While I had been disappointed with 2002's Bounce album, I was anticipating Bon Jovi's new offering with some reservations. The funny thing is that Bounce ended up in my autoradio in the last 6 months and I was surprised that it wasn't as bad as I remembered (while not being a killer album either), as a matter of fact, its actually a nice album, it just needs to sink in. Anyhow, Bounce is not the issue of this review :), so let's get on with the real subject at hand : Have A Nice Day.

Well the title track and album opener Have A Nice Day is one of those killer songs a la Its My Life. Its melodic to the bones and everytime I put the album for a spin, I can't remove that chorus melody off my head for a week and end up singing it under the shower or groceries shopping. This is a killer song and the best way to start the album. But all that I knew from the single and my real fear was, will the rest of the album be any good ? or will we end up with half the songs being fillers. Well Bon Jovi delivered with this album and I must say its a pleasant surprise. The only song that isn't up to par with the overall quality of the album (while not being a bad one) is WildFlower. Wherever its a fast songs (Have A Nice Day, Last Man Standing, Last Cigarette, Complicated, Story Of My Life), mid-tempos (Welcome To Wherever You Are, Who Says You Can't Go Home, Wildflower, I Am, Novocaine) or ballads (Bells Of Freedom). Speaking of ballads I was surprised there weren't more and the album maybe misses a true killer ballad a la Bed Of Roses or Always (to name only a couple since the list of killer ballads is long). Instead there are plenty of mid-tempo songs, and its actually quite refreshing to not have 3-4+ ballads on the album. Bon Jovi delivers and proves that after 20+ years of rockin', Jon and Ritchie still are great song writers and are able to roll up new melodies that will stick into your mind for a long long time. For sure the sound evolved since the hair days of Runaway, but you still get some nice heavy riffs and nice solos, with some nice accoustic moments, but in any case the songs are very catchy and entertaining. Everyone of Bon Jovi's albums have its own personality while staying Bon Jovi to the bones and Have a Nice Day is no different. Every song as its charm and they are very catchy. Unlike Bounce that needed many listens (and a 2 years "pause", LOL) to really sink in, Have A Nice Day is much more catchy and I loved it after the first listen. Production is, simply put : pretty perfect.

A few differences between the US and Japanese releases are of course the number of tracks. While the US release contains 13 tracks, the last song being a duet version of Who Says You Can't Go Home with Jennifer Nettles, the Japanese release doesn't have this duet but instead you get 3 bonus tracks : Dirty Little Secret, Unbreakable & These Open Arms. Those bonus tracks are very good songs (especially Dirty Little Secret) and its a pity you have to order a Japan version to get them. Especially since Bon Jovi proposes to buy and download the album online from his website. I would have thought they might have proposed the bonus tracks at an additional fee, would only be fair to the rest of the world, but as we know, since JP discs are so expensive there (and released early), the Japanese gets all these extra bonuses that we don't. Oh well, its old news anyway, we'd better get used to that as it doesn't look like its gonna change any day soon, even with more and more albums being available as buy and download directly online.

To sum up, this album has been a real good surprise, and the best Bon Jovi album I've heard since Keep The Faith. The sales also reflects this as well since Bon Jovi sold more than 200'000 albums in the very first week and is #1 in many countries (Japan, Australia, Holland, Austria, Germany and Canada), the album was also certified platinum overnight in Japan. Bon Jovi is back and rockin' and if he can continues to deliver such good material in the future, then I really look forward to ear many more albums... If like me you're a fan of Jon since Runaway, then don't hesitate to buy this album as you won't be disappointed ! If you don't know Bon Jovi yet (but is that really possible ?), Have A Nice Day is as good place as any to discover this band that puts one of the best Hard-Rock songs you can ear on Radio. If you're into Hard-Rock / AOR, then this album is for you. Catchy and melodic to the bones !! Two thumbs up !