While
Bon Jovi managed to stick a couple of killer album tracks onto all of their records, their main strength had always been writing singles. Released in 1994,
Cross Road collects all of their biggest hits, adding a couple of new songs (including the international smash "Always," which helped the album go platinum in multiple countries) and
Jon Bon Jovi's solo hit, "Blaze of Glory," for good measure. Even the band's detractors may not be able to resist the constant flow of big guitars, bigger hooks, and sweet melodies that pour out on
Cross Road. After all, this is what state-of-the-art mainstream hard rock was all about in the late '80s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine