Bon Jovi
The Circle

"Tonight I swear I'd sell my soul to be a hero for you" reads the pre-chorus of "Superman Tonight," the fourth track of the album. The idea that comes across after listening to "The Circle" (2010), however, is that Jon Bon Jovi, more than his soul, is selling us a bit of trash.

The band's new album is launched by the unconvincing "We Weren't Born To Follow" which, besides being rather banal, also lacks the appeal that the hit "Have A Nice Day" had, the smash single from the album of the same name that managed to gather some new fans here and there. However, this is not the case with "We Weren't Born To Follow," whose commercial performance is nothing short of laughable (and one might say "thank goodness!"). 

If already since the times of "It's My Life" Bon Jovi were more about selling some low-quality songs just to stay on top of the charts, "The Circle" cannot be seen in any other way but as an attempt to continue relentlessly down this path. If we make a sacrifice to save some tracks like the second single "Superman Tonight," we can only flunk the rest. The entire album is built on guitar riffs sweetened in the studio, not to mention Jon's voice, harmless and far too catchy. Most of the tracks are mediocre and bland ("Work For The Working Man," "Brokenpromiseland") and, even after listening closely, metaphorically speaking, there's very little gold left on the sieve. 

We then arrive at the masterpiece of absolute ugliness, which, in my opinion, is undoubtedly "Fast Cars." "We are fast cars" says Jon Bon Jovi in the chorus, sounding like someone from X-Factor or Amici singing one of those usual pop songs for sixty-year-old housewives. Even from a lyrical standpoint, this "Fast Cars" is embarrassing, not to mention the instrumental background. 

But the band doesn't leave us wanting for anything: the album concludes with a huge, very calm ballad, another masterpiece gifted to us; it's a triumph of platitudes and "pop" maxims on an instrumental basis in line with the rest of the product. "You've got to learn to love the world you're living in" Jon Bon Jovi tells us at the end of every chorus, and thankfully he's there to tell us!

After all, just a glance at the track-list suffices to immediately understand we are faced with an album that wants to indicate the correct behaviors to adopt; the titles are a random assortment of maxims to correct our morals ("We Weren't Born To Follow," "Live Before You Die," "Love's The Only Rule," "Learn To Love", ...).

So, what are we waiting for? Let's run to the nearest record store to learn from Bon Jovi who, in addition to being highly respectable philosophers, give us unforgettable moments of music. (4/10)