Lost Highway

Lost Highway
Studio album by Bon Jovi
Released	June 8, 2007 (2007-06-08) (see Release history)
Recorded	Nashville, Los Angeles
Genre	Hard rock, Country rock
Length	49:50
Label	Island / Mercury
Producer	Dann Huff John Shanks Desmond Child (Executive Producer)
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Yahoo! Music UK link Rolling Stone link Blender Magazine link Entertainment Weekly (B-) link NOW Magazine link BBC Online (positive) link New York Times (positive) link
Bon Jovi chronology
Have A Nice Day (2005) Lost Highway (2007) The Circle (2009)
Japan Tour Edition

Lost Highway is the title of the tenth studio album by Bon Jovi. Produced by John Shanks and Dann Huff the album was recorded at Black Bird Studios, Nashville and NGR Recording, Hollywood. Described by Jon Bon Jovi as a "Bon Jovi album influenced by Nashville", the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Bon Jovi's first ever album to debut at #1 and their third album to reach that position in United States.^[1] The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.

Release history

Album information

The album influences the band's rock sound with that of country music following the success of a country version of the band's 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", a duet with Jennifer Nettles, which reached #1 on the U.S. country chart in May 2006.^[2] Following the success had with the duet version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home", there are two songs on the album produced in collaboration with other artists, namely "We Got It Going On" featuring Big & Rich and "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" featuring LeAnn Rimes.

Chart performance

After its first week on sale, Lost Highway entered the Dutch, German, Swiss and Japanese album charts at #1, and the UK Album Chart at #2, below The Traveling Wilburys Collection. It entered the Irish and Australian charts at #5, although after the conclusion of Bon Jovi's Australian tour the album climbed to #2. In Japan, the album debuted at #1 and sold over 73,212 copies in its first week of release on Oricon charts. This is the fourth such time, breaking the Beatles and the Bay City Rollers' record as a Western band (under Oricon's definition) of having three number one albums in the country.^[3] In the UK the album sold 79,000 copies in its first week, an improvement on Have a Nice Day's first-week sales of 54,000. In Denmark, the album debuted at #5, but went to number one after five weeks on the charts. In the U.S., the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 292,000 copies sold in its first week.^[1] The album was certified platinum by RIAA and as of October 2008, it has sold 1,221,000 copies in the United States and nearly 4 million copies worldwide.

Tour

In the summer of 2007, Bon Jovi performed ten concerts around the world as part of the Lost Highway promotion, with plans for a full greatest hits world tour in 2008. However, after Lost Highway did better than expected, the world tour was moved forward to the fall of 2007, and was renamed the Lost Highway Tour. The tour so far consists of ten dates in New Jersey, followed by Canadian and Japanese tours, as well as the band's first stadium concert in New Zealand since the These days tour. The tour also saw them play Australia for the first time since their brief appearance at the Rumba Festivals in 2002, playing sold out shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. The band then toured the U.S. and Europe in spring and summer 2008, before returning to North America for a few more summer shows, including a free concert in Central Park in New York City.

In other media

• "We Got It Going On" was used as a promotional song for the new season of the Arena Football League (Bon Jovi is a co-owner of the league's Philadelphia Soul). It featured alternate, football-related lyrics written especially by the band.
• A slightly different version of the title track "Lost Highway" was used in the movie Wild Hogs alongside another Bon Jovi song "Wanted Dead or Alive".
• "I Love This Town" was used as a promotional song for Major League Baseball on TBS during the 2007 MLB Playoffs and again for the 2008 postseason.
• Outsider artist and infamous sociopath, Jacqueline Molli, claims that Lost Highway served as an inspiratation for her acclaimed series of cat portraits. She noted that the themes of loss, identity, and redemption found on the album are reflected in her work.

Track listing

Soundcheck: Bonus DVD

In Walmart stores in the USA, a bonus DVD was given out with some copies of the album. It's another in studio performance, similar to the This Left Feels Right Bonus DVD and their Stripped: Raw and Real performance. The track listing is:

1. "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
2. "It's My Life"
3. "Lost Highway"
4. "(You Want To) Make a Memory"
5. "Wanted Dead or Alive"

Australasian And Japanese Tour Edition

Limited Edition 2 CD Tour Edition exclusive to Australia and Japan. It was released on January 12, 2008. Disc one is the full album including the bonus tracks Lonely and Put the Boy Back in Cowboy. Disc two is their Stripped: Raw and Real performance with the following tracks:

Disc 2:

1. "Hallelujah" - Live
2. "(You Want To) Make A Memory"
3. "Lost Highway"
4. "Wanted Dead or Alive"
5. "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
6. "Whole Lot of Leavin'"

Tour Edition

Limited Edition 2 CD Tour Edition exclusive to Europe. It was released on May 16, 2008. Disc one is the full album. Disc two is their Lost Highway: The Concert performance with following tracks:

1. Lost Highway
2. Summertime
3. (You Want To) Make A Memory
4. Whole Lot Of Leavin '
5. We Got It Going On
6. Any Other Day
7. Seat Next To You
8. Everybody's Broken
9. Till We Is not Strangers Anymore
10. The Last Night
11. One Step Closer
12. I Love This Town
13. It's My Life
14. Wanted Dead Or Alive

Bon Jovi Lost Highway: The Concert (DVD)

By the end of 2007, a DVD concert was released titled "Bon Jovi Lost Highway: The Concert". This event was shot in July, 2007 in Chicago. Band interviews, backstage footage and chart topping bonus tracks are also available on the DVD. (Running time: approx. 84 mins. + extras. Shot in hi-def & mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound. Produced and directed by Joe Thomas, producer: Don Maggi, executive producers: Paul Korzilius and Jack Rovner)

Track listing (the album track by track):

1. "Lost Highway"
2. "Summertime"
3. "(You Want To) Make A Memory"
4. "Whole Lot Of Leavin'"
5. "We Got It Going On" - without Big & Rich
6. "Any Other Day"
7. "Seat Next To You"
8. "Everybody's Broken"
9. "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" - without LeAnn Rimes
10. "The Last Night"
11. "One Step Closer"
12. "I Love This Town"
13. "It's My Life"
14. "Wanted Dead Or Alive"
15. "Who Says You Can't Go Home"

and also bonus performances:

1. "(You Want To) Make A Memory"
2. "Lost Highway"
3. "Wanted Dead Or Alive"
4. "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
5. "Whole Lot Of Leavin'"
6. Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

Personnel

• Jon Bon Jovi - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Richie Sambora - guitars, backup vocals
• Hugh McDonald - bass, backup vocals
• Tico Torres - drums, percussion
• David Bryan - keyboards, piano, backup vocals

References