After a decade of life, Bon Jovi had reached their limit. Six years in a constant album tour cycle burned out all the band members and therefore there was no time for goodbyes after the last show of the Jersey Syndicate tour, an 18 month long journey of more than 200 concerts. Each band member then took the time off to pursue personal goals, wheather in the music industry with solo records or outside the music world. Due to the fact that there was no contact among them, soon rumors spread that the band had split for good. The band gathered for a new year Japanese tour, towards the end of 1990 beginning of 1991, and there was even some new songs that made their debut during those shows, suggesting a new record was on its way. However, as a Kerrang music journalist put it: the band status was more of a "Dead or Alive?" situation. During 1991, guitarist Richie Sambora not only put out a solo record, as he toured with Tico, David and Alec, providing evidence that all the fuzz around a possible permanent split could actually have some fundament. By the end of 1991 the situation was serious, not only there were doubts about if there was a future for Bon Jovi, as all the 80s Hard Rock bands were becoming a failure after Grunge took over mainstream. It was time for the band to gather and to decide what to do. There are many versions of what happened in that period, but the only facts that history books will tell are that the 5 original members of Bon Jovi headed again to Vancouver and along producer Bob Rock (who had co-produced their previous 2 records) spent 6 months writing and recording their do or die record.
By the end of the year Keep the Faith got to the shelves of every music store and the cover, showing all the guys's hands together, was the strong image the group was trying to get across. Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi got rid of his long hair and opted for a more stylish haircut, a move that would make the tabloids refer to him endlessly in the following months. The heavy metal style that characterized the band during the 80s was also gone, being replaced by a more soberb and street fashion style. The video for their leading single not only showcased such a drastic change in the band's visuals, as it established a brand new sound for the New Jersey quintet.
The album opens with a fade in guitar rush that is followed by increasing drums that explode in a loud scream. When the first verse is said it is barely recognizable Jon Bon Jovi's voice. The song keeps on, building up with loud guitars until a burst of energy is released and the chorus is delivered with the passion and energy the band had used their fans to. "I Believe" was the shout out that said goodbye to the 80s and brought a timeless sound, filled with guitar hooks, blazing drums and an astonishing shape of Jon Bon Jovi's voice. However, for those who had listened carefully, all the elements that characterized the band were still present: wheather their passion, energy or optimist. They did believe they could overcome the odds and this is a fine example of a Bon Jovi classic. Released as a single in Europe, it would become one of the fan's favourite songs with one of the band's more avant gard videos ever. Brilliant!
"Keep the Faith", the title track and first single, was based on the Rolling Stone's bass riff of "Sympathy for the Devil", although its strong chorus and astonishing guitar parts made this a classic, mandatory on every show the band played ever again outside North America. The positivity the band kept, despite all the Grunge message that were overwhelming at that point, set them apart from a music genre that wouldn't last for long. Written about the riots in Los Angeles during the presidential election, "Keep the Faith" is a song full of positive energy and anger sounds that is easily a highlight every time it is played. Superb!
The rhytmic "I'll Sleep when I'm dead" brings the topic to more relaxed matters and is able to showcase what Bon Jovi is all about: a bar band who wants not only to have fun, but to entertain their audience and make them forget about their everyday problems. The simplicity of the song along its catchy beat and funny lyrics turned this one to a live favourite that would endure in the band's set list for the following 20 years (at least). Released in Europe as the album's 4th single it made the top 10. Very Rock'n'Roll.
"In These Arms", although first sounding like a quiet ballad, keeps getting bigger and bigger and eventually it bursts sky high when it reaches the chorus. Wow, what a release of energy! Althouth verses and chorus have evidently different origins, this is the typical prototype of a love song the band had used their fans to, only updated to their 90's sound. No doubt it tries to follow the legacy of hits like "Livin'on a Prayer", "I'd Die for you" or "Born to be my Baby", and the truth is it really works with its straightforward chords, simple words of passion and incredibly high notes briliantly delivered. It's true the song had to be tunned down a few keys when it was brought back to live shows in 2001, but let's face it, there are not many people who can reach those high notes anyway. Again, althouth stylistically sounding more mature and timeless, the energy, passion and optimist that build the band's name are present. Released as the album's 3rd single, it got decent airplay, while its video became a testament to the band's 1993 tour. Top notch!
