Bon Jovi Lost Highway [Mercury Nashville] 2007
Produced by Tom Shanks & Dan Huff
Review by Cheryl Breo
Bon Jovi is about to release their tenth studio album, spanning a career of over twenty years, called “Lost Highway”. With this latest CD, Bon Jovi shows us why they have sold over 120 million records worldwide, their versatility, their continual growth and their fearlessness in embracing country-rock music. To quote Jon Bon Jovi, “Artistic freedom is what made this record possible”…a record influenced by Nashville. The album is filled with a mixture of country rock and country ballads, done only as Bon Jovi can do them.
On that rocking side, we’ve got “Lost Highway”, with up beat lyrics, sung with Bon Jovi’s classic voice, about finally finding out who we really are, feeling the freedom of letting go of the past and moving forward on that long “lost highway”. Then we are treated to “We Got It Going On”, a “gospel type”, hard rockin’, drum pumping, hand clapping… sure to be a stadium favorite song…complete with their “country cousin”, Big Kenny, “witnessing” about peace and love. This one is sure to get the live audiences on their feet with the very first chord.
And we can’t leave out “Any Other Day”, with its dynamic vocals, powerful guitar solos, pounding drums, lyrically clever rockin’ track about love shining through and strong in our fast paced, yet often mundane lives…love makes even the blare of the alarm clock worth it. Slowing things down, are two songs showing us opposite sides of love…love won, love lost. “The Last Night”, with it’s almost spiritual, powerful lyrics, powerfully delivered by Bon Jovi’s soulful voice is about finally finding the last love of your life in these days when it’s hard to even have a heart. “I’ll be standing right beside you…if you can’t make it on your own…this is the last night you’ll have to be alone.” On the flip side of love, we have “Whole Lot Of Leaving” where you can hear the raw, emotional coldness of heartbreak, and the hurt when love is lost.
“One Step Closer” is a brilliant song, perhaps giving us a look into who Bon Jovi is creatively becoming now. “I’m one step closer, with my arms open wide” to the musical, emotional, artistic freedom that only the wisdom of maturity can bestow.
A stand out track for me is “Seat Next To You”, with it’s stunning vocals, soulful harmony and gripping lyrics that grab hold of you with their intimacy, a love song for all couples…man and woman, mother and daughter, father and son…so versatile it can be about whoever is held deep in each individual listener’s heart.
Another amazing track for me is “Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore”… a raspy, smoldering duet with the voice of Bon Jovi melting into the sweet country voice of LeAnn Rimes, two lovers' clinging to each other, talking to each other, looking deep into each other’s eyes, trying hard to keep the flame of their love burning-“trying to put their hearts back together, leaving the broken pieces on the floor.”
When I first learned that Bon Jovi was going to release a country-rock, Nashville influenced album, I’ll admit I squinted my eyes a bit…but after listening to the entire album of “Lost Highway”, I had a difficult time just highlighting only a few of the songs, and not reviewing every single track…that’s how great this reviewer thinks the album is.
Bon Jovi certainly didn’t make a wrong turn on this road…they found their roots growing on that “Lost Highway”.
