Maps of Music

Burning Bridges (2015)

Where the lyrics of Burning Bridges take you, and where it was really made.

The album was made to fulfill a contract: after 32 years with Mercury Records, Bon Jovi released this record as their last with the label.

Key places

Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood (2015)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Henson Studios is listed among the studios credited for the album, which was recorded in Hollywood, California. The source gives no recording dates for this site. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Avatar Recording Studios, New York (2015)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Avatar Studios is listed among the album's recording studios in New York. The map point is set to the city centre, not to the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Burning Bridges: thirteenth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi
• Mix of new songs and formerly unreleased, unfinished songs
• Released 21 August 2015 by Mercury Records
• Produced by John Shanks
• First release since guitarist Richie Sambora left the band in 2013
• Last album on Mercury, ending a 32-year relationship with the label
• Jon Bon Jovi calls it a 'fan record' tied to an accompanying international tour
• Followed by This House Is Not for Sale (2016), the band's fourteenth studio album with all new songs

Background

• Conceived to fulfill Bon Jovi's commitment to Mercury Records
• The band and label could not agree on adjusted terms for the recording contract
• Jon Bon Jovi said his deal was up after 32 years with the label
• The title track makes explicit reference to Bon Jovi's dissatisfaction with the label
• In an November 2014 interview with WMMR in Philadelphia, Jon Bon Jovi confirmed Sambora had left, saying the doors were open but a return was highly unlikely
• By February 2015, around 12 songs had been written, with inspiration coming from reading newspapers

Recording

• Lead guitar parts handled by John Shanks
• Studio credits list Avatar Studios and Henson Studios
• Mixing and recording by Paul LaMalfa
• Mastering by Phil Nicolo
• String arrangements and viola, violin, cello on track 5 by Lorenza Ponce

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983.
• Jon Bon Jovi began performing live in 1975 at age 13 with his first band, Raze.
• The band was named Bon Jovi on the suggestion of Pamela Maher, following the model of two-word bands such as Van Halen.
• Its debut album Bon Jovi was released on January 21, 1984, with the single "Runaway" reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top forty.

Members

• The current lineup is Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, John Shanks, Phil X, Everett Bradley, and Hugh McDonald.
• Original bassist Alec John Such left in 1994; he died in 2022.
• Guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013.

Career

• Slippery When Wet (1986) brought global success, with "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• New Jersey (1988) produced five Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles, a record for a hard rock album.
• Keep the Faith (1992) marked a shift to a more mature sound.
• "Always" (1994) became the band's biggest-selling and longest-charting single.
• Crush (2000) and "It's My Life" introduced the band to a younger audience.
• "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (2006) won a Grammy and became the first rock band single to top the Billboard country chart.
• The band has sold more than 130 million records worldwide and was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Allmusic (Steven Thomas Erlewine): 1.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a brief, power-ballad-heavy collection
• Asbury Park Press (Chris Jordan): positive, noting a spark of anger from frontman Jon Bon Jovi
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Jon M. Gilbertson): mixed, describing a shift from 1980s hair-metal to 2015 adult-contemporary
• Newsday (Glenn Gamboa): grade B-, saying it sounds a bit burned-out
• The National (Rob Garratt): 2 out of 5 stars, offering little more than a fresh excuse to refill the coffers

Records

• Billboard: debuted at No. 13
• Rock Albums chart: No. 3 on release
• First-week sales: 19,000 copies
• United States: 67,000 copies sold as of August 2016

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The song Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning was originally written in The Circle sessions and finished for this album.
• Blind Love and A Teardrop to the Sea were not released as singles but were digitally released on 7 August 2015.
• Lyrics videos for all the songs were released on Bon Jovi's YouTube account.
• Richie Sambora left in 2013, yet he receives a co-writing credit on the single Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning.
• It is the first album in 29 years to not feature a credit by Desmond Child, who had co-written or produced at least one song on every Bon Jovi album since 1986.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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