Justin Beiber may be hot today, but you've been hot pretty much my entire lifetime.
Love,
Me
2010/12/21
The rock star talks about staying relevant and the inspiration behind his band’s second Greatest Hits album
WITH the release of Bon Jovi Greatest Hits recently, the rock group’s frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, reflects on the success of the five-member outfit that was formed in New Jersey in 1983.
How does it feel to have released your second Greatest Hits album?
I’m pleased to have had two greatest hits albums in my career. A Greatest Hits album is usually the culmination of a career and one that’s perhaps finished and we’re anything but finished. The last we did a Greatest Hits was in 1994 (Cross Road), and we’ve had a lot of hits since then. I’m pleased with the way it’s turned out, with the older tracks and the newer songs.
What inspired this volume of the Greatest Hits?
I initially rejected the idea but I had to do it as a compromise and a commitment to my record company. I was in Nashville a couple of years ago and I wanted to make a country album. Since we’re such an established band, my producers naturally couldn’t say “No” but the CEO said, “While you’re losing millions of my dollars, could you consider making a Greatest Hits album?”
We went on to make Lost Highway, but it was more of a Bon Jovi-influenced Nashville record than a country album. It did very well but a deal is a deal and we sat down and started thinking about the greatest hits compilation.
How did you decide on the track arrangement?
The songs had to fit the idea of what the greatest hits were. I guess in a strange way, I thought of this album as a party and the songs were guests invited to this party. The old tracks mingled well and the new songs had to fit in naturally and comfortably. The song choices were heavily influenced by our fans’ input — that was our priority — and it made the process easier. There is European, American and Asian version so our fans worldwide can get the tracks they like best.
Your new single, What Do You Got, is getting a good response. What’s that like?
It’s great. It was written during The Circle, but it was set aside for the Greatest Hits album because it didn’t really fit the socially-and-politically-conscious tone of The Circle. It has a timeless and universal appeal, and when the people at the studio first heard it, they really liked it.
I wanted to put No Apologies as the first single, but relented and changed it to What Do You Got. We re-recorded it the week we released it. We re-recorded it on a — no exaggeration here — maybe on a Tuesday, mixed it on Wednesday, mastered it by Thursday and on Friday it was on the radio.
You’ve been in the music business for a long time. How have you managed to stay relevant?
You know, fashions and trends come and go but at the end of the day, good music is good music. Look at that Justin Bieber craze going on right now. In six months, there will be six more Justin Biebers because commercialised music sells, or so record labels think. Consumers are getting smarter now, with the advent of social networks and things like YouTube, and they can tell original, creative work from uninspired ones.
Have you ever looked around and thought you were at the peak of your career?
Every stage of my career feels like the big-time. When I was 16 or 17 and playing in nightclubs I was too young to be in, I thought that was big-time.
When my first record was released, I thought that was the peak of my career. When you have an album like Slippery When Wet, you certainly believe that’s the big time.
When I look back to the success of Slippery, at the kind of venues we were playing then to the venues we’re playing now, we’ve dwarfed it.
So there’s always another rung of the ladder above you but I think at this point I measure success by the length of a career.
Our last couple of albums are still No. 1 records. We’re the biggest touring band of the world of 2010 and the only reason it wasn’t the biggest touring band of 2009 was because we weren’t on the road. But every day there’s another rung that’s higher.
What do you think of promoting music via social networks?
There are ebbs and flows, and if you were to ask me about the state of rock music say five or 10 years ago, I’d have said it was in trouble. There’s a newfound freedom and discovery with the use of social networks, and bands are finding their influences’ influences.
Virally, the world may be able to come up with the next Bob Dylan without having to go through the traditional obstacles such as getting a radio to support a record and the kind of junkets I’m still going through. I’m hearing some really interesting, original kind of music through YouTube so I’m holding out for hope because the traditional methods of music distribution are changing. The model is gone.
Which do you think the fans enjoy listening to more — Bon Jovi on album or Bon Jovi live?
In our early career, Bon Jovi was the best-kept secret in rock ‘n roll. People would say “You gotta see them live”. The third album was when we really captured that energy on vinyl. Our reputation as a live band preceded us, we were known for our live shows.
On the other hand, when you come to see us live, you don’t come because you want to see a jam band. People would go see the Grateful Dead because of the surrounding, because of that experience. People come to watch us because they know those songs, generations sing those songs.
You once performed a groundbreaking concert on the roof of a stadium. What was that about?
We’d been spending a month at the O2 in London and that roof-top concert was just our way of saying “Hello, London, we’re here!” We love being the first to do something, and this was definitely the first time someone had performed on the roof of the O2, but it was really just a promotional tool.
Where do you find the inspiration for your songs?
If you open your eyes and ears, every day is a song waiting to be written. If you watched the rescue of the miners in Chile, there would be a story there if you chose to write about it. When you watch your kid going to school, that’s a story. A busy week is a story. Every day is another opportunity to make a memory — sometimes it’s about you, sometimes about the world around you.
What instrument do you use when you’re composing songs?
Primarily the guitar but I have written some different songs on the piano. Both instruments give you a different feel. Some of the more intimate songs have come from the piano, the longer storyteller songs like Joey and Dry County and those sit-down to piano songs we’ve written over the years. The big rock songs seem to lend themselves easier to the guitar. These days I’m writing more on the guitar.
You have often been called the sexiest man alive. Any comment?
None. That’s for Justin Bieber.
Note: Bon Jovi’s Greatest Hits album is now available in record stores
— Universal Music
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