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	Wednesday , January 07, 2009

Bon Jovi - Lost Highway
I was nervously anticipating the release of this, Bon Jovi's 10th studio album. They worked on it in Nashville and the rumor was they'd gone country. Ahhhh! Luckily, the rumor wasn't true. Sure, it's no loud-guitared, synthed-up 7800º Fahrenheit, but that's a good thing. (I can hardly listen to that CD anymore.) I've grown up and my Jersey boys' songwriting has grown with me. Two things, however, have remained constant: 1) they are amazing storytellers and 2) they always manage to include one song on every CD that hits the emotional chord I need at that time... the song that I'll never get sick of listening to that has that one line or two that hits me head-on. Sometimes the song is wacky and makes me smile ("Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars" from Crush); other times it's more serious and speaks directly to my depressed, over-analytic self, making me feel not so alone ("Something to Believe In" from These Days, "Welcome to Wherever You Are" from Have a Nice Day).

On Lost Highway, that song (speaking to my depressed, over-analytic self) is "Everybody's Broken." The lyrics read: "Welcome to the party, come on in and disappear. You're feeling like a stranger, but all your friends are here. Little lines and cracks around your eyes and mouth. Something's trying to get in. Something's trying to get out. It's okay to be a little broken. Everybody's broken in this life. It's okay to feel a little broken. Everybody's broken. You're alright, it's alright. It's just life. Step into the deep end. Make yourself at home. When you wonder why you're breathing, know you're not alone. It's so hard to believe what's easier to doubt. You're trying to hold in what you're dying to scream out. It's okay to be a little broken. Everybody's broken in this life. It's okay to feel a little broken. Everybody's broken. You're alright, it's alright. It's just life. Take a look around. Tell me what you see. Is who you think you are, who you want to be...."

The answer to that question would be "uh, no." But Jon Bon Jovi and co-writer Billy Falcon (remember him? I had one of his albums on cassette) say that's okay. So I guess I'll just keep muddling along till I figure out how to be who I want to be. In the meantime, here are other random reasons why I love this album...

This is the perfect road trip CD (note the title ;). It's top down, stereo blasting, sun beating down on you perfection. The first line of "Lost Highway" takes you there. The subtle twinkling of guitar and keyboards behind it moves you along down the road, with the "miles flying by." "Summertime," "Whole Lot of Leavin'" and "Any Other Day" take you farther down the road... keep driving...
"(You Want to) Make a Memory" is haunting. I love everything about this song. The quiet beginning. The build up. The lyrics. Jon's vocals with Richie's quietly echoing behind them. Everything.
"A Seat Next to You" - This is just a lovely love song. Picturesque.
"Til We Ain't Strangers" - Earlier this year, the band won their first Grammy® for their "Who Says You Can't Go Home" duet with Jennifer Nettles. I wouldn't be surprised if lightning strikes twice with this song. Leann Rimes joins Jon on vocals for this achy ballad. In my car, I sing Leann's part ;)
Okay, it is a little country... they've added slide guitar, mandolin and, in their live performances, a chick playing the fiddle. But if you join the road trip and listen to the stories they're telling, you'll realize all those new sounds fit in perfectly with the scenery.
"I Love This Town" - It's the return of the last-song-on-the-album party song! This will likely join "Wild in the Streets," "Little Bit of Soul," "One Wild Night" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home" as a live sing-along party anthem.

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