Trollheart

These days ---- Bon Jovi --- 1995 (Mercury)


Without question one of, if not THE darkest Bon Jovi albums, “These days” was something of a surprise. Up to now we had had the likes of “Slippery when wet”, “New Jersey” and “Keep the faith”, and even if the latter had the odd “serious” song (“Dry county”, “Fear” and the title track), not to mention the extremely weird “If I was your mother”, we had up to this been used to Bon Jovi songs being, for want of a better word, happy. Songs like “Let it rock”, “Wild in the streets”, “Born to be my baby”, “99 in the shade”, “Blame it on the love of rock and roll” and so on, all carried with them a message of hope and fun --- good-time songs. Sure there were the ballads (what would a Bon Jovi album be without ballads?), but you expect them to be sad. But the other songs on the albums up to now had, in general, been what would be described as “up” songs. “These days” was the first time Bon Jovi not only wrote “down” songs, but a whole album full of them!

It begins in storming form, with the rocker “Hey God”, but even before the track starts you hear Jon say “We ready?” to which someone --- Richie I think --- replies “Just about!” and Jon sighs and says “Let's go.” It's not a joyous “Two-three-four!” or even an “All right fellas, let's do this thing!” It's more a fatalistic, shrugging comment more linked with doing something you really would rather not be doing, and whether that was a genuine reflection of how he, and the band, felt when cutting this album is unclear. However, it does point towards a very dour, dark attitude towards the subject matter, and that is borne out in what follows, for over an hour of music.

“Hey God” is a powerful, fast song, but it's in the lyric where we really see what it's all about, where the song is heading, what it's trying to say, and we can see too the direction the album is going to go. It's a plea to a god, perhaps not believed in, to right the wrongs of the world. “Hey God!” snarls Jon, “Tell me what the hell is goin' on? / It seems like all the good ****'s gone/ It keeps on getting hatder hangin' on/ Hey hey hey hey God/ There's nights you know I wanna scream/ These days you're even harder to believe/ I know how busy you must be/ But hey hey hey hey God/ Do you ever think about me?” The song goes on to detail evils of the world, with Richie's guitar whining like a devil from the pits of Hell, Jon growling out the lyric with all the venom and anger of someone who's lost someone dear. “Born into the ghetto, 1991/ Just a happy child playin'/ 'neath the summer sun/ Vacant lot's his playground/ By 12 he got a gun/ The odds are bet against him/ Junior don't make 21.”

It's a powerful start to the album, and continues in “Something for the pain”, where Jon mourns “I opened up my heart/ But all I did was bleed.” Things slow down then for the first ballad from the album, perhaps the first anti-ballad, “This ain't a love song.” It's played softly and quietly as you would expect a ballad to be, but the lyric is anything but a love song, in which Jon declares that “Only fools are know-it-alls”. It's a long way from “Never say goodbye” or even “I'l be there for you”. It's followed by the title track, which starts off balladic, with a gentle piano and guitar intro, but soon becomes clear as a searing indictment of society, more or less continuing the theme explored in “Hey God”. In some ways, I guess this album could be considered almost a concept album, given that the same basic themes resonate through all the songs, be they fast or slow --- alienation, injustice, the casual and accepted cruelty of the world and the nagging despair that it will never get any better. The opening lines declare Jon's perceived position in the world, just trying to keep his head down and get through life. “I was walking around/ Just a face in the crowd/ Tryin' to keep myself out of the rain.” It's a painful song to listen to lyrically, though the deceptively balladic opening does really work. It rocks along at a decent pace when it gets going, but the dark themes are there for all to see: “Even innocence has caught the midnight train”. No words of better days to come here!

It's clear from the title track that this is Bon Jovi “all grown up”. This is a mature album, with mature themes, and an adult's possibly fatalistic but certainly realistic view of the world. They may have been “Wild in the streets” in 1986, but ten years on and those streets are dark and lonely now, and less paved with gold than broken bottles, discarded burger cartons and cigarette packets. Realisation has set in as Jon sings “There ain't nobody left to take the blame.” He also realises that he is no different from anyone else trying to make it in this tough world ---- “Everybody's got their cross to bear these days” --- and in the end, it's only ourselves we can rely on, and in truth, only ourselves we have to blame for letting things get to the point they have: “There ain't nobody left but us these days.”

This leads up to the next ballad, or perhaps we should say anti-ballad, “Lie to me”, with its savagely ironic hook “If you don't love me/ lie to me/ Cos baby you're the one thing I believe.” Both ballads were big hits for Bon Jovi when released as singles, (though not in the US, for some reason: maybe people there didn't appreciate the gritty realism in the songs, preferring instead vacuous dance songs?) but those who no doubt danced, lurched and smooched to them probably let the actual meaning in the lyrics pass over their heads, as they are in no way love songs. The tempo jumps then, for a rather frenetic “Damned”, exploring the dilemma of being in love with one person who you can't have --- damned if you do, damned if you don't. “His ring is on your finger/ But my heart is in your hands.”
And that brings us to the darkest track on the album, bar none.

