After the band’s country-flavored detour on 2007’s “Lost Highway,” Bon Jovi has taken a very right turn back onto the New Jersey Turnpike for “The Circle.”
“The Circle,” the band’s 11th studio effort, is named to recall the band’s earliest arena-ready, radio-friendly songwriting aspirations that eventually filled stadiums.
Right from the start of this record, Jon Bon Jovi, backed by his original band, takes a stand with the big, bold rocker “We Weren’t Born To Follow.” Realistically, this is a silly song for anybody but a dopey teenager to sing, but Bon Jovi doesn’t know any better and breathes new life into one of the basic tenets of the American dream.
That mythic dream is at the heart of this album, which features songs about fighting authority, discovering a personal path, overcoming life’s obstacles, savoring the good times and learning to laugh when things go bad.
From end to end, this is an upbeat record that never wanders into sap, even on the sentimental “Love’s the Only Rule” and the nostalgic “When We Were Beautiful.”
Credit for keeping the disc’s edge sharp goes as much to Tico Torres’ aggressive drumming, the keyboard fills of underrated David Bryan and Richie Sambora’s versatile guitar work as it does to Jon Bon Jovi’s vocals, which still have clarity, depth and passion.
Like his wealthy colleague Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi will take his knocks for this album’s blue-collar sentiments — especially in the song “Work for the Workingman.” But after several plays, it’s clear that success hasn’t warped Jonny B. Rather, it has shown him the dignity in a blistered hand and a weary mind after a hard day.
Holiday albums are among the easiest albums any musician can make. Since most recorded Christmas songs are traditional, singers know the words by heart, the arrangements are standard, and fans don’t expect all that much beyond background music. But Tori Amos doesn’t do easy and isn’t gonna be another Santa ho.
On her Christmas effort, the redheaded daughter of a preacher man took the songs she used to play in church for her father’s congregation and expanded them into new original works based on the classic themes. The result is a musically exquisite collection that evokes yuletide spirit without kowtowing to tradition.
The standout on this record is the freshly minted “Pink and Glitter,” a girl’s guide to the holidays performed in a big-band style that has the swing of “Santa Baby.”
On this very weird and sometimes great album, Ray Davies takes the songs he wrote and performed as a youth in his seminal band the Kinks and rejiggers them for choral arrangements.
At first, familiar songs such as “All Day and All of the Night,” “You Really Got Me” and “Waterloo Sunset” are disarming with a large choir backing Davies, but the arrangements place new emphasis on lyrics and medley rather than on the composer’s distinctive voice. This is an album for Kinks fans, but even they will need time and repeated spins to acclimate their ears to the music’s goodness.
dan.aquilante@nypost.com