Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain_jovi
Richie was there for the entire process of HAND, LH and The Circle. What makes people so sure he was underutilized? He was involved and people act like he was locked out of the room.
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Yes, but being underutilized and being locked out of the room are two entirely different things. Richie could be "in the room" all day long; but the question would be how much his input was valued and incorporated vs how much was over-ridden or done while he wasn't there. It's not whether he was involved or not, but to what degree.
I see the change in dynamics most noticeably on stage whereas others seem to notice differences in the studio. I admittedly didn't follow the band until WSYCGH and the CMT Crossroads with Sugarland; and I haven't watched a lot of the shows from KTF through HAND. There are a few, like when somebody posts a particularly good highlight; but for the most part I watch the more recent stuff (like as far back as LH), or the shows from NJ and before. I'm not sure when the change started and I'm sure it was a gradual thing; but when you compare the later shows with the pre-KTF shows, the whole band's participation, not just Richie's, is drastically reduced. The shows became much more Jon-centric than they were back in the day.
It's just a guess, but I wonder if that isn't a reflection of what may have happened, over the course of time, with the writing and in the studio, as well.