Interesting new Jon interview

I think your all giving Jon too hard a time on this one.

FACT: Jon does NOT need Richie to write songs. Would Bon Jovi be the same without Richie? Absolutely not, he's like the heart of the band in a way, but Jon could absolutely do without him, or any member of the band if he needed to, and still have a lot of success.

I think I see where Jon's coming from on Lost Highway - I said at the time none of us know how bad Richie has been in the last few years, and actually thought a lot of that might have contributed to the less than inspiring tracks on some of the recent albums.

It always seems like it's evil Jon and good Richie, but Jon's not the idiot who got so ****ed up on something he couldn't play. The fact is, he is right, he's stood by richie when he didn't need to (alec john such anyone?), and Richie probably is very grateful for that.

But Richie's looking in great shape now, so maybe, just maybe, there could be some real fire on this new album.

I just watched that dvd last week and the entire time I was thinking, "Man, I wish Jovi would do something like this."

What the hell is Jon talking about ? Lost Highway was more of his album and he did'nt need Richie to write the songs !? Richie wrote 10 of the songs with Jon for god sake !

Richie might have credit. Doesn't necessarily mean he had any meaningful input. And if you take what Jon said in the interview at face value, he pretty much suggests that even if Richie was still out of it, he would be willing to carry him, so you might have seen Richie getting credit even if he didn't actually do much.

But this is Jon - he pretty much says whatever comes into his head at the time - and will say something entirely different next week. That's why I take anything he ever says in interview with a "well, whatever..." It's always been that way.

Am I wrong, or didn't Puerto Rico come AFTER Unplugged?

yes, a day after.....

I agree - Jon can be an ass at times, but I don't get dumping on him for this. All of the guys at this point are successful -- they don't need each other to do projects anymore. It wouldn't be the same, but they could easily do it (certainly Jon could).

And Jon can definitely be arrogant, but let's be honest here - Richie was kinda f'd up for a while. You know Jon hates all that tabloid bullshit. But, he didn't kick/phase Richie out of the band/process. He's been giving Richie a lot of credit for getting well and being a big part of writing process for The Circle (**please let it be true so we can close out this crappy decade with a good album!**). I think he deserves a break here.

I'm gonna go with Jon on this one, I just think he is portrayed as arrogant in this article. What Jon did was to stick by a life long friend and help him get hiis life back on track. As for input to the album, no-one knows unless they were present when the songs were been written, it could have been either of them.

You've got that right which makes this following statement all the more ridiculous:

Yes, technically Jon doesn't need Richie to write songs but nor does Richie need Jon. Having said that, I am almost certain Bon Jovi would never be where they are today without Richie and his writing skills. It's not all Jon. I truly think the recent Japanese interview Jon did when discussing the album pictures is very telling. Jon is the quaterback and calls the shots and is the mouthpiece but it is truly Richie that is the heart of the band.

I think that Richie's drinking problems existed long before the divorce. He was always a heavy drinker which has made me question how much he really has contributed to the past few albums despite what the writing credit says. I don't think Richie had much to do with Lost Highway as Jon basically says despite the fact that Jon groupies will consistently point out that Richie mentioned something back in '05 about recording with some country artists.

This makes you sound like an insensitive f*cker. Yeah Richie was pretty screwed but to say that makes you sound like an idiot for not understanding addictions. I know if the shoe was on the other foot and it was Jon, you wouldn't have said such a thing. It would have been give Jon a break...

On the other hand, every interview I have seen recently, Jon is practically shouting from the rooftops how good Richie looks, feels and acts these days and how proud of him Jon is. And he seems to be going out of his way to say that this record is Richies heart and soul.
I'd sayhe's being very fair. Richies addictions were certainly putting alot of stress on the band, probably gave Jon more than a few sleepless nights, and the truth is Jon didn't have the luxury of just being Richies friend or his brother. He also had to look out for the band, the business, the brand.
Seems to me he took the high road, he stuck it out and helped Richie work through it all, most bosses would have fired Richie or at least laid him off until he was fit to work, in this case until he was clean and sober.
The article does come off making Jon sound arrogant, but my guess is that is the writing and writers doing not Jon's.