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It's tempting to suggest that the very fact of Bon Jovi continuing to release records implies the lack of a God to go shouting "Hey!" at, but that's a pretty cheap shot and besides, I've got to admit that there was a moment circa 1995 when I sort of thought they were good. It didn't last too long, but this was their relatively serious era: 'Hey God' was the fifth and smallest hit from These Days, though curiously the only one to feature on any Now album. I'd like to think it's also the point when I really started to go off them too, if only because it's so overblown and that's a far less appealing quality in a song that's supposed to be taken seriously.
Oh yes, you're supposed to take 'Hey God' very seriously, because it's their attempt at socially-conscious rock. Apparently Richie Sambora was inspired to write it after he saw a homeless person from the window of his limo, and it strives to capture the impotent anger of three characters in difficult circumstances. But however good the intentions, Bon Jovi had apparently forgotten how to sound angry by this point in their career and they were a bit too house-trained for this to sound any more than noodly, particularly since it's six minutes long for no obvious reason.
Also appearing on: Now 9, 47, 62, 64
Available on: These Days
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