Bounce (Bon Jovi album)
Bounce is the eighth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on October 8, 2002 through Island Records. Produced by Luke Ebbin, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, the album was recorded at Sanctuary II Studio in New Jersey.
Bounce | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 8, 2002 | |||
Recorded | March–June 2002 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 49:10 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Bon Jovi chronology | ||||
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Singles from Bounce | ||||
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Bounce was heavily influenced by the September 11, 2001 attacks, owing in part to Jon Bon Jovi's proximity to New York. The title "Bounce" was a reference to New York City's and the United States' ability to bounce back from the World Trade Center attacks as a nation. The cover image for the album includes a stylized image of a radio telescope dish at the Very Large Array.
The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200,[3] making it Bon Jovi's highest debut in the band's history at that time.
Background
In end of July 2001, during the final tour One Wild Night Tour, Jon Bon Jovi confirmed for the Billboard that he started to write new songs for the Crush (2000) follow-up and that the entire band is planning to start recording from January 2002. Also, he confirmed that band is planning to release the boxset in 2003. in conjunction with the band's 20th anniversary.[4] Between June and October 2001, band members wrote 25 songs and demoed totally 12 of them. Many of those songs were written in September and they were influenced by September 11 attacks. Those songs were "Standing" and "Another Reason to Believe".[5][6]
At the end of July 2001, Bon Jovi finished their Crush world tour with two sold-out shows at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The band then took a three-week break after which Jon and Richie Sambora started writing songs, first in Los Angeles and later in New Jersey. They have demoed some of those new songs in New Jersey in November 2001. After that, Jon had to fulfill an acting commitment to the TV series Ally McBeal (1997-2002), so he stayed at Sambora's house in Los Angeles and during that time they continued with the songwriting process and demoing process at Luke Ebbin's house. Songwriting and demoing process went on until March 2002. and between March and June 2002. band recorded the album. By early July 2002. all the songs that ended up on the album were mixed and by the late July of the same year they were mastered. In a period of less than a year, the band wrote approximately 40 songs, 12 songs ended up on the album and several more songs in their demo versions ended up on singles as B-Sides. During the songwriting process, the band also wrote some songs that were written as a cathartic exercise. Those songs were written right after the September 11 attacks and they were mainly of woe from lyrical standpoint because they were influenced by that tragedy. Jon said that those songs were only written and will never be recorded.[7]
Lyrics and music
After a one-album absence, perennial Bon Jovi collaborator Desmond Child returned to co-write four of the album's 12 songs. The lyrics in the song "Undivided" were influenced by the September 11 attacks. It simply states that No Man Is an Island and that all people are part of the greater world, that is humanity, that all people are stronger together, than being apart.[8] Song "Everyday" was inspired also by September 11 attacks. It reinforces the need to live each day to its fullest and the lyrics acknowledge the harshness of life, but encourage listeners to "brush themselves off", get back up on their feet and get on with life.[7][9] "The Distance" is written in a cinematic style. The music serves as a score to the lyrics, which begins as an establishing shot and the "camera" draws closer into the story as the song progresses. The lyrics talk about the passion that person feels when there is a goal in sight and the determination shown when person is striving to reach that goal.[10] Song "Joey" is influenced and inspired by Elton John's song Levon (1971) and talks about a character who befriends a simple-minded young man.[11] "Misunderstood" is a song about every guy who's said the wrong thing or failed to say the right thing and had to face with the consequences. The song was written after Jon Bon Jovi came home after long period of time and when he realised there were portions of his personal life he had neglected and wrote this song to admit his guiltiness.[12] Song "All About Lovin' You" is a love song that talks about appreciating the love of another. It was also influenced by September 11 events and how many people after that tragedy rediscovered that love is most important thing in life.[13]
