SamboraBlog

October 25, 2004, 4:25 PM ET

New Bon Jovi Studio Album, Tour Due

By Christa Titus, N.Y.

A new Bon Jovi album due in the spring will be a "loud guitar, big rock record," says Jon Bon Jovi. "We're very excited about it, and I'm very confident it's going to be a big record for us."

The bandleader made the comments during an interview for a spotlight feature in the Nov. 20 issue of Billboard, which will hit newsstands Nov. 13.

Guitarist Richie Sambora says the band will launch a world tour in the late spring to support the album, dates for which have not yet been announced.

"I think we stumbled upon something again on this particular record, kind of like what happened with 'It's My Life,'" Sambora says. "When [that] came out, it seemed to give Bon Jovi a whole new audience. We've always had a vast audience base, but with this new record, what I'm feeling [is] it's kind of a new direction. It sounds very fresh, yet it sounds like us."

The band worked with producer John Shanks (Michelle Branch, Melissa Etheridge), who also co-wrote tracks with Jon Bon Jovi and Sambora. The album was recorded late this summer.

Jon Bon Jovi notes changes in the climate of the country, and the state of the music business, influenced the songwriting on the new album.

The songs reflect "personal and introspective views on issues I may have had growing up that I certainly would have never discussed publicly before. I've always kept this 'chin up, glass is half-full' kind of optimism, and [now] I showed some chinks in the armor."

The song "Last Man Standing" depicts the band leader's unhappiness with the music industry. He says it reflects his "disgust of the music business in general, and its lack of true vision when it comes to supporting the artistry of developing a song, the songwriter and the bands on the road."

"Instead of creating what Andy Warhol once called '15 minutes of fame,' I think it's down to just three minutes and 30 seconds," he says. "I don't know how this industry is ever going to have another Bob Dylan when it's all about the single, [not] the album and the vision and that inspiration. [It's] all for the sake of a 99-cent download so they can sell bulk and make their bonuses. It's heartbreaking."

Eric Wong, senior director of marketing at Island Records, notes: "[As] with every Bon Jovi release, it's going to get the [label's] full-on attention."

As previously reported,a four-CD/one-DVD box set, "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong," will be released Nov. 16 via Island.

In conjunction with its release, the band will stage a Nov. 21 concert at the Borgata in Atlantic City, N.J. The show will be the basis of the premiere episode of "INHD's Center Stage," which will be broadcast live on the high-definition cable network INHD and its spinoff INHD2. It will also be cybercast on Samsung Electronics America's Web site.

Bon Jovi is also confirmed to make a Nov. 23 appearance on NBC's "Today" morning show.