Maps of Music

This House Is Not for Sale (2016)

Where the lyrics of This House Is Not for Sale take you, and where it was really made.

The title came from an old, run-down house in a photograph Jon Bon Jovi saw in a magazine, and it came to him just as he was selling his own house.

Key places

Power Station, New York City (2016)

Recording site Power Station Studio — The album credits list a recording assistant from Avatar, which is the name tied to this Power Station studio in New York City. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Electric Lady, New York City (2016)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — The album credits list a recording assistant from Electric Lady, the New York City studio where part of the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• This House Is Not for Sale: fourteenth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi
• Released November 4, 2016 by Island Records
• First studio album with Phil X on lead guitar, who replaced founding member Richie Sambora in 2013
• First album with bassist Hugh McDonald as an official member, after he had played with the band in touring and session roles since 1994
• Jon Bon Jovi describes the record as 'really going back to the beginning' and as being about the band's integrity

Background

• First Bon Jovi album not released by Mercury Records and its parent Universal Music Group, ending a 32-year relationship that concluded with Burning Bridges
• Jon Bon Jovi confirmed the album title on September 30, 2015 in a star2.com interview
• Richie Sambora did not return to the band after his absence from Burning Bridges
• Lyrics address difficulties Jon faced during 2014–2015, including Sambora's departure and the label situation
• Band announced the album was finished on May 25, 2016 and re-signed with Universal Music, with the album released on Island Records
• On October 5, 2016 the release date moved from October 21 to November 4, and a 2017 world tour was announced

Recording

• Produced by Jon Bon Jovi and John Shanks
• John Shanks performed most of the rhythm guitar work on the album
• Recording assistants credited from Avatar and Electric Lady, both in New York City
• Mixing by Michael H. Brauer, mastering by Joe LaPorta

Cover

• The album artwork features a black and white image by photographer Jerry Uelsmann
• The image shows a house anchored by deep roots
• Jon Bon Jovi saw the picture several years before recording and it inspired the title track

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983.
• Jon Bon Jovi began performing live in 1975 at age 13 with his first band, Raze.
• The band was named Bon Jovi on the suggestion of Pamela Maher, following the model of two-word bands such as Van Halen.
• Its debut album Bon Jovi was released on January 21, 1984, with the single "Runaway" reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top forty.

Members

• The current lineup is Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, John Shanks, Phil X, Everett Bradley, and Hugh McDonald.
• Original bassist Alec John Such left in 1994; he died in 2022.
• Guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013.

Career

• Slippery When Wet (1986) brought global success, with "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• New Jersey (1988) produced five Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles, a record for a hard rock album.
• Keep the Faith (1992) marked a shift to a more mature sound.
• "Always" (1994) became the band's biggest-selling and longest-charting single.
• Crush (2000) and "It's My Life" introduced the band to a younger audience.
• "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (2006) won a Grammy and became the first rock band single to top the Billboard country chart.
• The band has sold more than 130 million records worldwide and was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic average of 59 out of 100 from 6 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): said the band and producer Shanks may not have freshened up the sound, but the simmering defiance makes it the band's liveliest album in years
• The Guardian (Dave Simpson): said the album doesn't tear up the old formula, though it still has stadium-ready rock songs and chant-friendly choruses
• The Independent (Andy Gill): said the comforting simplicities of tracks such as 'Reunion' and 'Knockout' are not specific enough to satisfy
• Classic Rock (Emma Johnston): said the album is no masterpiece and that most of it is by-numbers pop
• Drowned in Sound (Andy McDonald): gave 5 out of 10, saying much of the album is forgettable dance-rock and schmaltzy slow-burners

Reappraisal

• Critical reception described as mixed, mostly calling the album well-made but formulaic

Records

• Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 129,000 album-equivalent units, 128,000 of them pure album sales
• Sixth US number-one album for the band and fourth in a row after What About Now, The Circle and Lost Highway
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number five, selling 21,448 units in its first week
• Second week fell to number 43 with a 91.71 percent drop in pure sales to 11,000, the biggest drop from number one on the Billboard 200 at that time
• The following week it fell to number 127, the shortest top 100 run for a Billboard 200 number one
• In March 2018 it re-entered at number one on a concert ticket redemption offer, with 120,000 album-equivalent units
• As of January 2017, 174,000 copies had sold in the United States

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Title track inspired by a Jerry Uelsmann picture of an old house that Jon Bon Jovi saw in a magazine; the title came to him subliminally while he was actually selling his own house
• The release date was first set for October 21, 2016, then moved to November 4 on the same day the 2017 world tour was announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
• 'New Year's Day' was originally written in 68 time but became much faster in the studio after Tico Torres counted the beat and the other members joined in
• 'Roller Coaster' was quoted at live shows as the band's new 'Hit Single' and reached number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart as a promo single
• 'Reunion' was written by Jon after he accepted an honorary doctorate from Rutgers University

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact