Aftermath of The Lowdown, 6 years later
 

First, sorry for starting a new thread, I can't find the one dedicated to the album.

So I've been listening a lot to Richie's first three solo albums lately.
I'm not a big fan of what he does under the RSO banner, but I love his previous albums.

Now, AOTL if I remember correctly was received with mixed feelings right? Has this opinion changed the past 6 years?

The only stain on it is, in my opinion, the dreadful 'Sugar Daddy' and the bonus track 'Backseat Driver'.

but there are some gems in there, like 'Weathering the Storm' (besides that horrendous "shelter, food and sex" lyric), Seven Years Gone obviously, Learning "How to Fly With a Broken Wing" that (again in my opinion) rocks way more than anything from the Bon Jovi of the last decade.

What do you think?

there is a member in this community with that lyric like his signature, he’s going strongly disagree with you >_< lol

the only song I like from this album is Seven years... anyway tomorrow I will listen it again at work

I absolutely love Backseat Driver! Top three from the album easily for me.

I still enjoy the album as a whole. The songs are good generally; the main thing that lets it down for me is the production - it's a muddy mess to my ears.

I agree about the production. Kills the vibe in most uptempo songs, that's why the coolest are the ballads.


You can only get so high is a gem imo.

I like much Taking A Chance On The Wind, Weathering The Storm (sans the shelterfoodsex line) and Seven Years Gone.

I'd listened to the leaks before, and figured "well, it's not quite as good as the previous two, but it'll be worth it for Forgiveness Street - what a banger!"

I never bought the album, obviously, because I was just dumbfounded it was not on it. Surely there was gonna be a deluxe re-release some time later?

It's like a Slippery with Prayer actually not making the cut. And it wasn't even re-recorded for the RSO album or released digitally, was it? Insane.

Anyway, once it was clear that Forgiveness Street was not gonna be on there, I'd decided to wait until the price of the album drops. The price at Amazon is 22 bucks right now. Well.

Forget what I said about Backseat Driver, just listened again after reading your comment (it was unchecked in iTunes), and it's indeed quite good.

Production is a bit messy indeed, and I wonder if - based on some of the songs and lyrics - that was the beginning of the split. A lot of the content seems (to me at least) that Richie was indeed fed up with the state of the band, the life away from family etc.

I really enjoyed the album when it came out and really loved the 2012 european tour shows. There was still some profesionalism and magic in Richie during that time. I still hope that someday the London show's footage will be released. I don't remembre where, but I saw an interview that year where they used some of the footage and it looked really good. The setlist was good also, if I remember correctlly, he played The Answer in that one.


Something strange happend with forgiveness street also, since they released a video of him and the violinist recording the arragements for the song.

Aftermath for me was quite satisfying, at that time, I wanted and needed a third new Richie album, and after Aftermath, I just wanted more Richie albums.

Aftermath has a lot of memorable songs for me, I've listened to that album a lot, I still do it from time to time.The only complaint, would be the production and mixing of the album, because it lacks clarity for my taste, but even so, it is not so unpleasant.

I was always curious to hear this song.

Loved the album when it come out and still love it now.

It's one of them albums that always takes me back to a certain time in my life.

One of my favourite albums I'd say. One or two 'meh' songs but I do love it.

Also enjoyed the live show very much too!

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I found the video

It took me some time to really get into the album and I guess the turning point was actually Richie's concert in Munich back in 2012. Really loved that one!

But I agree with you that some songs instantly take me back to a certain time and place - much more than any other album.

There's some stuff I never got into (like Taking A Chance On The Wind) and I think that World is trash, but the album has some really great moments.

I absolutely adore You Can Only Get So High, Seven Years Gone and Forgiveness Street and really like some other tunes as well.

Looking back on it a few years later is quite sobering because one couldn't really understand at the time of its release how much was really aimed at the band and his dissatisfaction with how everything had been going. Especially You Can Only Get So High shines in a completely different light then.

oh yeah want that vinyl box set version NOW!!!

Can't really stand RSO so me too gave this record random spins a while back. And yes indeed "Seven years" gots some TASTY playing and nice arrangements. Also this time around I got into "Learning How To..." too, its awesome rocker with strong lyrics. Heard "Forgiveness Street" first time ever a bit earlier this year and it sure should be on the album. I gotta give this LP a full spin soon!! =D

And yes, anyone, pm me for the vinyl thanks! ;)

Seven Years Gone is far and away my favorite song on this album, and quite possibly my all-time favorite RS solo song. I also love You Can Only Get So High and Forgiveness Street (and I agree, leaving FS off of aftermath is like leaving Prayer off of SWW! What the hell Richie!)

I think it's a strong album and definetely stronger than What About Now. I always enjoyed Every Road Leads Home To You. It's very poppy, but it has a strong melody, nice lyrics and just feels fresh still today.
There are some dull moments - Taking a Chance, Sugar Daddy, World.
I never really got into Burn That Candle Down either. Just like I feel with Rise from the RSO album it just feels like a song that is written purely to be a "tough rocker" for the sake of it. It's not very strong and feels a bit forced.

Seven Years Gone, You Can Only Get So High, Always Walk Beside You, Weathering the Storm - all great songs. I remember enjoying those shows and looking back now those were the last great ones Richie did. In many ways that is what Aftermath and its period is for me. It's the last time we saw some true Richie quality. As soon as 2012 turned into 2013 nothing would be the same.

