A few years ago, it looked like it was all over for Bon Jovi. As documented in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, the ever bouffant-laden Jon Bon Jovi couldn’t hit the high notes any more. Heading into his sixties, his voice was shot, and vocal cord surgery was the last chance saloon. Clearly, he came through it, and the band released Forever in 2024. But taking the show on the road, singing night after night, hasn't been an option, although that changed this week as the band announced a series of stadium shows for 2026.
So how to keep the campaign alive? In the smashiest, niciest way possible – by getting some great showbiz mates in to help. Forever (Legacy Edition) takes the original album and turns it into a series of duets with everyone from cat food salesman Robbie Williams to fellow classic rocker Joe Elliot, a difficult hurdle turned into a warm, allin-it-together hug.
The source material may be way past prime Bon Jovi – there are plenty of well-crafted but less-than-memorable pop rock anthems, but nothing to hold a candle to the majestic Living On A Prayers of this world – but that’s almost irrelevant. You sense this album exists more for JBJ himself, without having much to prove to the world at large. Those epic key changes are a thing of the past, but there’s a lot to be said for giving in to ageing and making the best of it.
Living In Paradise – written with Ed Sheeran and given extra fizz here thanks to an ever-peppy Avril Lavigne – has those “just won Masterchef” air-punch vibes, a euphoric big hitter with the most energy on the album. There’s nostalgic powerpop in new song Red, White And Jersey, steeped in the smalltown romance that is their calling card. Williams brings a Vegas strut to We Made It Look Easy, although the Spanish language version with Carin León that closes the record is much more fun.
At the other end of the scale, we endure Kiss The Bride with Billy Falcon. Written for Bon Jovi’s daughter for her wedding day, to American ears it’s likely a beautiful outpouring of a father’s love; to cynical British ears, it’s so unbearably saccharine it should come with an emergency puke bucket attached as standard. Thankfully, Bruce Springsteen turns up for Hollow Man to take the edge off proceedings with something a little more authentic. Listening to these two New Jersey legends embark on a gentle reflection on life is genuinely quite moving.
The starry line-up doesn’t elevate Forever to classic Bon Jovi territory, but it does illuminate amply the affection the band are still afforded after all these years.
