The Distance (Bon Jovi song)
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''Bounce'' is the eighth studio album by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, 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 (American musician), Hugh McD ...
, released on October 8, 2002 through
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
. Produced by
Luke Ebbin Luke Ebbin is a former American multi-platinum, five time Grammy-nominated record producer, composer and songwriter. Ebbin is credited for executing the comeback and extreme makeover of Bon Jovi with his production of the hit " It's My Life" ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
, the album was recorded at Sanctuary II Studio 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 Delaware ...
. ''Bounce'' was heavily influenced by the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, owing in part to
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 ...
's proximity to New York City. The title "Bounce" was a reference to New York City's and the United States' ability to bounce back from the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
attacks as a nation. Album cover creative was produced by Grammy® Award-winning Art Director - Designer,
Kevin Reagan Kevin Reagan is a three-time Grammy Award-winning graphic designer/art director, also honored by the AIGA, ''Print'', and ''Communication Arts''. He has created artwork for critically and commercially acclaimed albums by Madonna, The Foo Fight ...
and photography by Kevin Westenberg. Cover image for the album includes a stylized image of a radio telescope dish at the
Very Large Array The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...
. The album debuted at #2 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making it Bon Jovi's highest debut in the band's history at that time, although it became their first album not to reach Platinum status.


Background

In end of July 2001, during the final tour
One Wild Night Tour One Wild Night Tour was a worldwide tour in support of Bon Jovi's seventh studio album '' Crush'' (2000). Background Originally, One Wild Night Tour planned to kick off the tour in Japan, but instead decided to headline the charity concert on M ...
,
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 ...
confirmed for the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' that he started to write new songs for the '' Crush'' (2000) follow-up and that the entire band is planning to start recording from January 2002. Also, he confirmed that band were planning to release the boxset in 2003, in conjunction with the band's 20th anniversary. Between June and October 2001, band members wrote 25 songs and demoed totally 12 of them. Many of those songs were written in September, and they were influenced by the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. Those songs were "Standing" and "Another Reason to Believe". At the end of July 2001, Bon Jovi finished their Crush world tour with two sold-out shows at
Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...
in New Jersey. The band then took a three-week break after which Jon 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 ...
started writing songs, first in Los Angeles and later in New Jersey. They have demoed some of those new songs in New Jersey in November 2001. After that, Jon had to fulfill an acting commitment to the TV series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997-2002), so he stayed at Sambora's house in Los Angeles and during that time they continued with the songwriting process and demoing process at
Luke Ebbin Luke Ebbin is a former American multi-platinum, five time Grammy-nominated record producer, composer and songwriter. Ebbin is credited for executing the comeback and extreme makeover of Bon Jovi with his production of the hit " It's My Life" ...
's house. Songwriting and demoing process went on until March 2002. and between March and June 2002. band recorded the album. By early July 2002. all the songs that ended up on the album were mixed and by the late July of the same year they were mastered. In a period of less than a year, the band wrote approximately 40 songs, 12 songs ended up on the album and several more songs in their demo versions ended up on singles as
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
s. During the songwriting process, the band also wrote some songs that were written as a
cathartic In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that ''accelerates'' defecation. This is similar to a laxative, which is a substance that ''eases'' defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathart ...
exercise Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...
. Those songs were written right after the September 11 attacks and they were mainly of woe from lyrical standpoint because they were influenced by that tragedy. Jon said that those songs were only written and will never be recorded.


Lyrics and music

After a one-album absence, perennial Bon Jovi collaborator
Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...
returned to co-write four of the album's 12 songs. The lyrics in the song "Undivided" were influenced by the September 11 attacks. It simply states that " no man is an island" and that all people are part of the greater world that is humanity, and that all people are stronger together than being apart. "Everyday" was also inspired by the September 11 attacks. It reinforces the need to live each day to its fullest and the lyrics acknowledge the harshness of life, but encourage listeners to "brush themselves off", get back up on their feet and get on with life. "The Distance" is written in a
cinematic Cinematic describes anything related to ''cinema''. It may refer to: any movie updates, cinema nights, cinematic review Film-related * Cinematic cutscene, a sequence in a video game that is not interactive * Cinematic music, original music writte ...
style. The music serves as a score to the lyrics, which begins as an establishing shot and the "camera" draws closer into the story as the song progresses. The lyrics talk about the passion that a person feels when there is a goal in sight and displays the determination shown when that person is striving to reach that goal. "Joey" is influenced and inspired by
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's song '' Levon'' (1971) and talks about a character who befriends a simple-minded young man. "Misunderstood" is a song about anyone who has said the wrong thing and has had to face the consequences. The song was written after Jon Bon Jovi came home after long period of time and he realised there were portions of his personal life he had neglected and wrote this song to admit his guilt. "All About Lovin' You" is a love song that talks about appreciating the love of another. It was also influenced by the events of September 11 and how many people rediscovered that love is the most important thing in life. "Hook Me Up" is a song that was inspired by a newspaper article about a young Palestinian man in
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
territory who was trying desperately to make contact with people via an old, beat-up ham radio. It was written from the young man's perspective who was trapped in a small corner of the world, amidst horrible events when all he wanted was communication and a connection with the outside world and other people. "Right Side of Wrong" is a modern-day
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch C ...
song that talks about good people involved with the wrong people but have their hearts in the right place. "Love Me Back to Life" is about world-weariness and the need for someone or something that will breathe the life back into one and allow them to appreciate the world again. "You Had Me from Hello" is about a committed relationship and the ability for someone to constantly see something new and beautiful in the one they love. The title was taken from a phrase spoken by Cameron Crowe in his film '' Jerry Maguire'' (1996). The title track "Bounce" was originally written near the end of the One Wild Night Tour and had more sports-oriented lyrics. However, after the events of September 11, the song became a declaration of strength and defiance. It refers to the city of New York, and the United States as a whole, but also to the band's perseverance over a twenty-year career. "Open All Night" is written as a dialog between two characters in TV series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997-2002): Ally McBeal and Victor Morrison, a plumber and a babysitter portrayed by Jon Bon Jovi. Jon appeared in nine episodes as the character and the storyline involving Ally and Victor was romantic. Jon admitted that if that happened in real life, he would either never allow it to take so long or he would have moved on. .


