I was reserving judgement on Phil X (ridiculous name) until I'd seen him live. He's at best a session musician. He's not good enough to be a replacement. He's an adequate stand in and that is all. It really got on my nerves in Cardiff that he didn't play the solo's as they are written. Pre 00's Bon Jovi songs are guitar driven rock songs where the solo's are an integral part of the song. He either improvised to put his own spin on them or just wasn't good enough to pull them off note for note. Too many times the solo's were unrecognizable and thats not the way it should be.

He's a stand in helping Jon out in a tough spot and he should play the songs note for note the way they are supposed to be performed. The tone of Bad Name genuinely made them sound like a tribute act - it was gutting to watch.

Anyone who say's he's better than Sambora is frankly deluded. He may have a decent chops but he's by no means a world class player. I don't give a toss about why he's gone but the sooner Sambo comes back the better.

Right. Let's see this, from March this year.

Now anyone in their right frame of mind think of Bon Jovi without Richie Sambora and tell me 'it's the same blah blah'. Sambora carries more soul and charisma in his pinky than most guitar players in their whole existence. The only reason Sambora isn't missed is because Bon Jovi concerts have become entirely commoditised corporate gigs. Richie played a role in allowing that to happen and so on, but whoever has seen him perform solo knows that he is a lot more than he's been with Bon Jovi...whereas Phil X is hitting his all times peak right there (no disrespect for the Drills but we are talking different leagues here).

Anyway - I am someone who hopes that Richie does not return and focusses on jamming, playing and collaborating with other musicians. Yet some of the statements I find to be either disrespectful or plain stupid and I wanted to point it out.

Bad Name is pretty much all Bobby though, and his solo is absolutely dreadful. Got no idea why they let him do it, it doesn't suit him and the effect they use on his guitar for it doesn't help matters either.

Its a real shame you see it this way...IMO the guy is a class act

Richie doesn't play the solos as they are on record, every guitarist plays differently and Jon has obviously said have some fun but don't go too off course which he's done completely he's aloud to have fun.

And bad name wasn't a good choice, bobby plays it

I honestly think Bobby must have incriminating photos of Jon or something along those lines. Can't think of any other reason he allows him to play solos.

Bobby is a good rythmn guitarist. He is not, and never will be, a lead/solo guitarist. It's incredible he still gets the solo on one of the band's most recognisable songs.

Haha, good one :-D but there must be something to it, since most of you here seem to agree that Jon is not a nice person, so that can't be the reason ;-)

I ****ing hate Bobby

Re Richie....

I was right. At least 7 copies were sold. I have one - who bought the other 6 - own up - dont be shy! :D

I bought one of the 7 sold in Germany ;-)

Nail.On. Head.

He is a stand in and its thanks to him the tour goes ahead and 1000s of people dont feel as badly let down by the guy who said **** you to his fans.

:D

OK you find the other 6 in Germany and ill find the UK 6!

I bought one as well. 5 to go in Germany :D

Ok, deal :D

Thanks for sharing this. I'm appalled at how anyone could think they can just go and interview Richie Sambora without at the very least have a clue about this major, relevant, recent (fingers crossed, not current) issue of his. You might as well just stay home and leave the job to someone else. How incredibly rude and stupid, I feel sorry for Richie.


Wow, I guess the line between newspapers and tabloids has definitely blurred now.
Not only do they pick up the gutter press rumors, they also come up with a few of their own!
What? Both of those statements from Richie are not confirmed and, in any case, the one about being willing to come back for the Hyde Park gig came out after the other. And the fact that Jon ignored his requests to rejoin is yet another unconfirmed rumor, actually the most likely to be bullshit of all. They shamelessly twist it and change it and tailor it to their convenience.

S I never actually said that phil x is better or even as good as richie . . I know that . .

But richies said **** you too us all so I don't care about his quality of music playing . . Phil did a great job last night . . Had fun and looked comfortable . . I can respect the guy for stepping in at very last minute and suddenly having a world tour on his hands . . He's made it possible for it to continue . . I'm not a big musician and not even as big a fan as most of you I'm sure . But I didn't miss richie like I thought I would and too me last night was superb . .


As for expecting him to play it note for note. . I guarantee if he did you would moan cause he's not putting his own spin on it . . He's jamming out there and having fun . . Some people need to realise what richie has done . . . Even if its a break up with Jon . . When I have a bust up at work . I still have to go . . And I don't have people paying hundreds to see me

If you get fired Organisationen fire by yourself you dont need to go to work again.

Well I'm glad to see that Jon and Phil are having great banter - because Jon and Richie sure didn't seem to have much of anything goin' on, since as far back as Bamboozle, at least not based on most of what I've seen on YouTube.

