Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsSadly disappointing return that raises more questions than answers ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2024
"Forever" is the sixteenth studio album from the enlarged now seven-piece Bon Jovi, although like its immediate predecessor "2020" there's only Jon B on the cover. So is this a return to the vintage behemoth BJ sound or another disguised JBJ solo outing as many judged "2020" to be?
Opener "Legendary" could easily have been written for a man with a stetson called Deke [the man not his stetson], it's another one of those BJ's mid-tempo rockers that owe way more to new country than to New Jersey, but that said I like it, it's a good time song and a great way to start the album. Although less so, the same could be said of second song "We Made It Look Easy", this one however reminds me of a couple of tracks on JBS's solo "Destination Anywhere" album [an excellent album IMO], and it's at this point I have two thoughts, first I rather like this gentler more mature BJ sound, it suits my now more mature ears, but at the same time for die-hard heads-down-rocking BJ fans who don't want their favourite band to change [or defy anno domini] I wonder whether since the departure of Richie Sambora there's anyone left who will challenge JBJ and reverse what seems to be their current direction of travel. But those thoughts are blown away with the return of the talk box as the arena rocker "Living Proof" comes along, a proper air-punching toe-tapper, perhaps there is life in the old dog yet.
Track four "Waves" though calms things down with a power ballad that shows JBJ has lost none of his ability to pull-off a tear-jerker, and even if the lyrics are a little cheesey but it's still another thumbs up. As is "Seeds" that follows, but with few signature BJ elements this is a bit of an oddity which doesn’t work well in this company, lyrically it's a bit country but even though it has elements of the BJ sound with its stops and starts, I'm struggling to classify the complex arrangement [think late phase Beatles, "Day In The Life" perhaps], and while I like it I can't imagine it will find a place in anyone's Bon Jovi Hall of Fame. That said so far it's all good and four and a half stars from me.
But then "Forever" loses its momentum with a string of weaker songs. "Kiss the Bride" is a vom-worthy piano-led country ballad, for me it's one to avoid on future plays, enough said. Unfortunately there's not a lot to recommend "The People's House" either which is sonically little more than a bland walk-through of the old Bon Jovi sound but lyrically with its cringey patriotic call-to-arms and loans from "America the Beautiful" it reminds me of any one of those awful post 9-11 country songs; if "Kiss the Bride" was vom-worthy this is worse albeit for different reasons. And things don't get any better with "Walls of Jericho" which follows, with its total lack of sophistication, simple sing-along lyrics, an acapella chorus and repeated "nana-na-na nas" this is clearly aimed at the lowest denominator in a stadium audience. Expecting "I Wrote You a Song" to be a proper old school power ballad I waited for the big lift-off when the boys in the band kick-in, instead they slowly shuffle-in and it never takes off leaving this to be another disappointingly bland piano-led ballad, it may be better than "Kiss the Bride" but even so it's another that doesn't work for me. Nor does mid-tempo rocker "Living in Paradise", a co-write with Ed Sheeran [really?] it's better but utterly forgettable, but then I can't remember a single Sheeran song that I haven't forgotten a few moments after hearing it apart from the "A Team".
But things do getter better with the last two tracks, although there's nothing really special about penultimate track, "My First Guitar" other than it's a big song with at last a big solo, but perhaps because like JBJ I fell in love with my first guitar I'll let it off. But it's followed by closer "Hollow Man", a work of gobsmacking maturity, it is IMO the best track here even though it's a ballad, but this time it's a twin guitar-led ballad; it reminds me of both Bob Seger and Steve Earle, if that's not-oxymoronic, it's so good it sends tingles down my spine every time I play it; what a way to close.
And that's it. Largely shorn of the classic big rocking BJ sound, which where it does raise its head is too often traduced to a dime-store imitation of its former glory, and lacking the strength of maturity of "2020", end-to-end "Forever" just doesn't do it for me, hence the three stars. That said the opening tracks are good and closer "Hollow Man" is an absolute cracker but the middle half a dozen songs from "Kiss The Bride" to "Living in Paradise" I shall be skipping in future (that’s half the album). I prefer "2020", I realise I might be alone in that, but "2020" was more consistent, more socially conscious, more sophisticated, just all over more mature and in my opinion it was and still is the best Bon Jovi album this millennium.