| These Days | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_Front_Cover.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 27, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1994–1995 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Rock[1] | |||
| Length | 63:55 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Bon Jovi chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from These Days | ||||
| ||||
These Days (stylized as(these Days)) is the sixth studio album by Americanrock bandBon Jovi, released on June 27, 1995, byMercury Records. This was the first album Bon Jovi released after the dismissal of original bassistAlec John Such, and their first album to be recorded officially as a quartet (without an official bassist, but featuringHugh McDonald as a session/touring member on bass guitar). The album, produced byPeter Collins,Jon Bon Jovi andRichie Sambora, is praised by many critics and fans as their best album.These Days is overall a darker album in contrast to the band's usual brand of feel-good, inspiring rock songs and love ballads.
At the time of release, the album was a huge commercial success, especially in the European and Asian markets. It became the band's fifth and fourth consecutive number one album in Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom,These Days replacedMichael Jackson's albumHIStory at number one on theUK Albums Chart and spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1.[5] The album spawned four Top 10 singles on theUK Singles Chart, the band's highest number of Top 10 singles from one album in the UK. The high sales of the album in Europe warranted a re-issue of the album under the name ofThese Days Special Edition a year after its original release.
The album was ranked number two onQ magazine's list of the "Top 50 albums of 1995".[6] The album was also voted the album of the year in British magazineKerrang!'s readers poll in 1995. In 2006, the album featured in theClassic Rock andMetal Hammer 's The "200 Greatest Albums of the 90s".[7] In the U.S., despite selling 1 million copies and being certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the album peaked at number nine on theBillboard 200.[8]
When theKeep the Faith Tour ended in December 1993, Jon Bon Jovi went on a vacation in January 1994 where he wrote "Something to Believe In", the first song written for the album. Over the next nine months,Jon Bon Jovi andRichie Sambora wrote and demoed forty songs. The album was originally slated to be released in the fourth quarter of 1994, but they asked for more time to write additional material. Because of that, they releasedCross Road, their first greatest hits album, with two new songs in October 1994.
Jon Bon Jovi hiredPeter Collins to produce the album, based on his prior work with several acts such asRush,Queensrÿche andAlice Cooper. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were co-producers of the album. They made a start recording the album inNashville in the fall of 1994. After a week to ten days of recording, during October 1994, Jon Bon Jovi erased it all. Recording continued over the next four months and it shifted between Jon Bon Jovi's home studio Sanctuary I in Woodstock, NY, and three separate studios inLos Angeles: One On One Studios, Ocean Way Recording, and A&M Studios. There were various reasons why so many different studios were used.
One reason for studio changes, while recording in Woodstock, NY, was industrial metal bandFear Factory were recording their albumDemanufacture in a neighboring studio.[9] Bon Jovi's engineers repeatedly complained about the volume Fear Factory were recording at as it was bleeding into their drum mics.[10]
Regardless, all the basic tracks except for "Diamond Ring" and "(It's Hard) Letting You Go" were recorded in Woodstock, NY. All the rhythm guitar parts were recorded in Los Angeles and all the keyboards were recorded in New Jersey. Most vocals were done in New Jersey. Very little was done in Nashville: one vocal and one or two keyboard parts. "Diamond Ring" and "(It's Hard) Letting You Go" were recut in Los Angeles. The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain in Los Angeles.
Then the band embarked on a mini Christmas tour of clubs in December 1994 and they continued to promote Cross Road. On December 17, 1994, Richie Sambora marriedHeather Locklear.
