Bon Jovi/ Forever

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Bon Jovi/ Forever

Genre: Rock

Label: Island/ UMG

Rating: ****

There was a time in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Bon Jovi was THE rock band and frontman Jon Bon Jovi a pin-up favourite. Somewhere down the line, and despite a few individual hits, the consistency came down. The departure of long-time guitar genius Richie Sambora in 2013 was a setback.

Now, after a lean phase, and with Jon undergoing a vocal cord surgery in 2022, the New Jersey lads are back. A few weeks after the release of the Disney/ Hulu documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, we have the latest album Forever.

Their 16th studio effort, Forever is almost like a return to old form, and arguably the most consistent record after the 1990s releases Keep The Faith and under-rated These Days. We say 'almost' because Jon's voice has obviously changed, both with age and following the surgery. It's rougher and a shade more nasally twangy, and he avoids high-range stress.

But the plus point is the quality of songwriting - crisp, compact and catchy. Jon produces the pieces with band member John Shanks. He also uses guest lyricists on some tracks, and there is a surprise visitor with Ed Sheeran co-writing 'Living In Paradise'. There's a good mix of rock rabble-rousers and charming ballads, though one wishes a slower number was placed earlier in the sequence, instead of at No 6. While keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres continue with their virtuosity, Phil X does lead guitar duties, with Shanks on rhythm guitar and Hugh McDonald on bass.

The opener 'Legendary' is vintage Bon Jovi, beginning with guitars and chorus lines. Jon's line, "Raise my hands up to the sky, don't need more to tell me I'm alive" have that singalong vibe, and the pause before the word 'Legendary' is a stroke of genius.

To be sure, the first five songs fall in a similar sound zone, so one may find a bit of repetition. 'We Made It Look Easy' and 'Waves' seem more like pale, formula-driven revisits of the past, but 'Living Proof' has some neat guitars and a great hook. A personal favourite is 'Seeds', with lines like, "We are seeds, tryin' to find a place in the weeds, burstin' for cracks in the street, we keep reachin' for light, reachin' for light". 

There's a sudden mood change with the fabulous 'Kiss The Bride'. Here, a father sees his daughter off on her wedding day - "A father's prayer only angels hear, may your days be many, your way be clear, may the road be kind, your eyes stay bright, may your life look as beautiful as you look tonight." A beautiful tune envelopes these words.

The uptempo 'The People's House' and 'Walls Of Jericho' are followed by the slow, country-laced 'I Wrote You A Song', which talks writing an ode to a loved one. 'My First Guitar' is a nostalgia ride - "I'm in love with my first guitar" and "playing old KISS records in my folks' backyard". Some brilliant guitarwork adorns this.

Finally, there's the acoustic guitar-driven 'Hollow Man', sung with heartfelt emotion and effortlessness. Words like, "How does it work when the words don't come? it's like pulling a trigger of an empty gun" and "What do you see that your eyes don't see, and what do you dream now that you've sold your dreams, and what do you sing when your song's been sung?" touch a chord.

Coming four years after the wishy-washy record 2020, Forever is a definite return to earlier charm. No point comparing it with the old classics Slippery When Wet, New Jersey or Keep The Faith, but on its own, it stands out for some remarkable songwriting. Of course, die-hard fans and music industry execs should also watch the new documentary, to see what all went into the highs and lows of the band. The four episodes may be long at over an hour each, but there are many lessons out there.