Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi (vocals, guitar); Bob Geldof (vocals); Richie Sambora (guitar, background vocals); David Bryan (keyboards, background vocals); Hugh McDonald, Alec John Such (bass, background vocals); Tico Torres (drums).
Producers: Obie O'Brien, Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Luke Ebbin, Desmond Child.
Recorded at various locations between April 28, 1985 & November 27, 2000. Includes liner notes by Lonn Friend.
Following a five-year hiatus that found Jon Bongiovi pursuing an acting career, these Jersey boys emerged with the millennial CRUSH, an album that found them making a mini-comeback marked by chart success and Grammy nominations. On the heels of this wave of prosperity comes ONE WILD NIGHT, taken from a collection of hand-picked live gigs meant to reward long-standing fans (who've clamored for a concert album) and give newer ones a taste of Bon Jovi's career-spanning global performances.
In the 15-year span covered on this record, it's interesting to hear Bon Jovi's creative development. You get in-Japan versions of their breakout hit "Runaway" and "In And Out Of Love," an early number soaked in the crunching guitar and hard-hitting rhythms of the band's pop-metal origins. The flip side finds these same guys as family men pouring themselves into introspective fare like "Just Older." In between are Zippo-worthy renditions of "Livin' On A Prayer," "Something For The Pain" and the title track. Best of all are surprise covers of "I Don't Like Mondays" (performed in London with Bob Geldolf on the 10th anniversary of Live Aid) and a ferocious "Rockin' In The Free World" recorded in South Africa shortly after Nelson Mandela's release.
