Have a Nice Day

1	Have a Nice Day 3:49
2	I Want to Be Loved 3:49
3	Welcome to Wherever You Are 3:47
4	Who Says You Can't Go Home 4:40
5	Last Man Standing 4:37
6	Bells of Freedom 4:55
7	Wildflower 4:13
8	Last Cigarette 3:38
9	I Am 3:53
10	Complicated 3:37
11	Novocaine 4:49
12	Story of My Life 4:08
13	Who Says You Can't Go Home / Jennifer Nettles Duet 3:50

Barnes & Noble

Jon Bon Jovi and his bandmates all but perfected the arena-rock template back in the late 1980s -- leavening riff-rocking anthems with just enough power balladry to ensure that romance could join unbridled lust in the big picture. While the intervening years have (thankfully) seen adolescent sex fantasies give way to a more mature view of relationships -- not to mention the rest of the world -- the unflagging catchiness of the band's material remains strikingly unchanged on Have a Nice Day. That's evident in the we're-all-in-this-together sing-along "Welcome to Wherever You Are" as well as "I Want to Be Loved," which has a swagger that's reminiscent of "Bad Medicine." While Bon Jovi are by no means trying to outmuscle, say, Velvet Revolver, Have a Nice Day. is marked by an edge -- most palpable on the surprisingly sneering title track -- that was missing from recent albums like Bounce. When the band get around to tapping their well of sensitivity, as they do on the saccharine ballad "Wildflower," listeners are more likely to reach for the "skip" button than for a Bic to flick. For most of the disc, though, syrup takes a back seat to meat and potatoes -- sided with some old-fashioned country gravy on "Who Says You Can't Go Home," which features guest vocals from Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles. And as such, Have a Nice Day will stick to the ribs more than anything Bon Jovi have served up in a long while. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Have a Nice Day, Bon Jovi's ninth studio album of original material, picks up where 2002's Bounce left off, showcasing a harder, heavier band than either 2000's Crush or Jon Bon Jovi's 1997 solo effort, Destination Anywhere. Not only that, but this 2005 album finds Jon Bon Jovi picking up on the serious undercurrent of Bounce, writing a series of angry, somber neo-protest songs that form the heart of this record. While he's not exactly explicitly political here, there's little question that he's dissatisfied with the world today, whether it's about life in small town America or the sorry state of pop music; he even goes so far to write a variation on Bob Dylan's classic "Chimes of Freedom" with "Bells of Freedom." Since he's stretching out lyrically, the band finds a comfort zone in sticking in the tried-and-true arena rock that's been their signature sound for 20 years now. While they sound appropriately grand and powerful -- this is one of the few groups that sounds right at home in large venues -- at times they pump up their choruses a little bit too much, so they sound strident, not anthemic. That heavy-handedness, coupled with a loud but colorless production from Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, and John Shanks, with Desmond Child acting as executive producer for the whole thing, gives Have a Nice Day a sound that's a bit too monochromatic for the band's ambitions, or for its own good: at times, getting through the record can be a little bit of a chore, since there's not much fun to be had here. Nevertheless, it's hard not to admire Jon Bon Jovi's attempt to stretch himself, particularly when he balances his earnestness with tunes as gentle as "Wildflower." Stephen Thomas Erlewine