i ve recently listened to a radio interview from john shanks, 2h 45 min long...it wasnt so interesting to begin with...i dont know why i did it, anyway here are a few thoughts...
1. shanks said somewhere in the interview he is recording right now with the band, he didnt specify if its a "demo" session, a couple songs or material for a full album..
2. to be honest i never really liked the guy, didnt know exactly why but i think i got it now... he is obviously an accomplished producer, a good guitarist and has helped jon be prolific...on the other hand he seems not willing to push for sth extra he just produces mostly safe guitar driven pop potential radio hits.
3. the guy knows his guitars and effects...its obvious he has invested time and thought to really master guitar equipment. his playing has sth, to be fair his fret work in a teardrop to the sea and we dont run impressed me. what bugs me with the guy is that i get the impression he is too self indulgent..me me me...its he and jon, he talks about stats etc but he gives me the impression he approaches instrumentation quite lighlty, the terms he uses u2 ish coldplayish, when u re mass producting quality is gonna suffer...
Richie may have lost some of his spark and mojo but the guy even if he wasnt a guitar inovator had a unique voice who connected with people, for a guy who made 6 albums with bj he should realise and highlight it...
i dont live in a bubble and i realise richie may had become a pain in the ass even though you have to respect a bands legacy and push them forward...
imo this is where shanks falls short, he thinks he can replace Richie, he thinks his job is to accomodate jon...and partly thats true but the declining outcome of the bands releases prove sth has to change...thinfs was decent but the truth is i dont listen to it..the acoustic demo of thinfs from the co writer i ve listened repeatedly..
bj managed to extend their peak for many years and gave us many many memories, now i think its time to really think the legacy and choose appropriately the next projects
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