Metal Excess

Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002, Island Records)

Track Listing:
1. “Undivided” (3:53)
2. “Everyday” (3:00)
3. “The Distance” (4:48)
4. “Joey” (4:54)
5. “Misunderstood” (3:30)
6. “All About Lovin’ You” (3:46)
7. “Hook Me Up” (3:54)
8. “Right Side of Wrong” (5:50)
9. “Love Me Back to Life” (4:09)
10. “You Had Me From Hello” (3:49)
11. “Bounce” (3:11)
12. “Open All Night” (4:22)

Band:
Jon Bon Jovi – Vocals
Richie Sambora – Guitar
Hugh McDonald – Bass
Tico Torres – Drums
David Bryan – Keyboards

Produced by:
Luke Ebbin, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Andreas Carlsson, Desmond Child

Remember when I said in this entry that Bon Jovi had started to not rock? Well, that’s true, but something must’ve gotten in those Jersey boys and made them want to scratch that rock ‘n’ roll itch again in 2002. After the incredible mainstream success of the very poppy and syrupy sweet Crush from 2000, perhaps this was meant to quench the thirst of the fans who complained about Crush and just wanted Bon Jovi to rock out?

It would be, in my opinion, their last true rock & roll album as after this the band moved into the incredibly bland & safe territory of soccer mom rock & country/pop, no doubt trying to appeal to their now grown-up thirty-something female fan base that put them on the cover of so many teen magazines during the 80s, but I digress.

This album was met with a lot of indifference when it first came out, at least critically. Fans of old school Bon Jovi *still* cried foul over this one not rocking enough, and the pop audience they gained with Crush didn’t show up to support this album probably because it was too much of a rock album. Despite the lose/lose situation, Bounce debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, and although it quickly fell through the charts, it eventually went Gold in America (selling 3.5 million worldwide). But when Crush from 2 years previous went 2x platinum in the U.S. (and 10 million worldwide), this album had to be considered a disappointment.

Honestly though, as an old school Bon Jovi fan, I still dig this album a lot. Much like everyone else, I didn’t care for it originally, but months later, I knew I hadn’t really given it a close listen, so I gave it another shot and I’m glad I did. It’s very underrated, although the album’s calculated “rocker, ballad, rocker, ballad…” track listing becomes quite tiresome. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t compare Slippery When Wet or New Jersey or even Crush, but it’s still a very enjoyable effort with a few killer songs like “Bounce”, “Everyday” and “Misunderstood”.

One thing that hurts this album is the lack of a decent ballad. What Bon Jovi offered here, I just could not get into, which is surprising because they’ve written some of the greatest ballads ever (even their super lame 2007 release Lost Highway featured the amazing “(You Want to) Make A Memory”, but nothing of the sort is to be found here.

Highlights: “Undivided”, “Everyday”, “The Distance”, “Misunderstood”, “Hook Me Up”, “Love Me Back to Life”, “Bounce”

Lowlights: “Joey” (reminds me of a very slowed down version of “Wild in the Streets” from Slippery When Wet), “Open All Night” (not feeling this ballad at all, one of BJ’s worst)