These Days (1995)

No one understands better than Bon Jovi the public's undying love for bombastic ballads sung at vein-popping volume. Bon Jovi swamps These Days with such sap. Only one song makes the boo-boo of aiming for the rock seriousness of U2 — the opening ''Hey God,'' which finds Jon Bon Jovi mistaking himself for Job. As for the rest of the album, the group happily forsakes conventional corporate rock for a loud kind of adult pop. Think Whitney Houston with guitars. D