Can you hear Richie's absence from THINFS?

Sums up everything I believe so +1 for you

Nah, not really. The last time I heard anything remotely "Richie" on a BJ album was The Circle. Again, that's sad, because his trademark blues-esque style and playing is really missed.

+1. He gave this reason as well in several interviews after he quit.

Back on topic, since they *reused* the HAND riff, does it mean it was a Shanks creation and not Richie's? I would find it very tasteless if it was Richie's and they just said "Fvck it, nobody remembers him anymore"; it's a pretty distinctive riff.

Of course Richie cannot claim anything, he's only the co-author of the song so Jon can use whatever he wants without asking for permission or getting a letter from Richie's attorneys, but I found it very telling that they reused THAT song in particular. You know being the first time they worked with Shanks and all.

Is almost as if someone is making a statement, just saying...

Edit to clarify

Interesting point of view, never saw it that way.
Might be some truth to it.

Attorneys is a little overboard. Its different chords in a different key. If it wasnt solo right after the solo like it was in HAND I don't think itd be as noticeable.

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It'd actually a pretty basic riff that plenty of bands have used before and after hand. If it wasn't for the arrangement and placement of the riff you wouldn't even notice. As far as it being Richie's creation I think you may want to go back to the 70s and listen to bands like the who and the clash....

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Bostons Piece of Mind too.

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C'mon people. To a BJ fan it would sound like the HAND riff and that's what I'm referring to.

It's the first thing that came to mind when I heard the song. How strange that it sounds too similar to HAND. Most of their songs sound like IML, to a non guitar player or a basic one, it's the same chord progression so it sounds the same every time. But this time they added the HAND touch.

Innocence coincidence? Who knows (I say it's not lol), that's why I was asking in this thread.

It's almost as if Shanks is saying "now you'll see who's been a busy bee for the past 10 years".

It doesn't seem very clever on Jon's part, it could seem as if he's mocking/debasing Richie to some overzealous fans. I remember how much praise Richie got for this record, for going back to a rockier sound in many tracks after their stint in pop rock (Bounce is mostly ignored by many casuals and critics, at least in my experience). Some songs are mostly remembered for Richie's contribution. So why chose that particular record/song?

I heard other songs in THINFS but you have to admit the first thing almost everybody said was HAND. I don't know if it's a faux pass on their part. I can understand underlying that this new record may be rockier by going back to their last *rock* record. But I still think it's strange to reuse something that in the eyes of many is Richie's.