Bon Jovi opens
Forever with a triptych of songs whose titles seem like testaments to the band's legacy. Perhaps
Jon Bon Jovi isn't explicitly singing about his long-running band on "Legendary," "We Made It Look Easy," and "Living Proof," but it's hard to ignore the fact that
Forever arrives 40 years after the group's debut, accompanied by the four-part documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. Far from hiding from their part,
Bon Jovi are embracing their status as survivors, a designation that comes with its share of loss, including the 2013 departure of founding guitarist
Richie Sambora -- an event that doesn't play into
Forever as much as
Jon Bon Jovi's 2022 vocal cord surgery. Some latter-day records showed evidence of vocal wear from
Jon, an issue that's prominently discussed in Thank You, Goodnight. As the first record
Bon Jovi has made since their singer's surgery, it also functions as an unveiling of a revived band. Whether it's through the miracle of medicine or the recording studio,
Jon does sound more robust than he did on, say,
2020. It's also true that
Bon Jovi isn't making music that would push their singer to his limits.
Forever is filled with ballads and midtempo anthems that would sound bigger on an adult contemporary station than an arena. The subdued nature is accentuated by
Bon Jovi's proud embrace of nostalgia, a sentiment that surfaces again on "My First Guitar." Despite the frequent glances over their collective shoulder,
Bon Jovi don't seem content to live in the past. They never attempt to conjure the cheerful charms of
Slippery When Wet. When they get the crowd singing along on "Walls of Jericho," it's knowingly corny, lacking the trashy abandon of their biggest hits;
Jon seems more comfortable singing about the impending nuptials of his daughter on "Kiss the Bride." This sense of refinement suits a group who knows they're a bit older and a bit slower than they were 40 years ago but they're grateful to still be happy doing what they're doing all these decades later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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