In summary:

Bon Jovi re-wrote this album during lockdown, hoping to capture a troubling time on record. Unfortunately it also captures them at their post-Sambora worst.

2020 receives 3/11.
★★★

Every band was hit hard by lockdown, but Bon Jovi had a particularly rough one.

Coming on the eve of their scheduled new album release, the band decided to scrap the project and wait until they’d be able to tour in support of the new material.

So they waited… and they waited… and they waited.

Eventually, so much time went by that the lockdown doldrums began to take hold, and Jon Bon Jovi decided to bin the album entirely. Instead they would enter the studio again (because of course Bon Jovi have studios in their houses) to re-write a whole new album, in an attempt to create an audible record of the shit-show that was 2020.

I’m sure you can remember it.

You couldn’t go outside your home. You couldn’t see your family and friends. You couldn’t get your groceries without wearing a Hazmat suit. Oh, and the world was fighting each other over toilet roll.

(And then, in a pure demonstration of how everything 2020 touched turned to shit, their new album was delayed until 2021!)

Unfortunately, the story of the making of this album is more interesting than the music it contains.

Album opener Limitless picks up where 2016’s This House Is Not For Sale left off, with Tico Torres’ ultra-processed drums distilling most of it’s heaviness in favour of a contemporary chart sound. It’s a solid if not remarkable track, but it does feature a fantastic bridge (“Trying to keep your head above water”) where the music really finds it’s feet.

Beautiful Drug sees Bon Jovi return to a sound reminiscent of These Days and Crush, but is let down by a sub-par guitar solo from Phil X.

Elsewhere, the country-tinged Do What You Can is an interesting concept. One of the things which has always made this band so relatable is their ability to address life’s problems metaphorically (e.g. think how many times they’ve written about “not giving up”, without mentioning the specifics of a situation), so it’s quite jarring to hear Jon Bon Jovi tackling real-life issues head-on (e.g. “The workers need their PPE”).

But even though it sounds strange, and even though some of the lyrics are so cheesy you can taste it (“Although I’ll keep my social distance, what this world needs is a hug”), this is undoubtedly catchy as fuck, and easily the best track on the album.

Of course, you know you’re in trouble when the best song on a new Bon Jovi LP is a bouncy acoustic number, so it’s downhill from here.

There aren’t any other songs on 2020 which warrants repeat listens, and at times it’s sad to hear Bon Jovi stumbling through what is probably a candidate for the weakest album of their career. It doesn’t bode well for the future; with Richie Sambora long gone, and Jon’s voice not in the best of shape (on tour), it’ll be interesting to see if New Jersey’s finest can bounce back.

In summary:

Bon Jovi re-wrote this album during lockdown, hoping to capture a troubling time on record. Unfortunately it also captures them at their post-Sambora worst.

2020 receives 3/11.
★★★