Is Richie back on track ?

I highly doubt Jon goes out of his way to make sure he gets more spotlight in albums than the other band members. Egotistical and an ambitious prick he may be, but Jon already has his signatures on songs no matter what: the band is called Bon Jovi. 95% of people assume he's a solo act who just so happens to have a steady line of musicians at his side anyways. I don't think he has to care whether the other members drown him out in that sense, because he'll always get the credit for a good song. That said, Jon HAS gone out of his way before to protect himself on songs: I'm sure if This Left Feels Right did okay Jon would replace half the real songs with that shit, just as a way to sing safer. You gotta wonder if Jon's laziness with vocals up until the past two years set an example not to a give a ****, that perhaps Richie took on.

Overall though, I do think the fact Jon wants a system where he has the permanent say probably limits the amount of creativity you see in recent songs: it's hard to come up with a cool drum breakdown or a key intro when they only fly in Dave and Tico for a day. I honestly think that is probably more responsible than anything for the mediocrity since These Days. Which is why it was nice to see Dave and especially Tico actually do things on the Circle. And that was Jon's idea, so I credit him for that.

But no, otherwise Jon's ego has nothing to do with why Richie sucks now.

Maybe he's bored with Bon Jovi, who knows? I'd like to hear these new songs that he and Nikki Lund recorded, because I can recall tons of interviews where he gushes about releasing a solo album, but it never comes to it. Why? Because it's been BONJOVIBONJOVIBONJOVIBONJOVI for so long. Richie's a bright guy, and an excellent guitarist, but I feel it's time or Bon Jovi to take a well-deserved break and for all the members to go out and find REAL lyrical material and find that passion that used to be 'Bon Jovi.' So maybe, just maybe well find Richie in the music he made with Nikki.

HOw the hell do you know whether he only plays on tour?!

His improvisation is dire nowadays - he'll always go to the repetitive 'look at me' runs rather than putting any sort of imagination into his playing. Who can blame him? Most of the crowd aren't there to see his guitar solos and wouldn't appreciate anything other than the 3 note hammer-pull off runs that seem to get a cheer at the gigs.

I'm by no means saying his playing on Lost Highway was his best but I think it was a step in the right direction. Dan Huff got the best out of Keith Urban by pushing him towards melodic phrases that appear throughout the song and act as a great base for building a solo, whilst having an almost riff-like quality that the listener remembers. If he brought that to a live setting, his playing would improve markedly.

He needs to get back to basics and, dare I say, look at some of his contemporaries who are making inroads into the world of blues. John Mayer and Derek Trucks are great examples of players who create wonderful solos from an underlying phrase or groove (Mayer's 'Gravity' from the Crossroads festival is a great example) rather than the standard bend-fast run-bend (repeat) tripe that Richie's been churning out since 2000.

My dad told me. He knows everything. That's how the hell I know.
Everyone emphasized what a lazy bastard he is. You just have to listen...he can't even play the old solos properly anymore. That's how I explain it.

IMO the clothing line he has started is a sign that he maybe bored with Bon Jovi and wants a different outlet to be creative.

Perhpas the inclusion of Bobby has not helped....maybe if bobby were to be omitted, Richie would have more to do and perhaps not felt pushed out slightly!!!!

I wonder if Richie's half-assed, lazy playing is one reason the set lists are so stagnant. Maybe Jon doesn't have faith enough in him to think he can handle a multitude of different songs since he's not doing his best on the standards anymore.

The inclusion of Bobby was to cover for Richie in the first place...but now he just won't leave!!!!

By that principle you are also saying that Jeff Kazee was there to cover David Bryan?

Bobby was around before Richie started having any 'problems'. My impression is that Jon likes the fuller sound and some of the new songs require additional guitars, and Bobby did offer a buffer when Richie was struggling. Nowadays he's a hindrance rather than a help as far as I'm concerned.

As for setlists being tailored for Richie, that might be true IF they weren't picking out the rare songs outside of Europe Becky. Your theory falls short on that one.