Overall this is second-rate
Bon Jovi and I cannot find any really strong songs except for
Edge of a Broken Heart, which previously has been available on the "Disorderlies" soundtrack plus on the
Always single.
In general most of the tracks are ballads, which make this compressive boxset a bit sleepy. The last couple of
Bon Jovi records have not detained the same standard as the older material. Therefore I hoped that the main emphasis of this boxset would be from the "Slippery When Wet" "New Jersey" era and pre that era.
I have a bootleg CD with demos and outtakes from both "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey", which is outstanding. However, I only find a few of those songs on this box which is a damn shame for all vintage
Bon Jovi fans.
The most exciting track on Disc one is
Taking It Back, which sounds like a song written in the transition period from "New Jersey" to "Keep the Faith". Sambora contributes with his vocals on the great chorus to
Miss Fourth Of July, which along with
Open All Night are the only songs close to album standard.
According to Jon
Bon Jovi Last Man Standing is going to be on the new
Bon Jovi album. It's a emotional and pompous ballad with piano and strings. It's a decent track, but I am more into the rocking stuff.
Disc 2 opens with
Garageland, which both Jon
Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora mention as a favorite. It's a modern
Bon Jovi song in the "Crush" vein.
Almost all songs on Disc 2 are ballads and therefore I got really excited hearing the vintage sound of Sambora's guitar on
Outlaws Of Love. It may not be the best track, but I love Sambora's playing on this one. The only non-ballad track is
Starting All Over Again, which also was featured on the aforementioned bootleg CD.
Starting All Over Again is a "Keep the Faith" outtake.
Only In My Dreams features Tico Torres' rusty vocals and overall disc 3 is the weakest in the boxset. The best songs are the swaggering rocker
Sympathy plus the excellent
Edge of a Broken Heart. Otherwise we get some funky Stevie Wonder organ on
Shut Up And Kiss Me and unfortunately most of the tracks lack Sambora's electric guitar.
River Run Dry is a strong ballad (finally!). Jon
Bon Jovi's vocals are beautiful accompanied by acoustic guitar and
River Runs Dry really grows on you. The song could have made a nice addition to either "Crush" or "Bounce". Furthermore there is a funny experiment on the song
Love Ain't Nothing But A Four Letter Word, which is featured both in its final form and in demo version. It illustrates
Bon Jovi's problems in the later years. The final version is polished, while the demo still has rocky edge, which I love about
Bon Jovi. The demo version of
Love Ain't Nothing But A Four Letter Word highlights a very cool bass line that sounds like a mixture of
Livin' on a Prayer and
You Give Love a Bad Name
Out Of Bounds is very primitive with drum machine, but as a fan it's great to hear where
Bon Jovi came from - a vintage track.
Billy is also eatable, because Sambora's guitar drives the track.
Letter To A Friend is insignificant and
All I Wanna Do Is You plus
Nobodys Hero are both dull. After the last song the CD continues and the demo for
Livin' on a Prayer blasts out and you wish for more material in that vein because it would have made this extensive boxset more appetizing and digestive.
On a very positive note I respect
Bon Jovi for sharing all this unreleased music with their fans. It is value for money with 38 unreleased tracks spiced with demos and soundtracks. The overall sound quality is really good.
Bon Jovi usually write 30-40 songs for an album, which mean a lot of leftovers. However, I think that the selection could have focused more on the earlier
Bon Jovi years. I miss the young tongue in cheek songs from the time when the band was ready to take on the world.
The sequencing of the boxset is actually pretty cool, since
Bon Jovi has attempted to sequence them as separate records and not in chronological order.
The book has insights on some of the songs only, which is disturbing and insights on all songs would have been preferable. The photos are all cool and the since the box is celebrating both
Bon Jovi's 20th anniversary and 100.000.000 records sold there are a lot of statements from fans in the booklet. I think that a more structured booklet with history and insights on all songs would have improved the joy of these CDs. The book should act as a
Bon Jovi encyclopedia and provide you with a quick overview of all the songs included on the boxset. 4 CD's is quite overwhelming because almost everything is unreleased stuff.
The DVD is pretty amateurish. The footage from the studio with the band commenting on the songs is all right, but the sound is weak though and the standard isn't what you expect of a major label DVD. Remember to watch the DVD after you listened to the songs otherwise it's hard to keep track of all the songs referred to.
This is so huge and overwhelming that it has taken me several months to be able to grasp everything "100.000.000
Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong" has to offer. There certainly is value for money even though I am quite disappointed in the song selections.
Written by
Michael Saturday, April 16, 2005
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