Originally Posted by JackieBlue

I think you hit the nail on the head; and it makes even more sense when the quote is read within the context of the paragraph:




It's more than just rock guitar that left with Richie. As said, Bon Jovi has never been hard rock. At most, they were melodic or pop rock; but they seemed to have more rock band attitude with Richie, especially in the live shows. It could be argued that Phil-X has even more of a hard rock edge than Richie; but he isn't out front as much. Richie sharing the front line on stage and in interviews, to say nothing of his backing vocals, created at least the illusion of a rock band. Even though, technically, it's always been JBJ and his backup band, Richie's presence made it a lot less obvious than it is now.