Just wondering....

I know it seems like this thread has came to a close. But, I thought I would add something and from what I've read here a lot of people agree with me: Who says a person has to have only one favorite band? When music comes up in the conversation when I'm talking to people, I mention that I love Bon Jovi and then go on to list other bands I enjoy. It's not betraying the band to say you like someone's else's music. It's just saying that you have a variety of tastes. Oh and on a closing note, Richie is an amazing guitarist, I've never had the pleasure to see him live, but there's just something about his style that I love. Anyway, that's all I have to say.

Okay there are two ways to view Richie's continual work with Bon Jovi.

1. This IS the "true artist". Richie cowrites most of Bon Jovi's material and coproduces all of it. He has a HUGE role in the creative process. Richie has said that if he or Jon left the band couldn't go on, but if one of the other guys left they could. (I believe it was in a Metal Edge magazine interview promoting Bounce). Richie is important to Bon Jovi and he knows it.

2. He's a money-grubbing sell out who knows that he'll never have the financial/commercial success as a solo artist that he has with the band.

I personally choose to view Richie as the first guy. If he was not happy with what he was doing, he'd do something else. He doesn't HAVE to make CDs with Jon and the band, but he chooses to do so. Richie isn't being held back from doing anything. He's a big boy who can think for himself and make his own decisions about his career.

I don't know that anyone here is saying they have just "one" favorite band. I like a lot of different music from rock, to jazz, to old blues, to classical. I also have a few favorites but for me Bon Jovi is the band that I like the most and that I see the most live when they tour. But, that's just clearly my preference. There are many very good live acts out there but for me Bon Jovi is the best.

Well if that's the case, then how can he be satisfied?? Would you want to be 50 singing, playing "have a nice day."

I'm sorry, I thought I admired the Richie who patterned himself after John Lennon.......and Jimi Hendrix.

I guess money changes things.

Don't talk about him being able to think for himself. He's a follower.

So you joined this board today just to bring this up?

You can keep saying how much you like Bon Jovi and you've seen them live and you've met Richie....blah blah blah. I like the RHCP a lot, they were one of my favorite bands before I even knew what Bon Jovi was. But I would never go join a RHCP forum and have my first post there be "Bon Jovi are so much better than the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Let's discuss." Don't you see that that's just stupid?

Of course you can have your opinion if you want to, but to bring it up HERE is pointless unless you're just trying to start an argument.

Maybe he just isn't what you WANT him to be. Maybe he doesn't have the potential that YOU think he does (in whatever Richie solo album fantasies you have). Maybe he's happy in the band and that's why he only talks about his next solo project and never actually releases it. I think Richie is talented and showing it the way HE wants to and doing just fine for himself. Richie doesn't need the money. He has the financial freedom and fan base to follow any path he wants to follow and he chooses the band. That says it all to me.

From this perspective you are probably right. I think he is wasting his talent in Bon Jovi, especially considering what he can do and what he is doing. Becky can write the same stuff about the big happy boy that Richie is in Bon Jovi, I think he wants money and attention. He was OBVIOUSLY disappointed when Stranger flopped commercially and he said it several times in interviews. If he was just happy with creating good music he wouldn't have said he was envious on Jon's success. And all in all he is not a single case. Look at Joe Perry. He tried it on his own, didn't work so he went back to Steven. There are several other examples definitely. Richie could have become the greates guitar player ever, if it wasn't for Bon Jovi but even so, he is a legend. Alice Cooper stated 1991 in Metal Edge Magazine that if he had to choose ONLY one guitar player to play with for the rest of his life, he would choose Richie for he is George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix and Van Halen all in one but has his great style as well. Alice Cooper had played by that time with every big name there was out there.

And let's assume Richie never used his full potential(which I am sure of), let's assume he wasted half his talent with writing mediocre pop rock songs - still he did much more than the guy in Red Hot Chilli Peppers will ever do. You said Richie is a "follower". What is JF? An ex drug-addict who by accident plays in one of the greatest bands in the world. Their style was created by the time he joined anyway. Personally, i don't even hear a difference between him, Slovak and Navarro simply because guitar work of the peppers is different but for me, mediocre. From a different perspective, Richie wrote STRANGER IN THIS TOWN which is by many considered one of the best albums ever. What did JF release that would even come close to? Who is that guy actually?

I mean, for what reasons would anyone compare him with Sambora? It's difficult to understand. The guy has no own style - all of Peppers guitar work was preestablished by Slovak. He is not even comparably as fast as Richie - listen to Keep Teh Faith live,listen to Mr. Sambo - he is not even close to as soulful - see Dry County or Always Live From London. I have never ever read any guitarist or any musician saying what a great guitarist Frusciante is but most important, I have never heard anything by him to make me even consider him near Richie's league. Comparing a random guitar player(if RHCP has ever been considered good then it was definitely NOT because of their guitar work but because of Flea and Kidis) with the King of Swing, with one of the best acoustic guitar players of all time, this is just ridiculous.
And I am sure, even Frusciante would agree with me in this. They are in different leagues, and like Bon Jovi or not, like Sambora or not - Richie is a master, somebody who will be remembered for writing the Wanted Dead Or Alive solo, for writing teh Dry County solo, for bringing out an incredible album as is Stranger in This Town whereas Frusciante will be remembered as drug addict who became the guitar player of the band he was a fan of. Quite different grounds, aren't they?

I think Richie is right where he wants to be as far as being in Bon Jovi goes. Look at it this way: In BJ Richie gets to do all the parts of the music thing that he loves and has to do none of the stuff he hates. By his own admission he's not crazy about doing the business side of the music thing and where he is he doesn't have to. If he left and went out on his own, he knows, in order to be really successful at it, that he would have to mind the store so to speak, and I think for him, the trade off of getting to do just the stuff he loves to do in the band vs having to do a whole buch of stuff he hates messing with outside the band is well worth what little bit of artistic freedom he may give up by staying in BJ.

As for BJ being everyones guilty pleasure, I for one don't feel guilty at all for loving BJ music, yes they are the band I follow most closely, they are the only band that I own every bit of their music I can get my hands on, but I don't live under a rock, I do listen to and see other artists, it's just that day in day out BJ's music means more to me and fits me better than anyone elses.

Have to agree with the others that RHCP live is nothing special and one of my problems with their music is that I just don't "live" in that esoteric philisophical a world. Not that there is anything wrong with it, it's just not where I "live" People can say what they want about BJ being to simplistic too whatever, but I feel more of their songs and lyrics than anyone elses, which is why they are my favorite band.

I saw Tool awhile back, not a bad show music was ok but to be honest neither the show nor the songs made much of an impact on me. I've never heard MV.

The guitar solo in Dry County vs. Californication. Yeah.

Frusciante plays like he only has one string.

Like Richie in the AALY solo... It's easy to pick the best song from one and a mediocre from the other to compare...

On Californication and By The Way I though the same as you for too many songs, but on the last album Frusciante plays much more "with" the band than "beside" them and his guitar work rocks a lot more. And the Stadium Arcadium songs really rock live.


Ponrauil