2/11/09
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Ageing Rockers Go Full Circle
Journeyman rockers and icons of the genre are back for Round 11.
Bon Jovi is as synonymous with commercial rock music as Susan Boyle is to
unlikely stars, their music now approaching its 4th decade. However it has
certainly been awhile since their last big hit and their work now seems to
scale the album charts more than it does the singles’. So is that about to change?
Opening track and lead single ‘We Weren’t Born to Follow’ is as radio-friendly as you’d expect from a group as mature as these. Featuring trendy happy-go-lucky
lyrics, this is about as rebellious as Bon Jovi can be. A decent effort, if
nothing overly spectacular, it’s a lazy choice of opening release.
‘Work for the Working Man’ is an odd phenomenon – while most bands steal other artist’s work, they’ve decided to rehash the iconic bass line from ‘Living on a Prayer’ – minus the 80s effects of course. The song eventually derives into your average
prog-rock tune, but this is another example of lethargic song structure, void
of any real inspiration.
Third single, ‘Superman Tonight’ is pretty much as you were – cringe-worthy cheese lyrical content like: “You’re looking for a hero/but it’s just my old tattoo.” Mix this with the uninspiring croak of JBJ, over a slow and quite dull backing
and you’re pretty much there.
‘Bullet’ and ‘Thorn in My Side’ aren’t particularly different, with the former getting about as heavy as JBJ would
dare and the latter slightly catchy but just so samey. ‘Live Before You Die’ is your typical old-pop-star-getting-older song and is paced at a slower rate,
which doesn’t make a blind bit of difference.
It’s always going to be a challenge for a band so dominated by one man to throw out
anything remotely groundbreaking after record #11 though surprisingly the only
track that breaks from this awful norm is ‘Love’s the Only Rule’ Whilst the subject matter may have JBJ all over it, the structure slightly
differs from what’s come before.
The car metaphor stylings of ‘Fast Cars’ - “so many hearts/just wind up in a junkyard” flirts with acceptability before heading down that so familiar toe-curling
route. ‘Happy Now’ is so forgettable it hurts and ‘Learn to Love’ goes down as Bon Jovi’s latest failure at the slow Guns N’ Roses love song.
Key Tracks:
‘We Weren’t Born to Follow’
‘Love’s the Only Rule’
Worst Tracks:
‘Superman Tonight’
‘Work for the Working Man’
‘Brokenpromiseland’
‘Live Before You Die’
‘Fast Cars’
‘Happy Now’
‘Learn to Love’
Any confusion over the album’s title need end now – this is a record that simply goes round in circles, fusing all the ingredients
of Bon Jovi and repackaging them again in the same, tired way. Bon Jovi needs
to stop living in the ever-fading light of their past glories. 2/10 CM
Verdict
N-Dubz - ‘Against All Odds’
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N-Dubz has taken the mainstream music scene by storm since their arrival after
thrilling fans on the Unsigned music channel.
Dappy himself has become a media icon, doing the rounds on various contemporary
shows, whilst the band has picked up numerous awards and recognition, so no
pressure...
Opening track and general theme, ‘Against All Odds’ documents how the band have come from nothing to super-stardom and this theme is
generally reflected throughout the disc.
Electro-powered and first single, ‘I Need You’ is probably just as famous for its catchy beat as it is for Dappy’s immortal line: “I’ve been looking over Facebook/and I can’t seem to find you.” In terms of a pop song, it really does have everything and there are good
performances from Dappy and Tulisa in particular.
Wiley pops up on ‘Na Na’, which is of course a classic N-Dubz start-of-track tune. This is about the
closest a British group will get to the harsh spitting of the likes of Eminem
and this actually works well, with Wiley a wise choice to expand that vibe. ‘Shoulda Put Something On’ (you can guess what this one’s about) is a further social commentary and will win them plaudits for addressing a tough
subject and it’s a good tune too, most importantly.
N-Dubz collaborates with Gary Barlow of all people on ‘No-one Knows’, a song about keeping the faith in difficult times. It’s typical Barlow for being upbeat and positive and there’s a noticeable smooth rhythm which works well.
‘Suck Yourself’ enlists the vocal talents of Chipmunk. The electro beat is strong and likeable,
lyrics-wise you couldn’t get more down-to-earth, though it might surprise naive parents about what kids
do actually get upto. ‘I Don’t Wanna Go to Sleep’ follows in this vein, beat-wise, but is a lot more positive than the
aforementioned. More commercially friendly, it’s a possible single. There’s also an N-Dubz version of ‘Number 1’ on here, which shows the work-rate of the band, rather than just sticking the
original cut on here as many artists would.
Lowlights are very scarce but do come in the form of the frankly bizarre ‘Let Me Be’, with the Spanish vocal stylings of Nivo; and Tulisa (the weakest link of the group when allowed too much exposure)’s solo song ‘Comfortable’. It won’t connect with a mature audience as much as it might the naive kids.
Key Tracks:
‘I Need You’
‘Playing with Fire’
‘Na Na’
‘Say It’s Over’
‘I Don’t Wanna Go to Sleep’
‘No One Knows’
‘Suck Yourself’
‘Shoulda Put Something On’
Worst Tracks:
‘Let Me Be’
‘Comfortable’
In total it’s hard to knock this offering and its clear the band are determined to stay at
the top as long as possible. Eight or so strong efforts make for a stellar
album. 9/10 CM
Verdict
(c) ChrisOnline.biz 2009
