Bon Jovi WHAT ABOUT NOW REVIEW with SCORES (2013)

The heavily anticipated What About Now was the last album that Richie Sambora was fully involved in and this is my review! It had some big moments a few low ones but all in all was a fantastic album and I hope you enjoy the review of Bon Jovi's WHAT ABOUT NOW, which featured the single Because We Can!!
#BonJovi #WhatAboutNow #BecauseWeCan
1. "Because We Can" Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Billy Falcon 4:00
2. "I'm With You" Bon Jovi, John Shanks 3:44
3. "What About Now" Bon Jovi, Shanks 3:45
4. "Pictures of You" Bon Jovi, Sambora, Shanks 3:58
5. "Amen" Bon Jovi, Falcon 4:12
6. "That's What the Water Made Me" Bon Jovi, Falcon 4:24
7. "What's Left of Me" Bon Jovi, Sambora, Falcon 4:35
8. "Army of One" Bon Jovi, Sambora, Desmond Child 4:34
9. "Thick as Thieves" Bon Jovi, Sambora, Shanks 4:57
10. "Beautiful World" Bon Jovi, Falcon 3:48
11. "Room at the End of the World" Bon Jovi, Shanks 5:03
12. "The Fighter" Bon Jovi 4:38
Total length: 51:36
Deluxe edition/iTunes standard edition
No. Title Writer(s) Length
13. "With These Two Hands" Bon Jovi, Falcon 3:58
14. "Into the Echo" Bon Jovi, Falcon 5:04
15. "Not Running Anymore" (Jon Bon Jovi solo song from the soundtrack for the movie Stand Up Guys)

[@stephanebreton3708]

The bonus tracks With these two hands, Burn with me and Into the echo are absolutely awesome and better than most of the songs on the album. Love these 3 songs.

[@tilenjk02]

Amen is one of the best songs on the album for me, specially when they are preforming it live. Because we can is also amazing.

[@andreacasazza3350]

I agree with you but i think it helped killing jon's voice

[@einfachflo1365]

SUCH a nice album, I listened to it yesterday and I really enjoyed it, I´m with you and Beautiful world are songs that I could listen on repeat for hours, but every song on this album is good if not great. Everytime your reviews make me to listen to the full album (the German Version actually has 5 "bonus songs", With these two hands, Into the Echo, Not Running Anymore, Old Habbits Die Hard and Every Road Leads Home to You (VERY nice song by Richie Sambora)). I think this was actually the first Bon Jovi album I listened track by track in 2013, I was 15 back then and only knew the "classics" like Livin on a Prayer, Wanted, Runaway and It´s my life, but after that I was a HUGE fan and now I know every song and the songs that are not on any CD (Nothing from HAND is actually one of my favorite BJ tracks ever but it was never released officially on an international album). Of corse I will continue watching your reviews in the future, keep up your work!

[@EriksHouse]

Thank you!! I'll keep going! Coming up next should be THE CIRCLE!! I love that Richie song Every Road; it is fantastic. I don't remember Old Habits Die Hard; I'll see if I can find that one right now on youtube.

[@ericgilbert8725]

@@EriksHouse It was another song originally written for a movie soundtrack along side Not Running Anymore

[@dawidmachnikowski2019]

I really enjoy the album because they came to Poland after the album for the first time, and started it with Water made me it was awesome concert 😀

[@hylo1985]

I don't understand why there was such negativity around this album. Its terrific and there are so many great songs. Because We Can, I'm With You, That's What the Water Made Me, What's Left of Me, and Room at the End of The World are all top notch songs.

[@EriksHouse]

I agree; but this album is consistenly considered their worst or one of their worst.. baffling to me; I love it

[@marshallhawkins3754]

This one is an underrated album. It blew away The Circle to me. Like you, I'm With You and H20 are two of their best songs of their later albums. Listening to this after House and 2020, definitely makes me miss Sambora.

[@sergiopaulino859]

i enjoy very much what about now , after this one forget it I can understand wich road jon is going .

[@EriksHouse]

Yah, I like it a lot better than the 2 new ones

[@themindseyecmh]