"Hook Me Up" is a song that was inspired by a newspaper article about a young Palestinian man in occupied territory who was trying desperately to make contact with people via an old, beat-up ham radio. It was written from the young man's perspective who was trapped in a small corner of the world, amidst horrible events and all he wanted was communication, connection with outside world and other people.[14] "Right Side of Wrong" is a modern-day Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid song that talks about good people involved in wrongdoing, but people who have hearts in right place.[15] Song "Love Me Back to Life" is about world-weariness and need for someone or something that will breathe the life back into you and allow you to appreciate the world again.[16] "You Had Me From Hello" is the song about a committed relationship and ability of someone to constantly see something new and beautiful in the one they love. The title was taken from the phrase made by Cameron Crowe in his movie Jerry Maguire (1996).[17] The title track "Bounce" was originally written near the end of the One Wild Night Tour and it had more sports-oriented lyrics. But after the events of September 11, song became, lyrically, about declaration of strength and defiance. It referres to the city of New York, and the United States as a whole, but also to the band's perseverance over a twenty-year career.[7][18] Song "Open All Night" is dialog between two characters in TV series Ally McBeal (1997-2002): Ally McBeal and Victor Morrison, plumber and babysitter portrated by Jon Bon Jovi. Jon appeared in nine episodes in role of this character and storyline (especially romantic) between him and Ally took a long time to evolve and Jon admitted that if that happened in real life, he would either never allow it to take so long or he would have move on. It's a dialog between Victor and Ally if Jon had written the teleplay[19]
Critical reception
Bounce received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 61 out of 100, which indicates "favorable reviews" based on 8 reviews.[20] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic gave the album 2 stars out of 5 stating that album "After all, this is a record where Bon Jovi seems to have consciously decided to avoid everything that gives their music character, melody, and muscle, a move that would have been odd at any point during their career, but is particularly puzzling after they delivered an album that found them growing old gracefully. It's as if they want to undo everything Crush did for them".[21] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly rated the album with C stating that "Bon Jovi have every right to write and sing topical songs. But the results are sonically grating (the music feels shrill and compressed) and strained, reducing the emotions and situations connected to Sept. 11 to stadium chants".[22] Natalie Nichols from Los Angeles Times gave the album 2 stars out of 4 stating that "This time the music's trademark epic quality comes less from Richie Sambora's sprawling guitar work than from an overdose of strings and piano that reflects singer-actor Jon Bon Jovi's movie and TV interests".[23] Gavin Edwards from Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5 by saying that "The title Bounce is meant to be an exhortation to America after 9/11, and if it doesn't exactly offer poetic catharsis, the existence of the eighth Bon Jovi record is reassurance of a different kind: Life goes on".[24] Sputnikmusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 saying that "Fueled by an emotional theme, Bon Jovi end up making their best album of the millennium era".[25] Steven Poole from The Guardian gave the album 2 stars out of 5 saying that "for most of the record Jon Bon Jovi sounds puzzlingly like Elvis Costello or Elton John, and sugary ballads predominate, with Bruce Hornby-like piano intros and tasteful acoustic-guitar lines leading to swollen, meaningless choruses".[26]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 61/100[20] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Entertainment Weekly | C[22] |
Los Angeles Times | |
Rolling Stone | |
Sputnikmusic | |
The Guardian |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Undivided" | Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Billy Falcon | 3:53 |
2. | "Everyday" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Andreas Carlsson | 3:00 |
3. | "The Distance" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Desmond Child | 4:48 |
4. | "Joey" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora | 4:54 |
5. | "Misunderstood" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child, Carlsson | 3:30 |
6. | "All About Lovin' You" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child, Carlsson | 3:46 |
7. | "Hook Me Up" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child, Carlsson | 3:54 |
8. | "Right Side of Wrong" | Jon Bon Jovi | 5:50 |
9. | "Love Me Back to Life" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora | 4:09 |
10. | "You Had Me From Hello" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Carlsson | 3:49 |
11. | "Bounce" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora, Falcon | 3:11 |
12. | "Open All Night" | Jon Bon Jovi, Sambora | 4:22 |
Total length: | 49:10 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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13. | "No Regrets" | Jon Bon Jovi | 4:02 |
14. | "Postcards From the Wasteland" | Jon Bon Jovi | 4:25 |
Total length: | 57:37 |
No. | Title | Length |
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13. | "The Distance (Live)" | 5:46 |
14. | "Joey (Live)" | 5:26 |
15. | "Hook Me Up (Live)" | 4:46 |
16. | "Bounce (Live)" | 3:15 |
Total length: | 68:23 |
Personnel
The following people contributed to Bounce:[27]
- Bon Jovi
- Jon Bon Jovi - lead vocals, guitar
- Richie Sambora - lead guitar, backing vocals, talk box on "Bounce" and "Everyday"
- Hugh McDonald – bass, backing vocals