I respectfully acknowledge that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and I'm not saying anything against Phil or the band; but speaking for myself, missing Richie during the "WANTEDs" would be a huge deal for me. I think it would literally ruin the concert for me. I'm not sure - it may be an exaggeration even in my own mind - but I honestly think if I had to choose between hearing Bon Jovi do a slam-bang 3-hour set with no WDOA versus a 45-minute set, even a mediocre one, that included WDOA with Richie on guitar, his trademark vocals, and the old interaction between JxR with the two-guitar salute at the end - there would be no contest. I'd take the second option any day. (And if you'd throw in one of those looooonnng Spanish flavored acoustic intros? Just the one song would probably be enough! :-))

Fair point but if I get fired it because I've done something . .

Still my fault,

One thing we know is that Richie was not fired. Richie called last minute and said he wasn't coming in for work. Jon didn't call him and tell him to stay home.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - until we know WHY this has all happened and the exact context, saying Richie said **** you to anyone is just ****ing ignorant and jumping to conclusions you have no right to reach as a supposed fan.

Calm down, love.

Phil X has done a great job. Great guy, thanks for standing in. Can't fault your professionalism or what you do with the songs. Well done, Sir.

Could he be a full-time replacement for Richie? Yes, yes he could. Would the tours still be as successful? Probably. Will the majority of "fans" notice or care? Probably not.
Will it bother me? ****ing right.
Will I go to another show or buy another album without RS? No ****ing way.

Stay safe out there :)

But conclusions are so much fun . . . .

That's right. For some reason, it got to a point where people refuse to believe or even acknowledge what very little we do know and would rather speculate randomly depending on what's more convenient or easy for them to believe.

!!! Broken Record Alert !!! :onfire:

The fact is that Richie MAY NOT have said **** you to ANYONE! 'Some people need to realize' that we don't yet know WHAT Richie has or hasn't done until we know WHY!

Jon must feel as if Richie's reasons are good enough or else he would have sacked his behind by now, don't you think? And surely JON knows more about this than anyone on this board, no matter how informed or psychic we seem to think we are!

Once the facts are in, if there's no good reason for Richie's absence then I will freely acknowledge that those fans who are writing him off now were justified in their thinking.

But if it turns out that there is a good reason for his actions, then he hasn't shown any disrespect to anyone.

The best reason I can think of for him not to be there is because he doesn't believe in the music they're making any more, and the fans deserve better than to see the new second-rate songs performed live, on top of what has been mostly the same Greatest Hits tour for the past decade. Yawn.

Oops! I didn't see this or the quote you were responding to (which said a lot of the same stuff I said) before I posted my fiery rampage! Didn't mean to beat a dead horse... :rolleyes:

I think that's the worst reason and I don't find it likely. If you don't like the music, you say so while writing and playing on the damn record, you don't have an epiphany during the tour.
(And like someone else said just a few posts ago, it's not like they're playing this huge amount of new material anyway. It's usually 3 new songs, sometimes 4, rarely or maybe just once 5.)

I believe he DID say so during the writing he wasn't involved in, and the playing which he wasn't really called on to do ... it says something when even Tico is reluctant.

The Music is the purest inspiration, surely. If that doesn't do it for you anymore, it's time to walk away. Just like Jon should've done several times - or at least done it as Jon Bon Jovi.

I agree though - it's probably unlikely that's the reason, or the sole reason.

Maybe Richie stole Jon's maracas.

NEW THEORY! #752!

To be fair he probably doesn't read this forum, so you actually addressing him is sort of pointless. Try his twitter account.

Again, you say so before the tour. You're kind of assuming things here anyway. Who said Richie "wasn't called on" to do the writing. Maybe he didn't show up back then either. If the scenario is indeed one where Richie couldn't be bothered with the band anymore, I find this more likely than actually having an epiphany mid-tour. Still, it's just speculation. I may be dumb or naive, but I'm still going with the personal issues. At least it's not a shot in the dark.

During the making of wan he was also working on aotl . And wan is the only Album where the musicians are not listed in the booklet. I dont know if Richie is really playing on the album or someone else .

I'll concede - you're right - maybe he was called on and bailed. I can't back up what I said :)

Are we REALLY still in "we know nothing" territory, LOL. It's like a bad dream!

And SemiGoodLooking (like the name - subtle, humble, but piques my interest!) - I had no intention of X seeing what I said. That was just a way of me phrasing my thoughts on him.
I'll start addressing myself in the third person next... :/

I would just like to add that there were eight copies of 'Aftermath' sold; I bought the sole CD in Minnesota at the mall. xD

Are we really doing this? LOL

I bought mine online from Japan. I guess that makes it nine?

Hey, it wasn't me picking this up yet once again! LOL

Everybody's been dragging this thing tirelessly for weeks and I actually wanted to see firsthand if the action carries some magically beneficial power, hence the abuse of it. But nope, I guess it was just people being bored! :p

This thread has jumped the shark so many times that not jumping the shark is now jumping the shark.

:lol::lol::lol:

I don't know if this is already has been posted, but... Wiki says Richie is a past member???? aww :(

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Jovi