I love the reviews! I've been a Bon Jovi fan since Crush when i was 10, seems hard to find people who take Bon Jovi seriously in the rock world and actually give anything post These Days the time of day! That being said im glad I'm not the only one who likes this album, I've always enjoyed it and couldn't believe the flack it got. Sure it's not their best but imo it's right there in the middle of the pack with most jovi albums. Because We Can: i thought this song was incredibly dull when it came out. Richie's guitar playing really salvages the song, especially that really catchy guitar hook that comes in mid way through the song and again at the end. Richie adds a point to this song. 5/10 I'm With You: here we go lol love this song, especially my favorite part of the song "If I got one thing i got something to prove, we all got nothing if there's nothing to lose!" Always turn that part up! 10/10 What About Now: kinda your standard, typical, paint by numbers jovi track, i like it but it's nothing I'd feel the need to share with my non jovi fan friends. 6/10 Pictures of You: starts off strong and never lets go! Love it when the guitar kicks in and love the riff! Great song! 9/10 Amen: Jon's hallelujah, basically. It's ok every now and then but it doesn't do much for me. 4/10 That's What the Water Made Me: Tico kicks this song off rather nicely, and i love the melody! Might not be as big on this song as some people seem to be but i still like it quite a bit! 8/10 What's Left of Me: my favorite song on the album, love the lyrics, melody, this song drew me in instantly! 10/10 Army of One: i may be the only person in the world that likes this song lol 7/10 Thick As Thieves: this is not only the worst song on the album for me, it might be my least favorite bon Jovi song of all time, if it's not its darn close. 1/10 Beautiful World: this song really recovers the album nicely after the last song, i love the melody, matchbox 20 rip off or not, not crazy about all the lyrics but the feel good nature of the song over comes it for me. 7/10 Room at the End of the World: i only need one word to describe this song... forgettable. 4/10 The Fighter: great closer, love the lyrics, the guitar, such a simple song but so awesome 8/10 The copy of this album i burned for work, i swapped out Amen and Thick as Thieves with With These Two Hands and Into the Echo, which i give a 7/10 and 9/10 respectively... not only does that replace my two least favorite songs but actually improved the flow of the whole album imo

[@SamsungAs-yc4iq]

I bought the cd too,and i really love it 👍

[@EriksHouse]

It's so good!

[@thecreameggguy7603]

It starts off with a good song to start the album off. And a of messages in each song gives me confidence

[@andreacasazza3350]

An outtake is "burn with me". I love it

[@thecreameggguy7603]

Must of bought it off Amazon during that year of 2013. Because we can and amen are my favourites and the words to that's what the water made me

[@jimtsikarlis6553]

I am enjoying your videos when are you doing The Circle review?

[@EriksHouse]

Uploading now; sorry - my power was out for 4 days

[@prodandragos]

Very good review! The album is not that good but it's a matter of taste.. Amen, I'm with you, pictures of you, the water and beautiful world... That's it for me. When I play this CD these are the only songs that I can listen. Rest for me is just FF button. Some of them, like the fighter, I don't even consider as real songs.. Keep up the good work man!

[@EriksHouse]

Thank you!

[@steel_horse7570]

Oddly considering Ive been critical of the last few albums I do like this album I have a real soft spot for it....once you lose few songs like Amen, Army Of One, The Fighter, Not Running, Old Habits (just find these songs boring and instantly skip them) You are left with a decent set of songs like Water Made Me, What's Left of Me, Room at the end of the World, Thick as Thieves and Beautiful World . Because we can was average but I love the rest (excluding the ones I mentioned above). The bonus tracks Into The Echo and Burn With Me are also very good. The album suffers with terrible production (notice how since Shanks has been involved its all gone wonky?) and the songs sound compressed - especially I'm With You where it sounds like its auto-tuned to hell. The problem with this album is that is wasn't needed so soon after The Circle but Jon wanted to buy that football team and this album and tour broke Richie who wanted to do another solo album. This album ended the dream team of Jon and Richie and I think that's why people dislike it. Come back Richie!! What About Now scores 8/10

[@brucederr1212]

Dude. I gotta say that I've been watching your videos...and because of that I've been digging into some of these albums that I really didn't spend a lot of time with upon their initial release. I gotta tell ya, this is a damn fine record. I could compare it to my favorites (New Jersey, These Days) but I won't because bands change and it really isn't fair to make those comparisons. There are some really really solid songs here. Actually I can't name a song that I would skip. I do agree that the production is strange. Strange snare sound, kind of overly compressed...but I never judge an album by that. I go by the songs and the performances. A few of the tunes do suffer a bit lyrically from Bon Jovi's " You can do it!" Attitude. Lol. But again, that's the band. I appreciate it for what it is. I do believe that this album contains some of Ritchie's best harmonies. I sure do miss that guy. ANYWAY...highlights for me... What about now What's left of me Amen Beautiful world (favorite track) Cheers!

[@stephanebreton3708]

I never got into this album, but still some great songs: Because we can, I'm with you, What about now, Pictures of you, What's left of me, Beautiful world and one of my favourite BJ songs ever: That's what the water made me. A brilliant song. I don't really like the rest of the songs, so I just have these 7 songs on my playlist. So, it's the BJ album with the most songs I would skip.

[@jonboy5436]

Really enjoy your reviews. This album was my least favorite until 2020, which is even worse, IMHO. The only two songs from this album I have on my mp3 or phone is because we can and water made me. Looking forward to your next review.

[@EriksHouse]

Thank you so much!! Well, Water Made Me is definitely awesome so I'm glad you have that one on your phone. Already recorded The Circle review; just editing it. Should be up very soon!

[@jimtsikarlis6553]

Enjoying the video reviews looking forward to THE CIRCLE album next !! I love that album ! Hopefully you will like it too?

