Ranking Bon Jovi’s American top 40 singles

Here’s the worst American band of my lifetime, a band that until a hackish essaying of country music that meant overdubbing Jennifer Nettles and a barely audible mandolin had no interest in a chord change, vocal nuance, or lyric signifying emotion by recognizable homo sapiens. And that’s the way Bon Jovi wants it. Consistency isn’t even a hobgoblin — Jon Bon Jovi regards hobgoblins as the just result of small minds. Longevity is a series of tactical cantrips, though, and because they’ve hung in there they’re as New Jersey as Bruce Springsteen, hence as worthy of immortalizing to streaming gatekeepers.

The Hague

I’ll Be There For You
You Give Love a Bad Name
Living in Sin
Bed of Roses
Its My Life
Always
Livin’ on a Prayer

Meh

Wanted Dead or Alive
Born to Be My Baby
In These Arms
Lay Your Hands on Me
This Ain’t a Love Song
You Want To) Make a Memory
Who Says You Can’t Go Home
Keep the Faith

Sound, Solid

Runaway
Bad Medicine

4 thoughts on “Ranking Bon Jovi’s American top 40 singles

  1. I Want to Hague everything!! They had the nuance of a jackhammer. Plus, Bon Jovi’s vocals can’t distinguish one song from the other which doesn’t matter since they are bad anyway. Bad medicine, indeed. In Spanish: Es un gritón de mierda.
    Only semi-inspired moment for me is the distorted intro of Livin for a Prayer. Pity the song follows. Bad Medicine is horrible!!

    1. “Blue Collar” music at its most boneheaded, lowest standard. Make John Mellencam seem Tchaicovsky, including “Small Town” which is better than anything here.

Leave a comment