THESE DAYS

But, if the album was to be everything Jon wanted, it had to have depth, emotion. It had to reach out to people and draw them in. Bon Jovi were no longer the rockin' outfit of the mid­Eighties, but then their audience had changed as well. Those young girls who dreamt about Jon and Richie in 1986 were probably now married with kids of their own. They were a generation removed from the excess of their own youth; they no longer wished to live dangerously. 'These Days' (an apt switch of title from the far more juvenile 'Open All Hours') captured the mood of the moment. It was the BJ album for '95 - and it was a record that finally laid to rest any notion that the band couldn't survive in such turbulent musical times.

Jon Bon Jovi has always had a focus on what he does, a sense of direction and of fulfillment. Nobody in the music business (and, rest assured, Jon is as much the business head as he is the artist) knows his worth more than this New Jersey native. Equally, nobody is less likely to rest on his laurels. He is a past master at coming up with the right sound for the right time, of reaching out for a new market, while dragging the older fans with him. 'These Days' saw Jon Bon and his troops taking themselves into the rarified atmosphere of U2, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, mass appeal bands whose music is the soundtrack to everyday life.

Of course it sold well (at the time of writing it has reached platinum status in America and has sold more than a million copies also in the UK). Of course lead single 'This Ain't A Love Song' was another huge transatlantic hit. But it wasn't so much the sales figures that pleased Jon. No, it was the demand for the band from quarters where hitherto they'd fought shy of even mentioning these rock upstarts. At last Bon Jovi had become what Jon had always wanted it to become - part of the establishment.

Bon Jovi could trade punches with the Stones, playing in the same size venues as Jagger et al in Europe - and doing equally good business. Jon could drag Bob Geldof on stage at Wembley Stadium without feeling intimidated. He had arrived. They had arrived. In years to come, 'These Days' will almost cer­tainly become one of the ultimate coffee table albums. That in itself is a tribute to Jon and his will to work. Moreover, it is a tribute to Jon's perspective and acumen.

Strangely, though, while 'These Days' has elevated Bon Jovi into something akin to a true hero in Europe and other parts of the world. America remains somewhat unconvinced. There is still a feeling over there that Bon Jovi are not the force they once were and that 'These Days' is an album of mature pop songs that falls between the stools - too stilted for young rock fans, yet not stylish enough for older audiences. Strange how the birth­place of the band has now become its most difficult market.