[@EriksHouse]

Ohh you know I love The Circle and my review is dropping soon; I already recorded it..

[@jimtsikarlis6553]

Great Album The Circle !! The only song I didn’t like was Fast Cars ??

[@tanswanfooken2505]

I love this album

[@joeroberts2360]

I did enjoy the album as a whole. However IMO The Circle was the last great album by Bon Jovi. I think the reason What about Now was a bit hit n miss was because I read somewhere that Richie only had song credit on 2 or 3 of the tracks. John Shanks had a lot to do with it and let’s be honest NOBODY likes John Shanks.

[@bill-hc4vh]

yup and that's probably why Ritchie bailed after this album. John shanks broke up a band.

[@Metaltalk41]

I enjoy this one. 'What's left of me' is one of their best songs. 'The fighter' is decent but a bit boring, same with 'Amen'. 'What about now' has an awesome chorus. Awesome album but at the far bottom of my list

[@sargentrowell81]

That's What The Water Made Me is that song that I will not skip from this album. It's a fantastic song live, but it's just not quite as good on the album as it is live. Though that is the way it is with most songs in my experience.

[@bluesman7865]

If every song would Sound like I'm with you it would be great

[@laurat1720]

I love I'm with you.

[@EriksHouse]

So underrated.. what a great song

[@bill-hc4vh]

@@EriksHouse I love it too, it also sounds very Tom Petty(ish) for some reason.

[@jimtsikarlis6553]

The only songs I like from this album are Because We Can, I’m with you , What about now, Amen, That’s what the water made me, and Beautiful world . The rest I usually skip. WHAT ABOUT NOW and LOST HIGHWAY are my 2 least fav albums.

[@EriksHouse]

I'm going to destroy Lost Highway when I get to it haha.

[@jimtsikarlis6553]

Any other Day song from Lost Highway is a great song one of my favourites catchy tune !!!

[@bjtop10]

The album that was the catalyst for Richie’s departure where he felt his input unheard. Some good songs but overall it didn’t sound like Bon Jovi. Due largely to allowing John Shanks’ to contribute to the songwriting and instrumental. From there, Bon Jovi became the Shanks sound, not Jon and Richie.

[@jonathanlake1648]

Some ok tracks on this but nothing particularly liked. Not listened to it for years. Maybe I should give it another go now

[@lewiscarty5517]

I am one of those fans who thinks this album has many great songs that are scattered, but I like ‘What About Now’, ‘Amen’, ‘That’s What The Water Made Me’, ‘What’s Left Of Me’ and ‘Beautiful World’ are the best songs on the album, with many of the deluxe edition tracks too, with ‘I’m With You’ and ‘Army Of One’ are quite decent, but not up to par to the best songs, and I am not keen on ‘Because We Can’, ‘Pictures Of You’, ‘Thick As Thieves’ and ‘Room At The End Of The World’ and ‘The Fighter’ is a horrible closer to the album, probably the worst Bon Jovi song ever in my opinion. Album has some good moments, but not my favourite like the others.

[@MarceloZ2]

In my opinion, What About Now is the worst Bon Jovi album. Didn't liked it when it came out, and giving it a relisten, still didn't liked it. It just doesn't sound like Bon Jovi, it feels like a teenage Bon Jovi cover band that liked too much Imagine Dragons. The most bearable songs are the ones that Sambora composed, like Pictures of You, but overall, is a very weak album. And it's funny, because The Circle was such a great album, with such great songs, with Jon giving one of the best vocal performances of the recent years, and it's just sad that What About Now didn't kept the flame burning

[@EriksHouse]

That's too bad you didn't like it - I think I prefer The Circle too but this one was fine for me. But I really love of course some of the older albums I'm about to get to!

[@Ryan-ku2ez]

This album dropped at a great time for me personally, loved it in 2013. However it doesn't hold up. Water Made Me and Beautiful World still good but everything else just filler. Exceeded expectations? Dude this album has no memorable songs. Neither did the Circle. Not bad albums but nothing special. I can see why Sambora hated it and bounced

[@andreabindolini7452]

"What About Now" was the first album in Bon Jovi history in which I couldn't find anything good. No sign of great music for Bon Jovi standards. Even the previous bad album (IMHO), "The Circle", had some highlights. Here, nothing. The lead single "Because We Can" is simply embarrassing. Looking at your reviews, I start to think that the post-"Bounce" albums, beginning with "Have a Nice Day" are the ones in which the tastes of US and European fans begins to diverge dramatically. But, seriously: "The Fighter" above "Diamond Ring"? Seriously?

[@rubenterlouw7746]

not my album...the worst for me..love I,m with u and W.A.N..The fighter.. Pictures of you is something differtent and stil don,t know what to make of it. The rest doesn't give me the Bon Jovi feeling ..BWC.sounds way to cheesy..Amen doesnt do it either... I,d give the record a 6

[@robs2126]

I don't rate this album all songs are a 3 out of 10. Don't listen to it anymore