Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community - Aftermath of The Lowdown, 6 years later

Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community (https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/index.php)

- General BJ Discussion (https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/forumdisplay.php?f=7)

- - Aftermath of The Lowdown, 6 years later (https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/showthread.php?t=70357)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackieBlue (Post 1242196)

To me, even the "shelter, food, and sex" line, that people complain about, seems to be part of an internal debate about whether all the luxuries that came with being in a hugely successful band like BJ were worth the sacrifices he was making, in terms of family and artistic expression, when all anybody really needs are the basics of survival.

Some days I really think You Can Only Get So High is about his desire to walk away from the band for a bit, some days I think it's about his sobriety but I think that's where the true to life depth of the record stops. But my god, those lyrics are amazing.

To your point about the shelter/food/sex line, and not that it couldn't have been something he insinuated to him he wanted the song to be about, Richie didn't write the lyrics to Weathering the Storm, that would have been Bernie Taupin. From what I recall Richie only wrote the music for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi (Post 1242198)

I can see where YCOGSH could be about both, and he's drawing a parallel between the two issues; and maybe even establishing a causal relationship. Didn't he say, talking about NJ, that they all needed a break and that he knew he was "****ing around too much and drinking too much" and losing himself in the process? I'm pretty sure he said something along those lines, especially the losing himself part, when he talked about covering "The Wind Cries Mary". If memory serves and that's correct, then I don't think it's a huge leap to think he may have been experiencing the same symptoms and maybe that's why he pulled out to go to rehab in 2011. And if that's true, it could also be one reason why he argued for a longer break, and may ultimately have had something to do with why he left the tour so abruptly. Maybe he saw it coming. That's a lot of "if"s and "maybe"s, I know; but I don't think any of them are unreasonable assumptions. Feel free to disagree. :)

And yes, Bernie wrote the lyrics for WTS alone and Richie wrote the music to suit the lyric. But iirc, Richie also said that the lyric was written after he and Bernie had met for dinner a couple times and discussed life and circumstances. Richie talked about it one of the interviews he did around the time AOTL was released. It may have been the one he did with American Songwriter. I seem to remember that being one of more of the in-depth interviews that he did. Right now, I can't remember the exact words, but seems like there was something in the way Richie talked about it that made me assume Bernie had written the lyrics from Richie's perspective, based on stuff Richie had said in those conversations.

My memory is fuzzy on the details. I'll see if I can find the interviews.

EDIT TO ADD: Found them. It was easier than I thought. But this is long enough I'll post them separately.

It was American Songwriter. Here's the link:

http://americansongwriter.com/2012/0...ichie-sambora/

Quote:

Are there any songs that changed direction once you started playing them with the guys?

“Weathering the Storm,” which I wrote with Bernie Taupin. Actually, I should elaborate on that. This is a songwriting magazine! Being a fan of Elton [John] and Bernie for many many years, it was an honor to write with Bernie. A friend and publisher put us together. We went out to dinner and got along famously, just talking about our lives, our musical roots, our influences. We got together about two weeks later and talked some more, and he said, “Ok, I got it.” About three or four days after that, he sent me a couple of lyrics. I gravitated toward two of them, one of which didn’t make the record. I felt like “Weathering the Storm” was relevant not only to my life, but to so many people who’re going through tumultuous times right now. They’re just getting through adversity and coming out on the other end of it. It’s about that, and it’s a very triumphant song.

The way Bernie does things, he basically hands you a lyric and says “Go.” Ha! I’d never written like that. I always have lyrics and music, because they come to me at the same time. So I had a bit of anxiety about this, but once I picked up the lyric, I started singing melodies to it. I got the melodies down, then I put some chords to it, and when we presented it to the band, we all tried it a few different ways. Different instrumentation, different speeds… but the incarnation that made the record is the best interpretation of the lyric.

And here's the one about The Wind Cries Mary:

https://destroyerofharmony.com/2014/...ichie-sambora/

Quote:

“There are times you really don’t know what day it is, let alone what time it is. It’s not bullshit it’s true. So my disagreements with Jon came in that light, I said, ‘Man, look, the money ain’t worth the f_kin’ time I need to get my head together. I’m drinking too much, f_king around too much.’ I was just outta control, I was becoming the very
thing that you’re meant to be in that position anyway…”

A rock pig?

“Exactly, and I didn’t dig it.”
...

When did you realise you needed to bail out?

“There wasn’t any one point – what really made me think I could go out on my own was when I did “The Wind Cries Mary” thing. I was in South America in month 16 of the Bon Jovi tour and was starting to feel very creatively stifled, as well as depressed. There were many days between shows because we were doing the huge stadiums, so you’d have five days off at a time to sit in your hotel room. Paramount rang and said they were in a jam for the Andrew Dice Clay movie and could I help out by jamming on “Wind Cries Mary”, to which I immediately said yes... I knew it’d creatively get the whole thing going, anything to get me going. I asked for every Hendrix video and CD to be sent, and I lived him for five days. ...it was like getting re-acquainted with Jimi. I wanted to exploit his wild side a little bit, and I wanted to get into his head. It was like studying for a test, because I was scared…”

Of what?

“... I was so mentally f___ked up that I didn’t know if I could do a solo album.”

I still think it's quite bad. I'm always amazed at the thought that it took nearly 15 years for Richie to complete such a weak album. Much like Jon, I guess the guy is dry inspiration wise.

Envoyé de mon ONEPLUS A5000 en utilisant Tapatalk

I think its a great album. Not as good as Stranger, but better than Undiscovered Soul. Although all 3 are strong albums for me personally.

I share the views about the production - whereas Stranger sounds so clear and crisp, AOTL is just so muffled in places, it does it a disservice at times. Seven Years Gone is superb, and You Can Only get so high lays everything bare.

The tour was great in 2012, the Shepherd's Bush show was a lot of fun and it's a shame it went downhill pretty much immediately that the show finished.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bounce7800 (Post 1242221)

were you there?
Were there really cameras recording the show?

Quote:

Originally Posted by _KaMi_ (Post 1242229)

were you there?
Were there really cameras recording the show?

Just one, but a professional camera in the pit. I'd assume there was a go-pro or two in fixed locations too to make a mix.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bounce7800 (Post 1242221)

I share the views about the production - whereas Stranger sounds so clear and crisp, AOTL is just so muffled in places, it does it a disservice at times. Seven Years Gone is superb, and You Can Only get so high lays everything bare.

This!!!

I feel this way about Crush and Bounce too!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roll (Post 1242217)

15 years???????

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdkopper (Post 1242259)

15 years???????

Undiscovered Soul = 1998
Aftermath = 2012

Not quite 15 but very close