by Michael McCarthy
I’m going to be entirely honest here and tell you that Chat GPT introduced me to this song this morning. I was talking to it for my ideas about a book and we were talking about Bon Jovi and I said I wish Butch Walker would produce a Bon Jovi album. And GPT told me about this song, “Unholy Water” by Adrienne Warren. It was co-written by Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child and Butch Walker! And Butch Walker produced it, too.
For me, this is worlds colliding. You have to understand that Bon Jovi is my favorite band and Butch Walker is my favorite solo artist. And I have long wanted them to collaborate. Even if “Unholy Water” isn’t sung by either of them, it’s still a very powerful song with moving lyrics and soaring music. It might not be entirely as catchy as some of those Bon Jovi hits that Desmond Child co-wrote but it’s still pretty darn infectious. And it’s packed with emotion, like most things Jon Bon Jovi or Butch Walker do.
The song hails from the soundtrack of an Amazon series called The Gray House. The whole soundtrack is actually quite good. It has two excellent songs by The War & The Treaty, who were one of the special guests at the Bon Jovi concert I attended last month. They’re an excellent duo and their songs always pack a punch, either because the lyrics are meaningful or because the songs have killer hooks. The soundtrack also features a song called “Heart of America” by Willie Nelson. I am a pretty big Willie Nelson fan and I can honestly say that I think this song is the best song he’s done in at least 15 years. I don’t usually like songs that are even remotely political in nature but this one is touching and beautiful. The soundtrack also features tracks by Killer Mike and Larkin Poe, which are both excellent, although the Killer Mike track feels out of place without any other rap songs here. I don’t normally give letter grades but if I had to give one to this soundtrack it would be an A.
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