Critical reception

''Bounce'' received generally mixed to unfavorable reviews from critics. At ''
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
'', which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 61 out of 100, which indicates "favorable reviews" based on 8 reviews. Though, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from ''
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'' gave the album 2 stars out of 5 stating that album "After all, this is a record where Bon Jovi seems to have consciously decided to avoid everything that gives their music character, melody, and muscle, a move that would have been odd at any point during their career, but is particularly puzzling after they delivered an album that found them growing old gracefully. It's as if they want to undo everything '' Crush'' did for them". David Browne from ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' rated the album with C stating that "Bon Jovi have every right to write and sing topical songs. But the results are sonically grating (the music feels shrill and compressed) and strained, reducing the emotions and situations connected to Sept. 11 to stadium chants". Natalie Nichols from ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' gave the album 2 stars out of 4 stating that "This time the music's trademark epic quality comes less from Richie Sambora's sprawling guitar work than from an overdose of strings and piano that reflects singer-actor Jon Bon Jovi's movie and TV interests". Gavin Edwards from ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' gave the album 3 stars out of 5 by saying that "The title Bounce is meant to be an exhortation to America after 9/11, and if it doesn't exactly offer poetic catharsis, the existence of the eighth Bon Jovi record is reassurance of a different kind: Life goes on". ''
Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
'' gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 saying that "Fueled by an emotional theme, Bon Jovi end up making their best album of the millennium era". Steven Poole from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave the album 2 stars out of 5 saying that "for most of the record Jon Bon Jovi sounds puzzlingly like
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
or
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
, and sugary ballads predominate, with Bruce Hornby-like piano intros and tasteful acoustic-guitar lines leading to swollen, meaningless choruses".


Track listing


Personnel

Bon Jovi *
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 ...
– vocals, backing vocals *
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 ...
– guitars, talk box on "Everyday", "Love Me Back to Life" and "Bounce", backing vocals * David Bryan – keyboards *
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 ...
– drums, percussion Additional musicians * Hugh McDonald – bass, backing vocals * Jerry Cohen – unspecified musical contribution * Andreas Carlsson – unspecified musical contribution * Samuel Waermo – unspecified musical contribution * David Campbell – orchestral arrangements *
Luke Ebbin Luke Ebbin is a former American multi-platinum, five time Grammy-nominated record producer, composer and songwriter. Ebbin is credited for executing the comeback and extreme makeover of Bon Jovi with his production of the hit " It's My Life" ...
– orchestral arrangements Recording personnel *
Luke Ebbin Luke Ebbin is a former American multi-platinum, five time Grammy-nominated record producer, composer and songwriter. Ebbin is credited for executing the comeback and extreme makeover of Bon Jovi with his production of the hit " It's My Life" ...
– producer, programming *
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 ...
– producer *
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 ...
– producer *
Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...
– co-producer * Andreas Carlsson – co-producer * Obie O'Brien – engineer * Mike Rew – assistant engineer * Gary Tole –
Pro-Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-product ...
, additional engineering * Graham Hawthorne – Pro-Tools editor * Efrain "ET" Torres – additional Pro-Tools engineering * Samuel Waermo – additional engineering, programming *
Marc Jameson Marc Jameson is an American software developer and former record producer, audio engineer, programmer, writer, and remixer. He began his career as an artist, in bands such as Kikiwest and The Distnce. Prior to his production work, he was the lea ...
– programming ("You Had Me from Hello") * Bob "Clear-Fuckin'" Mountain – mixing * Kevin Harp – mix assistant * Tim Holland – tech support * Chris "Lumpy" Hofschneider – tech support * George Marino – mastering * Stephen Marcussen – mastering Artwork * Kevin Westenberg – photography * Kevin Reagan – art direction, design * Bret Healey – design


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bounce (Album) Bon Jovi albums Island Records albums 2002 albums Music about the September 11 attacks Albums produced by Richie Sambora Albums produced by Luke Ebbin