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Highlights: In These Arms, Bed of Roses, I Want You. Lowlights: If I Was Your Mother (kinda creepy). A lot of good songs.
I'm a huge Bon Jovi fan and love everything they do, and this album is no exception. It contains "In These Arms" and "Bed of Roses" -- two great ballads written in a way that only Bon Jovi can write them. "I Believe" is a fabulous driving-in-your-car song and the lengthy "Dry County" is beautiful and moving, with a long guitar solo. Every track on the cd is a good one.
The piano theme that sets the tone of the piece is cleverly repeated during the pre-chorus and simultaneously as the lyrics are delivered -- it's a sign of Jon Bon Jovi's mastery of hook and songwriting. Besides carrying the band's arena rock anthems, it was also meant to be a nod to the working-class ethics of Bruce Springsteen, focusing heavily on thoughtout lyrics and messages -- and it became a success.The Springsteen influence is remarkable on the album opener "I Believe": it merges the signature Bon Jovi sound treated to a more updated version and the gospel revivalist feel of Springsteen songs. The former sees considerable input by David Bryan; he injects neat keyboard work which introduces the main melody for Jon to sing over and add his own touch to it. As with earlier releases, Desmond Child helped them finish two other hits: the ambitious title track, driven by an amazing vocal delivery, profound lyrics, and Torres' drum syncopation; and the more upbeat number "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead", which revisits the band's earlier hook-laden cuts, chock full of catchy choruses and harmony vocals.
Though they may have had bigger hits on the charts, "Bed of Roses" is the band at their most expressive, and Jon Bovi Jovi at his songwriting best. The reason why Keep the Faith stands out from its predecessor is certainly the inclusion of songs exhibiting more maturity and depth. "Dry Country", at nearly minutes, is an amazing melodic hard rocker graced by a timeless melody. After both Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora released solo albums and a four-year hiatus, the duo joined forces to release Keep the Faith, which was meant to be a more serious album right from the get-go. Unlike their albums released in the 80's, it has a more timeless quality to it and crosses the boundaries of happy-go-lucky pop rock tunes that formed much of that era. The combination of "In These Arms" and "Bed of Roses" is easily the band's most powerful one-two punch ballad ever.
The latter, on the other hand, is quite possibly the band's most moving song to date. Its beautiful guitar intro, piano motif, and the profoundly emotive vocal style are hard to match in the poppy spectrum of hard rock.
Sadly, with the follow-up to this record, These Days, Bon Jovi would lose their appeal to many a long-time fan whilst winning over a whole new legion of followers. Sambora's guitar wail is carefully placed under the thick bass stomp and Bon Jovi's trademark screams, but the melody is gripping and infectious.
More guitar-based songs also appear on the CD, such as the bass-rich "If I Was Your Mother" with a cool chorus; the blues-inflected "Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll" with its relentless rhythm groove; and the unapologetically loud "Woman in Love", driven by Jon Bon Jovi's repeated chorus shout. Even Richie Sambora, whose guitar work has always been behind the band's crushing rhythm section, gets to put his lead playing on display, cutting it loose for a good two minutes.
Likewise, while still serving his pop-driven rock ballads in the form of "I Want You", Jon Bon Jovi also begins to show signs of artistic growth as both a lyricist and musician. In many ways, Keep the Faith is the band's finest moment.
They have always been a band that managed to keep up-to-date with what achieves stardom.
Life at everyday angles are what BonJovi can bring out in a way that says Yes, that's me, how'd they know i needed that song to get me through this muck. But if Any Album atests to this group's deep well of Talent, it is "Keep the Faith". BonJovi can be mis-labeled as typical heavy-metal boiler-factory decibel-bashing rock band vying for a top spot on the charts & in the music stores. There are lots of great Rock albums but there are few that out-distance the range of versatility and depth that "Keep the Faith" keeps presenting throughout every song. BonJovi very impressively runs the gamut here from Blues to Ted Nugent' level of intense rock, & ballards even varied in theme from bruised love to emotional uplift. "In life there comes a rain, but you gotta keep the faith". If you've ever come across an album that has a mysterious healing balm for the soul, this one you will notice also resurges your mind, body and spirit. Give it a Shot, and it will give you the boost you needed.
I heard Keep the Faith on the radio the other day and ventured onto Amazon to find the CD. There is not one song that I couldn't listen to over and over. WoW. This rocks. Bon Jovi should produce another CD like this one. Thanks.
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