Keep The Faith

Keep the Faith reintroduced Bon Jovi after almost four years of side projects and hiatuses. The musical climate had shifted considerably in that time, a fact that wasn't lost on the band. Faith blatantly brought to the surface the Bruce Springsteen influence that was always lurking in Bon Jovi's sound, and used it to frame Faith's more serious interpretation of the band's pop-metal groove…

Connecticut-born / New York-based Mike LeDonne, who divides his time these days between piano and organ, has begun to record more frequently on the Hammond B3, especially with his suitably named Groover Quartet which, according to Owen Cordle's liner notes to Keep the Faith, has been together now for more than a decade. And that's a good thing, as these gentlemen certainly know how to groove, and do so with abandon on an album recorded roughly a year after the quartet's well-received The Groover.

Released in order to coincide with the kick-off of the band's This House Is Not For Sale Tour in North America, this is Bon Jovi's career-spanning box set, a massive and impressive collectible item. Including all 14 studio albums across 25 vinyl LPs, plus an extra disc exclusive to this release, the box set, also, features Jon Bon Jovi's 2 solo records…

It’s been a long 16 years since Bon Jovi was last compiled, when Cross Road arrived for the holiday season of 1994, two years after Keep the Faith capped off a near-decade long run of dominance for the Jersey rockers. As it turned out, it was the first act of Bon Jovi’s career. A subdued second act followed in the ‘90s, with Jon Bon Jovi flirting with a solo career once again before returning to the fold late in the decade, with the band setting out for a decade of professionalism, sometimes cresting into the charts – usually with the assist of a canny country crossover – sometimes not. Greatest Hits condenses the highlights of this journey in a mere 16 songs, just two longer than Cross Road – its simultaneously released cousin, Ultimate Greatest Hits, adds a disc with 12 additional songs – and two of those are new tunes that are unlikely to show up on any subsequent best of.

2007 release from U-Nam, the French guitarist with a unique name and an acrobatic, soulful and sweet melodic style. Back From the 80's finely crafted music is firmly rooted in funky smooth Jazz but crossing into genres as excitingly diverse as R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock and Chill. This remarkable album offers fresh versions of classic and lesser-known gems from the `80's. But even more remarkable are U-Nam's brand-new songs inspired by his favorite songs from the decade. The CD gets a boost from the musical stylings of U-Nam's musical partner, Frank Sitbon, who co-wrote some tunes, played keyboards and sang background vocals.