.jpg)
Hard rock andpop metal were in decline by the mid-1990s, whilealternative rock andgrunge were at the height of their popularity. Many of Bon Jovi's peers, such asMotley Crue andWarrant, tried adapting to the genres, but to little success, so the band took a different approach. According to Jon Bon Jovi, the album was influenced byalternative rock andmetal bands, such asPearl Jam,Tool, andNine Inch Nails,[11] but this is reflected more in the introspective lyrics than the music. Daina Darzin ofRolling Stone wrote that Bon Jovi retains their "cheesy-but-irresistiblepop qualities" from the 1980s, but incorporates them in the form of "mostly sad music for grown-ups." She also comparedThese Days to the music ofBruce Springsteen,Garth Brooks andZZ Top.[12]
These Days is primarily anadult contemporary rock album withpop rock ballads and elements ofsoul,R&B andmodern rock.[13][14] "This Ain't a Love Song", "Hearts Breaking Even" and "Damned" are bouncy R&B songs, the latter even featuring a horn section inspired by fellow New Jersey rock band,Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Daina Darzin also described the song as "the record’s most rollicking, guitar-solohappy cut", but still has more in common withINXS than Motley Crue. The opening track, "Hey God", is the heaviest on the album, with ahard rock andalternative rock sound, an example of Sambora's love ofblues.[15][16]
Jon Bon Jovi is credited with composing the music for all of the album's tracks.Richie Sambora is also credited with composing the music for all of the album's tracks, except "(It's Hard) Letting You Go" and "Something To Believe In"; both were written and composed by Jon Bon Jovi. He is also not credited on "Hearts Breaking Even", which was written and composed by Jon Bon Jovi andDesmond Child. Desmond is also credited with composing "Something For The Pain", "This Ain't A Love Song" and "Diamond Ring". All of the other tracks were written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
Jon Bon Jovi stated that even though the album was their darkest, the band was in a very happy place at the time. "Hey God" was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora in Jon Bon Jovi's basement. Richie Sambora said that his inspiration for the song came when he was sitting in his limo and made eye contact with a derelict huddling in a cardboard box on the pavement. His sense of guilt at this was immense and discussed the incident with Jon Bon Jovi, who was inspired by the view out of the window from 57th St. and Broadway in New York, where a man wearing an Armani suit was next to a man who's sleeping on the street. "Something For The Pain" was the most difficult to write, says Jon Bon Jovi. They kept rewriting until the chorus made sense.
"My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms" was written from a writing session where they were hit with writer's block. Taking a cue from the opening line of "Bed of Roses" ("Sitting here wasted and wounded at this old piano, Trying hard to capture the moment"), Jon Bon Jovi instead of putting the pen down, wrote about his experience. "Damned" is about a guy who is involved with a married woman. "(It's Hard) Letting You Go" was written by Jon Bon Jovi for the movie calledMoonlight and Valentino in which he appeared. "Something To Believe In" is an introspective song about a man questioning everything around him. Richie Sambora's "Hey, hey, hey" chant on the song is lifted from the demo. It worked so well, they kept it and used it on the album. "Diamond Ring" was originally written for the albumNew Jersey in 1988 and was played live six times during theNew Jersey Syndicate Tour,[17] but never made it onto any previous Bon Jovi album.[citation needed]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [18] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D[19] |
| NME | 4/10[20] |
| Q | [18] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [21] |
Two titles that were considered were "Open All Night" and "Strip" but ultimately, the band wanted to make a statement about the themes of the record. Mark Selliger shot the album cover in Mexico.
The two extra songs "All I Want Is Everything" and "Bitter Wine" appear as bonus tracks on the international versions. Released June 12 in Japan, June 19 in Europe and June 27 in the rest of the world, the album was an immediate success. It even replaced Michael Jackson's HIStory in the UK, debuting at number one, spending four weeks at number one.These Days also topped the charts in several other European countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, and Portugal and spending seven weeks on Billboard European Albums Chart. It was certified triple platinum by theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 3 million copies across Europe.
In Australia, it debuted at number one and spent two weeks at number one on theARIA Charts. The album became Bon Jovi's second number one album in Japan, where it debuted at number one on theOricon chart, selling over 379,000, becoming the fastest selling album by a non-Japanese act in history of the country's chart. The album has sold more than 1 million copies and certified five times platinum and became the band's best selling studio album in Japan.
These Days received favorable reviews from critics.Q magazine, in a perfect score, said thatCross Road andAlways confirmed that Bon Jovi would survivegrunge andThese Days consolidated their status by keeping Michael Jackson'sHIStory album off the UK number 1 album slot. The review said that "Hey God", "Lie to Me" and "Something to Believe In" were singled out as the album's highlights and the album was arguably the band's finest musical hour to date.Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic concluded that "as the years go by, Bon Jovi gets musically stronger. Not only are their best songs stronger now, their playing is more accomplished. Keeping these improvements in mind, it's no surprise that the group was one of the few pop-metal bands to sustain a career in the mid-'90s". The album was ranked number two onQ magazine's list of the "Top 50 albums of 1995", beat out byThe Great Escape of the British bandBlur. The album was mentioned as the second best album of 1995, after(What's The Story) Morning Glory? byOasis according to some critics.[clarification needed]
In the United Kingdom, the album was particularly notable for producing four Top 10 hit singles, and the UK Rock & Metal had 4 singles in the #1 top singles with "This Ain't A Love Song," "Something For The Pain," "These Days," and "Hey God," but failed to impress the audience and the critics in the United States. The album peaked at number nine on theBillboard 200.
