Bon Jovi – Legendary Review

As disturbing as nostalgia rock may be as a concept, listeners do not have long left to weather another go of this constant, irritating storm. Where Journey now claims to have written the greatest song to grace the world, Bon Jovi’s self-acclaimed work on Legendary, ahead of upcoming album Forever, hits the same note as out-of-step legends profiling themselves. Nobody else is interested in doing so. Living off the No Man’s Land of 1980s glam rock and Slippery When Wet, the Bon Jovi troupe returns. There they are, around the campfire of nostalgia and hoping to set new sparks. Forty years of stories to tell and they all sound the same. Bland pop rock which conjures decade-old tropes of a genre moved along from this tepid sound. 

Country elements may prove the only shock to this one as the Bon Jovi unit raises their hands to the sky and remains thankful for their way of life and what they have. Jon Bon Jovi says his recent experiences from 2020 to now were shaping his view of the world. Nothing has changed in his writing. They still chase a lukewarm rise of guitar riffs and backing vocal interjections. This is a few degrees away from charmless stomp and holler, a late-stage career piece of everyday convictions. Sold on its name value, this will have Bon Jovi fans roped in for either the promise of nostalgia or the lack of interest in better music. Legendary struggles as a flat track lacking the momentum or heart to change. It is hard to disagree with the popular notion Bon Jovi struck with their work but when Legendary sets on reminding us of it, the natural progression of rock into world-beating classics is lost. 

Bon Jovi finds themselves reminding us in a self-aggrandising tone, they are heroes of rock. Whether our perception of them lines up with their latest single is beside the point – the band is insecure about their legacy and now find themselves clapping along with limited stock rock tones to try and prove themselves. No assured rockers would have to do it, and it lends itself more to the deflated bubble surrounding Bon Jovi than anything else. Legendary is a dullard instrumental set of constant and ineffective guitar work, but more to the point it attempts to define and cement the legacy of a band whose greatest hits were forty years ago and slammed into a playlist of one-hit wonders. Their legacy is a third of Slippery When Wet. 

No amount of needy, light guitar work will change this for Bon Jovi. Certainly not on this record. Flatlining and typical rock structure is the burden which keeps on grifting listeners of older rock bands. Mentions of Sweet Caroline feel jaded. Jon Bon Jovi and the Bon Jovi excess is no longer the party hit classic rattled out at clubs, pubs and sporting events for Neil Diamond has crushed them under the boot. Removed from the cultural warmth of timeless classics and relegated to nostalgia pop – time proves nasty for the Bon Jovi team. Legendary gets them nowhere close to their glory days and the reflection, honest as it is, feels slighted by audiences moving on for better experiences.