The Circle

Bon Jovi’s eleventh album has in some ways, as its title suggests, come full circle. There are reminders scattered throughout of the undiluted, heads-down rocking of their pre-"Living On A Prayer" days. In other ways it is exactly what it says it is on the tin; i.e. there are no efforts to reinvent the wheel here. They’re an older band than they once were, so there are noticeable limits to their respective ranges, but there's some gutsy fretwork from an on-form Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi’s hoarse, varnished croak does what it has to do, and both will undoubtedly please fans. There are plenty of crunching, air-punching moments and choreographed anthems, but pleasingly they don't feel nearly as forced as much of their post-2000 output. This free and easy approach has worked wonders, making Bon Jovi seem like less of a formula-entrenched machine and more open to the odd light touch and nuance. To leave you in no doubt of their heritage, "When We Were Beautiful" employs Don McLean’s "American Pie" ‘sha-la-la’s under a slick, high-budget rock sheen, but "Superman Tonight" is so warm and universal it could pass for Snow Patrol or Coldplay under the right stadium lights. Credibility may not be something they especially crave, but still, "Work For The Working Man" sounds patently ridiculous coming from the mouth of a millionaire. The balance is redressed a little by "Fast Cars" and also by the fact that the song is pure Slippery When Wet. A surprisingly deft proving of form. --James Berry

New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi return with their eleventh album and are reunited with Lost Highway producer John Shanks, fresh from recent stints working with Take That and Alesha Dixon.

Bon Jovi fans, and there’s plenty of them, who have not been put off by recent output will find plenty to love here. The band long ago developed into a slick, stadium-filling act, and although this album marks a slight return to their more traditional rock roots after the Nashville-influenced Lost Highway, not much has changed. Like a hairier and less-subtle version of Bruce Springsteen, they like to give voice to the blue-collar worker and refuse to progress stylistically beyond a form that's served them so well already.

Long-standing bands often believe their own hype; indeed, they are often the last ones left believing it, and someone’s clearly exploded a lyrical cliché bomb in the studio here. They’ve even titled a song Live Before You Die, which is wrong on too many levels to even begin listing here. There is no denying their skill with a tune, but there is the lingering sense that were Flight of the Conchords to do a heavy metal pastiche of, say, millionaires sticking it to the ‘man’, it would sound exactly like Work for the Working Man. It is commendable that Jon Bon Jovi can keep a straight face while writing lines such as “working man, empty pockets full of worry / had to get two jobs”, presumably referring to a rock star’s need for an acting career on the side.

That said, other than the band, few listen to Bon Jovi with a straight face, and stupid grins are to be found. The atmospheric Broken Promiseland could be lifted from Slippery When Wet, while swelling keyboards herald moments of genuine emotion, such as on Fast Cars. Love’s the Only Rule also utilises synthesized strings to great effect, and perhaps illustrates where referees are going wrong around the country.

The Circle is not going to surprise anyone, but maybe in such turbulent times this is exactly what people need: dependable drive-time rock dripping with references to getting up from your knees and not giving up. --Tom Hocknell

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26 years into an incredible career, Jon, Richie, Tico and David return to launch a new dose of uplifting rock'n'roll onto a planet in need of a shot in the arm. First single from the album--“We Weren’t Born To Follow”--is a massive piece of anthemic rock, built for stadiums, standing alongside their classics from "Livin’ On A Prayer" to "You Give Love A Bad Name", and the rest of the album is no different.