Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Bon Jovi
Label: Island Records
Release: 2016
Length: 49:08
Rating: 3/5
»This House Is Not For Sale« is the thirteenth studio album from the legendary American hard/pop rock juggernauts Bon Jovi, and also their first without longtime guitarist Richie Sambora. He left the band back in 2013 and was replaced by new guitarist Phil X, who in 2016 became an official member alongside longtime session bassist Hugh McDonald. That means McDonald, for the first time since 1994, when he joined the band in place of Alec John Such, got the ‘honor’ of becoming an official Bon Jovi member. From the ‘old guard’, frontman Jon Bon Jovi is still joined by keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres. Plenty of people simply can’t picture Bon Jovi without Sambora, so many wondered what got into the boss Jon to make such a radical move, since the beloved guitarist was one of the key architects of the biggest successes in the history of this still hugely popular band. Jon, for his part, keeps insisting that he never fired Sambora himself, and that the guitar maestro decided on his own to end the collaboration with the band.
Whatever the case, emotions on both sides have by now calmed down, at least judging by the official statements, and the Bon Jovi story rolls on with »This Is Not For Sale«. Before the release, Jon told fans that the new album would go back to their roots a bit, after its soft-rock-leaning predecessor »What About Now« (2013) met with rather mixed reactions. Another novelty is that after 32 years the band swapped Mercury Records for a ‘move’ to Island. The improvement over »What About Now«, which the members of Bon Jovi truly can’t be proud of, is noticeable from the first track on, but it’s a long way from saying that »This House Is Not For Sale« marks a return to the standards of the ‘golden’ creative era between 1986 and 1996. Sambora’s absence is felt most in the lack of hard rock riffs worth mentioning, though that’s not to say Phil X isn’t a solid replacement for his famous predecessor.
The lead single is the title track, which also opens the album, and it’s yet another failed attempt at creating a new copy of »Livin’ On a Prayer« dressed up in modern production, without the real, desired effect, the drive and the mighty atmosphere, and on top of that there’s a patriotic lyric that’s worth a good laugh. You could say it’s a pop-hard rock recipe recycled countless times, but it’s still a decent opener compared to what we got used to from Bon Jovi on their studio albums over the last few years. »Living With the Ghost« and the somewhat more bombastic »Knockout« are also not entirely successful attempts at reviving the magic of the ‘golden eighties’, and thanks to the modern production and an average chorus they leave rather mixed feelings. As for the lyrics, it would definitely be better if Jon, despite the ever-growing number of gray hairs on his head, sang about easy women again instead of patriotic themes and the typical problems of a midlife crisis.
One of the better moments on the album is definitely the retro ballad »Labor of Love«, where Jon pulls off a pretty good vocal imitation of the late David Bowie. »Born Again Tomorrow« is another punchy hard/pop rocker built on a similar ‘winning’ recipe as the title track, only it comes out a lot better as a whole. If it had retro eighties production, you could even compare it to past Bon Jovi evergreens, but as it is, it comes off ‘merely’ solid. »New Year’s Day« has decent vocal harmonies and one of the better choruses. That’s followed by a handful of fairly average and relatively forgettable tracks, where some ideas slowly start repeating themselves too much at the expense of rhythms recycled a hundred times over and ‘see-through’ arrangements, like the syrupy ballad »Scars On This Guitar«. Of the remaining cuts, special mention goes to the nostalgic »Reunion«, which even conjures up some of that ambient eighties magic, and the closing »Come On Up to Our House«, which at times sounds like some Celtic-tinged revivalist anthem.
Probably the biggest strength of »This House Is Not For Sale« is that the album leaves a better impression with every new spin, rather than the other way around, which is what happened with most Bon Jovi albums over the last twenty years. That’s probably enough for their most loyal followers to be happy with what’s on it, but really it’s only a small step in the right direction, and the album still contains a few completely forgettable tracks, the title track among them. Next time, Jon and the gang will have to push a bit harder for a more thorough sonic refresh if they want music lovers outside the fanatical fans who regularly show up at their stadium shows to start taking them seriously again. After Sambora’s departure, many predicted a studio catastrophe, and thankfully, even though the album wouldn’t have hurt with a bit more hard rock punch, it never happened, and the band is back on the right hard/pop rock track for now, but there’s still a lot of work to do if they want to get back to the level of their best days.
Line-up
Jon Bon Jovi – vocals
Phil X – guitar, backing vocals
Hugh McDonald – bass guitar
David Bryan – keyboards, backing vocals
Tico Torres – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
John Shanks – guitar, backing vocals
Production
Jon Bon Jovi and John Shanks
Tracklist
1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Living With The Ghost
3. Knockout
4. Labor of Love
5. Born Again Tomorrow
6. Roller Coaster
7. New Year’s Day
8. The Devil’s In The Temple
9. Scars On This Guitar
10. God Bless This Mess
11. Reunion
12. Come On Up To Our House
