AP News, June 18th, 2007
Bon Jovi, "Lost Highway" (Island)
Yo, Jonnie! I see you been spending some time in Nashville lately, and as one Jersey Guy to another (I'm Exit 90, you're Exit 109), I gotta tell you some stuff.
I was kinda worried when Bon Jovi started doing a country-inspired album. Now I can't argue with success, and you guys sure sold a bunch of records last year doing "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, which even won a Grammy. So another duet, this time on "Stranger" with LeAnn Rimes, sounds like a smart career move.
And I hear some slide guitars here and there; is that a banjo on the title track?
But I am glad to see you kept the faith with New Jersey on songs like "Summertime," a big, brash, bombastic stadium rock anthem with power chords that reach from Carteret to Cape May.
And "We Got It Going On" is pure Bon Jovi rock candy, with a danceable beat and another incarnation of Richie Sambora's famous voice-box wah-wah chords that made "It's My Life" so tasty.
From the fast lane (actually is there any other kind?) of the New Jersey Turnpike, we can only hope you're talking about Sayreville or East Rutherford or even Newark for that matter when you sing "I Love This Town," and not Nashville or Tupelo or Branson.
We've already lost The Sopranos this year. We gotta hold on to what we got. And I guess it doesn't make a difference if it's country or not. But please, Jonnie: Remember where you came from. I'm just sayin'.
