Not so long ago in a galaxy not so far away, Bon Jovi were big. They were bigger than big, they were huge. With hits like 'Livin on a Prayer', 'Bad Medicine', and 'You Give Love a Bad Name' they were quickly catapulted into stardom. After the phenomenal success of 'Slippery When Wet' and 'New Jersey', 'Keep the Faith' was their next instalment. Still clinging to their initial purpose for being, it too was a success. Jon then disbanded for a while and tried some work of his own. At first it was stunning. The soundtrack to the movie 'Young Guns 2' has to be one of his best albums ever. Unfortunately everything went downhill from there. 'This Life', true to its era, was a melancholy mix of depressing ballads, not without its charm, but it was an obvious indication a change was about to happen in the band. And change they did. The release of 'Crush' has to be the defining moment when the cult rock band of the 80's withered up and died. Pop music galore, trendy lyrics which meant nothing, and Jon even cut his hair. His voice seemed to have suddenly popped and he appeared incapable of singing anything but amazingly high notes- a stark contrast to his gritty and even coarse and husky voice of old.

And now comes 'Bounce'

It's obvious from the start that Jon has realised what he has become. He has tried to move from the pop feeling of crush and back to the hard rock of the 80's. But it's almost like he's forgotten how. The heavy songs on 'Bounce' seem stretched and worn thin at best, very formula stuff here. He sounds more like Robbie Williams doing a cover of 'We Will Rock You' than Bon Jovi doing 'Bad Medicine'. We also see a return to melodic piano playing and again it seems like he is trying too hard. These songs have nothing on 'I'll Be There For You' or 'Bed of Roses'. I fear we have seen the last of Bon Jovi churning out cult classic after cult classic. Still, at least he seems aware of his shortcomings and maybe one day he will remember what he once said about sticking to your guns and keeping the faith. I for one am keeping mine, and will stand by Bon Jovi until they are well and truly dead and buried. And as long as they never release another live album I'll be happy.