Bon Jovi crash against the unforgiving wall of redundancy, where inspiration runs out, the urine in the well goes stale, but swallow it we must. Keep The Faith offers nothing new, just a band running minor variations of thoroughly familiar themes.
The balance of the band members just fall into cozy bland pop metal territory, seeking the next radio hit while avoiding risks at all costs.
Two tracks at least give a bit of a plus mark: title track Keep The Faith finds much needed energy and bounce, cruising into a rousing chorus with some well-aimed punches. And as power ballads go, Bed Of Roses delivers, Jon finding the true emotion in his vocals, and the melody comfortably settling into the satisfying middle ground between melancholy and hope.
Dry County, at last to 10 minutes, is noteworthy for being more of a novella about economic desperation than a song, but excessive length does not think that it is any more musically inspired than most of the remainder of the album.
All the early songs just exist, doing enough to be inoffensive but never enough to ignite. Keep The Faithproves to be a quest that is hard to satisfy.
Band:
Jon Bon Jovi - Vocals, Guitar
Richie Sambora - Guitar
David Bryan - Keyboards
Tico Torres - Drums
Alec John Such - Bass
Songlist (ratings out of 10):
1. I Believe - 7
2. Keep The Faith - 10
3. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - 7
4. In These Arms - 7
5. Bed Of Roses - 8
6. If I Was Your Mother - 7
7. Dry Country - 7
8. Woman In Love - 7
9. Fear - 6
10. I Want You - 7
11. Blame It On The Passion Of Stone and Roll - 7
12. Little Bit Of Soul - 7
Average: 7.25
Produced by Bob Rock. Engineered by Randy Staub.
Mixed by Randy Staub and Bob Rock. Mastered by George Marino.
All Ace Black Blog Heavy Metal CD Reviews are here.
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