This.

I completely lost the band after 1993. Started a bit again in 2008 or so. But still feel the best work was done during the 80s.

I find songwriting on Destination Anywhere being very lazy and uninspiring. There's no passion, no hooks whatsoever....I really tried to listen to this record couple of times but there's something missing....

Totally agree... To some people, maybe even most, the 90s supercede the 80s but the 90s were almost too perfect. The songs were well crafted but lacked something. Passion? Emotion?

The 80 weren't perfect and I think with rock n roll, that's a good thing... I feel the passion and emotion with each vocal out of Jons mouth and each string Richie plays... This includes the first album and 7800...

I still enjoyed the 90s but the 80s just speak to me...

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Interesting to read how different the opinions can be.
To me, DA is a hell of a passionate and inspiring record. There's no comparison to the 80s Bon Jovi stuff, that's right. But it's the same problem we got nowadays: Music has changed, Slippery and New Jersey most probably wouldn't be hit records today either. And in the 90s the band seemed to try everything to get away from that 80s stamp.

I started fanship in 2003, so for me it's much easier to get back to the old stuff and appreciate each record than for someone who started with the band in the 80s and was forced to join this development.

I have to agree what I totally loved about DA was Jon's honest and introspective lyrics. And I loved the moody atmosphere of the songs. Yes, no big hooks but the record wasn't going for that. No way would I have called the writing lazy just the opposite.

That goes for me as well.

New Jersey was the peak. That era for songs, live performances & set lists will never be touched.
They were bigger (in uk) around the Always & These Days albums but nothings come close to the 80s.

'Destination Anywhere' was written in the UK when Jon was filming a movie there. At the time Britpop was all over the charts in my country whilst America had grunge.

We had Blur, Oasis, Stone Roses, Echobelly, The Charletans, Black Grape (all bands I can't stand by the way) and Jon was listening to them.

Personally there's only three songs I like "It's Just Me," "August 7" and the title track. The rest is awful Britpop.

I used to listen to DA (and the Live CD) sitting in my dining room waiting for the 56k to connect (and then probably to go on backstage and slag people off) so it always brings back some memories. I likes it.

Just been looking at a lot of 1997 stuff on YouTube. It's a fantastic era, it really is. He was a proper artist back then.

Jon often gets criticised, and always has, for not evolving. But if I look at the 90s, Bon Jovi and Jon evolved hugely. Before I became a fan (around 1994), my knowledge of Bon Jovi was the big hits. Then in 1992 the KTF single came out - I remember hearing it and it was a lot less radio friendly than the stuff that had gone before. There was an edge to it. That whole album was so much more mature than the first 4 albums.

Then These Days followed, in terms of studio albums, and my first thought was "What is this shit?" when I heard 'Hey God' and the album tracks. But, to me, that's the greatest album they've ever produced. It was so different, in terms of mood and maturity, to their other albums.

When Midnight in Chelsea came out, I thought it was garbage. Couldn't have been further from Prayer, Bad Medicine, Bed of Roses, Always and TAALS. But it grew on me and it's such a great song and that album is such a great album lyrically and musically. Maybe the sha-la-las weren't what was going on in 1997 but, for me, that album stood the test of time.

Sadly, Jon wasn't popular in the US in the 90s and IML and Crush, which artistically, were such a step backwards but commercially were huge, set the tone for the last 15 years. Such a shame. The 90s, for me, really were Bon Jovi and Jon at their peak.