I love me some Bon Jovi, this is not news to most people who know me. I own their entire catalog, I’ve seen them in concert a few times, and I just really enjoy their music. So it was with great anticipation that I got my hands on their latest album, The Circle.

In all honesty, I was a bit let down on my first listening. Admittedly, I was a bit distracted by other things, but I feel like when I first listened to their other recent albums Crush, Have a Nice Day, and Lost Highway, I was drawn in right away. (Less so with Bounce.) Maybe I was still mad that I didn’t get to interview the band. Maybe it was the fact that they’re singing about Jon’s old tattoo and living before they die… again.

Bon Jovi has repeated themes and lyrics before: The theme of living your life how you want to has been prevalent a lot on the band’s recent albums (especially with their lead singles “It’s My Life,” “Everyday,” and “Have a Nice Day.”) On their brilliant album Crush, they used the line ‘these five words’ in “Thank You For Loving Me,” previously heard in 1988’s “I’ll Be There For You.”

These repetitions never really bothered me that much – they’re good lines, they’re good ideas for songs, and after so many albums, you’re bound to retread over some familiar territory. If the music is good, who cares?

But the thing is, Bon Jovi has proven that they can take some risks and make them work. Case in point – their country-infused album “Lost Highway.” That was a bold experiment, and it worked amazingly. The track “Something For the Pain” on the These Days album features Richie playing an electric sitar. Crush’s “Next 100 Years” has a 64 piece orchestra. When the band reaches out and tries new things, they usually knock it out of the park.

The Circle is meant to signify (among other things) the band’s coming “full circle” back to its rock and roll roots. And the tracks certainly feel like good, old fashioned rock and roll, and that is certainly not a bad thing. The lead single “We Weren’t Born to Follow” is a great and incredibly catchy tune. “When We Were Beautiful” does show the band flexing it’s creative muscles a bit, and I love it. But most of the other tracks haven’t really blown me away; they just feel sort of uninspired. I’m hopeful they’ll grow on me more as I listen to them. But even if they don’t, I’ll still keep the faith (see what I did there?) in one of my favorite bands. After all, this is their fifth studio album this decade, and most of the material has been fantastic. The same can’t be said for a lot of other acts.