#39 - Love Lies

Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: Bon Jovi
Other Versions: None
Era: early 80s "synth rock"

Lyrics

The thing about Bon Jovi is they've always been cheesy, but very serious cheese. They take themselves very seriously, and a lot of the time I'm pretty sure they're unaware of the high cheese factor.

This song is the perfect summation of that serious cheese. The keyboard intro is thumpy and very straightforward piano-y, none of the synthesizer they use a lot in the first two albums. It sets the mood of this song - it's hardish and serious.

The bass does the bunk bunka bunk bunka bunk bunk bunk thing that shows up nowadays in "Unbreakable", and just like in "Unbreakable" it's subtle, but without it the song would be very different. Alec was a crazy talented bassist, I think I will always prefer him over Hugh "overwhelming stage presence" McDonald. And I don't think Jon made any corny jokes with Alec's name like he does with "Huge McDonald", so there's a big plus.

But I digress. The drumming in "Lies" is very simple, but it works. Unlike in some other early songs where the beat is so steady the song actually feels confined, this has a little breathing room without sacrificing the steady poundy rhythm that, along with the bass, gives this song an extremely intense feel. This could be a much more upbeat song without ruining the lyrics, but the bass and drum bring it into this whole other place and keep it from being just a piece of fluffy pop.

This is a very piano-heavy song (David co-wrote it, that's probably why). In rock, the focus is on the guitar - always has been, always will be. But here the keyboard makes itself heard, you really can't ignore it. I love it when they do that - it gives songs a bit less of a genero-rock feel. Also, anything that reminds the rest of the world that David exists is a good thing.

The lyrics to this - eh, what can I say? Same story as all the songs on the first two. They're not epic poetry, but they're cute and catchy and fun to sing. And sometimes they don't make sense. But that's okay, because they're fun. Sometimes that's all music needs to be - something fun and catchy and singable, with a good beat and some pretty piano playing. Maybe my standards are too low.

Maybe everyone else's are too high.

My Rating: 8/10

I've got a recommendation for y'all: Check out SR-71's song "Axl Rose", it's a really good catchy little song about being stuck in the 80s (Bowling for Soup's "1985" with a chorus that's about ten times as awesome - actually, "1985" is originally an SR-71 song)

the cd it's on is out of print, you can check out the song here

Bon Jovi get a mention - for Wanted, not Prayer, even. Now there's the way to my heart

Edited 3/25/06: Added lyrics