- Tico Torres - drums, percussion
- David Bryan - keyboards, backing vocals
- Additional musicians
- Jerry Cohen – unspecified musical contribution
- Andreas Carlsson – unspecified musical contribution
- Samuel Waermo – unspecified musical contribution
- David Campbell – orchestral arrangements
- Luke Ebbin – orchestral arrangements
- Recording personnel
- Luke Ebbin – producer, programming
- Jon Bon Jovi – producer
- Richie Sambora – producer
- Desmond Child – co-producer
- Andreas Carlsson – co-producer
- Obie O'Brien – engineer
- Mike Rew – assistant engineer
- Gary Tole – Pro-Tools, additional engineering
- Graham Hawthorne – Pro-Tools editor
- Efrain "ET" Torres – additional Pro-Tools engineering
- Samuel Waermo – additional engineering, programming
- Marc Jamison – programming ("You Had Me from Hello")
- Bob "Clear-Fuckin'" Mountain – mixing
- Kevin Harp – mix assistant
- Tim Holland – tech support
- Chris "Lumpy" Hofschneider – tech support
- George Marino – mastering (track 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 & 11)
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering (track 4, 6, 8, 9 & 12)
- Artwork
- Kevin Westenberg – photography
- Kevin Reagan – art direction, design
- Bret Healey – design
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Argentina (CAPIF)[55] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Australia (ARIA)[56] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[57] | Gold | 15,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[58] | Gold | 25,000* |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[59] | Gold | 50,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[60] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Germany (BVMI)[61] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[62] | Platinum | 319,000[63] |
Netherlands (NVPI)[64] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[65] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[66] | Platinum | 40,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[67] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[68] | Gold | 500,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[69] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
References
- Entertainment Weekly review
- BBC
- "Allmusic (Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard albums".
- "Bon Jovi Planning New Studio Album, Box Set". Billboard. 2001-05-25. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
- "Bon Jovi Puts 'Ally McBeal' On Hold To Play Benefits". MTV. 2001-10-01. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
- "Bon Jovi Want To Help Nation Bounce Back With Next Album". MTV. 2001-10-22. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
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- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Everyday". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: The Distance". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Joey". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Misunderstood". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: All About Lovin' You". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Hook Me Up". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Right Side of Wrong". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Love Me Back to Life". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: You Had Me From Hello". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Bounce". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Bon Jovi: Bounce - Behind the Songs: Open All Night". Bonjovi.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2003. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- "Critic Reviews for Bounce - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bounce - Bon Jovi". Allmusic. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- Browne, David. "Bounce". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- Nichols, Natalie. "Nice try, Faith, but go back to the studio". Rolling Stones. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- Edwards, Gavin. "Bounce - Rolling Stone". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
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- Bounce liner notes
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- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
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- "Brazilian album certifications – Bon Jovi – Bounce" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
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- Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- "Dutch album certifications – Bon Jovi – Bounce" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 June 2019. Enter Bounce in the "Artiest of titel" box.
- Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados > 2000–2003. Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Bon Jovi; 'Bounce')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- "British album certifications – Bon Jovi – Bounce". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Bounce in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American album certifications – Bon Jovi – Bounce". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 June 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
- "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2002". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
External links
- Bounce at Metacritic