Bon Jovi
Burning Bridges

'Burning Bridges' marks the endpoint for certain Bon Jovi. It's beautiful to start together. It's beautiful to have a bright point ahead to reach at all costs or, for the more prosaic, a chair to sit in and feel like the king of something. Then time passes and everything is put into perspective: the bright point (assuming it is reached...) serves more or less to avoid stumbling in life; the chair, although resembling a throne, eventually bores even those born as kings. The Bon Jovi, having become kings of rock, are also bored. So someone leaves, people get tired of something, even if it's a record label that helped them in tough times. Anyway, Jon Bon Jovi and his companions insist, and perhaps with their hands placed on the cover of 'Burning Bridges', promise "Let's start again from three." The defection of the historic guitarist, Richie Sambora is already history. And, given the lack of participation, it's also a characterizing reason for the new album. Now Bon Jovi means a surviving trio. However, even during Sambora's tenure, the Bon Jovi have always had an anomaly in their lineup, that is, they've always been a five-member group missing... the fifth. In fact, the official bassist, though present at concerts, was never really formalized. Well, now, they will still be a quintet. Surely, they will recruit the two missing fifths, from time to time. The album of 'fallen bridges' is also characterized by the breakup with the label that saw them become world stars. After 32 years of partnership with Mercury Records, the New Jersey artists say goodbye: 'Burning Bridges' is an outcome of contractual branding.

'Burning Bridges' has been circulating for a few days now. We've listened to it. Overall, it is the typical transition album, made with professionalism. Perhaps it lacks the peculiar something that has always distinguished Bon Jovi's production. Surely, the departure of Sambora was felt. And, probably, the breakup with the label that saw them become world stars also had its influence. After 32 years of partnership with Mercury Records, the New Jersey artists bid farewell: 'Burning Bridges' is an album marked by contractual branding. The interested parties themselves, concerning this last point, have indicated that most of the songs were composed some time ago. Some hadn't found a place in other official albums.

The title track – which closes the CD – surprises: 'Burning Bridges' features Jon singing and saying goodbye in different languages of the world; the country arrangement is cute, however very soft, for a band also famous for the hard rock genre. The first track that opens is 'A Teardrop To The Sea', a well-made slow song that, in its sound, recalls the album 'Destination Anywhere'. It is followed by 'We Don’t Run' which shares the same type of chorus with 'Teardrop To The Sea': it opens to an engaging and characteristic chorus of certain Bon Jovi. The solo is not signed by Sambora, but by another guitarist: Shanks. With 'Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning' one steps onto slippery ground because, although it is a pleasant song, some fans have noticed many similarities in its writing with a production by Nickelback: 'Gotta Be Somebody'. Jon stated that their song dates back some years. Therefore, the similarity should be entirely coincidental. There's also the pop-country of 'We All Fall Down', a pleasing song. Jon also offers a piano/voice song called 'Blind Love' (perhaps a bit long, although atmospheric). A nice bass line (however, don't expect Harris from the Maiden), instead, characterizes 'Who Would You Die For'. If one were to indicate the most valid song of the album, the choice would surely fall on 'Fingerprints': the basic acoustic guitar enhances, if possible, its artistic value. A track that would have done well in 'What About Now' is 'Life Is Beautiful', a composition that takes up its sounds while not shining of great light. The last song under review, 'I'm Your Name', starts with an excellent guitar intro and reveals itself for what it is: a radiant and fun song.