Made in USA in 2004, Serial# B0003543-00, Playing Time 224:03

I must admit from the very beginning that I'm not an un-conditional BON JOVI fan... There are songs I found extremely interesting (for example, "Raise Your Hands"), while others have a soporific effect (for example, "Wanted Dead Or Alive"). So I wouldn't say BON JOVI is the "best band in the world" (I actually find those types of remarks nauseating...)

I'm also not particularly fond of box sets, especially since fans (and/or myself) have the bulk of the material anyway! One must typically spend some hard-earned dollars for 2 or 3 "leftover" tracks of average interest/quality.

Lo and behold, this BON JOVI boxset is the HOLY GRAIL of boxsets; I take back everything I ever said about box sets: this one is THE exception to the rule!!! Putting aside the fact that the DVD is quite original and interesting (and about an hour long!), ALMOST every track here is previously unreleased. Unpolished demos, you say? NOT! Many (and I mean most) are of album production quality, and VERY enjoyable.

Though I was worried at first (I knew this was NOT a 'greatest hits' type boxset), I thought the material would be weak (my subconscious was hearing someone scraping the bottom of a barrel...)

To anyone looking for a Christmas present to a BON JOVI fan, this is IT.

This set will hopefully "raise the bar" to any other band thinking about releasing a boxset; this one is NOT intended to simply cash-in on previously released stuff: it's almost 4 hours of full compositions, like buying 4 new albums!!!

A MUST BUY.

JBJ himself has repeatedly claimed he wouldn't make a good A&R man, as "Livin' on a Prayer" almost didn't make Slippery. But 9 times out of 10, his conservative "playing it safe" attitude HAS backfired when it has come to picking the tracks for the official albums. A prime example is the pair of tracks "Bitter Wine" and "All I Want Is Everything" that didn't make the U.S. release of "These Days", but yet were arguably the best songs from those sessions!!!

Just dive into this box and discover the REAL Bon Jovi. I've always considered myself one of their greatest fans, long before the idea of rummaging through the song vault was in the works. So don't get me wrong, almost all of their album material IS strong. But the band has long been too preoccupied with generating a "hit," and finally, for those of us who knew they had it in them all along, their true talents shine through like never before. Better musicianship. More emotion. Less formulaec (usually, as "The Radio Saved My Life Tonight" is another example of Richie's continued struggle with underplaying). For anyone who has ever "lost" the faith with this band, it has been a long time, but do them a favor and give them another shot - raise your glass to the core talents of each member and celebrate, throughout this multi-disc masterpiece, the release that we always knew they had in them. Good quality rock music. Amen.

First of all, I'd give this 100 stars if Amazon would let me. I can't express how much I love this box set.

I had high hopes when I heard about this box set. I was worried that this would just contain a bunch of "reject songs" with no substance. Boy, was I wrong.

Whenever I buy a CD, I make myself listen to it 3 times before forming any hard opinions. Most people won't "love" any song the very first time you hear it. It usual takes a few listens which is why I live by my 3-play rule. I'm halfway through my 3rd listening right now, and I really can't find anything negative to write. I may not love every song on this box set, but there are some really, really great ones. Even my less favorite songs aren't really that bad. This set is a unique and interesting journey that includes tunes from the genesis of the band to the present.

Instead of naming my favorite songs, all I can do is highly recommend this set for any Bon Jovi fan. I'm sure everyone will have his/her own favorites. With all of this new (to the public, at least) material, there is something on this set forr everyone.

Todd K

P.S. Richie Sambora is a guitar GOD!!

Well, all I can say is that some of the songs on this set are bettet than some album tracks. Then there are some songs that have a twin that made a record. Why Arn't You Dead, might as well be the same as I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. Still a very good song. The demo version of Always might be better than the album version, same goes for Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. This version has a much darker message that the Crossroad's version. All in all this might be the best boxed set out on the market this year. I mean you can buy the Beatles new set with nothing new, or can buy this one and get new songs for your hard earned money...

Top 5 Songs

1) Nobody's Hero

2) These Arms Are Open All Night

3) Last Chance Train

4) Kidnap An Angel

5) Lonley At The Top

Oh and Disc 4 Track 13 has a nice little suprise... The Demo version of Livin' On A Prayer...

I bought this box set because Bon Jovi has had some pretty good songs over the years that have been catchy.

I could have beat myself for not looking at the track listing, as I just assumed this would be a giant "Best Of" collection. In fact, Id only heard of about 3 songs on the whole 4 disks (YIKES)!!!

I was going to go ahead and re-sell it, as this is a lot of money to have tied up in something Im not truly interested in, but I figured since I would lose money on it anyway, that I would give it a listen first.

Im very delighted that I decided to do that.

The set is packaged very nicely, and includes a very nice large colored booklet that has very in-depth entries explaining why these songs were written, chosen for the box set, and why the box set has been released.

There are fan testimonials plastered throughout, and it is closed with personal, hand written messages from the band.

Musical highlights include the totally rockin' "Taking it Back", interesting demos of songs we know well (such as "Always"), some most excellent soundtrack material such as "Good Guys Dont Always Wear White", tracks featuring vocal performances by the guitarist, keyboard player, and drummer, a song written to Kurt Cobain's daughter after his death, and many, MANY other standouts.

One song that I believe is a lyrical GEM, quite possible one of the best rock songs ever written (lyrically) was "Last Man Standing". Writtin about the late Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, this song reflects on the direction the music industry is going. It compares the manufactured stars of today who lip synch to pre-recoded music and sounds to the old school artists who are/were singers, songwriters, and musicians.

"Come see those real-life caloused fingers wrapped around those guitar strings, kiss the lips where hurt has lingered, it breaks your heart to hear him sing, his songs were more than music, they were pictures from his soul....."

This is very much like a "Greatest Hits you've never heard" of Bon Jovi....4 disks worth!!! There are love ballads better than the ones Im used to hearing on the radio, and songs that ROCK as hard as Ive ever heard this band rock.

Possibly the biggest thing I gained was respect for the band. After watching the (almost hour long) DVD that is included, and reading the fan testimonials, I can really see how these guys strive to be great artists.

All in all, Im still digesting how cool this is, Im a HUGE fan of rock music, and its like being introduced to this awesome rock band, that has suddenly decided to give us its best work from the last 20 years, all in one shot.

If you're a fan of good rock and roll, give this a listen.

"A+"