More Details Emerge on Bon Jovi’s New ‘Album for Fans’

Aug. 21 will see the release of Burning Bridges, the first effort of Bon Jovi's post-Richie Sambora era. Today, we're starting to learn a bit more about the album and the first two singles that will arrive within the next month, but there are still several unanswered questions.

A spokesperson for the band told Billboard that it is "an album for fans and will accompany an upcoming international tour." However, the person added that "the band is hard at work on their next album, which will see a full-scale release in 2016.” With little distance between the two, it could be interpreted to suggest that Burning Bridges is a largely collection of outtakes.

The first single, "Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning," gives some credibility to that notion. It's credited to Jon Bon Jovi, John Shanks -- who has produced the last four Bon Jovi -- and Sambora, who officially left the band last November after sitting out their 2013 tour. You can hear an unofficial leak of the song here.

"We Don't Run" was written by Bon Jovi and Shanks and is described as having "meaty production and a shredding guitar solo by Shanks." The chorus, which includes the line that gives the album its title, could be taken as a thinly veiled kiss-off to Bon Jovi's former partner, "Not afraid of burning bridges/ 'Cause I know they’re gonna light my way/ Like a phoenix from the ashes/ Welcome to the future, it’s a new day."

Still, the Asbury Park Press wonders if Burning Bridges will even have an American release. They point out a reference to the album on the website for the Japanese subsidiary of their label and mention that they are planning to tour the Far East and Middle East beginning in September. There is no official mention of the record on Bon Jovi's own website, only mentions from fans who have tweeted about it using the #bonjovimemories hashtag.

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