stuff has always painted a picture of a situation where there seems to be no way out, but here they are with a ray of hope.  That’s Jon and Richie’s true gift as songwriters and one of the main reasons I have stayed a fan, even through the weaker albums.  The chorus of What’s Left Of Me is one of the best on the album and asks a very simple question, after all I’ve lost, does anyone want what’s left of me?  This man feels he has so much left to give, but is anyone interested?  Great song with a great message with lyrics written from the heart. “I ain’t checking out/I’ve still got my dreams.”

I’m With You is a slow-burner of a tune that feels like it could explode at any moment.  “When hope is gone and all you want is the truth I’m with you/You carry on when they say it’s no use I’m with you.”  Richie lets loose with what is probably the best solo on the album and Jon sings with an urgency that only shows up intermittently these days.  Once again, a great job of pointing out the hardships of life without wallowing in them and also not talking down to the listener as is the case on the title track.  

The album’s greatest triumph, however, is saved for the final track.  The Fighter is an incredible, seminal moment in Bon Jovi’s catalog.  This is where Jon shows what he’s capable of as a songwriter and the band shows that their strongest weapon is the harmonies between he and Richie.  There have been several moments on the most recent albums that Jon has slipped into singer/songwriter mode with mixed results.  Here, he knocks it out of the park.  I feel like this one is what all those other songs were building up to.  

As a whole, What About Now fits in nicely with the other albums in Bon Jovi’s oeuvre.  Is it an album that will convert non-fans?  No.  Is it a collection that will please every diehard?  No.  Is it strong enough to stand on it’s own and does it have quite a few songs I’d count among my favorites?  You bet and these days, I feel like that’s all I can really ask.

“I should write down these words before I lose them, or write you a song just to use them.”