Keep the Faith

This article is about the Bon Jovi album. For other uses, see Keep the Faith (disambiguation).

Untitled

Keep the Faith is the fifth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. Released on November 3, 1992 through Mercury Records. The album was produced by Bob Rock and was recorded at the Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, Canada. Keep the Faith represents the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Bon Jovi, marking a change of both the band's image and sound. The album is the final appearance of Alec John Such, as he did not record the bass parts on Bon Jovi's following albums. The Bon Jovi wordmark used is bolder than the ones they used on their 1980s albums, and remained that way until 1995's These Days.

Keep The Faith peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart while topping the charts in the UK, Finland and Australia. The album certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Bed Of Roses" as the most successful single of the album, peaking at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background

Following the completion of the New Jersey tour, the band went on hiatus. During their time off, Jon Bon Jovi wrote the soundtrack for Young Guns II, which was released in 1990 as the Blaze of Glory album and Richie Sambora released his first solo album called Stranger in This Town. By this time, Jon Bon Jovi fired his longtime manager, Doc McGhee and created Bon Jovi Management. Jon Bon Jovi decided to take on a larger role, and more responsibilities within the band. In October 1991 the band went to a Caribbean island of St. Thomas to discuss plans for the future; the band's internal problems were solved and they were ready to have a go at a comeback.

Recording and production

In January 1992 the band headed to Little Mountain Studios in Vancouver. They spent seven months making the album with Bob Rock producing. Originally the band had approached Bruce Fairbairn to produce the album who produced Slippery When Wet and New Jersey, but he was working on Aerosmith's album. Most of the recording was done in Vancouver, although a couple of tracks were laid down in Los Angeles along with some over-dubs. According to an interview with Jon Bon Jovi, the album's original title was to be "Revenge".

Of the thirty songs written for the album, two were written with Desmond Child, a couple were by David Bryan and the rest being made up of Jon Bon Jovi/Richie Sambora compositions and those written solely by Jon Bon Jovi. 14 songs are make it to the final cut. Jon Bon Jovi alone wrote most of the album because, as he says, "This was my way of trying to keep things together." According to Richie Sambora, his own input had to be limited, because he'd been supporting his solo album.

Before the band reunited in the studio, Jon Bon Jovi spent the summer of 1991 in anonymity, riding his bike in places like Arizona, gaining experiences that inspired him to write "Dry County" and "Bed Of Roses". He later commented "It would never have been possible [for me] to write songs like "Bed of Roses" or "Dry County" five years ago."

Jon Bon Jovi started to writing of "Bed Of Roses" in a hotel room in Los Angeles. He brought a piano to his room that the hotel used for weddings. The first verse reflects what he was feeling when he was trying to write this. He was badly hung over from the night before, but had a piano in his hotel room and was determined to write something. This is a personal song that he feels exposes a lot of the problems he was experiencing at the time.

According to Jon Bon Jovi, "Dry County" was probably the first and last song written for this album. But it wasn’t until near the end of recording everything that it was finally pieced together to end up. That song is the story of his motorcycle trip with images that he saw in small towns where he’d see guys sitting outside bars way too early in the day, drinking their lives away because they have no chance of getting a job. It really hit him what the effect of "Reaganomics" has been.

Richie Sambora said that "Keep The Faith recognises how tough the nineties are and tries to encourage a positive message in these difficult times. "I Believe" is kind of serious too. It destroys the myth of idolatry. The message is that people should believe in themselves, not images they see on TV".

"If I Was Your Mother" is about a guy who is obsessive about his relationship with his girlfriend. So obsessive in fact that he comes to the conclusion that the only way he could get closer to her would be by being the girl’s mother. It’s the heaviest song on the record.

In These Arms was the last song they wrote for the album. Bob Rock pushed them to write one more song and it was the only song on the album which was written by Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan and Richie Sambora.

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	D
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

In the US, Keep The Faith debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 Top Albums on November 1992. It fell to number seven the following week. In January 1993, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it platinum. The album was viewed as a commercial disappointment, despite surpassing the 1 million sales mark in two months. As Jon Bon Jovi said:

"When the record came out in America and it didn’t come in at number one, people were very quick to say it was over. Was I worried? Probably, yeah. But it was like, if it’s done, it’s been a pretty good ten years. It took two or three singles to get it up over two million in America - which isn’t too bad for a failure. So there were new rhythms, especially in the album's title track, along with a new kind of social concern, and, for the first time in the band's career, the fans didn't immediately respond. I hoped it was going to be wow, look at the chances the band took. But you knew when you played St.Louis and broke into the new songs and nobody moved, that wasn't what you'd been used to. I had to go out there and prove "Keep The Faith" was a good song."