The album's track number 5 is "Bed of Roses" and it's hard to descrive a song when its legacy speaks for itself. If there is a definition of power ballad, I'm sure "Bed of Roses" is a pretty good one. Briliantly blending piano, guitar, harmonies and a rhytmic section that builds up and enfacises the dramatic chorus, bridge and solo, this is the prototype of a perfect ballad that turned out to be album's most successful single worldwide. Although maybe overshadowed by 1994's Bon Jovi's most commercial success ever, "Always", one must admit that it was "Bed of Roses" that paved the way and definitely contributed for the rock ballad to become such a commercial success in the mid 90s. Perfect!
"If I was your Mother" surprises both because of its heavy guitar parts that are remindsent of a pre Slippery When Wet period, but also because of its awkward lyrcs. Although merging a ballanced mix of melody and energy, the song falls short when compared to its predecessors, being easily forgotten.
It is then time for "Dry County" and the 6th, and final, single the album produced, cannot be descrived as less of an epic. The guitar riff and dramatic verses are astonishlingly acompanied by piano and rhythm section, building a western ballad of anger and despair. Although founded on the observation of people who had struggled all their life to achieve a dream that was vannishing before their eyes, the song is able to add hope towards its end. The almost 10 minute song is trully an epic, consisting of several acts, out of which the 2nd guitar solo stands out as the song's climax. The song creates such a musical and lyrical atmospheres that it's almost like we are seeing a movie. In fact if we close our eyes we can easily see the story flowing as naturally as any true classic of the seventh art. Simply, a masterpiece!
As the album clocks 45 minutes, it reminds us we are no longer in the Vinyl days and with Compact Disks, there's an extra 25 minute to fill. "Woman in Love" is musically agressive and lyrically fun. Fitting on the album's musical atmospheres, but barely touching the 6 singles level of grandiosity. Although fun and to be fair decent as an album track it is easily forgotten just as "If I was your Mother".
"Fear" brings back the "hope towards a tough time" subject. Musically it is built from a very interesting rhythm, which is complemented with an agressive guitar, whose riff takes the band musically even further. Although (again) not being able to compete with the album's 6 magic singles, this is an interesting track, providing leads of the band's quest for musical diversity and evolution.
"I want you" is the hidden power ballad in the album. From its title to every note it consists of, the song lives and breathes of all the elements that make a power ballad. The tough way the lyrics are delivered, as if the singer is talking in stead of singing, added to its dramatic climax, in the bridge after the solo, and melodic choirs towards its fade out, all sum to a nice love ballad that in spite of not containing the richness of "Bed of Roses", it still captures the sentiment of a person who is deeply in love.
As the album gets to track 11 the band turns up the volume and brings back the fun element it had initiated with "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". "Blame it on the love of Rock 'n' Roll" descrives the quest of a kid whose passion for Rock'n'Roll is not understood by any adult around him. Musically the song is as fun and rhythmic as it gets, making the listener want to clap his/her hands and perfectly being able to recreate the atmosphere of a crowded bar in a saturday night.
"Little bit of Soul" wraps up the album with yet more fun moments, only this time the struggle of the boy who desperatly loves Rock'n'Roll, is replaced by a more soulful message, coming full circle with the album's main topic: optimism during tough times. The band had already achieved this "good vibes" fade out effect with the closing track of the album "New Jersey", "Love for Sale", only in an acoustic enviorenment. This time around they add an electric element and with these last two tracks, they are able to create a party atmosphere that ultimitly consist of simple and yet effective fun Blues sounds.
