One of the best and most revealing JBJ interviews in a long time

Kinda understand JBJ being super pissy about the whole "it's about my daughter" excuses.

But I guess he can't really help it... he's the bad guy, holding Richie back, artisticially, treating him like he can't live his life on his own! He can handle a drink from time to time, right? Who is he to tell him what to do? Or when to tour?

A stubborn personality would probably find a way too hook into that angle instead of giving the actual critique any consideration.

This interview absolutely escalated things. Oh boy.

Something seems off about this interview to me, I can't put my finger on what.

I'm not sure, but seems like throw together of several interviews of this and last year, right?
There's a lot of well-known lines/quotes in there.. The rest would be made up then.. Not sure, but seems like it..

I really don't know. I mean this is a good publication so it is not made up, I am sure of that.

Just something seemed strange to me. Jon making tea for her (offering actually), staring out of the window, stretching or whatever. Then how open he is and the kind of language he uses (I don't mean words like F**k).

Am I the only one getting this vibe?

Then you will love this! Lets just say Richie will be very happy to read this, http://ultimateclassicrock.com/bon-j...-album-review/

...(W)ith Bon Jovi you get the sense (that Shanks) is afraid to rock the boat...delivering a safe sound that will play well to masses to crowds without having an enduring impact...

The problem with This House Is Not for Sale is that it offers us a slightly modified version of a better band that even then wasn’t fulfilling the promise of its potential...(T)he house is Jon Bon Jovi’s way of telling the world he is here to stay...(M)embers may come and go from that house, fluctuating the chemistry of the family...(but) he seems to have forgotten is that a house does not make a home.

There is only one commandment in Jon's renovated house: "Thou Shalt Have No Other Rock God Before Me." That's why it's not "fear" that holds Shanks back, but self-preservation: He's wormed his way into Jon's affections (and helped nudge Richie out) by being scrupulous about not outshining Jon in any manner.

So it's official: Bon Jovi are dead -- long live Saint Jon Of Integrity and His Eunuchs Of Suburbia!

I don’t think so. Jon has been not very subtly hinting this in recent interviews. People have been picking it up. I posted an interview in an Spanish magazine from a couple of days ago where apparently there was little mention of Richie by Jon but the interviewer linked his alleged alcoholism with his leaving anyway. That interview also took place in London where they apparently did lots of press and describes Jon in a similar manner, relaxed, introspective, etc

So he really went for it after all

I guess it’s better this way, the constant hinting at what the problem was only brought more Jon vs Richie drama. Now that we got confirmation from the horses’ mouth, everybody can move on, hopefully.

I’m just not sure if this is really the best idea. I hope Richie’s star status has fallen enough to get this under the radar. I don’t think what he needs now is TMZ and the likes hunting him down to get an exclusive. But I can understand why Jon needs to lift this weight off his shoulders. The speeches at the shows were very emotional and the way he talked about Living With The Ghost at the last one, man that was very sad, you could hear the heartbreak in his voice. So good for him and the rest of the guys for trying their best to help Richie and ultimately moving on. It gets to a point that the person who has the addiction/the addictive personality would go to any lengths to avoid facing whatever they need to face, will be living way too deep in the lie to function normally. Good for them for moving on, holding onto that last hope can only get you so far, this is Richie's fight. That line about wanting him in the band VS needing him shows how screwed this situation is.

On a related note, It grabbed my attention that Jon thanks Lou Cox in the liner notes for THINFS. I don’t have the other CDs here but I don’t remember seeing that in recent albums. And now we know that they have asked for his help.

I don’t know. I hope this all works in the end.

I agree with large chunks of this review. THINFS is a good album but.....it's nothing new. To me most of them sound like LH, Circle and WAN tracks. I like the album but after all the heavy promo and the "these last 3 years have been hard and this is about our integrity " etc etc is it anything new? Not really and it will never be as good as it could with Shanks in.
JBJ has got a yes man in. I mean, Shanks is now part of the band so much so that Phil X the better guitarist is only on 4 out of 17 (deluxe versions) tracks. That's crazy.
Maybe that woman's tweet (name escapes me) was right when she said "looks like he finally got what he always wanted" when Shanks was pictured with Dave and Tico.
There's no doubt that since Shanks become involved with the band the music/songs haven't been as good. No coincidence that most fans are not keen on albums from HAND upwards.
I've seen 2 reviews so far one gives it 2.and half out of 5 and this review is hardly glowing either.
So not a great start.