Keep The Faith [ECD] [Remastered] - Bon Jovi

...BON JOVI were back with keep the faith their fifth studio album

The 1990s heralded the rise of grunge, in particular bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the way and bringing their music to the fore. This desperate time for classic rock saw the demise in sales figures and popularity if not existence of many of Bon Jovis' peers. Bands such as Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, Wasp, Europe etc all but disappeared, where as bands like, ...
...songs like Dry County, and Keep the Faith which leaned heavily on a more political viewpoint. Of course there were the Bon Jovi standards "In These Arms" and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead being notable examples, but even these were so much more than simply going through the motions, they were well crafted rock songs with a superior feel to them. On this record Bon Jovi completely surpassed their supposed hair rock contemporaries (Poison, Warrant ... more

Released in late 1992 four years after their last album, and two years since touring BON JOVI were back with keep the faith their fifth studio album

The 1990s heralded the rise of grunge, in particular bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the way and bringing their music to the fore. This desperate time for classic rock saw the demise in sales figures and popularity if not existence of many of Bon Jovis' peers. Bands such as Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, Wasp, Europe etc all but disappeared, where as bands like, Kiss, AC/DC, Def Leppard, and Iron Maiden had to rely on their old fans and touring duties to stay alive in the industry. The only notable exceptions were Areosmith and maybe Van Halen who were still selling records in the states. Of course there were bands like U2, Guns and Roses, and Metallica who flourished, but they were not really the same musically to Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi really had to change their style of music to progress to the future, they also had to become more lyrically connected in the "PC" 90s. Bob rock was brought in to produce, after he had been behind the helm of Metallicas huge selling "Black Album", this in its self-shows Bon Jovi going for something different for Bob Rock was known for having a crisper, more modern edge to his production. Thirty songs had been written for recording and demoing, some from Jon, some from Jon and Richie, some from Jon, Richie and Desmond Child, the now familiar co-songwriter on Bon Jovi albums. In the end, Jon Bon Jovis' self penned songs made up the bulk of material on show.

The album was a huge step forward for the band, there was clearly a more mature sound, and mature lyrics on display with songs like Dry County, and Keep the Faith which leaned heavily on a more political viewpoint. Of course there were the Bon Jovi standards "In These Arms" and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead being notable examples, but even these were so much more than simply going through the motions, they were well crafted rock songs with a superior feel to them. On this record Bon Jovi completely surpassed their supposed hair rock contemporaries (Poison, Warrant etc). This is pop-edged rock of the highest quality

I BELIEVE
Ushered in with swaths and swirls of guitar and drum beats, straight away showing Bob Rocks slick production techniques, I believe saw Jon proclaiming that he isn't going to conform with what should be, he wasn't just going to leave rock n roll behind for critical glory " they feed us lines but I won't act" he muses to enforce the point.

KEEP THE FAITH
The title track off the album. Keep The Faith is the first real indication of a more mature angle This was a big step, for most people saw Bon Jovi as pretty boys with no brains, but this change in attitude could only serve to make him seem more mature to most people.

I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD
Written as a humorous look at the life of a touring rock band. Bon Jovi and most notably Jon are renowned for their work ethic, evident by the hectic touring schedule they undertook in the 80s. The song looks at their attitude that is quite literally they won't sleep until they are dead, they will do one more show, one more interview, and anyone who can't keep up, then it is goodbye. The whole thing is tongue in cheek from Jon's delivery to the music, which is essentially old style rock. Even the music video accompanying the track was tongue in cheek but still conveyed a sense of how frantic it can be touring in a band.

IN THESE ARMS
This is probably the song that could have been on New Jersey as well as Keep the Faith, but boy is it catchy. Bon Jovi were the gods of hook lines in the 1980s and they couldn't resist putting an easygoing sing-a-long ballad on this album. It's cheesy, it's romantic it's got good guitar it's everything a pop- rock song should be. And there in lies it's downfall, critics used a song like this to say Bon Jovi were selling out, not going for the big musical upheaval they had promised and this is somewhat a fair case to be made, but also a little unfair. They could have put this song on any one of their albums, so it is a viable argument that they are selling out, but perhaps this was a send off to the earlier sound, giving the fans what they wanted is no bad thing. You stick someone in a room and make them listen to "In These Arms" and they will sing along to it. Which of course is the critics point, it's so watered down that anyone likes it, but bon jovi were always a commercial band and they weren't going to alienate the fans who had put them where they were. I personally think this is awesome and fully deserved its place on the greatest hits, but I can fully understand were people are coming from with different opinions.