All tracks are written byJon Bon Jovi andRichie Sambora, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hey God" | 6:03 | |
| 2. | "Something for the Pain" |
| 4:46 |
| 3. | "This Ain't a Love Song" |
| 5:06 |
| 4. | "These Days" | 6:26 | |
| 5. | "Lie to Me" | 5:34 | |
| 6. | "Damned" | 4:35 | |
| 7. | "My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms" | 5:42 | |
| 8. | "(It's Hard) Letting You Go" | Bon Jovi | 5:50 |
| 9. | "Hearts Breaking Even" |
| 5:05 |
| 10. | "Something to Believe In" | Bon Jovi | 5:25 |
| 11. | "If That's What It Takes" | 5:17 | |
| 12. | "Diamond Ring" |
| 3:46 |
| 13. | "All I Want Is Everything" (European bonus track) | 5:18 | |
| 14. | "Bitter Wine" (European bonus track) | 4:36 | |
| Total length: | 63:55 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Como yo nadie te ha amado" (Spanish version of "This Ain't a Love Song") |
|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fields of Fire" (Demo) | Bon Jovi | 4:10 |
| 2. | "I Thank You" (Sam & Dave cover) | 3:14 | |
| 3. | "Mrs. Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel cover) | Paul Simon | 3:21 |
| 4. | "Let's Make It Baby" (Demo) |
| 6:19 |
| 5. | "I Don't Like Mondays" (Live at Wembley Stadium, featuringBob Geldof) | Bob Geldof | 5:59 |
| 6. | "Crazy" (Willie Nelson cover; live with lead vocals byTico Torres) | Willie Nelson | 3:29 |
| 7. | "Tumblin' Dice" (The Rolling Stones cover; live with lead vocals byDavid Bryan) | Jagger–Richards | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Heaven Help Us All" (Stevie Wonder cover; live with lead vocals by Richie Sambora) | Ron Miller | 4:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Always" (Live in Montreal) | 5:52 | |
| 2. | "Good Guys Don't Always Wear White" | 4:27 | |
| 3. | "Prostitute" | 4:28 | |
| 4. | "Lonely at the Top" | 4:14 | |
| 5. | "When She Comes" | 3:29 | |
| 6. | "The End" |
| 3:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Ain't a Love Song" |
| 6:27 |
| 2. | "I Don't Like Mondays" | Geldof | 5:57 |
| 3. | "Livin' on a Prayer" |
| 5:55 |
| 4. | "You Give Love a Bad Name" |
| 3:40 |
| 5. | "Wild in the Streets" | Bon Jovi | 5:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Keep the Faith" |
| 5:08 |
| 2. | "Bed of Roses" | Bon Jovi | 6:38 |
| 3. | "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" |
| 4:43 |
| 4. | "In These Arms" |
| 4:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Ain't a Love Song" (Wembley 1995) |
| |
| 2. | "Hey God" (Johannesburg 1995) | ||
| 3. | "These Days" (Johannesburg 1995) | ||
| 4. | "Something for the Pain" (Miami Arena 1995) |
| |
| 5. | "(It's Hard) Letting You Go" (Johannesburg 1995) | Bon Jovi | |
| 6. | "Rockin' in the Free World" (Neil Young cover; Johannesburg 1995) | Young | |
| 7. | "634-5789" (Studio outtake) | ||
| 8. | "All I Want Is Everything" | ||
| 9. | "Bitter Wine" |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "This Ain't a Love Song" (Live) |
| 7:13 |
| 14. | "Diamond Ring" (Live) |
| 4:42 |
Personnel taken fromThese Days liner notes.[22]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[67] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[68] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[69] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[70] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[71] | Platinum | 64,725[71] |
| France (SNEP)[72] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[73] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[75] | Million | 1,200,000[74] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[76] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[78] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[79] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[80] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[81] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[82] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000* |
| Worldwide | — | 10,000,000[83] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)bon jovi.
