CLASSIC ALBUM: Bon Jovi - Keep the Faith

Keep the Faith should not have been a success. By the time of its release in 1992, Nirvana and the grunge scene had eclipsed the popularity of the hair metal scene, resulting in the likes of Poison and Mötley Crüe struggling to keep the interest of their once-devoted fan base. Bon Jovi had never been the most respected of groups, despite songs such as Wanted Dead or Alive and Blood on Blood showing great promise. So when it was announced that they were due to make a comeback after a long hiatus, in which two of the members had released solo albums, expectations were hardly high. Their last effort, 1988′s New Jersey, had provided the band with another success and had proved to the cynics that they were more than a one-trick pony, but with the music industry having changed so drastically in the years since it was believed that Bon Jovi would be one of the countless casualties.

But nobody could predict what would happen next, as they resurfaced without the perms and spandex, with a new sound and an arsenal of mature and complex songs. Even the front cover of the album, showing a gritty photograph of the band’s working class-like hands, was a statement that the glamour had gone and was replaced with something more authentic and adult. There was still the pop sensibility, harmonies and elaborate guitar solos, but they were no longer done with a cocky swagger and naïvety that was their signature style during their Slippery When Wet era. Taking inspiration from Bruce Springsteen instead of merely trying to recreate their own former glory or, even worse, that of grunge, Keep the Faith somehow took the sound of New Jersey and updated it, without losing its radio friendly aspect but adding a sophistication the band had never shown before. Those who felt the band were nothing but a joke remained unconvinced, but for the fans who were ready to write them off as has-beens this came as a breath of fresh air and the start of a new era for Bon Jovi.

The album starts on its heaviest note, with the arena-friendly energy of I Believe, in which frontman Jon Bon Jovi starts out by showing that his lyrics are no longer merely concerned with relationships and has instead become concerned with the world around him; “All I know is what I’ve been sold, you read my life like a fortune told. I’ve seen the dream, there ain’t no land of Oz, but I got my brain and I got a heart.” The first song that was released from the album was the title track, which was released as a single to great acclaim. There is almost a hip hop feel to the rhythm section, with the drums and funky bass line driving the song. Keep the Faith sounds nothing like Livin’ on a Prayer or Bad Medicine and still stands as Bon Jovi‘s most daring move, reinventing their sound in such a way that little of their previous work remains. Once again Bon Jovi is showing his mature side with his lyrics, signing, “Father, father, please believe me, I am laying down my guns. I am broken like an arrow. Forgive me, forgive your wayward son.”

This is not to say that the album is without its flaws, as the third track, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, was certainly one of its more generic and uninspired moments and a poor choice for a single, but the pace picks up once again with In These Arms, a rock anthem as memorable as You Give Love a Bad Name or Livin’ on a Prayer. One area that Bon Jovi always scored points in was the power ballad, as they had already proved with Living in Sin and the classic I’ll be There for You. Their offering this time around was Bed of Roses which, much like their 1994 hit Always, would show how their frontman’s vocals had developed since the release of New Jersey just a few years earlier. While it may be a little overly sentimental, it still has a charm that for fans is hard to resist. As with the title track, Bed of Roses benefits from the contributions of “professional songwriter Desmond Child, whose magic touch helped to launch many of the band’s biggest hits to the top of the charts.

While one could be forgiven for thinking a song with a name like If I Was Your Mother would be some tedious ballad, the track boasts a simple-yet-effective heavy rock riff. The song then eases off for the verses before kicking in once again at the chorus. Thanks to Bob Rock’s production, who was fresh from the success of Metallica‘s self-titled record (also known as the Black Album), the song has a thick-yet-polished sound, something that became Rock’s speciality. Aside from the title track, Keep the Faith’s most ambitious song is Dry County which, at just eight seconds short of ten minutes, remains their longest tune to date. It is here that Bon Jovi are at their most most Springsteen-like, while Richie Sambora eclipses his previous guitar work with numerous riffs and solo. Jon Bon Jovi continues to explore deeper themes with his lyrics, in which he says, “Now the oil’s gone and the money’s gone. And the jobs are gone, still we’re hanging on.” In some ways, however, this statement echoes the struggling working class that the band explored with their earlier his Livin’ on a Prayer.

Despite the popularity of Keep the Faith, the album contains several songs that are often overlooked by even the most die hard fans. Among there are Woman in Love and Fear, and while neither are among their strongest work they still have their merits. Although he is most known as a singer, it is worth noting that six of the twelve songs featured on the album were written solely by Bon Jovi, including three that were released as singles. He was also responsible for penning both power ballads, the other being I Want You which, in true Bon Jovi fashion, was strong on melody and boasted a sing-along chorus. Possibly the most mediocre song was Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll, which lacked any real memorable hook and featured lyrics that lacked the intelligence of many of the other tracks on the album. The final song, Little Bit of Soul, is heavy on blues and brings the album to a satisfying conclusion. With the exception of a couple of less-than-inspired songs, Keep the Faith is far better than it had any right to be and stands as one of the best albums of Bon Jovi‘s career. It was bold, took chances yet still had that spark that fans had come to expect and, twenty years on, remains a classic.