VARIOUS ARTISTS – Always: A Millenium Tribute To Bon Jovi

No matter how much anyone dislikes them, they keep coming … one after another! This exclamation is in reference to those dreaded “cover releases” and “tribute albums” by favorite bands and artists. A tribute CD is a curious sort of animal, as typically the band being paid “tribute” to is nowadays still active. There was a time when a tribute CD was paying homage to a band that had retired, broken up, etc.

The question is who are these releases targeting? Diehard fans of said tribute bands tend not to accept any type of “substitute” wholeheartedly, and most are taken seriously only casually. The equation becomes even more complicated if the label supporting the tribute release tries to use it as a vehicle to springboard the careers of some lesser, if not unknown, artists. It’s such a predicament that Always – A Millenium Tribute To Bon Jovi is released into.

This particular tribute CD presents a potential problem to Metal Express Radio listeners, as quite a few of the contributing artists here are hardly known and a few come from a Country or Blues background. Those contributing artists that will be recognized by most are recognizable from their 80’s/90’s-era projects, and quite frankly, deliver the best cover tracks offered here. Perhaps part of that allure is due to these artists covering the “rockier” of the chosen tribute playlist, and rightfully so.

Loyal listeners and Bon Jovi fans in general should enjoy “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Lillian Axe vocalist Derrick Lefevre, Ex-Warrant vocalist Jani Lane’s “Lay Your Hands On Me,” as well as ex-Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi’s “Born To Be My Baby” (even though Corabi’s track suffers from some shady production). Kentucky, USA’s guitarist Corey Craven, who is a Hard Rock fan and experienced “tribute”-contributing artist, puts in a notable version of “You Give Love A Bad Name” as well. Add a “Bad Medicine” cover by Jizzy Pearl, and a decent cover of “Runaway” by one Colie Brice, and half the release turns out sounding pretty good. The half that will be lacking to many is the slower, ballad-type tracks submitted by a Nashville singer or two, as well as a Blues musician.

One nitpick is the label’s spotty attention to detail from their research department, as this CD’s case insert refers to “Livin’ On A Prayer” as “Living On A Prayer,” and “Runaway” as “Run Away” … oops! That won’t score any “brownie points” with Bon Jovi fans! To the label’s credit, though, the included CD booklet has nice write-ups about each of the contributing artists (bios, notes, etc.), even including their Web sites.

Bottom line, there are worse tribute/cover CDs available on the market that you could cause you to waste your money. In the end, this one isn’t as “heavy” as the Bon Jovi tribute CD released by Deadline Music in 2001, but Always does offer more tracks (even though the Lane, Corabi, and Pearl covers seem to be culled from the aforementioned Deadline release). Always also appears to be a re-release of the Versailles Records version released in 2005, so if you have that version, then keep looking. Otherwise, if you like Bon Jovi, then you’ll enjoy at least half the music offered here, and you’ll perhaps hit the skip button over the other half.

Tracklisting

Livin’ On A Prayer (Derrick Lefevre) * I’ll Be There For You (Jasy Andrews) * Blaze Of Glory (Richard Kendrick) * Wanted Dead Or Alive (Tony Janflone) * Lay Your Hands On Me (Jani Lane) * Billy Get Your Guns (One Bad Son) * You Give Love A Bad Name (Corey Craven) * Born To Be My Baby (John Corabi) * Stick To Your Guns (Jason Andrews) * Bad Medicine (Jizzy Pearl) * Always (Colie Brice) * It’s My Life (The Issues) * Never Say Goodbye (Andrew Walker) * Runaway (Colie Brice)