I am a 34 year-old musician and music teacher residing in New Jersey since the age of 13. Around this time, I picked up the guitar inspired by Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi, and their amazing album “New Jersey”. As the years have moved on, Bon Jovi has remained a part of my nostalgic life and I’ve admired the savvied wisdom of Jon Bon Jovi as he steered his band through fads, naysayers, skeptics, bashers, and the dog-eat-dog reality of the music business. Of the many bands that were born during the eighties, Bon Jovi was one of the fittest bands and they certainly survived. The key ingredient beyond Jon’s wisdom has been his and Richie’s abilities to craft great pop songs. I have followed Bon Jovi throughout the band’s career and aside from inspiring me to pick up the guitar, the band’s records provided the soundtracks to most of my childhood, adolescence, and adult years thus far.

Fast forward to 2009’s “The Circle”… What happened?

I must admit that as I’ve grown older, listening to Jon’s vocals has required a bit more open-mindedness and their songwriting has required me to have to resort to self-induced amnesia in order to inadvertently compare their songs to those of years past. This time, it just isn’t the same. The rehash has gone way beyond blatant in every aspect from bass lines, to melodies, from chord progressions, to anthemic choruses. One can argue that if a formula works, then why mess with it? You judge for yourself!

Jon Bon Jovi’s proficiency as a songwriter is seriously taking a step back that may be fatal for the aging band. You will not find the charisma, poetry, or wit in his lyrics or quality in any aspect of the songwriting.

The production quality is a whole other argument that I’ll spare you the details of. Adjectives such as thin, distant, poor, hurried, & homemade can begin to give you an idea.

The music business is one of the nastiest in our history and common knowledge tells us that one in a million musicians that strive for even the slightest success fall empty regardless of dedication and work ethic. Bon Jovi as an established act has proven that they take this reward for granted and in doing so, they’ve produced the worst album of their career.

In many ways, I can compare “The Circle” to U2’s “No Line on the Horizon”. Both bands sound tapped out of their formulas for success; both have rehashed their past recipes and both of their singers are squeezing the last remaining sounds from their fragile vocal chords. U2 made up for the lack of impact of “No Line On The Horizon” by touring EXTENSIVELY to support the mediocre album and forcefully spoon fed the songs to an audience waiting to hear their quality songs of the past. Bon Jovi is planning the same; an extensive tour in support of a mediocre album.

As a dedicated fan of Bon Jovi’s for many years, it pains me to write such a review, but truth be told, I can’t stand by Bon Jovi when this is what they create.
Rating: 2 / 5

On THE CIRCLE, Bon Jovi stops experimenting with different styles and returns to the Montrose/Foghat/Ted Nugent-influenced hard rock of such albums as NEW JERSEY and CRUSH, with less cliched songs than the former and the maturity of the latter. The music is a cross between the band’s harder-rocking side and the great hard rock bands of the 70s, with a modern edge and a maturity that befits the current ages of the members. Such songs as “We Weren’t Born To Follow” and “Live Before You Die” are about the themes of not letting others live your life for you and doing what you know to be right. Jon Bon Jovi’s support for efforts to free Americans jailed in Iran and North Korea on false charges, and for the right of police to use deadly force to rescue two girls kidnapped in California in 2002, makes this CD/DVD an essential purchase for your ears, eyes, AND conscience.
Rating: 5 / 5