One of the albums which took me awhile to warm up to was Bon Jovi's This Left Feels Right. When I first heard it, I absolutely hated it. So I shoved it in the bottom of my CD pile. But after a few months I dug it out and after a few more thorough listens, some of the songs started to grow on me.
This Left was arranged and recorded in less than a month during a break in touring. The lyrics remain 99% intact. However, there are some subtle changes die hard Bon Jovi fans will catch. The new musical arrangements are what really make this album interesting. Although to many long-time Bon Jovi fans, it may take more than one listen to appreciate them.
The track which really got my mind changing about this album was "It's My Life". Now, the version on Crush is my all time favorite Bon Jovi song. So for this one to be the track to ignite my appreciation of this pseudo-greatest hits album, that says a lot. The new arrangement has a much slower tempo which is just the opposite of the anthem-like feel of the original. But it works.
What doesn't work is the duet version of "Livin' on a Prayer" with Jon Bon Jovi and Olivia d'Abo. The arrangement isn't the problem here. I actually like the new instrumentation. It brings a sense of sorrow to the tune which really brings out what the song needs to be. The problem with this song is d'Abo's vocals. She sounds like a bird with strep throat and it's painful, not pleasant to listen to.
The dive bar, juke joint feel to "You Give Love a Bad Name" is the highlight of the album. You can picture Jon and Ritchie sitting on wooden rain barrels in a sawdust on the floor, dust on the bottle bar with just their guitars playing this song. It's definitely the most fun track on This Left.
The new arrangements of "Bad Medicine" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" are other tracks with stand up as being among the best on the album. Conversely, "Everyday", "Keep the Faith" and "Bed of Roses" are letdown tracks which do little to impress me. I'm disappointed "Someday I'll be Saturday Night" wasn't chosen as a re-arrangement for this album. And there were far too many songs from the New Jersey album. There is only one song from Crush and that album should have been better represented.
As I said, being a die hard Bon Jovi fan, it took me awhile to warm up to This Left Feels Right. But if you want something different, even if you are just a casual fan of the boys from Jersey give this album a listen. You may just feel right about this sharp left turn.
