Can you hear Richie's absence from THINFS?

But what is his ego trying to prove? If the songs are vanilla he looks better? I dont think its ego based so much as really simple songs with universal lyrics.

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I think it's a Jon knows best thing and he doesn't care what anyone else thinks or says for that matter...

I disagree completely. I never bought the whole Jon is holding Richie back theory.

Richie's influence declined together with his condition (HAND era). As he became unreliable, Jon started to relying less and less on him. Not only was he battling addictions, but his playing declined as much as Jon's singing, he even lost his guitar tone. If anything, I felt like his last few years in the band Richie was well protected by standing in his axe-man position, lazily playing the same solos and singing backup vocals. When he left the band to do solo shows (and duet shows with Ori) it truly illustrated how far he's fallen.

Plus, remember Aftermath? It wasn't some epic bluesy guitar-driven album we were expecting at the time. To me (and many others) it sounded like a lot like Bon Jovi circa 2000s (e.g. Bounce). So maybe that's the musician Richie is these days. Don't get me wrong, so is Jon, but I just find the whole Richie is a caged animal stuff unrealistic.

Don't be a knob, mate. It's people like yourself that's stopping people adding 'value' to this form due to almost every thread going way off topic. Over the past few years, I've stopped posting a hell of a lot compared to what I used too down to the fact that thresds go off topic with petty arguing and then they get locked and then you genuinely have lost the 'value' to the board.

It's been said many times before that you guys should either ignore or private message each other. Don't be one of those that pushes people away from the board. Some have been here a long long time and whether you think they add 'value' to the board or not, I certainly know they do to A LOT of people.

Can I suggest the use of the ignore button if you find a particular member of the forum annoying or pointless to converse with. There's a lot of valued posters here and you don't need to stop posting just one of the basis of one of more individuals.

Right, but people Do change and are - At least theoretically - learn from their mistakes. And as already posted here, it might also be that Richie just didnt't have enough motivation or mental/physical power to deliver some really good stuff.
I would love a world in which everything would have remained nice Jon-and-Richie-wise. But I for my part have decided to accept things as they are and to look forward to what the future might bring.

But why should hard facts (that can easily be proved, just click on the links I posted) be denied?
And why can't I post a word without RDK jumping on my throat?

Don't answer, just rhetorical questions. I don't want you to be accused of derailing the thread because of me.

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I can buy this theory as well. Or is it the chicken and egg question?
According to Bobby B., Richie (and the rest of the band) wasn't too happy when he was hired by Blonde Anchovy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Xx...u.be&t=1h1m29s

and he didn't look happy when Shanks was hired -although he said he was:



It's what some fans expected but is it what Richie said it would be? I don't remember it all now but I do remember him saying Aftermath covered several musical genres and he said the same again about his album with Ori. Both always insist on the fact that it won't be a guitar-driven album or a blues-only album.

Dexterity has nothing to do with sound, it is about coverage of the fretboard. I'll get to the solo in the second, but Shanks has been playing guitar for years, I doubt he lacks dexterity to a level where it would mess up a solo or be noticeable.

The solo is ultra bland for sure, but if we're levelling a lack of dexterity (which I guess you mean Shanks didn't jump around the board enough) at it, then we can include a bunch of Bon Jovi solos in that. Just about every one from the last 10 years in fact, and plenty before that. Sambora, even at his best, loved playing in the box despite his huge reach. I would say it lacks dynamic playing and creative solo building more than just plain dexterity. Amazing solos can be composed without dexterous playing.

As for fluidity, I guess it is based on opinion. The solo is a meaningless flurry of notes to me, but it is fluid. It follows a proper musical pattern and makes sense. The result is totally meh for sure, but I think it is musically sound.

When you are playing guitar at home or anywhere else and decide to record something, do you ever do it note for note? I am not sure if you play, I do and that would be painful and would not work for me. This solo I don't know, but I doubt it is note for note recording.

A one take scenario is more likely, but to me it just sounds like a solo from someone or a group (Shanks and Jon) who feel they have to put a solo in a song but don't give a shit if it is quality. It's what Bon Jovi has been doing for years. Richie and his solo album included.

Excuse me? But the way you cover the fretboard designs the sound you produce, doesn't it?

I didn't say that "Shanks messed up the solo", that is YOUR (mis)interpretation of what I wrote. I just gave my opinion, I talked about the way I perceived the solo. Your opinion is different, fine, a forum is a place made for sharing opinions and thoughts, isn't it? But please read what's written and not what you think is written.

Since you asked, I'm just a humble hobby musician but I hire professional bands all year long so I guess I know quite a lot about playing and recording music (but I don't claim I know everything). ANYTHING is possible in a studio, especially now with computers, sky's the limit. Producers like Avicii and his disciples are famous for recording words syllable by syllable, so why not do the same with notes to delete bum notes or notes which don't sound exactly the way you want or whatever audio problem you met while recording? I know people who do it, that's why it doesn't seem weird or unusual to me. I'll repeat it: I've never said it was the way BJ did it, I said it's the way it sounds to me.


I agree.