“As my guitar lies bleeding in my arms” is as full of despair as the title suggests, and if you weren't sure, the opening lines will leave you in no doubt: “Misery likes company/ I like the way that sounds.” Richie's axe moans, screams, cries and sounds like it's dying in his hands, while Jon declares “I can't write a love song/ The way I feel today/ I can't sing no song of hope/ I got nothing to say.” The song features some exquisite work by Mrs Sambora's favourite child, including a great solo, but even that can't lift the song out of the mire of despair and self-pity with which the lyric weighs it down.

In some ways, “As my guitar...” is the nadir of the album, being its darkest track, and the songs sort of (sort of) “cheer up” a little from there on in. It's almost like the darkest, deepest point of the tunnel has been reached, and now light can be seen glimmering, albeit faintly, in the distance. Indeed, the lyric of “As my guitar...” contains a real hint of a suicide attempt, or the intention at least, when he sings “I'd like to jump/ But I'm afraid to hit the ground.” Having come through, for the most part, the deep dark depression that led to here, the ensuing tracks contain more than a little hope, even if well disguised. They're not happy songs by any means, but they're just a little less dark. “(It's hard) letting you go” and “Hearts breaking even”, while still not love songs, are essentially songs of acceptance.

“It's hard...” starts off well, with David Bryan's almost church-organ intro, with Tico Torres's drums sounding like slow heartbeats, very echoey and muted. Some favourite Bon Jovi standards in the lyric here, like “The sky it shines a different kind of blue/ And the neighbour's dog/ He don't bark like he used to.” At times during the song, the music stops almost completely while Jon delivers the vocal, then comes back in a moment later, creating a very impressive musical canvas for the song.
It's “Hearts breaking even” though which recalls most the sort of ballads Bon Jovi are known for. It's like JBJ has realised that his love affair is over, and is now ready to recognise this, and perhaps move on. The track starts off with an almost upbeat drum/guitar intro and Jon's voice is somewhat lighter as he sings “Did I throw away the best part of my life?/ I cut you off/ Cut myself with the same damn knife.” He also uses his old favourite rhyming triplet: “I cried, I lied, Hell I almost died.” It's the song where he comes out of his stupor of self-pity and says “Go on, get on with your life/ And I'll get on with mine.” There's a realisation that there has been fault on both sides, and despite what he has told himself up to now, he is not the (only) wounded party. It's time to man up, and accept that he's made his own mess. It takes two to tango.

And so he goes searching for “Something to believe in”. It's a bleak, stripped-down track, a dramatic plea for there to be something there to hold onto. “So now I'll dust myelf off/ So now I'll suck my gut in,” he sings, and sounds like he believes it. “If I don't believe in Jesus/ How can I believe in hope?/ If I don't believe in Heaven/ How can I believe in love?” Recalling the dark bleakness of “These days”, he declares “In a world that gives you nothing/ We need something to believe in.”So from the railing at God in the opening track, JBJ has now turned back to him, and holds on, needing an anchor to keep him grounded against all the evils of the world.

In “If that's what it takes” there's the final gasps of hopeless desperation, as Jon swears to do whatever has to be done to retain his love. It's a more uptempo, almost triumphant track, as Jon goes to try to win his girl back, acknowledging the failures of the past, and the things he has done wrong, and ready to put them to one side in order to get one more chance at love.

It would seem his efforts are rewarded, as the next track is “Diamond ring”, and we can assume that Jon has got his girl and married her. The final track though puts this in doubt, but given that it is credited as an additional track, we can take solace perhaps from the belief that it is not meant, strictly speaking, to be part of the story, certainly not the end.
The true ending would appear to have been meant to be “All I need is everything”, Bon Jovi's “Sign o' the times”, another continuation of “Hey God” and “These days”, almost, in fact, bringing the story full circle.

. “Bitter wine” is tacked on at the end, and if it fits into the story at all, perhaps we can take it that this sour ballad, which details the break-up of a relationship, is either supposed to take place long after the wedding, perhaps years in the future (the lyric does mention “We met some years ago/ When we were still quite young”), but then, given the dark and often depressing nature of the album, perhaps this is how the affair ends, doomed, dead and drowned in bitter wine. It's an almost acoustic composition, quite country and western in its makeup.

I believe “These days” deserves to be applauded as a truly realistic look at the world in which we live, in a way most rock bands would not, especially one of Bon Jovi's stature and reputation, known mostly as a “soft-rock” “happy” band who seldom tackle real issues. It's a mature album, for mature listeners, and if you give it the time it deserves, I think you really will carry away a solid message from it.

What that message is, is up to you.

