V/A - Wanted - A Tribute To Bon Jovi

*=Staff's pick	Runaway (Alex Mitchell/Circus Of Power) In And Out Of Love (Stevie Rachelle/Tuff) You Give Love A Bad Name (Kelly Hansen/Hurricane) Livin' On A Prayer (Marq Torien/Bullet Boys) Wanted Dead Or Alive* (Phil Lewis/L.A. Guns) Lay Your Hands On Me (Jani Lane/Warrant) Bad Medicine (Jizzy Pearl/Ratt, Love Hate) Born To Be My Baby (John Corabi/Mötley Crüe,Union,Ratt) Livin' In Sin (Spike/Quireboys) I'll Be There For You (Chaz) Blaze Of Glory (Kory Clark/Warrior Soul) It's My Life (Dangerous Toys)

Genre	Hard Rock	Various, see tracklist	Vocals
Tracks	12	DJ Ashba	Guitar
Runningtime	55 Min.	Eric Turner	Guitar
Label	Mausoleum Records	Jerry Dixon	Bass
Release	26 Aug. 2005	James Kottak	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	Bon Jovi

Mausoleum Records are doing it again. With this album they are releasing the third tribute album in a short period of time and this is really starting to smell money profiting rather then to actually be paying musical tributes. Compared with the tribute albums to Ted Nugent and Guns 'n' Roses, the vocal line-up is similar and all albums are recorded around 2001 and have been released earlier in the United States and are now being served to the European market. The vocalists might be almost the same but the band differs a bit this time. DJ Ashba on guitar is still around from the Nugent tribute and is joined by the Warrant guys Jerry Dixon, Eric Turner and Danny Wagner while James Kottak from Scorpions handles the drums.

I have never been a Bon Jovi fan of higher ranks but surely enjoyed their songs to get in a good party mood on more than one occasion, but now I can see their real greatness compared to these versions. Every single track on this album is a lame version of the original. Although there are some good musicians involved it doesn't sound like they have put in any efforts in this project. The covered songs come in a standard cover version, no attempts have been made to tamper with the songs and they are all very close to the originals with the exceptions that they are less good. And it doesn't take me too long to conclude once again that it is the originals that are the best.

The voices from these guys are good in the right environment, for example with their original bands or when some of them appeared on the Guns n' Roses tribute it fitted nicely. But when they try to take on Bon Jovi songs their voices do not fit, a good example is Jizzy Pearl who's harsh and nasal voice is perfect for Love/Hate but that sounds so misplaced for Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine. Although Jani Lane does a good job on an otherwise tired version of Lay Your Hands On Me but Phil Lewis is the only one can walk out of this with his honor intact as he seems to be the only one that has put some soul into his contribution with Wanted Dead Or Alive. That is the biggest flaw with this tribute - there is no soul in the performances. It's like they played the songs through from beginning to end just to get them done rather then making it a genuine tribute.

I don't know if my hearing is fucked up because of the cold I am suffering from but the production is awful, it is like listening to an eighties vinyl album with a flat sound. Or for you younger kids, it is like listening to a downloaded soundfile with a low bitrate. The album comes with a feeling of being put together in haste, and I can honestly say that I have heard one man cover bands doing better versions of some of these songs at the pub.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
3	4	4

Summary
3 chalices of 10 - Thomas