After the extensive worldwide tour for Bon Jovi’s ‘New Jersey’ album, the band was spent. They were exhausted and I am sure they were sick of each other. Over 200 shows together would make anyone need a break. And Bon Jovi needed a break or it was going to be over. The band members stayed busy as we will see these next few reviews. Jon Bon Bovi kept busy by doing his first solo album and it wasn’t your typical solo album. After being approached by actor, Emilio Estevez, to use the Bon Jovi song “Wanted Dead or Alive” for the soundtrack to his new movie, the western ‘Young Guns II’, Jon declined the offer.

Instead of flat out declining though, Jon offered to write a new song for the movie and that one song turned in to a whole album of songs from and inspired by the movie. In fact, only 2 songs were actually in the movie, the song Jon promised to write “Blaze of Glory’ and then the song “Billy Get Your Guns” which both appeared during the end credits. The rest were only inspired by the movie. Jon was so in to the movie, he was actually in the movie where he appeared in the movie during the scene where Doc and Chavez were prisoners in the pit…Jon was one of the other prisoners.

As we know, Jon doesn’t do anything half-ass and the musician friends he brought in were top notch. There is Jeff Beck, Elton John and Little Richard to name the A-Team. But the B-Team are no slouch either with Kenny Aronoff on drums, Robbin Crosy from Ratt, American Idol’s Randy Jackson and one of my favorite artists Aldo Nova. Jon would turn around and help Aldo for his next album ‘Blood on the Bricks’ where Jon and Aldo co-wrote all the songs together. The songs were not about rock & roll and girls anymore. Jon really pushed his boundaries and wrote about more mature subject matters, this would aid his future writing as we would see on future Bon Jovi albums.

The album came out on August 7, 1990 (that date will come up again in Jon’s world). The album would spawn four singles and reach #3 on the Billboard charts. The album sold over 2 million copies reaching Double Platinum in the States. The album wasn’t that much of a departure from Bon Jovi. It has the same cowboy rock style like their songs “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “Stick To Your Guns” and “Wild is the Wind”. So no surprise it did well. Also, Jon was the first with a solo album during this little break, but is it the best? We will see won’t we. Let’s get to the music.

The first song up is “Billy Get Your Guns” which was played during the end credits of the movie. The song is about Billy the Kid (like most of the album) and how he needs to get ready to fight as the law is coming for him. The song features Jeff Beck on guitar and Elton John on keyboards. The guitars are prominent with a slight twang as Kenny Aronoff’s drums pound away right along with them. Jon sounds great as he belts through the lyrics with ease, but the guitar work is the king here, just listen to the solo and the licks at the end of the track. It is an upbeat rocker and sounds like anything off the New Jersey album.

“Miracle” is up next and was the second single from the album. This one turns the western style up a notch and is by far one of the more radio friendly songs on the album. There is a casual feel to the song, very relaxed, but very enjoyable. Beck was back and on Hammond Organ was the great Benmont Tench. The cast of angels singing background add just the right touch to the chorus. A really pleasant song. The song went to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the video had an old friend in one of his earliest acting roles and that would be Matt LeBlanc.

The title track, “Blaze of Glory”, starts off with a great line of the movie between Keifer Sutherland and Emilio Estevez…”William H. Bonnie, you are not a God”…”Why don’t you pull the trigger and find out”. On a side note, I would take these movie sayings in the album and use them for my mixtapes I would make. It was fun…now back to the song. The songs starts slow with some very twangy slide guitars and then Jon comes in softly and then gets more intense as the song goes on. It is powerful both musically and lyrically as it is about going out fighting. Stand up and don’t let up until it is over. Jeff Beck’s solo is killer and one of the best on the album. Jon took “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and took it up a notch with this one. A truly special track which is why it went to #1 on the Billboard charts.

“Blood Money” is a pure country ballad. It sounds like he is sitting by the campfire strumming his guitar and sing to the coyotes. The song is about Pat Garret selling his soul to go after Billy. The money he was paid is blood money. Billy envisions himself in that role going after Pat as if he was the killer. The song has Aldo on guitar and Kenny on percussion.

Next up is “Santa Fe” and it is filed with orchestration, piano and is another slower track, almost ballad style. The song is about Billy blaming the world for making him who he was. He heads back to Santa Fe to make his peace. The song gets more powerful as Jon really digs deep with emotion and the accompanying music matches the intensity. The song reminds of a future song to come called “Dry County”. And that is a compliment!

