Lost Highway
"Artistic freedom made this record possible," says Jon Bon Jovi. "Musical freedom to explore--and emotional freedom to express what was in our hearts."
The result of that freedom is Lost Highway, an album Jon describes as "a Bon Jovi record influenced by Nashville."
Bon Jovi explains. "Nashville is all about songs and songwriters. If you're someone like me who loves songs and hanging out with songwriters, Nashville is the place. I thrive on that feeling and I'm inspired by that creative ambience."
The result, a haunting set of 12 new and original sounding songs, is a stunning, multi-layered look into the nature of love and life in all its glory. Love, like life, is lost, found, forgotten and reclaimed in this collection.
The moods are many, but the core feeling is pure Bon Jovi.
"Writing this record with Jon was deeply cathartic," says Richie Sambora, who collaborated on ten of the songs. "I was going through emotional changes that were new for me. An ailing father. A painful divorce. The start of a new chapter in my life. I poured everything I had into this project, every last bit of soul at my command."
"For over twenty years now," Jon explains, "Richie and I have been close collaborators. Even when our songs create fictional stories, they reveal our states of mind. To a large degree, Lost Highway focuses on the light that love brings. When you shine the light on love, you see the chinks in the armor. You see every crevice, every crack. And that's all right".
Lost Highway is Bon Jovi's tenth studio album since the band formed in the early eighties. One hundred and twenty million albums and 2500 concerts in over 50 countries later, Bon Jovi is enjoying the greatest popularity in their history.
2008-11-10 -- 5/5:: Daughtry combined with Carrie Underwood - perfection!!
If one of my favourite singers, hard-rocking Chris Daughtry of American Idol fame and one of my other favourite singers, Carrie Underwood, also of American Idol fame made an album it would sound like this! Every song sounds completely different from the other, despite some jealous hater reviews. You wish you could make an album this epic! Every song is played at a virtuoso-level of instrumentals, while Jon Bon Jovi's voice keeps getting better and better. He almost sounds as good as Chad Kroger from Nickleback! I advise you buy this album NOW!!
2008-11-02 -- 4/5:: Good Tunes
Bought this one for only one song. ended up liking several, Thanks. Great job keep it up.You guys rock!
2008-10-09 -- 5/5:: Lost Highway - Bon Jovi
I love listening to the CD. I loved listening to Bon Jovi in the 80's and now. I like that it does have a little Country in it now. I really like the song that he does with Big and Rich.
2008-09-08 -- 4/5:: Good but not great album--and yes it is a little bit country
I was originally a huge fan of the 1980s Bon Jovi sound, so much that when the musically brilliant "Keep The Faith" came out in 1992, I was a bit disappointed that it didn't rock enough even though I played and knew that album inside and out. After that, Bon Jovi kind of dropped off the radar for me until their true comeback single "It's My Life" in 2000. That album, "Crush", and its follow up, "Bounce", certainly had their moments, but to me some of the tracks on each were lacking something. Then came 2005's "Have A Nice Day", which to me was Bon Jovi's most satisfying release since at least "Keep The Faith" and maybe even "New Jersey". Unlike many others, I completely embraced the sound and overall direction of that album. I mention this to point out that I am not stuck only on Bon Jovi's '80s sound.
All that being said, this "Lost Highway" release is a slight step back for me after "Have A Nice Day". For sure, it is interesting to hear Bon Jovi mix more country elements into their music than ever before. As usual, the playing and musicianship on the album are top notch. Songs like the opening title track, the very catchy "Summertime", and the anthemic "Any Other Day" are all excellent tracks on the album. However, the overall pace drags a bit in other spots. While I appreciate the sentiment of "(You Want To) Make a Memory", it is just too dreary of a pace for a first single not to mention Bon Jovi sappy sentiment that we have heard so many times before. Same holds true for "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" with Leann Rhymes. Good track but not quite what I want to hear from Bon Jovi.
For sure, I like this album, but I don't LOVE it like other releases from the past two years from some of my favorite all-time artists. Hopefully, Bon Jovi will go back in a more rock direction with their next release. They'll never go back to their '80s sound, which is fine; but they just need more consistently catchy and uptempo releases than this one is.
2008-09-05 -- 5/5:: My first Bon Jovi album!
This is my first Bon Jovi album that I bought. I've always been a fan of the band ever since I first heard "Livin On A Prayer" when I was really young. I liked their sound and even though it's changed a bit since their hits in the 80's it's still a welcome return from one of my favorite bands. Some have called this album "Bon Jovi goes country." While not entirely true, there is some country aspects to this album such as the duet with LeAnn Rimes and a collaboration with Big And Rich. My favorite song is the single "(You Want To) Make A Memory." It was one of my favorite singles of 2007! Bon Jovi had a lot to prove with this album and I would definately reccomend it to Bon Jovi fans old and new. I look forward to buying more music from this band!