BED OF ROSES
Bon Jovi had had many good ballads up to this point but Bed of Roses was when they finally grew up and wrote one from a truly adult perspective. Its portrayal of unfaithfulness is stark and refreshing, while the haunting guitar work fits the mood perfectly

IF I WAS YOUR MOTHER
This is a very creative song and idea, another huge step forward for the band. This song dealt with the theory that if you love someone so much, you need to be so close to them that you actually had to have given birth to them. It's a psycho's view of love is how Sambora summed it up. Listen to the music when Jon is singing it is just magnificent and further proof this wasn't some glam rock band, but a band with diverse musical abilities. Tico pounds his drum skins to thundering effect and Richie Sambora rings his guitars neck with probably some of his heaviest work for Bon Jovi. If I was your mother is performed in such a way that you get the idea of what the song is saying, Jon's gravely vocals suiting the material perfectly.

DRY COUNTY
Not necessarily a favourite of the fans, however few fans would argue it's the most accomplished song Bon Jovi have ever recorded. A political commentary on the plight of certain parts of the USA at that time, and an attack on organised religion and its seeming impotence, Dry County was more than a rant, it was a real projection of the struggle that happened even in the worlds richest country. The blues infused guitar accompaniment is exquisite.

WOMAN IN LOVE
Another traditional rock n' roll song, which reminds me of the beach boys, or some other late 60s good time band. This is probably the least memorable song on this opus.

FEAR
One of the best songs on Keep the Faith "Fear" sees Jon saying that you have got to make your own luck, and that you shouldn't fear where you might end up or what you might become
The political stance comes into focus again on this song, Jon is saying that the country had become afraid of what was going to happen next, that they were living each day in fear, and if that were the case then you weren't living at all.

I WANT YOU
This is a hidden gem, one of the best songs they have recorded although often overlooked when considering Bon Jovi. This is Jon's apology to his wife. Jon had once said that no-one could live with his guitar, his guitar was more important to him than his girl. "I Want You" is saying that he had now changed that interesting point of view, one significant line says, "all I got is my guitar these chords and the truth, but all I want is you",
This was the best ballad they had written by this point and it is a definite nod to the future hit Always. Yet again good, keyboards from Bryan. And some good wistfully sung lyrics.

BLAME IT ON THE LOVE OF ROCK N ROLL
This is another good time rocker, which had a little bit of a stones feel about it. The band weren't sorry for being a rock n roll band, and they weren't suddenly going to pretend that they were not a rock n roll band. Bon Jovi were not going to disown their earlier work, in fact, they were proud of it and embraced it, but this was showing that they could still have a good time, and still knew the value of their lighter music, and of rock n roll. If you want to blame something for bon jovi then blame it on their love of rock n roll.

LITTLE BIT OF SOUL
Little bit of soul is exactly that, a bluesy, jazzy soul filled song
This song shows that all the members of bon jovi were musically gifted, able to change styles at the drop of a hat, yet again distancing themselves from their hair metal early days.

SUMMARY
Keep the faith was possibly the most important album of Bon Jovi's careers, the band knew this, and attacked the project with well thought out ideas of where they were going
Bon Jovi successfully redefined themselves and positioned the band in good stead for the foreseeable future. It's true American audiences warmed slowly to the album at first, although it did spawn two top ten singles in the states (bed of roses and keep the faith), and did sell two million in its first year. The rest of the world loved it and Bon Jovi was once again in the record buying publics mind, and they were back. Also the album photography by Anton Corbjin is beautiful giving the band a worldliness. An album well worth investing in, although if this is your first Bon Jovi purchase, maybe one of their more accessible albums is called for. 

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