Bon Jovi’s latest single, “What Do You Got?”, released at the end of August this year, is one of the few songs that has been freshly recorded for the band’s Greatest Hits album, due to be released at the end of the year. Bon Jovi have been known for their reasonably fast adaptability to the audience and media, with a career spanning from the early ’80s, solidifying their spot within the rock genre, pleasing the masses
with their arena-worthy rock anthems, along with their more sensitive and heart-hitting songs as well.
At my first listening, I found “What Do You Got?” to be very Bon Jovi-esque, providing me with a nostalgic feeling. After a few more plays, I began to pick up on the astonishingly fresh approach which they managed to include within this song, along with their previous album, The Circle. If there was one way to describe the band’s accomplishments and shifts in writing style, it would have to be through a comparison between their debut single “Runaway” and this current single.
The laid back rhythm of Tico’s drumming, along with guitarist Richie’s melody, initially provides “What Do You Got?” with a reflective nature, easing the listener into what is to become yet another anthemic number, accomplished through the loud chorus and soaring guitars, which would get the audience on their feet and contributing to Jon’s vocals.
Perhaps the reason why this is so greatly done by the band is due immensely to the fact that Jon Bon Jovi is no stranger to the working class family, continuing to connect with his audience through family troubles, life struggles and, of course, the deteriorating state of the current world in which we live in. Recently, Bon Jovi have focussed largely on politics, making the shift from the sensitive and emotional to the analytical and somewhat commentary songs. “What Do You Got?” brings both these ideas together.
How does one achieve such a thing, you ask? Bon Jovi achieves this by incorporating the difficulties of being on both ends of the social class structure, however also stating that belief is what you should hold on to, and that ultimately, material objects do not matter as much as loving someone and being loved. Posing a rhetorical question of some sort, Jon challenges the population to take a step back from their busy lives and simply focus on love, and what it stands for.
Ultimately, “What Do You Got?” is a song which relates to everyone, no matter their background. To understand such a feat by New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi would not be possible without multiple plays, as this song has been so finely executed, both lyrically and instrumentally, whereby the experience really is everything.
Review Score: 9.5/10
Bon Jovi is currently on tour and will be visiting Australia in December this year, bringing what has been said to be one of the biggest sets ever to be seen in the country, which will be powered by 800,000 watts of sound and utilising almost 10,000 pounds of HD video technology that will no doubt amaze fans.
