I bought the deluxe edition with the three extra tracks, and gave it a few listens.

It's a solid, well produced record where each song is in tune with the other, and Jon's voice in particular seems very fitting for this, may I say mellow record. However, not one song really stands out to me, and I think it's because none of them really have any "edge". I couldn't help but think it's a record of "filler" tunes, similar to what we've heard in past on the latter parts of Bounce, HAND, LH, Circle, and WAN albums. They are not all bad tracks (THINFS, Living with a Ghost, Labor of Love, Scars, and Real Love, We Don't Run are standouts here), but there are some pretty bad tracks on there (Knockout, Born Again, Roller Coaster, God Bless). The deluxe edition I purchased contains 3 extra tracks which I thought were actually much stronger than many of the tracks on the standard record. For long time Bon Jovi fans like myself, this is nothing out of the ordinary. They've traditionally omitted some strong tracks from the regular track listing and we've had to buy the Deluxe/Japanese/whatever-other-special-edition we could dig up at some record show.

Lyrically, I feel the messages Jon is trying to deliver are the same as ever, but he's recycled things so many times that they now feel heavily watered down. Reading this lyric booklet really gave me no spark, and I find that disappointing because he has done so much better in the past. Good portion of this record's lyrics are downright silly, with abundance of old cliches replacing any actual songwriting.

I have discussed this band with my music peers many times and we all agree that they've evolved drastically (and successfully) since their early and 90's career, but we also agree that they have not evolved since Crush, if very little. If anything, they've mellowed out more with each record. With the newest release, I believe they have now ventured full-force into pure pop-rock genre, and the witness to that is the prominent lack of guitars on this record. I think that's the missing piece accounting for the lack of edge I mentioned above. Phil X is a really good guitarist, an excellent and a very experienced one, but you would never ever know that from listening to this record. As a guitarist, I am beginning to feel that this band has less and less to offer me.

The best thing I can say about THINFS is that it sounds more like Jon's solo effort, and I think it would have made more sense if it were one. I think he's been long due for a solo record - two of the better songs on WAN were The Fighter and Not Running Anymore, both written by Jon alone, and in my ears a pure throwback to Destination Anywhere. Those two songs, and the turmoil surrounding Richie's departure around the time that last record was released had made me think, for a moment at least, that Jon would surely write another solo record.

This is a decent but forgettable effort. It's a pop-rock record that takes the lesser qualities of their previous five albums and puts them into the spotlight. The difference is that even the worst of their albums had their highlight hit singles, while I find that this one has no such high point. The band says it reflects where they are now in 2016 but I disagree - this is where the band has been since 2002.

4/10

EDIT:
Listened to the other extra tracks from the Target/Japan edition and "Color me in", and I liked them somewhat better than almost anything else on the "standard" record. "Color me in" in particular has a These Days vibe to it. And again I have to wonder (like after every other BJ record) why this band has consistently omitted good material and saved it for B-Sides and special editions. I really believe these songs would have been stronger singles than the ones released off the album so far. It's still pop-rock, they're still not rock songs, but they're definitely better than most of the first 12 tracks.

This could have been an easy 7-8/10 had the standard record included the extra tracks, and omitted 6... whatever tracks and put them into the special editions.