Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. We Weren't Born To Follow
2. When We Were Beautiful
3. Work For The Working Man
4. Superman Tonight
5. Bullet
6. Thorn In My Side
7. Live Before You Die
8. Brokenpromiseland
9. Love's The Only Rule
10. Fast Cars
11. Happy Now
12. Learn To Love

Disc 2:

1. DVD - When We Were Beautiful documentary

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #206 in Music
• Released on: 2009-11-02
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: CD+DVD
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bon Jovi’s eleventh album has in some ways, as its title suggests, come full circle. There are reminders scattered throughout of the undiluted, heads-down rocking of their pre-"Living On A Prayer" days. In other ways it is exactly what it says it is on the tin; i.e. there are no efforts to reinvent the wheel here. They’re an older band than they once were, so there are noticeable limits to their respective ranges, but there's some gutsy fretwork from an on-form Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi’s hoarse, varnished croak does what it has to do, and both will undoubtedly please fans. There are plenty of crunching, air-punching moments and choreographed anthems, but pleasingly they don't feel nearly as forced as much of their post-2000 output. This free and easy approach has worked wonders, making Bon Jovi seem like less of a formula-entrenched machine and more open to the odd light touch and nuance. To leave you in no doubt of their heritage, "When We Were Beautiful" employs Don McLean’s "American Pie" ‘sha-la-la’s under a slick, high-budget rock sheen, but "Superman Tonight" is so warm and universal it could pass for Snow Patrol or Coldplay under the right stadium lights. Credibility may not be something they especially crave, but still, "Work For The Working Man" sounds patently ridiculous coming from the mouth of a millionaire. The balance is redressed a little by "Fast Cars" and also by the fact that the song is pure Slippery When Wet. A surprisingly deft proving of form. --James Berry

CD Description
26 years into an incredible career, Jon, Richie, Tico and David return to launch a new dose of uplifting rock'n'roll onto a planet in need of a shot in the arm. First single from the album--“We Weren’t Born To Follow”--is a massive piece of anthemic rock, built for stadiums, standing alongside their classics from "Livin’ On A Prayer" to "You Give Love A Bad Name", and the rest of the album is no different.

This deluxe edition of The Circle also includes a DVD of the documentary "When We Were Beautiful" by filmmaker Phil Griffin, shedding fascinating light into the usually hidden world of a global rock band.

Customer Reviews

BON JOVI ARE BACK
Right guys and gals. This is the album we have been waiting for from the boys.

Forget Lost Highway and all that rubbish. It is clear that all that was filler while they spent those 14 years since These Days writing this masterpiece.

Also, forget the single, We Weren't Born To Follow. It's a decent song but in the end it's another It's My Life clone and certainly do not use it as an indicator of the sheer quality of the work on this record.

I've heard the leak (knowing full well that I will be buying on release day) and songs like When We Were Beautiful, Work For The Working Man, Superman Tonight, Bullet, and Love's The Only Rule will be instant classics. The rest of the tracks are also brilliant work and far better than the album tracks on the other albums released this decade.

I will highlight these songs however because When We Were Beautiful is the perfect Keep The Faith-style growing meaningful anthem; Work For The Working Man is the Slippery When Wet-style raunchy rocker for the modern day. Bullet completely took me by surprise- Richie is absolutely on fire in this song with his guitar work (and makes similar contributions throughout the album), it's grungy and the talkbox is on full display, you want to be shouting this song out with 30,000 others in a stadium.

Superman Tonight is the best, absolute best Bon Jovi ballad in a long time. And I'm talking POWER on this one, absolutely brilliant.

Love's The Only Rule is my surprise favourite song so far (hard as it is to choose a favourite). I will not spoil this one for you, but when I got to track 9 and this is what I found I remembered what I really love about this band.

On previous 2000s records Bon Jovi have shown they can still write good songs, in 2009 Bon Jovi show they can still write an absolutely kicking album that you will never want to stop listening to.

The superb songwriting is matched by excellent production. You can distinctly hear the contribution of each band member and the drums and bass in particular are very powerful and contribute to the mix being pretty much the perfect marriage of the Bon Jovi style with 2000s production.

I cannot wait to see the band tour this album (I won't be paying the O2 ticket prices though!). Seriously buy this and get Bon Jovi back to number 1 in the UK, this album more than deserves it.

BON JOVI ARE WELL AND TRUELY BACK!
This is an awesome album which any Bon Jovi fan will love. I can honestly say that every song is good and there isn't one you will skip over.
Ok, it isn't Slippery When Wet or New Jersey but lets face it, they are getting older and so are their fans!!! As they age, their sound is evolving. They aren't trying to be what they were or stay in the past as so many bands do. A fantastic album...play it loud!!!!

Losing The Faith
My God, what the heck has happened to this band? For all of you who are saying this album rocks and is the best from Bon Jovi in ages, sorry but it doesn't and it's not. The album is more up-tempo pop than anything, I think a lot of people have forgotten what rock is supposed to sound like. Also, why do they keep running over the same old formula of song subject; believing, hoping, being happy, surviving, the underdog. With each passing album they're becoming more like some Matchbox 20/Springsteen hybrid.

There's no choking guitar riffs, all songs are just straightforward chords or jingly-jangly non-sense. With each album I keep hoping and praying they'll produce some decent rock songs, then I hear cr*p like "Live Before You Die" and feel like binning the CD.

I bought Chickenfoot's album at the same time as this and it's night and day.
The soft slippers are officially on, next is the zimmer frame. For a longtime fan such as myself it's a disappointing album.