Why do you want Richie back so bad?

Sambo-Chris · #11 05-16-2013, 11:59 PM

If you were Sofia you knew why.

crashed · #12 05-17-2013, 12:01 AM

Why I almost couldn't give two craps if Richie came back:

Whatever's going on, to have it in the middle of a tour he would have known was coming a long way off (world tours aren't put together in weeks like some people seem to believe) is not on. However, sometime shit happens no-one can avoid.

His tweets about how great everything is when he should be there with his gang on stage.

The complete confusion he's causing to his fans.

The lack of effort on recent tours/albums - yeah, I don't believe Jon dictates what Sambora does one bit.

The backlash the other guys are getting when they're the ones who showed up for work.

Why I want Richie back:

As Devilson said in another thread - he's the co-writer of some of the greatest songs in existence and no matter how good Phil X can play them, there's no way he can have the connection with them Richie does.

When Richie is on his game, he can shred Phil X out of the water. He has more creativity on the guitar, though its been missing in recent years.

He's one of the things that make Bon Jovi sound like Bon Jovi.

He, along with Jon, well, they're my ****in' heroes, man.

DevilsSon · #13 05-17-2013, 12:02 AM

I really don't care at all to be honest. I'd rather they disbanded completely and did solo stuff anyway…but if there's a reason I might end up seeing one show this tour, it's Phil X…the man is energy and attitude…and that Keep The Faith jam they do, bring it on, I want to experience that.

Phil is many things. Yet whoever says that he's a better guitar player than Richie Sambora is absolutely deluded. I've never heard him bend a single not properly. Yes, he's great at shredding up and down the fretboard and doing his small little tricks, but the ballads (including Dry County and Wanted Dead or Alive) sound like it's average tribute bands playing the guitar. That's fair enough because he does bring his own charisma and that's why I actually want to see them…yet Richie Sambora he will never be.

On a different note, I liked the point that Richie's solo album made you 'realise that he doesn't have it anymore'. Hah. That cracked me up. Cause at times is sounds more like The Drills than anything else we know from Sambora. Then again, I doubt your post is anything but trying to steer up some controversy so well done, I did spend good 5 minutes responding

Raz0r · #14 05-17-2013, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panda

I understand that there's a certain chemistry and tone and emotion that Richie brings. Sure, I get that.

But do you actually want a guy back to just put on an act and just not want to be there?

Phil X has brought so much fresh and new energy to the stage, that some of you who seem to have their heads up Richie's ass are just flatly ignoring.

Phil has better stage presence and energy than Richie. Richie will bend his knees back a bit and look down at his guitar with a bit of a "lost in the music" face occasionally, but that's about the extent. He doesn't say much and he doesn't really move from his spot. At all. Phil on the other hand is moving around the stage and is truly enjoying himself out there. Just watch Keep The Faith from Bulgaria.

Phil is a phenomenal guitar player and actually IS better than Richie. He can play anything Richie can, but with style and fun. Back in Richie's hayday anyone could argue that Richie would be better, because he probably was. But after listening to his recent solo album, I've realised Richie just doesn't have it anymore.

In the end, the shows won't lack without Richie. The same songs will be played, the same rarities will be played, BUT there will be more energy. Jon still feels like he needs to bring more to stage because Richie isn't there, AND Phil undoubtedly brings tonnes more energy to the stage than the motionless guitar player known as Richie Sambora.

I get it though. Bon Jovi is a BAND. Bon Jovi is a UNIT. Not a GUY. But let's be honest. When was the last time Bon Jovi was a BAND? Jon has the team by their balls and everyone admits that they're hired by Jon. That doesn't sound like a BAND, that sounds like a bunch of hired guns. And to see how easily the second hardest member of the band was to replace, I'd say that this has been a solo act for quite some time now. The way Jon handles himself, how he conducts everything and how he treats it like a dictatorship. A band is a democracy, with 4 (or 5,6,7... whatever) equal parts to make a great piece. Bon Jovi is not that and IS a solo act.

I use to hate it when people called Bon Jovi a guy. "Oh you like Bon Jovi? Yeah he's great!" used to bother me a lot. Now I find myself not caring and more or less agreeing with the statement. So suck it up and go to the damn shows. You're going for Jon. I know it, you know it - just admit the damn thing.

1. It's not a solo band
2. It's not Bon Jovi without Richie

It's Jon's band, no doubt. And it's always been that way btw, don't forget their first hit single was out before the band was even put together. Runaway was a hit, Jon put a band together to put out an album. But, since Slippery at least, Richie has a part in writing the songs. He's on the credits for most, and you can hear what he brings to them. If you don't, try using their solo work as a frame of reference.

Without Richie, it's not Bon Jovi. If Richie doesn't come back, Jon should go solo IMO.

Panda · #15 05-17-2013, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sambo-Chris

If you were Sofia you knew why.

