Are Bon Jovi recording right now?

So what happened and when that something that was working so well for years 'suddenly' got damaged beyond repair?!

Why do you think it was sudden? Richie left the 2011 tour for rehab. David has been quoted in many interviews saying Richie was fighting his demons when he left in 2013. Phil said he didn't officially quit until 2014, which makes it sound like the band was waiting to see what would happen with him. That span of time makes it seem anything but sudden.

I think it's a domino effect of multiple factors but I'm going with 2 main ones...

1. Jon's voice - I think Jon's voice changed the way they write and craft songs...

2. Time (and other interests) - Back in the youthful days these guys would practically lived together making music... Once you get older and family along with other interests start setting in, that same dedication is no longer there...

Shanks is the master of the above 2...

If Jon got his voice back and lived with Richie Sambora for 3 to 6 months, they could definitely craft a These Days Part 2...

Like I stated prior, even if Richie was involved with THINFS, it would still have the same outcome... Sure some elements would be different but the overall outcome would be the same...

i also miss richie, the band will never be the same without him...
i prefer the current version from nothing but richie even now has more charisma and stage presence than john and phil imo, phil is FINE but he doesnt really fit in bj like Rich

Agree... But it really comes down to the way Richie went out... If he just waited until the end of the tour, he might still have a chance for return but he decided to **** Jon instead...

This is the JBJ show now. Yes, Richie is a big name with Bon Jovi but Jon is the franchise... Springsteen lost members of the E-Street Band and still carried on...Matchbox 20 was successful and Rob Thomas was successful, No Doubt was successful and Gwen Stefani was successful

Blaze Of Glory was a huge success! DA failed but that was just bad timing...

Jon could still carry a solo act under the Bon Jovi name. He's got Tico, Dave, and even Huge (who's been in the band twice as long as Alec at this point)... It's now like Jon Bon Jovi and The E-Street Band = Bon Jovi

Only in the USA. He won an Echo (German Grammy), British, and MT V Europe awards. He played large venues in Australia.

The head of the label in th US said DA was their top priority... then MmmmmBop came along so they cashed in on Hanson's 15 minutes of fame. This was in Billboard magazine.

Suffice to say, you are correct. Jon is the franchise and most casual fans don't care who is backing him up.

Maybe everything would be the same in his book, but not in mine.

Any relationship of many years can work well and suddenly dissolve due to the actions of one or both parties. You can be with someone years happily, then one cheats and it's all over. Same here. Just because there was the split doesn't mean what went before wasn't working well.

See the thing is in my heart of hearts Jon and Jon and Richie can still write quality music. They don't release it. They dumb down their music so more people will like it and make the stories their own. They never lost the spark, they just stopped putting the spark into the world. Richie in, Richie out, Bon Jovi will sound like it does until Jon magically decides he can put out quality again. It's shallow to say but if his looks start fading and his ass shakes less I think we'll see a return to the good good good stuff.

I'm sure you may be right but off the top of my head I really can't name a rock band that has carried on without having a guitar player in the promo shots and videos and the like. If the lead singer plays guitar in every song then that wouldn't count the same way (ie The Wallflowers). But I'm sure that was a big part of the reason why suddenly Phil is in the promo shots and stuff, and Hugh because it would be wrong for them to include Phil and diss Hugh after all this time. I wasn't arguing that someone will come along and be the new Richie, that won't happen, I was merely talking about the way the band went about taking the way they went about the album photos and making the videos this time including Hugh and Phil x.