The album was even more successful on the other side of the Atlantic, peaking at number one in the UK and reaching gold status in Germany in its first week. "Keep The Faith" had sold twice as good as "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey", selling over a million copies in Germany. It was the second best selling album of 1993 in Germany. In Canada, the album certified five times platinum by CRIA and nominated for best selling album of the year at the Juno Awards. By the end of 1993, Keep The Faith had sold 8 million copies worldwide. In October 1994, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album double platinum.

The singles success of Keep The Faith was more successful overseas than in Bon Jovi's native United States: in the UK alone, six of the singles from the album all reached the UK top twenty, the most for a Bon Jovi album there.

The album's first single, "Keep The Faith", was released on October 1992 a month before the album. On the US Billboard charts, the song topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart while reaching number twenty nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Elsewhere, reaching top ten on the singles charts in UK, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands and Australia.

"Bed of Roses" was released as the second single. On the US Billboard charts, the song reached number ten on the Hot 100. Elsewhere, it reached number two in Canada and number ten in Australia and Germany.

Three more commercial singles were released in 1993. "In These Arms", released in May, reaching number six in Canada, number nine in the UK, number ten in the Australia and Ireland. It also hit the Top 40 in the US Billboard Hot 100. "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead", released in August reached number seventeen in UK. I Believe" was released only in Europe and Australia. It reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart in October. In April 1994, album's last single was released only in Europe and Australia. "Dry County" reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Believe"	Bon Jovi	5:51
2.	"Keep the Faith"	Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child	5:49
3.	"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"	Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child	4:46
4.	"In These Arms"	Bon Jovi, Sambora, Bryan	5:22
5.	"Bed of Roses"	Bon Jovi	6:38
6.	"If I Was Your Mother"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	4:30
7.	"Dry County"	Bon Jovi	9:53
8.	"Woman in Love"	Bon Jovi	3:51
9.	"Fear"	Bon Jovi	3:10
10.	"I Want You"	Bon Jovi	5:40
11.	"Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	4:28
12.	"Little Bit of Soul"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	5:48
13.	"Save a Prayer (Bonus Track in Japan and Europe)"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	5:57
14.	"Starting All Over Again (Bonus Track in Japan)"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	3:47

Keep the Faith - Live (Bonus Disc)

No.	Title	Length
1.	""Keep the Faith" Recorded Live In The Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, New Jersey 1992"
2.	""In These Arms" Recorded Live In The Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, New Jersey 1992"
3.	""Blaze of Glory" Recorded Live In The Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, New Jersey 1992"
4.	""I'll Be There for You" Recorded Live In Lakeland, Florida, 1989"
5.	""Lay Your Hands on Me" Recorded Live In Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, 1989"
6.	""Bad Medicine" Recorded Live At The Miami Arena, Florida, 1993"
7.	""Bed of Roses" (acoustic)Recorded Live At The Miami Arena, Florida, 1993"
8.	""Never Say Goodbye" (acoustic) Recorded Live At The Miami Arena, Florida, 1993"

1998 Special Edition bonus CD PHCR-90019/20

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Keep The Faith - Count Basie Theatre 1992"
2.	"In These Arms - Count Basie Theatre 1992"
3.	"I Believe - Count Basie Theatre 1992"
4.	"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Milton Keynes 1993"
5.	"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Wembley 1995"
6.	"Bed Of Roses - Acoustic Version"
7.	"Cama De Rosas - Bed Of Roses Spanish Version"
8.	"Save A Prayer - Bonus Track For Japan"
9.	"Starting All Over Again - Bonus Track For Japan"

2010 Special Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Keep the Faith (Live)"
2.	"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Live)"

Some Latin American releases feature "Cama de Rosas" (Spanish version of "Bed Of Roses") as bonus track.

Personnel

• Jon Bon Jovi - lead vocals, guitar
• Richie Sambora - guitar, backing vocals
• Alec John Such - bass, backing vocals
• Tico Torres - drums, percussion
• David Bryan - keyboards, backing vocals

Production

• Produced By Bob Rock
• Engineered By Obie O'Brien, Gary Platt & Randy Staub; assisted by Brian Dobbs, Greg Goldman, Darren Grahn, Ed Korengo, Jim Lavinski & Ulrich Wild
• Mixed By Bob Rock & Randy Staub
• Mastered By George Marino

Charts and certifications

Peek positions

Charts (1992-2011)	Peak Position
Australian Albums Chart	1
Austrian Albums Chart	2
Canadian RPM 100 Albums	8
Dutch Albums Chart	3
Finnish Albums Chart	1
German Albums Chart	2
Hungarian Albums Chart	3
Japanese Albums Chart	3
Norwegian Albums Chart	7
Swedish Albums Chart	3
Swiss Albums Chart	3
UK Albums Chart	1
US Billboard 200	5

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)	3× Platinum	210,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)	2× Platinum	100,000*
Canada (Music Canada)	5× Platinum	500,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)	Gold	37,022
Germany (BVMI)	Platinum	500,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)	3× Platinum	150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.