Review of The Circle

Reposted without permission from Il Circolo Europa – London

You either love or hate Bon Jovi. However, the truth is that very few bands can manage to reinvent themselves while maintaining a solid fan-base and, simultaneously, develop a classic yet contemporary rock sound. A few may argue that the New Jersey rockers have lost the plot and that they no longer can produce a quality rock album. It’s partially true, Bon Jovi tend to stick to their winning formula and, yes, both Everyday in 2002 and Have A Nice Day in 2005 were somehow similar to It’s My Life: a catchy tune with an immediate chorus.

When the Jersey rockers announced the release of The Circle – their 11th studio album – this fall, fans were a bit itchy. Will Sambora, the band’s guitar player, manage to put together a couple of decent guitar solos? Will the band try to experiment some new sounds? Nevertheless, the band made the usual pre-release glossy statements: the new record will feature “loud guitars and big choruses”.
The album features a good mix of songs, something that should satisfy and please most of their fans. There are a couple of classic Bon Jovi custom-built rock anthems which will become all-time live favourites, there are a couple of 1980-ish tracks, a couple of politically minded songs, a couple of mid-tempos and, of course, a couple of power-ballads. And, most importantly, the new album features some well-crafted melodies. The drums are powerful; the guitars have a pretty distinctive sound and, overall, the record sounds a little bit heavier than anything Bon Jovi have done in a few years.
We Weren’t Born To Follow, the band’s first single off the new record, hit the radio a few weeks ago. It’s the usual fee-good, happy-go-lucky, radio-friendly classic Bon Jovi tune featuring their trademark sound. To some extent, this is the most disappointing track on the record. The band played it too safe when they picked the song as the album’s first single. Overall, the result is good but other tracks on the record are definitely more innovative and stylish. The chorus is vaguely reminiscent of Born To Be My Baby (New Jersey, 1988) and as far as the rest of the track is concerned it is not that different at all from some of their recent hits. The song would have fit perfectly in either Bounce (2002) or Have A Nice Day (2005).

As far as the rest of the album is concerned, there are a couple of tracks on the new record which appear to confirm that Bon Jovi prefer evolution over revolution: Thorn In My Side, for instance, is another decent rock song featuring a contemporary sound which is a bit too reminiscent of the likes of Complicated and Two Story Town. Bullet is another mainstream Bon Jovi song characterised by energetic riffs and a surprising aggressive guitar solo which would make John Norum, Europe’s guitar player, feel like a proud man.

Fortunately, Bon Jovi took a little bit more initiative and tried out some new sounds on a couple of tracks on The Circle. When We Were Beautiful, for instance, is not your typical Bon Jovi song at all. It has a distinct U2 feel attached to it. The melody is surprisingly neat and melancholic. Featuring a 25-second-long guitar solo, this is definitely the most epic song on the record. Other tracks on The Circle are reminiscent of some of the band’s earlier stuff. Broken Promised Land and Love’s The Only Rule are two big epic songs which may take your memories back to the late 1980s. These tracks sound a bit like outtakes from the New Jersey album (1988).

There are a couple of politically minded tracks on The Circle too. Work For The Working Man is all about living life during the “credit crunch”. It’s a “blue-collar” song whose lyrics resemble Springsteen’s The River. Happy Now, whose chorus reminds a bit of Creep by Radiohead, was written soon after Obama’s election. Jon Bon Jovi, an enthusiastic Democrat and a close friend of Al Gore and Bill Clinton, admitted that this song was “all about what ourselves, the Country and world was going through at the time”.
Quite surprisingly, there are no ballads per se on the record. Superman Tonight is a mid-tempo featuring a catchy chorus which in many ways resembles U2’s Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. Live Before You Die is another well-crafted song. Learn To Love, the album’s finale, is the only real power-ballad on the record, a potential hit.
In conclusion, Bon Jovi are not known for having redefined the boundaries of the rock music industry; their career went through evolutionary stages rather than revolutionary. The Circle fully embraces this evolutionary approach but it would be a mistake to consider this album a carbon-copy of Crush, Bounce or Have A Nice Day. The New Jersey rockers have put into this new album more effort and the overall result is pretty good. The guitars are powerful, the melody is well-crafted and the lyrics are immediate enough. Get ready for the 2010 and 2011 world tours. The “arena” rockers are back.

Rating: 4 out of 5