Bon Jovi
Keep The Faith

THE REVIEW

This album was released 4 years after the last work of the legendary New Jersey band. After climbing the charts and reaching the top worldwide with masterpieces called "Slippery When Wet" (1986) and "New Jersey" (1988), the group took a break during which they developed solo projects or separate careers.
Thus, in 1992, this "Keep The Faith" came out, an absolutely unmissable album, a true masterpiece that constitutes one of the cornerstones of the band's discography and Hard Rock in general. Released in the years of Nirvana's Grunge and Guns N' Roses' Rock, the album achieved vast success, though it remained underrated in the United States.
It starts with "I Believe," a fast-paced song with very deep lyrics. Then comes the title track, and the first single released. A fiery, anthemic stadium song, excellent in the choruses and the refrain, a great continuation of "I Believe." The atmosphere becomes more cheerful with "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," a song that recalls the past times. The fourth track, however, is surely the most intense ever written by the group: "In These Arms" can easily be elected as the Best Song Of The Group. It is followed by the quintessential ballad, "Bed Of Roses," sweet, romantic, but at the same time explosive, especially in the finale. It is certainly the song that inspired the future and very successful "Always," which will mark the definitive success of the band as the Best Rock Group on the global scene.
The sixth track is in pure metal style, with great guitar and drum solos, not to mention the power of Alec John Such's bass and David Bryan's keyboards. It is followed by another gem of the album, an absolutely fantastic and melancholic track that everyone should listen to understand what true music is: "Dry County" is the second masterpiece of the album and Bon Jovi's career, on par with "In These Arms." Excellent. "Woman In Love" is fast and beautiful, also aggressive. However, this last adjective fits better for the ninth track, "Fear," truly a "scary" song for how it is played! Excellent too! The next ballad is beautiful but not like "Bed Of Roses": so "I Want You" is a bit more subdued, and I would say also underrated. Next is "Blame It On The Love Of Rock'N'Roll," another energetic and sparkling track! Finally, the masterpiece concludes with another excellent track, "Little Bit Of Soul," catchy, with a chorus you can't get out of your head! In conclusion, it can be said that Bon Jovi's third great album achieved the highest marks, precisely for its diversity from the other two masterpieces, but also for its contents: much deeper songs, mixed with elements of the glorious past!
In short, "Keep The Faith" is one of the four must-have albums, after "Slippery When Wet," and before "New Jersey" and "These Days" (1995). Another reason is that the album is the last to feature Alec John Such on bass: indeed, he will leave after the release, in 1994, of the The Best Of "Cross Road".
5 stars for an excellent album.

Now we are all awaiting the box set in November and the new album scheduled for March 2005. In the meantime, enjoy the pearls of songs that Bon Jovi has made and that are printed in the History Of Music!
Goodbye, everyone!