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BON JOVI – Crush
Bon Jovi – Crush (2000, Island Records/Def Jam Music)
Track Listing:
1. “It’s My Life” … 3:44
2. “Say It Isn’t So” … 3:33
3. “Thank You for Loving Me” … 5:07
4. “Two Story Town” … 5:10
5. “Next 100 Years” … 6:19
6. “Just Older” … 4:28
7. “Mystery Train” … 5:16
8. “Save the World” … 5:31
9. “Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars” … 4:31
10. “She’s a Mystery” … 5:18
11. “I Got the Girl” … 4:35
12. “One Wild Night” … 4:18
Band:
Jon Bon Jovi – Lead Vocals
Richie Sambora – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Tico Torres – Drums, Percussion
David Bryan – Keyboard, Piano, Backing Vocals
Additional Musicians:
Hugh McDonald – Bass, Backing Vocals
Produced by: Luke Ebbin, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora
5 years after the dark, somber, melancholy These Days, Bon Jovi decided it was time to make music again and went in the complete opposite direction with the very bombastic, poppy, syrupy Crush.
Not that I’m complaining. I love both albums, but while These Days took some getting used to, I instantly embraced Crush because it’s not too far removed from the usual bombastic, poppy, syrupy sounds of Bon Jovi. The only difference is the band brought in “boy band” songwriter Max Martin (“It’s My Life”) but also balanced it out with a bit more of a mature sound (“She’s A Mystery”, “Just Older”, “Save the World”).
It’s not a hard rocking album for the most part (Bounce actually rocks harder than this), it’s very much a pop album, but I still love it. “It’s My Life” though somewhat boy bandish is an incredibly catchy song and I loved that in 2000 I was hearing brand new Bon Jovi on the radio. All three singles (the other two being “Say It Isn’t So” and “Thank You For Loving Me”) are my favorite songs from the album, but the slower moments like “Mystery Train” and “She’s A Mystery” are really enjoyable too.
Probably my only complaint with be the lack of originality. I remember an old review stating that “Say It Isn’t So” and “Two Story Town” ripped off Lit and Joan Osbourne, respectively, and it’s absolutely true. “Two Story Town” seems to be such a near carbon copy of “What If God Was One of Us” that I’m surprised Joan didn’t sue. Also, their use of two “Mystery” songs has always bothered me (even though I love both songs), just like GNR’s “The Garden” and “The Garden of Eden” on Use Your Illusion I, it’s always annoyed me.
The album has a great closer with “One Wild Night” which is the one song that reminds me most of the Bon Jovi of the 80s. This song could’ve easily been on New Jersey right alongside “99 in the Shade” and “Love For Sale”.
Highlights: “It’s My Life”, “Say It Isn’t So”, “Thank You For Loving Me”, “Just Older”, “Mystery Train”, “Save the World”, “She’s a Mystery”, “One Wild Night”
www.bonjovi.com
www.myspace.com/bonjovi
ALICE COOPER – Trash
Alice Cooper – Trash (1989, Epic Records)
Track Listing:
1. “Poison” … 4:30
2. “Spark in the Dark” .. 3:52
3. “House of Fire” … 3:47
4. “Why Trust You” … 3:12
5. “Only My Heart Talkin’” … 4:46
6. “Bed of Nails” … 4:20
7. “This Maniac’s in Love With You” … 3:48
8. “Trash” … 4:02
9. “Hell Is Living Without You” … 4:11
10. “I’m Your Gun” … 3:49
Band:
Alice Cooper – Vocals
And then an absolute bevy of session musicians and special guests including (but not limited to):
Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and former Cooper bandmates Kip Winger and Kane Roberts.
Produced by: Desmond Child
A lot of metal fans don’t care for producer Desmond Child. Any album he produces and writes on has a slick pop-metal style, but I personally have no problem with that. In fact, pop-metal is one my favorite genres of rock. Desmond has done some great work with bands like KISS, Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet, anyone?), Vince Neil, Scorpions, Ratt and Aerosmith. So a Desmond Child-Alice Cooper effort makes for another great Desmond-helmed album in my opinion and “Poison” is my favorite Alice Cooper song. I’m almost in a trance whenever I hear it.
I don’t find a pop-metal album by Alice to feel out of place in his catalog at all. Most of the 80s hard rockers owed a little bit to Alice anyway as I’ve always considered the Coop and KISS to be the Godfathers of Shock Rock while those two groups plus Van Halen are the Godfathers of Hair Metal, IMO.
This easily is my favorite Alice album and I remember playing this album most of my junior year in high school, skipping lunch and sitting in my next class’ room waiting for it to begin. I’m sure most people would argue his early-mid 70s is his best, and while I enjoy certain tracks from those albums, they’re hard for me to digest as whole. There’s just some weird stuff there and garage rock isn’t really my style.
“Trash” is a fun tune sung with Jon Bon Jovi and sees Alice Cooper & Jon going totally hair metal on us with the innuendos (“If my love was like a lollipop, would you lick it?”). Steven Tyler shares vocal duties on the ballad “Only My Heart Talkin’”. It’s just a fun record, loaded with guest stars, and his next album, Hey Stoopid, makes for a great companion piece because it continued the sound heard here.
Highlights: “Poison”, “Spark in the Dark”, “Why Trust You”, “Only My Heart Talkin’”, “Bed of Nails”, “Trash”, “Hell Is Living Without You”, “I’m Your Gun”
www.alicecooper.com
www.myspace.com/officialalicecooper
