I appreciate that Yngwie is a marmite guitarist, especially for non-guitar players. He is supremely talented and I think people forget how influential he was, but I admit his playing can often be self indulgent. Although I was recently watching some of his live shows with Alcatraz and he was off the charts good.

Back to Richie, while I am sure there are times he has been intoxicated publically over the last decade, I do not think it explains his decline. His voice hasn't gone, it is his playing while his general demeanor can sometimes seem off. Let's not forget he probably played plenty of times smashed over the years and did a good job.

Is he now just sloppy and not putting in the hard work, the equivalent of not looking after your voice? Maybe, but I think he said in one interview he plays guitar more than ever and does practice. Perhaps he just does not do well as a frontman. He often looks uncomfortable and out of his element. For all his talk of being a frontman in his older bands, he was not one for thirty years. It does require some skill to capture the audience beyond your quality as a musician.