It was common practice during the 90s that Europe and Japan got bonus tracks. Both markets included the song "Save a Prayer", which was another rhytmic blues song, only this time merged with more agressive sounds in the vein of "Fear" or "Woman in Love", becoming confuse and more interesting as a music exercise that showed the path that the band steped on their way to songs like "Keep the Faith" or "I Believe". The Japanese market had the exclusive bonus track "Starting all over again", an optimistic rhythm guitar based song that reminds Bryan Adams hit songs. The song is able to briliantly capture the feeling of getting back to work after a long break. Its enthusiasm and optimism make it one of the best outakes the band ever produced.
The demos and outakes of the "Keep the Faith" sessions were hidden for many years, and only with the release of the 2004, four cd, 20th anniversary comemorative Box Set, many of the recordings of the longest period the band spent in a studio for a single record were finally exposed. In fact, it is interesting to listen to such a diverse set of songs that show the many experiments the band made, eventually picking only the ones that were able to adjust to the album's bottom line, creating a conceptual integrity that included not only the sound, but all the aesthetics of the band's image. Nowadays it is easy to understand that "Keep the Faith" was the single most difficult record the band ever released and what could easily have alienated them, and much like their 80s peers relegate them to a dated music act, in stead, catapult them to worldwide stadium sized audiences, only a handful of bands were ever fortunate enough to experience.
"Keep the Faith" was a fresh new start for the 5 rockers and soon they hit the road, playing small bars and exposing themselves to the media, eventually recording a semi acoustic performance for MTV, released on video as one of the fan's favourite releases, "An evening with Bon Jovi". The band toured extensively in North America, although achieving a much more commercial success outside the US. After spending 6 months playing every arena in Europe, Japan and North America, the band returned to Europe, selling out stadiums throughout the continent. In fact they were the first band that ever sold out 2 nights at England's mythical Milton Keynes Bowl, an achievement even the co headlining tour Guns 'n' Roses and Metallica had shared a year before was unable to accomplish. The stadiums of countries in the Far East like Thailand and the Philipines, as well as Australia, Central and South America followed, just before the band wrapped up their world tour with a 12 date run in a market that kept faithful to them: Canada.
Throughout the 18 month period, between September 1992 and February 1994, the band released an impressive amount of 6 hit singles, all of them achieving the UK top 10 and providing them an even bigger success than before in Europe and Japan. The band not only mantained their world wide recognition, as they expanded to other markets and consolidated as a true global phenomena. By 1994 there was nobody, from young kids to seniors who hadn't heard about Bon Jovi. In the year Kurt Cobain dramaticaly put an end to his life, Bon Jovi had thrived against all odds, in a adverse endeavor, putting on the good fight, and with the same positive and energetic attitude they had reached the top of charts in the 80s, they had just climbed to the top all over again, establishing themselvelves as an adult act who had proved not to be an one hit wonder or Hair Metal pioneer, but in stead a timeless classic rock band, who were only achieving its first 10 years of existence. Even if not a mass success record in the US, "Keep the Faith" is still one of Rock 'n' Roll most important records, and although it didn't earned the critical aclaim of U2's "Archtung Baby", it did massively change the direction of a band that had established themselves in a those days "hated music genre", being able to appeal to a broader audience, keeping the integrity and philosophy Bon Jovi ever carried throughout their career.
"Keep the Faith" is Bon Jovi's album which includes more hit singles and is probably apart from perfection only because of its length, since there are 2 or 3 tracks that aren't able to sustain the album's level of quality. Had this been released as a vinyl and it would probably achieve the consistancy of "Slippery When Wet".
Nevertheless (as stated before) I believe this is the single most important record the band ever recorded, making Bon Jovi to ascend to the premiere league of names in the music business along the likes of The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen or Madonna. A true timeless odissey of optimism during troubling times. 9/10
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