BON JOVI – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong

Have you ever witnessed a gorilla beating himself on his chest? Well, Bon Jovi does a great King Kong impression by claiming they have 100,000,000 fans. There’s little doubt that this New Jersey band has sold 100,000,000 albums – but does that mean they have 100,000,000 fans? Just as crystal clear as I will be tired of typing “0” (as well as you growing tired of seeing 100,000,000) before this review is over, the answer is unequivocally “NO!”

Anyway, it’s just a title. The content is more important here, so without further adieu, welcome to the mother of all box sets! It’s close to perfectly made, and it’s possibly the best box set you’ll ever come across. Too many boxes are greatest hits compilations with a couple of new songs (at best). Bon Jovi seems to have cleaned both the attic and the basement when putting this 5-disc set together. You’ll find B-sides, demos, a few soundtracks, and lots of unreleased songs, some more produced than others. Last but not least, the fifth disc is a DVD with interviews along with “behind the scenes” footage and more.

What else can a Bon Jovi fan ask for from Santa Claus?

The first disc shows that Jon Bon Jovi has a good pile of tracks that, up until now, have only collected dust. The opener, “Why Aren’t You Dead,” is a cool rocker with slightly morbid and sarcastic humor, while “The Radio Saved My Life Today” sounds like another hit, just not as successfully produced as the ones we all know. “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” is Bon Jovi rock for the people, a formula that has always been successful for the band. Although Jon himself, in many eyes, started out as a pin-up model, and most definitely had more money than he could count when turning 25, he never forgot where he came from. You may call him a hard-rocking Bruce Springsteen, because his lyrical platform is quite similar.

From a fan’s point of view, this is a great box set because it has value for your hard earned money. The box doesn’t really represent the band in every aspect, instead it represents the band’s diversity, not necessarily its quality, and it doesn’t prove the band’s capability to sell 100,000,000 records. But then again, unlike a bunch of other bands and boxes, Bon Jovi understands the difference between a greatest hits compilation and a collector’s treasure. The point is, Bon Jovi has nothing more to prove. They proved it all when they took the world by storm in 1986 with their Slippery When Wet release, and from there on they just grew, both musically and in popularity. When I say there’s nothing more to prove – that is simply to justify disc 2. Disc 2 doesn’t prove much, and compared to the tracks put on Bon Jovi records throughout the years … well, you can easily see why these where left behind. But hey, again remember this is not a Best Of album; these are songs meant for the true fans – regardless of the number in millions – and you’ve got to respect the band for releasing them.

Disc 3 opens with the very catchy “Edge Of A Broken Heart,” perhaps the best rare track of them all. On the flipside, disc 3 has unreleased studio outtakes with Richie Sambora (guitar god) on vocals, as well as drummer Tico Torres and keyboard player David Bryan trying out too. The latter 2’s attempts would make the World Idol judges dig deep into their dictionaries! This disc is indeed the fun part of the set.

“Love Ain’t Nothing But A Four Letter Word” opens disc 4 – first as an unreleased version, then as a demo. Here you can witness the results being brought to the table by a producer — indeed interesting. Disc 4 also has a demo of “Always,” the song which ended up as the band’s biggest hit and made Melodic Rock survive the fucked up 90’s. Again, this disc won’t attract new listeners to the band because of its songs, but that’s not the point with such a gem of a box set as this. By the way, a demo of one of the band’s biggest hits serves as a so-called hidden bonus track…

When you first open 100, 000, 000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong… and look at its content and the huge book that comes with it, you may be let down by the fact that not all of these songs include corresponding comments. Hence the fifth disc — the DVD — where all the information is, comments on all rare and unreleased tracks from the boys themselves, plus video shoots from the band on the road (yes, Heather Locklear is included, too!!!).

There’s not much more to add. It’s the best box set out there so far, the perfect Christmas gift for anyone into Melodic Rock with an edge to it, and from a band that indeed has carved their name into music history. 100,000,000 fans can’t be wrong – now go and prove the number!