I forgot Every road... when it was even included in one version of What About Now album
I like this one live... -_-

Exactly. And then I believe he wanted to work more on promoting the album, regardless of the platform (be it interviews, shows, etc.) but got dragged back to Bon Jovi for WAN and the subsequent tour, and I believe that's what got him. At least in parts. They were just out of working The Circle + Greatest Hits and the tours, from 2009 to 2011 - I assume he wanted more time to focus on AOTL.

Alsdo, I had never seen this full show video before


As a frontman its sometimes a bit of a hit n' miss, but as a singer (and obviously guitar player) the man is... well, you know. Good.

Not listened to it for about 5 and half years. Think ive heard it about 3 times all the way through in total.
Not a patch on Stranger in this Town.

I still listen to this album, and I've probably listened to it more than anything else BJ related since the early 2000s. I get the criticism on the production but it never really bothered me much. I adore Seven years gone, Broken Wings, Every Road, You Can Only get So High and Backseat Driver.

I've said it before, I know; but when everybody was asking what happened and why he left the band, Richie tweeted "if you want to know my heart, listen to Aftermath". I listened to the entire album again, within that context, and I haven't been able to make it about anything else since then. 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.

I can't help but wonder if things would be different, now, had Richie been given the opportunity to continue promoting AOTL on the BWC tour the way both he and Jon had said, prior to the tour, that he was going to. Knowing that he didn't want to tour again so soon after TC/GH tour, and assuming that it was partially because he wanted to promote AOTL, it seems reasonable to me that perhaps AOTL's continued promotion could have been part of the negotiations to get him to do a tour he had resisted. Especially in light of the fact that the only solo spot he was given during the first leg was to sing IBTFY, not something from AOTL; and that was, coincidentally, his last show with the band before he left.

I don't think it was, by far, the only reason he didn't show up in Calgary; but imo, it could very well have been a straw that broke the camel's back.

I agree that FS is one of the best songs recorded for the album and I can't understand why it wasn't included, either. But to me, the rest of the album is definitely worth the price of admission. :)

Interesting that it's going for $22 now. Is that the standard edition or the Japanese release with BSD?

The similarity I hear between Rise and BTCD is the wall of sound that muffles the vocals and makes it sound like they were recorded on a cheap cassette recorder in the middle of a crowded room. It's obviously deliberate; but for the life of me I can't understand why! I like nice, clear recordings. :)

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.

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/

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

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

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.

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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.

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.

This!!!

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

15 years???????

Undiscovered Soul = 1998
Aftermath = 2012

Not quite 15 but very close

I completely agree about Seven Years Gone and You Can Only Get So High, which to me are two of the two best songs on this album, Forgiveness Street notwithstanding. I would've love to see him perform Seven Years Gone on the BWC tour with BJ; I can only imagine how good that chorus would be with David and Bobby's background vocals and Tico's drumming!

Had Jon let Richie promote AOTL on the BWC tour there's a chance he may still be in the band, or would've at least waited till after the tour to leave on friendlier terms.

Exactly, a bit like what happened with Stranger in This Town and the KTF tour.

For the people not liking Crush and Bounce's production, how do you feel about Have a Nice Day onwards? I liked production on THINFS, but all the previous albums with Shanks are indeed a mish mash of sounds, drums don't stand out, guitars are muzzled; I really don't like it. These Days was a beautiful mix and production.

I was okay with HAND at the time despite the wall of sound that had been created. Lost Highway actually has a quite decent production and The Circle, despite me liking the songs, just feels stone-cold (a bit like Bounce to me). The overall production there really hinders me from loving the record.
WAN was a pile of shit, both song- and production-wise. THINFS has some songs that are okay (like the stripped-down arrangements and I Will Drive You Home), but others are truly cringe-worthy.

'These Days' and 'Lost Highway' are the best produced I believe. The songs don't sound dated because they are clear without too many effects and layers. They're pleasant to listen to.

I love the earliest albums, but it can sometimes be a little jarring to listen to (which is fair enough really 20+ years on).

'Crush' is one of the worst though...horrendous sound.

To me, Bounce is even more horrendous in terms of production even though they are quite close.
I agree about the very early records. In fact, I don't have a problem with Bon Jovi - that one sounds ok to me even to this day. The one I can't stand at times is Fahrenheit. Good songs, but that production is just awful (as the band stated themselves even back in the 80's).

Agreed. I actually love 7800...it's a massive guilty pleasure for me, but I'd sooner listen to live tracks than the album for a cleaner sound.

We're off topic here but it is interesting.

Crush is just an album that has no cohernce whatsoever, but I don't have a particular porblem with the production. Bounce sounds rather fakey yes - but at times I like how it sounds.

Up to Undiscovered Soul everything sounds fine with the exception - I agree - of 7800, where there is some softiness in the sound that is very glossy... I can enjoy it for a while though.

Hand has a wall of sound very "meh"..

Lost Highway sounds nice.

The circle sounds aaaaawwwwwffuulllll . Terrible. Ruined some nice songs. But also because the voice sounds fake and forced.

Wan sounds poppy and fake as wekk and half of it is very dull. That's what the water made could have been a nice song but I cant enjoy this production.

We talked previously about AOTL.

Except from I will Drive you Home, Real Love, hmm maybe BAT, I cant stand the wall of sound of THINFS either.

These Days is indeed a masterpiece. I feel like the production started to get shi*tier and shi*tier from Have A Nice Day onwards. It's like you can't make our what instrument you're hearing.

And I'm pretty sure that this wall of sound came with Shanks.

That's what pisses me off with Shanks' production style. The keyboarder of Bounce told me at some point that when WWBTF came out and they started rehearsing it, he pretty much had to wing all the keyboard parts because you simply couldn't distinguish the instruments properly on the album.