TRACKLISTING

1. Hey God
2. Something for the pain
3. This ain't a love song
4. These days
5. Lie to me
6. Damned
7. As my guitar lies bleeding in my arms
8. (It's hard) Letting you go
9. Hearts breaking even
10. Something to believe in
11. If that's what it takes
12. Diamond ring
13. All I want is everything
14. Bitter wine


Have a nice day ---- Bon Jovi --- 2005 (Island)


This is an album typifying Bon Jovi at the top of their game. It had been three years since their last opus, the rather excellent “Bounce”, and five since 2000's “Crush”, and both albums had succeeded in somewhat erasing the dark bleak memory of “These days”. This was the “happy” Bon Jovi we all knew and loved, and though (as detailed above) I loved “These days”, and definitely agree it was something they should have done, I'm not sure two more albums of look-how-bad-the-world-is would have cut it with the fans. Primarily, like most people, I listen to music to be entertained, to enjoy and to perhaps escape the real world for a short time. This is what Bon Jovi do best, and here they are on top form.

The sleeve is a simple “happy face” drawn in black ink on red, but with downturned eyebrows, which gives the smiling face more of a nasty grin aspect, almost certainly a play on the title. The album opens with the title track, and it's straight down to business, with a song rather reminiscent of “It's my life” from “Crush”, a real anthem, a let-me-live-my-life song, in which Bon Jovi manage to make the phrase “have a nice day” mean something, er, rather else.... ”When the world gets in my face/ I say 'Have a nice day'!” There are no deep messages in this track, it's the old rebel song that every teenager from the earliest days has sung: just leave me alone to do what I like!

You can hear from the beginning that this is not a band simply going through the motions, putting out an album because their contract demands it. These guys enjoy what they do, they believe in it, and they wouldn't want to be doing anything else. The pure enjoyment continues in “I want to be loved”, another life-affirming track. I'm gonna live/ I ain't gonna die/ Don't want the world to pass me by.” Oh yeah! And the good feeling goes on in “Welcome to wherever you are”, a song of being happy with what you've got, and almost a ballad, starting off with acoustic guitar before thumping into a mid-paced rocker --- “”If you feel alone and lost/ And need a friend/ Remember every new beginning/ Is some beginning's end” --- you just can't help but be uplifted by the lyric. The joy comes to bursting point for “Who says you can't go home?”, where Jon triumphantly declares “There's only one place that call me/ One of their own/ Just a hometown boy/ Born a rollin' stone.” It's a much faster, rockier track than the preceding, but no less powerful. Sort of Springsteen-sounding, now that I listen to it. Great song. Does contain the rather odd lyric ”I hijacked a rainbow/ And crashed into a pile of gold” --- thought that might have recalled the events of 9/11 too much? Guess they slipped that one by...

Just in case someone DID pick up on that though, they're quick to slot in one of those “America/Freedom reigns” songs, but it is a good one. “Bells of freedom” hits all the right places, but it is rather embarrassingly flag-waving. Before that though comes what I believe is the best track on the album, “Last man standing”. It's the really clever tale of the only band left who actually play their instruments, and the guitar hero who leads them. Set against the background of a fairground sideshow (”Enter at your own risk/ It might change the way you think”), the audience are regaled with the story of the man who has ”No dancers, ...no diamonds/ No this boy don't lip-synch!” A powerful and sly stab at those, shall we say, less REAL bands (who mentioned X-Factor? You can't sue ME: I didn't say it!), the barker tells the rapt audience “The songs were more than music/ They were pictures from the soul/ So keep your pseudo-punk, hip-hop, pop-rock junk/And your digital downloads !” Class!

I wouldn't be such a toadie as to claim that every track on this album is excellent: there are some reasonably low-par ones, but in my opinion more good than bad, and some truly brilliant. Another great one is “Last cigarette”, another fast rocker where JBJ compares love to the last cigarette --- “I will savour it/ Wrap it round my fingertips/ Gotta taste it on my lips/ Right or wrong.” Some really clever lyrical ideas on this album, for sure. My second favourite (and it's a close run thing!) is “Novocaine”, a slow rocker telling the story of what happens after or during a breakup. It includes a great tip of the hat to one of their biggest hit singles from the past: ”There's a different kind of meaning now/ To living on a prayer/ Some don't seem to notice/ And the rest don't seem to care.”

Surprisingly for a Bon Jovi album, there's no outstanding ballad here, no real love song. There are slow tracks (“Bells of freedom” and “I am”) but the closest the album comes to a proper ballad really is “Wildflower”, which personally doesn't work for me. Perhaps it's a brave move, given that the last two albums each had three or four --- even “These days” had four clear ballads on it --- but it seems to work, and helps to make this album stand out from the previous Bon Jovi releases. Of course, at times it seems a little overstretched, with more than one sub-standard track where perhaps a really punchy ballad along the lines of “All about lovin' you” or “Lie to me” might have fit better, but though this would not ever go down in history as the best --- or even one of the best --- Bon Jovi albums, it can hold its head high, waving the standard for the boys from Jersey. Hey man – have a nice day, y'hear?

TRACKLISTING

1. Have a nice day
2. I want to be loved
3. Welcome to wherever you are
4. Who says you can't go home
5. Last man standing
6. Bells of freedom
7. Wildflower
8. Last cigarette
9. I am
10. Complicated
11. Novocaine
12. Story of my life
13. Dirty little secret
14. Unbreakable

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018