Bon Jovi: Have A Nice Day (2005) Review

You’ve got to give Bon Jovi credit for the way they’ve been able to hang on in there.

When their hair metal rivals were being mercilessly erased by the early 90s grunge wave, they found a way to adapt their sound came out of the period relatively unscathed.

Likewise, when those same grunge bands were being laid to waste by the late 90s nu-metal uprising, they leaned in hard and weathered the storm thanks to anthems like It’s My Life.

Fast-forward to 2005, and it’s alternative artists who currently rule the rock landscape.

As far as Bon Jovi are concerned this is merely a case of “same shit, different day”, because once again, with their backs up against the wall and irrelevency staring them in the face, these seasoned New Jersey exports have somehow found a way to come out fighting by delivering one of the best albums of their career.

Bouncing Back To Their Best

The band’s ninth studio album is packed with stadium-sized riffs and radio-friendly choruses from wall to wall.

It’s an audible lesson from a band who seem to know exactly what they’re good at, and have spent literal decades honing their craft in order to deliver it as effectively as humanly possible.

Sure, it’s not going to redefine music, but that never seems to have been the goal here.

From the opening riff of the title track (lead single Have A Nice Day) it is abundantly clear that this as close to a return of their long-missed Eighties sound as we’re every likely to get. This is very much a contemporary rock song, but it succeeds in adding thick layers of catchy guitar hooks and extra helpings of those don’t-take-no-shit lyrics which Bon Jovi deliver in a way that nobody else can quite replicate.

It’s supremely effective, and this “modern vintage” tone runs throughout the whole disc.

Enter John Shanks

Bon Jovi appeared to be struggling for motivation in the build-up to this release.

Having spent the previous two years cutting a lacklustre acoustic record and then disappearing down a rabbit hole to compile a way-too-extensive compilation of unreleased material to celebrate their 100 millionth record sale (yikes!), the well had run dry.

After all, where do you go when you’ve seen it all?

It was former Alanis Morissette producer John Shanks who ultimately reminded them who the fuck they are.

By combining his modern recording techniques with the band’s old-school methodology, Shanks was able to help Bon Jovi update their sound (yet again) and provide Have A Nice Day with a layer of sheen and gloss which makes every song feel fifty feet tall.

NOTE: Shanks would go on to become a very controversial figure in Bon Jovi lore, by working his way out of the producer’s chair and into the band itself (as rhythm guitarist), kick-starting a chain of events which led to axeman Richie Sambora quitting Bon Jovi for good.

“The band seemed unsure which direction to go. As a new guy drafted in I felt like my opinon didn’t really count for much, but one day I took a leap of faith and played them the guitar hook which eventually became Have A Nice Day. I told them this is what I think about when I imagine going to see a Bon Jovi concert – kick-ass rock songs with big riffs and powerful lyrics, you know? That’s what they do best, it always has been.”

– John Shanks

“The band seemed unsure which direction to go.

As a new guy drafted in I felt like my opinon didn’t really count for much, but one day I took a leap of faith and played them the guitar hook which eventually became Have A Nice Day.

I told them this is what I think about when I imagine going to see a Bon Jovi concert – kick-ass rock songs with big riffs and powerful lyrics, you know?

That’s what they do best, it always has been.”

– John Shanks

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Production changes aside, the band appear happy to keep walking a familiar path.

They return to their anthemic template for bangers like Story Of My Life, Who Says You Can’t Go Home, and Complicated to great effect.

And despite the fact that none of these tracks scale the heights of classics like Livin’ On A Prayer or It’s My Life – which is an absurdly high bar to measure against – the fact that they’re able to be so consistently good on so many occasions throughout the record more than makes up for it.

This Romeo’s Still Bleedin’

Now 43, Jon Bon Jovi is finally at an age which suits his lyrical tone.

You’ll hear his current worldviews pouring onto the record via the likes of Novacaine and Last Cigarette, which face up to the realities of getting older (something he’s been telling us since 1994!), while cutting himself open on the broken pieces of failed relationships, and attempting to process his therapist’s recommendation of “becoming a modern man”.

Elsewhere, the blistering rocker Last Man Standing discusses the current state of the music industry.

The frontman is more cynical than ever before as he berates record labels for pushing manufactured content instead of backing real musicians who earn their stripes by putting in the hard yards on the road, and blasts the fat cats in suits for failing to adapt to piracy in what is becoming an increasingly digital era.

"The songs were more than music then,
They were pictures from the soul,
Keep your pseudo-punk-hip-hop-pop-rock junk,
And your digital downloads."

LAST MAN STANDING

A New Tone

One of the more interesting “under the hood” elements of Have A Nice Day is that it’s the album on which Jon Bon Jovi permanently changed his vocal style in order to accomodate his age.

The unforgiving key changes of the 1980s and the raspy howls of the 1990s are no longer logical.

His new approach is considerably more constrained, focusing on staying within his lower register and delivering lines with more attitude and sincerity.

This means some of the vocals on this album lack the sheer intensity of days gone by, but Bon Jovi do what they do best and adapt, learning how to get the most of this new vocal delivery by making good use of cleverly-spaced moments of silence in order to emphasize their frontman’s voice, rather than having him push it to the limit in a battle against the music.

Melodies Galore

Jon Bon Jovi’s decision to change his trademark vocal style puts a welcome pressure on the band.

With the voicebox-shredding choruses of Always and I Believe now a thing of the past, Richie Sambora and co. make a conscious decision to ensure that each track is loaded with high quality riffs and cleverly structured musical arrangements.

The infinitely hummable Wildflower does this best, with the band applying smart key changes and a “back to basics” melody where previously things would’ve just gotten a whole lot louder.

You’ll also hear it on classic single Welcome To Wherever You Are and forward-thinking rocker Novocaine.

"I'm up to here with Dr. Phil,
And the "modern man" in me."

NOVOCAINE

Is That… Country?

Producer John Shanks’ is well-known for his country music influences, having previously penned tracks for the likes of Keith Urban and Sheryl Crow.

This bodes well for Bon Jovi, who have always identified as cowboys.

You can hear the country music twang more than ever before on this record, and to be honest it feels like a natural progression for them to make a full-fledged move into the genre should they decide to evolve their sound again in future.

The massive success of Who Says You Can’t Go Home is a good indicator for this.

Having been booked to produce Sugarland’s 2006 LP Enjoy The Ride immediately after finishing work on Have A Nice Day, Shanks used his influence to recruit singer-songwriter Jennifer Nettles to cut a duet version of Who Says You Can’t Go Home for the special edition of the Bon Jovi record, and this move ultimately gave the New Jersyans one of their biggest hits to date – as well as a significant amount of credit within the country music scene.

Bon Jovi: Have A Nice Day

It feels strange to be heralding a Bon Jovi album in 2005.

I mean, this is a band who are supposed to be past their sell-by-date, right?

But against all odds, ninth studio LP Have A Nice Day is a resounding triumph.

Loaded with giant guitar hooks and stadium-sized choruses from beginning to end, Bon Jovi have somehow managed to deliver an unapologetic rock record which offers more authenticity than anything which is currently sitting in the upper rungs of the charts.

It can sit proudly alongside Slippery When Wet (1986) and Keep The Faith (1992) as the finest work of their career.

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