1990s

Between 1990 and 1992, the band members went their separate ways for a while to refocus before writing and recording their next album. This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their return. Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II" (in which he also appeared for less than a second), more commonly known as Blaze of Glory. Released in 1990, the album featured high profile guests such as: Elton John, Aldo Nova, Little Richard, and Jeff Beck, among others. The album fared well commercially and received very positive reviews and quickly achieved platinum status. The title track, "Blaze of Glory", hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Jon an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but he did not win the award. That same year, however, "Blaze of Glory" was awarded a Golden Globe.

Sambora, with the help of Tico Torres and David Bryan, also released a solo album entitled Stranger In This Town, in 1991. The album had a predominant blues influence to it and featured a performance by Eric Clapton on the song "Mr. Bluesman". David Bryan also recorded a soundtrack for the horror movie The Netherworld, which was the brighter part of that year after he was hospitalized with an illness due to a South American parasite. Such took a fall off of his motorcycle which injured his bass-playing hand, forcing him to develop a whole new way to hold and play his instrument.


The band returned with the album Keep the Faith in 1992. The album, which was produced by Bob Rock, featured a more mature sound and lyrical content than any of their previous efforts. Their fans were pleasantly surprised and the album became a moderate hit amidst the rise of grunge. Its most recognizable tunes were the hit singles "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith" and "In These Arms", which all hit the Top 40 in the U.S. Some other songs on the album were released as singles in other parts of the world, mainly the fan favorite epic, "Dry County" the hooky "I Believe", and the crowd favorite "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." This album is also notable for being the first in a string of subsequent albums for Bon Jovi which proved more popular worldwide than in the U.S. The album went double platinum in the U.S., but has sold much more worldwide.

In 1994, Bon Jovi released a "greatest hits" album entitled Cross Road, which also contained two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night", as well as a new, updated rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" entitled "Prayer '94" available only on the U.S. version. The diction of 'prayer' in the new version was altered due to a mixing error, and is heard as "'rayer" on some pressings. The song "Always" was originally written for a soundtrack to the film Romeo Is Bleeding, but after seeing (and disliking) the movie, the band decided not to lend the song to the producers, and instead released it on "Cross Road". The video for "Always" featured Keri Russell, popular American actress known for her role in the TV show Felicity and actor Jack Noseworthy, best known for his role in the 2000 film U-571.Always," spent thirty-two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of BON JOVI's all-time hugest hits.The song peaked at #4 on the US charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia. The single sold very well, going platinum in the U.S.

That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, causing the first and only lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald, who was the bassist on "Runaway", unofficially replaced Such as bassist. Although, to this day, there is still speculation on if Alec was fired or left on his own accord. Jon has claimed that due to being intoxicated on stage, too many mistakes were being made by the bass player. Mistakes could be covered up whilst in the studio, but were harder to cover live on stage. Such denied many of these claims in an interview soon after his departure, but later admitted there was some truth to them. Jon has made it public that there has been contact between him and other band members recently. Alec even rejoined the band on stage for one song ("Wanted Dead or Alive") during their "homecoming" show at Giants Stadium in 2001. While he has not been officially replaced, Hugh McDonald has handled studio and live bass duties since then, with rumours he recorded bass on previous albums. Jon Bon Jovi said, regarding the departure of Such: "Of course it hurts. But I learned to accept and respect it. The fact that I'm a workaholic, studio in, studio out, stage on, stage off, want to be dealing with music day and night, doesn't mean everyone else has to adjust to that pace. Alec wanted to quit for a while now so it didn't come as a complete surprise."


With the 1995 album These Days, Bon Jovi took the mature rock sound they had developed on Keep the Faith further. The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat than the usual Bon Jovi fare, with some songs showing R&B influences. As a result, despite critical kudos[citation needed], it spun off only one hit single in the US, "This Ain't A Love Song" and it sold "only" a little over a million records. Nevertheless, the other tracks proved sufficiently popular to garner various successful European singles, including "Hey God", "Something for the Pain", "Lie to Me", and the title track. In 1996, Bon Jovi claimed in an interview with the German Bravo magazine that, due to the overwhelming success of the These Days Tour, the album had sold in excess of 20 million copies worldwide.

It was on the These Days Tour, that Bon Jovi played at Wembley Stadium in 1995 on a sell-out three night running concert. It is widely considered to be their best rock concert, featuring such hits as "Livin' On A Prayer", "Keep the Faith", "Bad Medicine", an excellent, heart-felt rendition of "Always", and showcasing new songs from These Days. It is particularly memorable because it is the same weekend that the album climbed to #1 on the UK charts. This tour date can be viewed on video, and has been re-issued on DVD, both titled Live From London. Jon Bon Jovi makes note of this achievement in the video, thanking their fans saying "It was just announced today that These Days kicked Michael Jackson off the top of the charts." Jon also says in the video that the concerts in London in 1995 were not only some of the best days of their careers, but quite possibly the best days of their lives.

By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable (and successful) than most of their 80s glam peers. At the end of the These Days Tour, the band once again decided to take a break and pursue other interests. Tico used the opportunity further pursue his passion for painting while David started writing and composing various musicals. In 1998, Richie released his second solo outing called Undiscovered Soul.

Jon had also been bitten by the acting bug. He landed lead roles in movies Little City and The Leading Man, and supporting roles in Moonlight and Valentino, Homegrown and U-571, among others. While he was free between filming different movies, Jon wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's Destination Anywhere. The album received very positive reviews and was a success across Europe. It was rumored that the record company was pursuing Jon to name the record "These Days, Part 2", since the album was somewhat of a moody progression from These Days. However, most fans will agree that "Destination Anywhere" was a departure from the signature Bon Jovi brand of rock music. A short movie of the same name was recorded right around the record's release, based entirely on the songs from the record and starring Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon and Whoopi Goldberg. Dave Stewart of Eurythmics played guitar on the record, as well as producing some of the tracks.

Bon Jovi reunited in 1999 to record the song "Real Life" for the movie EdTV. David Bryan didn't make it to the filming of the video for the song due to a recent hand injury sustained in a home improvement mishap, so the band used a cardboard cutout of him for the shoot.