What About Now (album)

What About Now is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. Produced by John Shanks, the album was released on March 8, 2013 in Australia and March 12, 2013 in the United States.[4] The album was promoted throughout the band's 2013 Because We Can: The Tour. It is the last album to feature lead guitarist Richie Sambora before his departure from the band the following month.

What About Now
Studio album by
Bon Jovi
ReleasedMarch 8, 2013[1]
RecordedJanuary–August 2012
GenrePop rock[2]
Length51:36
LabelIsland
Producer
Bon Jovi chronology
Inside Out
(2012)		 What About Now
(2013)		 Burning Bridges
(2015)
Singles from What About Now
  1. "Because We Can"
    Released: January 7, 2013[3]
  2. "What About Now"
    Released: February 11, 2013

The album debuted at No. 1 in the U.S., where it sold 101,000 copies in its first week. What About Now became Bon Jovi's third album in a row to hit No. 1 in US after The Circle and Lost Highway and their fifth No. 1 album during their career.[5] The album has sold 220,000 copies in the U.S. as of August 2015,[6] and over 1.5 million copies worldwide,[7] going gold in Germany selling 100,000 copies.

Recording and production

In an interview given to Classic Rock magazine, guitarist Richie Sambora stated that the album was recorded before his solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown was completed. He and Jon started to write and before they knew it, they were in the studio with the band. "The record is now finished and sounding great, and we start our 2013 tour in February, so we'll be at a stadium near you very soon."[8]

Richie Sambora also characterized the new material as a compilation of “different elements”; yet reassured old fans that they will be just as pleased with the new work as they have been with the old for over 30 years.[9]

Music videos were produced for the first two singles "Because We Can" and the album titled track "What About Now". A music video was also made for the Jon Bon Jovi solo single "Not Running Anymore" which is included on the album as a bonus track along with the track "Old Habits Die Hard". Both songs feature on the soundtrack to the movie Stand Up Guys. On December 13, 2012 it was announced that "Not Running Anymore" would be nominated for a Golden Globe Award.[10]

Also included as a bonus track and featuring a music video is Sambora's single "Every Road Leads Home to You" from his solo album Aftermath of the Lowdown.

Artwork

The album artwork was created by Liu Bolin and was revealed on January 10, 2013, three days after the release of lead single "Because We Can". The cover artwork features the four members of the band painted behind a collage which features a soldier with a guitar and walking up a mountain against a yellow and blue American flag background, two hands wrapped in bandages, a headshot of a woman, some roses, and the band's heart and dagger symbol. A pinwheel is also seen in the background. The cover artwork is also seen on the back, though the collage has more pictures to it and the band members are absent.[11]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic50/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[13]
Daily Express[14]
The Guardian[15]
The Observer[16]
Time Out[17]
Virgin Media[2]
Rolling Stone[18]
NU.nl

Critical reception of the album has been generally mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 50, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 11 reviews.[12] While Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian states that "the band have reached out with the sort of empowering platitudes and riffage that will give fans on this summer's stadium tour something to punch the air about",[15] Stephen Unwin from the Daily Express was less favorable, claiming that the album "is the closest thing to predictable from the poster boys of American rock ’n’ roll, which for their most myopic fans is the closest thing to wonderful."[14]

Phil Mongrendien, from the Toronto Star, criticized the track "Army of One" for finding them "descending into lyrical self-parody with its 'never give up' motif hammered home artlessly" [16] while the title track's guitar "hook nods too much to Kraftwerk's 'Computer Love' (and, by extension, Coldplay's 'Talk')".[16] James Manning, from Time Out, believes that the band "won't win any new fans with their twelfth album [...] but they're unlikely to lose many either."[17]

Ian Gittins, from Virgin Media, thought "the band's perennial propensity for clichés and Hollywood blockbuster-style happy endings invariably make it difficult to take Bon Jovi as seriously as they crave",[2] though he later admits that "there are some good tunes. It's a decent soft rock party album. It's probably also about time that Bon Jovi knew their limits."[2] For Stephen Erlewine, from Allmusic, "there aren't so many big hooks on What About Now -- just the raise-your-fist anthem of 'Because We Can,' with most of the sweetest melodies coming from the softer, quieter moments, such as the acoustic 'The Fighter' and the Christian ballad 'Room at the End of the World'.[13]

Track listing
Standard edition[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Because We Can"Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Billy Falcon4:00
2."I'm with You"Bon Jovi, John Shanks3:44
3."What About Now"Bon Jovi, Shanks3:45
4."Pictures of You"Bon Jovi, Sambora, Shanks3:58
5."Amen"Bon Jovi, Falcon4:12
6."That's What the Water Made Me"Bon Jovi, Falcon4:24
7."What's Left of Me"Bon Jovi, Sambora, Falcon4:35
8."Army of One"Bon Jovi, Sambora, Desmond Child4:34
9."Thick as Thieves"Bon Jovi, Sambora, Shanks4:57
10."Beautiful World"Bon Jovi, Falcon3:48
11."Room at the End of the World"Bon Jovi, Shanks5:03
12."The Fighter"Bon Jovi4:38
Total length:51:36
Deluxe edition/iTunes standard edition[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."With These Two Hands"Bon Jovi, Falcon3:58
14."Into the Echo"Bon Jovi, Falcon5:04
15."Not Running Anymore" (Jon Bon Jovi solo song from the soundtrack for the movie Stand Up Guys)Bon Jovi4:44
Total length:1:04:41
Japanese edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."With These Two Hands"Bon Jovi, Falcon3:58
14."Into the Echo"Bon Jovi, Falcon5:04
15."Not Running Anymore" (Jon Bon Jovi solo song from the soundtrack for the movie Stand Up Guys)Bon Jovi4:44
16."Old Habits Die Hard" (Jon Bon Jovi solo song from the soundtrack for the movie Stand Up Guys)Bon Jovi3:30
17."Every Road Leads Home to You" (Richie Sambora solo song from his album Aftermath of the Lowdown)Sambora, Luke Ebbin4:40
Total length:1:13:36
Japan bonus DVD[21]
No.TitleLength
1."Because We Can" (music video) 
2."Because We Can – The Boxer: Act 1" 
3."Because We Can – Astrid: Act 2" 
4."Because We Can – The Beginning: Epilogue" 
5."Because We Can – Behind the Scenes" 
6."It's My Life" (Inside Out: live) 
7."Lost Highway" (Inside Out: live) 
iTunes Store Deluxe Edition/Australian Deluxe Edition[22][23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."With These Two Hands"Bon Jovi, Falcon3:58
14."Not Running Anymore" (Jon Bon Jovi solo song from the soundtrack for the movie Stand Up Guys)Bon Jovi4:44
15."Old Habits Die Hard" (Jon Bon Jovi solo song from the soundtrack for the movie Stand Up Guys)Bon Jovi3:30
16."Every Road Leads Home to You" (Richie Sambora solo song from his album Aftermath of the Lowdown)Sambora, Luke Ebbin4:40
Total length:1:08:32

Personnel
Bon Jovi
Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for What About Now
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[66] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[67] Platinum 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[68] Gold 40,000^
Germany (BVMI)[69] Gold 100,000^
Portugal (AFP)[70] 6× Platinum 90,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Gold 100,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Date Label Format
Australia March 8, 2013 Universal Music CD, CD+DVD, Digital download
Brazil
Germany
United Kingdom
Ireland Mercury Records
France Mercury Records, Universal Music
United States March 12, 2013 Island Records
Italy
Spain
Canada Universal Music
Japan March 13, 2013

References
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