Bon Jovi - This House Is Not For Sale album review

New Jersey cowboys: one man down, but still standing

Bon Jovi This House Is Not For Sale album cover

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Richie Sambora has ridden off into the sunset and their live shows these days resemble a middle-aged hen party, but Bon Jovi are keeping their radio rock dreams alive with album number 13.

Approaching a Bon Jovi album and expecting it not to be slathered in cheese is like asking Domino’s to lay off the mozzarella, so it should come as no surprise that This House Is Not For Sale is crammed with Bud Light anthems squarely aimed at soundtracking the leaving montages on reality TV contests. But surely that’s always been their charm – the unashamed appropriation of mainstream pop married to all-American everyman lyrics like Labor Of Love’s ‘If love is a fire, I’ll go down in those flames.’

This House Is Not For Sale is no masterpiece, and while the punchy title track sonically nods to their heyday, most of it is made up of by-numbers pop. But at this stage in their career, these old dogs don’t need new tricks.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.