In hindsight was Richie leaving the tour the right decision?

This might be a bit of a difficult exercise for some. But forget about the fact that you were 'screwed over' and had to see the Jove with a session guitarist instead of the King Swing. Forget all the name calling and the bitching in that monster thread. Forget that it could have been handled differently - like say - given people notice before they bought tickets and so on.

...well, if you can, then answer the question in the title.

Richie leaving - was it the right thing to do? For himself? Maybe even for the future of Bon Jovi?

My answer is simple and straight forward. Hell yes!
These clips that are coming out now are the most exciting thing to come out from the BJ camp since they started playing Dry County regularly again. There's so much energy in there. And simply the fact that Richie is jamming with other class musicians...like Alice Cooper or Stevie Wonder, that's exactly what he needed. Also - it's quite clear that he needed some time to find some passion for music again. Do some horrendous fashion line with some stupid blonde. But who cares, if the result is a Richie Sambora fully switched on wanting to play better than he's done in years - than YES! It was the right decision.

This topic may be premature. But even if Richie returns to Bon Jovi - this will have a positive influence on the band. No doubt about it. There's no way things are going to be the same. And as Jon said: 'God forbid it was the Edge'...well, maybe Richie brings back some Edge from playing with these guys alone. If not and he focusses just on a solo career I'll still be happy. Jon's voice has become insufferable for me. I simply can't listen to him anymore and just having Richie play the guitar parts wouldn't do it.

The ideal outcome is the two of them get back together in a couple of years when Jon has worked on his voice and Richie has fought of his demons and they give us a couple of kick ass records and tours. Yes. That would be the dream outcome. And the fact that Richie left the way he did makes this a lot more plausible than had he stayed.


Right - lots of stuff to read. But the conclusion is - I am super happy this whole fiasco has happened! Lost the money I paid for one ticket - but hell, well worth it in the longer run.

Whether or not it benefits him in the long run, how he left was a dick move and I have zero respect for him. I had far more than 1 ticket that was effected this tour after coming off the 2011 tour where my last shows were also effected because RS wasn't there. So IMO, Richie can do whatever he wants now that he is "free" of the shackles that are Bon Jovi, but I for one want no part of anything he is involved in. At the end of the day, he is nothing more than a spoiled brat that took his ball and went home.

Well done for reading the first paragraph of my OP

Lol, I can't forget those facts. They are foremost in my head when I think about RS. So much so that I don't even want to listen to clips from his recent appearances

I guess what I did miss is the next line where you say you don't want responses if we can't forget that. My bad. I will delete my response if you delete where you quoted it

Don't be silly. A response is a response. I know it's difficult for some people to get over things like that if they get emotionally impacted. Might have been the same for me had I not been so disappointed with the last couple of records. On the tours where I did multiple shows, it would have made me very angry. But now that I don't care about Bon Jovi much, I can analyse this more objectively. And fact is, Richie is actually one of the most talented musicians in the world. He needs to come out on his own more.

I don't think it's far enough in the past for the question to be answered yet. We don't know what direction Richie or the band will move in. It's not until then will we have an answer (or an informed opinion. There's no right or wrong answer here.)

Yes? I mean, in my ideal world Richie would have stayed with BJ, but in that same ideal world they don't play the same stale set every night and let the king of swing sling axe on 80's/90's material. I much preferred Aftermath to WAN and definitely am enjoying his current endeavors with Orianthi. I can understand why RS wanted to leave, and if WAN is representative of the style and quality of the band's studio output going forward than he serves little purpose in the band.

No, far from it.

I personally don't even rate them videos that highly. I thought 'Seven Years Gone' sounded extremely flat. Nothing compared to The Craig Ferguson Show anyway.

I most certainly don't think this is the most exciting thing in the Bon Jovi Camp since DC getting played reguarly. 2010 was easily the most exciting thing with all the rare songs and what not.

Richie's solo tour gave me a really good buzz. His thing with Craig Ferguson was brilliant. I just don't really get the vibe for these videos of him performing, for some reason. I don't know if it is a bitter thing. It may well be. I don't think so though as I still listen to Aftermath of the Lowdown on a regular basis and other solo songs.

Hmm.. I don't know. I definitely don't think it's been a good thing, though. Certainly not after the whole fashion thing and his little solo before a horse racing event.

I didn't do the tour and (partly) Jon's voice too well, but, on the other hand, I don't think it would've been much better with him on board either :/

We'll see how it works out for him. If he managed to get his own band together, then it may have worked out for the better. I doubt he has the stamina for that anymore, though. He cancelled his own tour when the sales weren't got enough - I doubt he's gonna build up his career all over again.

Musically speaking, I really liked The Circle. I prefer Richie's solo album over WAN, but that's it - it isn't exactly great. So I'm not too keen on the promises of new solo stuf by him.

What should have happened was a 3 year break instead of this friggin' tour. That way, Richie could've done all of this and BJ might have actually released a good album following The Circle.