The next one starts off with an Indian chant from the movie that was done Lou Diamond Phillips. Beck comes in and shows why he’s one of the greats. It is riveting and dramatic. “Justice in the Barrel” explodes and then with the final gunshot, the song kicks in with a killer little riff. The song has an epic feel to it and Jon’s vocals are pretty powerful here. The song is slower in pacing and has a great groove to it while the chorus is the money shot here with its phrasing and emotion and another great solo by Beck.

“Never Say Die” brings in a guest gunslinger with Ratt’s own Robbin Crosby. This is the closest thing to a pure Bon Jovi song as it would feel at home on either of their last two albums. Benmont’s keyboards add a nice flair to the song. In the end though, it is a boring little track for me for all of those reasons. Robbin’s solo is great, but it ain’t Beck…sorry.

Then we get “You Really Got Me Now” which sees Jon singing along with the great Little Richard. That probably wouldn’t have ever happened in the Old West and for that it does feel a little strange. An unconventional choice for sure. The song feels like a bluesy honky tonk and has an old school rocking sound to it. I will admit it is a little fun, but doesn’t fit this album for me. Maybe a great B-side or something else.

“Bang a Drum” is another strange song for me. It feels like filler to me. It is a little soulless despite the great backing vocals by Myrna Matthews, Julia Waters and Maxine Waters. It is a country rock song with a great guitar solo, but nothing else.

The final Jon track is “Dyin’ Ain’t Much of A Livin'” which starts with Keifer’s character saying “You drove a 15 year old boy straight in to his grave and the rest of us, straight to hell”. The somber song kicks in and sees Billy pondering his life as an outlaw as he seeks comfort in the bottom of a bottle. Will people pray for him when his death does come. A little morbid theme, but touching and heartfelt nonetheless. A fitting end to the life and times of Billy the Kid.

Then we get a strange piece from the movie. “Guano City” is a score piece from the move by Alan Silverstri. Not a bad piece, think John Williams and you get an idea…very dramatic and epic in feel, but completely wrong for this album. Not sure the reason behind throwing this on there as we had 10 songs so we had an album.

Track Listing:

1. Billy Get Your Guns – Keeper (1/2 Point)
2. Miracle – Keeper
3. Blaze of Glory – Keeper
4. Blood Money – Keeper
5. Santa Fe – Keeper
6. Justice in the Barrel – Keeper
7. Never Say Die – Delete
8. You Really Got Me – Delete
9. Bang a Drum – Delete
10. Dyin’ Ain’t Much of a Livin’ – Keeper
11. Guano City – Delete

The Track Score is 6.5 out of 11 Tracks or 59%.  The album is better than that track score, but I was a little disappointed with a lot of this album. For me, it was really one-dimensional and sounded too much like the western style Bon Jovi stuff that had already come before it. I get it that it is a Western Movie, but it was played for me.  That being said, the title track “Blaze of Glory is a complete masterpiece and one of the best songs Jon has ever written.  The first  1/2 of this album is stellar with some really moving, exciting, dramatic pieces, but the back 1/2 was complete filler for me. Most movies get better by the end with a big payoff, the album was the opposite.  My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars as the front half is that good to give it a decent score.

NEXT UP: JON BON JOVI – ‘BLAZE OF GLORY’ (1990) – CASSETTE SINGLE

THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:

1. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
2. Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
3. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
4. Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
5. Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
6. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
7. Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
8. Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
9. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
10. Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
11. Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
12. Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
13. Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
14. Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
15. Bon Jovi – Crossroads (1994)
16. Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
17. Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
18. Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
19. Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
20. Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
21. Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
22. Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
23. Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
24. Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
25. Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
26. Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
27. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
28. Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
29. Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
30. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
31. Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
32. Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
33. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
34. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
35. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
36. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
37. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
38. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
39. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5, Part 6) – (2004)
40. Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
41. Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
42. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
43. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
44. Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
45. Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
46. Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
47. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
48. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
49. Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
50. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
51. Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
52. Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
53. Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
54. Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
55. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
56. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
57. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
58. RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
59. Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
60. Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)

We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:

1. Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
2. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
3. Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
4. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
5. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
6. Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
7. Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
8. Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
9. Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
10. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
11. Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
12. Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single