These Days in Bloomington, MN

With
These Days
,
Bon Jovi
firmly established themselves as an
adult contemporary
act. They still have their fair share of rockers, but they seem half-hearted and incomplete. Instead, the band sounds the most comfortable with love
ballads
and working class anthems, from hits
"This Ain't a Love Song"
and
"Lie to Me,"
to the acoustic
"Diamond Ring."
In fact, as the years go by,
gets musically stronger. Not only are their best songs stronger now, their playing is more accomplished. Keeping these improvements in mind, it's no surprise that the group was one of the few
pop-metal
bands to sustain a career in the mid-'90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine