These Days (Bon Jovi Album) - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

Two titles that were considered were "Open All Night" and "Strip" but ultimately, the band wanted to make a statement about the themes of the record. Mark Selliger shot the album cover in Mexico. Jon Bon Jovi said that "we tried to get crazy exotic but it didn't come out great. We also shooting in LA and Bombay we finally settled on a picture".

The two extra songs "All I Want Is Everything" and "Bitter Wine" appear as bonus tracks on the international versions. Released June 12 in Japan, June 19 in Europe and June 27 in the rest of the world, the album was an immediate success. It even replaced Michael Jackson’s HIStory in the UK, debuting at number one, spending four weeks at number one. These Days also topped the charts in several other European countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, and Portugal and spending seven weeks on Billboard European Albums Chart. It was certified triple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 3 million copies across Europe.

In Australia, it debuted at number one and spent two weeks at number one on the ARIA Charts. The album became Bon Jovi's second number one album in Japan, where it debuted at number one on the Oricon chart, selling over 379,000 copies in its first week and becoming the fastest selling album by a non-Japanese act in history of the country's chart. The album has sold more than 1 million copies and certified five times platinum and became the band's best selling studio album in Japan.

These Days received favorable reviews from critics. Q magazine, in a four star review, said that "Cross Road" and "Always" confirmed that Bon Jovi would survive grunge and These Days consolidated their status by cowboy booting Michael Jackson's HIStory album off the UK number 1 album slot. The review said that "Hey God", "Lie to Me" and "Something to Believe In" were singled out as the albums highlights and the album was arguably the band's finest musical hour to date. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic concluded that "as the years go by, Bon Jovi 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".

In the UK, the album was particularly notable for producing four Top 10 hit singles but failed to impress the audience and the critics in the United States. The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200. Entertainment Weekly said "the group happily forsakes conventional corporate rock for a loud kind of adult pop. Think Whitney Houston with guitars".