| Four years on from New Jersey, Bon Jovi re-emerged with stern expressions, short hair and outfits noticeably lacking on the sequinned codpiece front. New Jersey had hinted that Jon Bon Jovi wished to be taken seriously--as seriously as Bruce Springsteen, for example--and Keep The Faith confirms this suspicion. However, while Springsteen has been able to redeem himself for his occasional buffooneries with an innate self-conscious modesty, Jon Bon Jovi's career has been characterised by a failure to get to grips with his own absurdity--this, remember, is the man who sang "I've seen a million faces/And I've rocked them all" without so much as smirking. This is why the songs on Keep The Faith where Bon Jovi attempt profundity--like the interminable, point-free "Dry Country"--are virtually unlistenable, and why such ear candy as "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and "Bed Of Roses" is harmlessly beguiling. --Andrew Mueller |
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