''Have a Nice Day'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

, released on September 20, 2005. Produced by

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

, the album was recorded at Sanctuary Sound II in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, and

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates re ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

. ''Have a Nice Day'' was originally recorded in the summer of 2004 and planned for release in early 2005. However, due to misunderstandings between the band and its record company, the album was delayed. The band wanted to write and record more songs, remove others from the original track list, and in the process, altered existing album tracks. ''Have a Nice Day'' peaked at number two in both the US and UK. In the US, it sold over 202,000 copies in the first week, making it Bon Jovi's best first-week sales in the band's history at that time. The album was eventually certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. The album produced the hit singles " Have a Nice Day" and "

Who Says You Can't Go Home "Who Says You Can't Go Home" is a song that was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora for American rock band Bon Jovi's ninth album, '' Have a Nice Day'' (2005). The song was produced by John Shanks, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. A duet ...

". ''Have a Nice Day'' has received mixed reviews by music critics. It was commonly commented that

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

was "stretching" his lyrical abilities.

Background

and

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

headed into the studio with producer and songwriter

in summer of 2004 to begin working on a band's ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

. They started to write songs and songs came very quick. After Jon and Richie co-wrote all the songs with Shanks, they recorded them immediately using a drum machine. Sambora and Shanks played all the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

parts, Jon recorded all the

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and there were no bass player or

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

in the studio. Later in the recording sessions,

David Bryan David Bryan Rashbaum (born February 7, 1962) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the keyboard player for the rock band Bon Jovi, with which he also co-wrote songs and performed backing vocals. In 2018, Bryan was inducted int ...

Tico Torres Hector Juan Samuel "Tico" Torres (born October 7, 1953) is an American musician, artist, and entrepreneur, best known as the drummer, percussionist, and a songwriter for American rock band Bon Jovi. In 2018, Torres was inducted into the Rock ...

and Hugh McDonald recorded their parts. In the meantime, the band was doing finishing touches on their boxset ''

100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong ''100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong'' is a boxed set released in 2004 on Island Records. A collection of demos and B-sides, it was released to celebrate Bon Jovi's twentieth anniversary and the milestone of the band selling 100 million re ...

'' (2004). Jon planned to turn the album over to record company right before Christmas of 2004., but he changed his mind. In December 2004, he went to Sanctuary Sound Studio to write more songs. When the band regrouped in 2005, they recorded four more songs and also worked on the revised versions of the original songs.

Lyrical themes

The lyrical themes center around political changes that happened in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in that period and the state of music business, but also reflect personal and introspective views on issues that Jon Bon Jovi had while growing up, which he had never discussed before. He said: "I've always kept this 'chin up, glass is half-full' kind of optimism, and owI showed some chinks in the armor." "The song "Last Man Standing" depicts the band leader's unhappiness with the music industry. He says it reflects his "disgust of the music business in general, and its lack of true vision when it comes to supporting the artistry of developing a song, the songwriter and the bands on the road."" He explained: "Instead of creating what

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

once called '15 minutes of fame,' I think it's down to just three minutes and 30 seconds." "I don't know how this industry is ever going to have another

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

when it's all about the single, otthe album and the vision and that inspiration. t'sall for the sake of a 99-cent

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

so they can sell bulk and make their bonuses. It's heartbreaking."

Release and promotion

The album's track list, release dates for

and

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, and radio release date for the first single were announced on July 14, 2005. The first single, the title track "Have a Nice Day", premiered on radio stations worldwide on July 18, 2005. On September 2, 2005, it was announced that a full-length version of the song "Last Man Standing" was available for listening in the discography section on the band's official website.

Critical and commercial reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

gave ''Have a Nice Day'' 2.5 stars out of 5, saying that the album "picks up where 2002's '' Bounce'' left off, showcasing a harder, heavier band than either 2000's '' Crush'' or Jon Bon Jovi's 1997 solo effort, ''

Destination Anywhere ''Destination Anywhere'' is Jon Bon Jovi's second solo studio album released June 16, 1997 and features music from the film '' Destination Anywhere'' released in the same year. It follows his successful 1990 soundtrack '' Blaze of Glory'', from ...

''. Not only that, but this 2005 album finds Jon Bon Jovi picking up on the serious undercurrent of Bounce, writing a series of angry, somber neo-protest songs that form the heart of this record."

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of all its published c ...

gave the album 8 stars out of 10 stating that "while their glory days are behind them, there's still a lot left in the tank for Bon Jovi when they want to be a band. The chemistry between Jon and Richie is as strong as ever, and the songwriting prowess they have is a well that never seems to run dry for these guys. While not their best work, this is their best in a long time."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

gave the album a grade of C+, stating that it is "A depressing argument for the existence of that intellectual fairy tale, the passive mass audience."

Christian Hoard Christian David Hoard is an American music journalist and music editor for '' Rolling Stone''. A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan, he began his career as a music journalist writing for the ''Michigan Daily''. He later moved to New York ...

from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' gave the album 3 stars out of 5 saying that it is "reliable as it is contained: Acoustic ballads such as 'Bells of Freedom' are vaguely icky, but powerhouse anthems like 'I Want to Be Loved' pack almost as much singalong potential as 'Livin' on a Prayer' did back in the day."

Track listing

Personnel

Bon Jovi *

– lead vocals , backing vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals *

– keyboards *

– drums, percussion Additional musicians * Hugh McDonald – bass *

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sha ...

– string arranger * David Campbell – string arranger *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

–

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conv ...

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

–

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

and

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

* Jennifer Nettles – duet vocals *B.C. Smith – programming *

Jonathan Yudkin Jonathan Yudkin is an American multi-instrumentalist who is a proficient player of banjo, violin, mandolin, and other stringed instruments. He is a Nashville-based session musician, record producer, arranger, and band leader. Biography Growin ...

– fiddle and mandolin Recording personnel * Gary McGrath – 2nd engineer * Jeremy Wheatley – mixing * Chris Lord Alge – mixing * Tom Lord Alge – mixing * Justin Niebank – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control Bon Jovi albums 2005 albums Albums produced by Dann Huff Albums produced by John Shanks Albums produced by Richie Sambora Albums produced by Rick Parashar