Sofia was a mess because of Jons allergies, not for a lack of Richie. The packed stadium is solid PROOF that people are there for Jon and not Richie.

PanosBonJovi · #16 05-17-2013, 09:32 AM

Come on now, the solos of Phil X were decent, but they didn't sound as they would sound if Richie was up there. Also his backing vocals are bad like Bobby's. Richie has powerful vocals and could cover the problem of Jon when he got his allergy. He could take the show till the end. It was a strange feeling seeing Wanted & I'll Be there w/o Richie.

No matter what you say, I'll always want Richie back, even if Jimmy Page was the one who would be called to replace Richie.

P.S: Phil X is an amazing guitarist but Richie is the heart of Bon Jovi...
P.S2: The KTF Jam is more than stunning, I was excastic watching Phil X on stage doing what he does but Richie is Richie.
P.S3: Even if the Sofia concert ended earlier, it was more than awesome. Jon was ready to give it all on stage but then the allergy got him. If the show would continue, it could be the best so far in the tour. The stage, the lights everything were stunning

Beaky · #17 05-17-2013, 11:32 AM

Charisma... Let's look at that one first... Not sure if you're being awkward over that one. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and explain...

Maybe you're incapable of getting goosebumps or getting wrapped up in a moment but for me, when Richie screams 'let's ride' and cranks into the Wanted solo, there is very little in music, that can get anywhere close to it. Many people have said that without him, it's not Bon Jovi and that's true for me.

Either way, it's also about association. Richie is woven into the very fabric of Bon Jovi and unless you just simply don't like them anymore or you just don't really care for Richie anymore, it shouldn't even be a question. It's a poorer show for me without him.

Phil seems like a lovely guy and I am really chuffed he is living this life and experiencing it for a while. It's like watching a kid rise up through the ranks at a football club. But the fact is, he is a session player and stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unable to improvise certain things and when he does, half the people say he's crap.

He's not crap. He's very fast and he's a shredder. But listen to the solo from Sofia for Wanted and you immediately miss the slides down the neck, the palm-dampening runs, those little Clapton-esque, soulful touches that Sambora has thrown in that make certain solos sing. I could probably stand there at the Isle of Wight and say, 'wow, he can play' but I won't get lost in it.

Oh and just to sum up the charisma/star power thing... no matter how cheesy it sounds, I would much prefer to say... 'I've met Richie Sambora' than 'I've met Phil X.'

rolo_tomachi · #18 05-17-2013, 12:38 PM

They were a band. They are a band, and always will be a band despite what some people say.

Richie is not a musician for hired, is a Bon Jovi. Phil X is a musician hired as Bobby.

Songs co-written by Richie Sambora in the set list from the Johannesburg show;

You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to be My Baby
Raise your hands
Lost Highway
Captain Crash
It's my Life
Because We Can
We Got It Going On
Keep the Faith
I'll Be There for You
In These Arms
We Weren't Born to Follow
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Bad Medicine
Have a Nice Day
Blood on Blood
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
I Love This Town

20 songs from 26.

We want Sambora.

Johny · #19 05-17-2013, 01:24 PM

Oh, why every now and then someone has to state something controversial and go against other people. This has been discussed all over here but another thread needs to be open to show how some people are brave to slack Richie and praise Phil. I just don't get it.

I'll see the band without Richie tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. I go there for other reasons and I'm curious as well. However after watching the full Sofia show (skipped through), the show just lacks Richie. I don't see Phil's briloiance either. Timo has many guitar covers on youtube and I'm sure he would do a better job. I was some episodes of Phil's on youtube and he is a crazy fool and I found it rather embarrassing. He has no stage presence apart from KTF. He ruins some songs with his vocals (they should let David do all Richie's vocals). Plus because of Richie's presence, Bobby is given some space and this guy is just ridiculous (apart from That's What The Water Made Me). I can't hear anything new and fresh.

Richie is Bon Jovi as much as Jon for me. Without Richie, there would be no Bon Jovi the way we know them.

The only good thing he is not there is that David sang In These Arms when Jon couldn't in Sofia. If Richie had been there, it would have probably been him doing a song. Which I'd love, but I've heard it already. On the other hand, the could have lasted longer if Richie and David sang a few songs. Nobody knows.

Slakk · #20 05-17-2013, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolo_tomachi

They are a band, and always will be a band despite what some people say.

Songs co-written by Richie Sambora in the set list from the Johannesburg show;

You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to be My Baby
Raise your hands
Lost Highway
Captain Crash
It's my Life
Because We Can
We Got It Going On
Keep the Faith
I'll Be There for You
In These Arms
We Weren't Born to Follow
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Bad Medicine
Have a Nice Day
Blood on Blood
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
I Love This Town

20 songs.

We want Sambora.

Yet he does not give a crap about you. He is proving it.

Why do you want Richie back so bad?

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