#59 - Fear

Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: Keep the Faith
Other Versions: None
Era: 90s "moody rock"

Lyrics

There was a tie, this won the coin toss.

A friend of mine told me once in the Rolling Stone guide to 100 Greatest Rock Albums (or something like that), when they talk about Slippery When Wet they refer to Alec John Such's bass playing as "delicious". I don't feel that so much on SWW, but it's the only way I can describe the bass in this song. Delicious crunchy gritty bass that just makes the entire song.

Jon sounds pissed through this whole thing, and I love it. Absolutely love it. He's viciously into this song, his voice has this quality like he's about to rip someone's throat out with his teeth (now there's a visual for you). Even during the optimstic parts of the song, he's angry. His voice fits the song so well.

I must admit, I almost skipped this when I was first listening to KTF. I got thirty seconds in and went "ugh". But it's grown on me, partly because of the bass, partly because of Jon's voice, and partly because of the lyrics.

Stuff like "reaching for your four leaf clover/but baby there ain't no luck down there", "everybody's doing their sentence/but there ain't nobody here who knows just what's the crime", "girl once you were young and pretty/now won't you stop and watch that little girl" just hits me. I love how dark it is. There's still optimism here - "take my hand/I know we'll make it/I won't let nothing slow us down" - but in uncharacteristic fashion, it's the darkness that dominates.

This is an angry gritty crunchy song that's anthemic in an entirely different way than the typical Bon Jovi anthems. I don't love it, but I have tons of respect for the fact that it's something different. I'm glad crunchy angry grr isn't the direction all Bon Jovi's music went in after this, but it's kind of a breath of fresh air.

My Rating: 6/10

For tomorrow, you can pick one of the following from HAND:

• Bells of Freedom
• Wildflower
• These Open Arms