Album Results
Album Reviews
Even if it was classified as pop-metal, Bon Jovi never really was much of a metal band, relying on big, catchy melodies and not guitar riffs to make their songs memorable. That's why, in 2000, they're able to make an album like Crush, which strays far enough into pop/rock to actually stand a chance of getting airplay (which it did, with the hit lead single "It's My Life"). The guitar crunch on the uptempo numbers keeps Bon Jovi from becoming a full-fledged pop/rock band, but in addition to the typical hard rockers, there are nods to heartland rock, Bryan Adams-style adult contemporary balladry ("Thank You for Loving Me"), the Beatles (the surprisingly effective "Say It Isn't So"), and even British glam à la T. Rex or David Bowie ("Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars"). Occasionally, it sounds like the band is attempting to cover as many bases as possible for multi-format appeal, but for the most part, the variety -- coupled with the consistently polished songcraft -- makes for a surprisingly listenable album. The production is a little more electronic-tinged, but not obtrusively high-tech, so the band doesn't come off as desperate to sound contemporary. Aside from a couple of missteps (the soppy, aforementioned "Thank You for Loving Me" and the mawkish posturing of "Save the World"), Crush is a solidly crafted mainstream rock record that's much better than most might expect. Even if Crush is more measured than Bon Jovi's early work, "Just Older" sums up the band's acceptance of their status nicely: "The skin I'm in is all right with me/It's not old, just older." ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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If I Were A Boy Beyonce |
| As far as pop stars go, Beyoncé can be granted supernova status; enjoying a never ending period of constant expansion. Maybe that's why she now feels obliged to introduce an alter ego and name her imminent double CD "I am Sasha Fierce" after it. The album is supposed to show two opposite artistic sides: with Beyoncé focusing on the mellower, ballad-singing, aspect of her personality and Sasha showing the, eerm, fiercer, sophisticated dancey glamour. "If I Were A Boy" belongs to the old-fashioned former and, on paper, it sounded like a female answer to Prince's gender bender classic "If I Was Your Girlfriend." But despite the promising premise, its rather dull lyrics,never far away from cliché land, are nothing like the purple genius' spicy machinations. Drinking bear, chasing girls and trying to understand how a woman feels to become a better man it's all the Destiny's Child would like to do if she was indeed a boy. Ballads have never been Beyoncé's forte, so it doesn't take much thought to guess which side we're likely to prefer. Bring on Sasha Fierce!! | |
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