Very well stated! That's what Fairbairn was capable of as well and that's one of the reasons why SWW became such a success.
In 1987, Jon stated about Fairbairn's work:
"...but what he did all the time was observe and trying to figure out 'this is Bon Jovi, how do I make a Bon Jovi record out of this?', instead of going in the studio and saying 'do this, do this, do this' and making it in essence a Bruce Fairbairn record."

Funny how nowdays Jon pretty much contradicts everything that the Jon from 20+ years ago used to say or do :D

Half of me wants to let this die and not get the thread off track but Shanks not having hits to show for is very naive and untrue.

He's had a small window of success but he's been on rinse and repeat with Jon now for the past 13 years so it's hard to say...


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With the band? While the hits have been minimal they've been big when they've worked. For the most part they haven't. Apart from the band Shanks's hits production wise have a very very good track record. He's still one of the go-to guys in the industry.

That's a big statement... The Industry!!! Shanks and Jovi aside, nothing sounds like it used to... I listen to music now and I can actually hear the cutting and pasting...

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Shanks is very close to JBJ
and since the whole Bon Jovi organization is based in friendship... who knows until when we're going to have Shanks...

Anyone who says John Shanks has had limited success is uninformed.


John Shanks is a 6 time Grammy nominated songwriter, producer and accomplished guitar player. John has produced and/or written 43 #1 singles, 86 #1 albums and sold over 60 million records to date in the genres of Rock, Pop and Country music.

Yeah, I'm no Shanks fan but you can't deny that he's produced and written a lot of big hit singles and albums all over the world. He's had MUCH bigger hits than those he's had with Jovi...

He could easily work with pretty much any hit-making current artist across several genres. For him, sticking with Bon Jovi is actually putting a limit on his “success rate” when it comes to statistics like those. That’s the realist in me talking. I love Bon Jovi, but it’s difficult for artists who have been around that long to get substantial radio play. There’s something that keeps him working and touring with Bon Jovi. Maybe the friendships are that deep. Maybe he likes the stability.

Musicians are a pain in the ass. When you find one that you connect with, I can see why he might want to stick with that even if it doesn't make him as much money, it will probably be a much easier ride for him. Although that i'm sure he gets paid incredibly well in Jovi...

Jon called "Snooky" his BFF, his partner, and his shrink; so it's likely a combination of things: stability, friendship, a shared vision, chemistry in the studio, just to name a few. Plus, I imagine the paycheck's not too bad either. Jon could probably outbid almost anybody who wanted to hire Shanks away from him, if it were to come to that. But I doubt it will. If @IleneToTheWrite can be trusted, one of them has wanted Shanks in the position he's in for quite some time. Jon clearly believes what they have now is working; and he's said numerous times that he doesnt like change. Barring something unforeseen happening, my guess is that Shanks is here for the duration.

From the recent video of Richie and Bob in studio it appears that Richie is still on the booze train so I expect either nothing to come of this or a very patchy strange RSO type album without Borinathi.

Sigh, and here we go again. there was nothing wrong with Richie in that video with Bob Rock...at all.

He was drunk and playing his guitar over Bob talking which was annoying and not even that great.

Do you think there's a conspiracy or something? Have you never seen how a drunk person behaves? I'm a Richie fan above all but I'm also not blinded by fandom. He's a mess. He couldn't even play his parts properly at the Hall Of Fame show.

We're talking about the recent video, Richie looks in better place to me now, and never liked that Orianthi.

I go on the road with bands here in the UK, trust me, I know what a drunk and/or high person looks like...

If you think Richie was wasted in that interview then I have to ask if you have ever really watched a Richie interview in the last 30 years? He's a goofball whenever he can get away with it. This was a relaxed interview in his own studio with friends he's known for years...it's the same old Richie to me...certainly not the mumbling incoherent Richie of 2014ish....not even close...

I'll agree that it wasn't Richie at his most messed up but I think he was still slurring his words and had a glazed over look in his eyes. The youtube comments refer to him looking boozed up too.

As I said, I love Richie and constantly hope he chooses the path the gets him back to being the man we know he can be. If you don't think he's on anything then that's fair enough. Neither of us can prove anything anyway so it's futile arguing it.

The YouTube comments is just the JBJ fangirl/boy brigade that like to trash Richie every time he posts something, and have their heads too far up JBJs ass to see otherwise.

Richie has been slurring more and more the past decade and I'm in the camp that thinks it might not be from being ON drugs but either the effects of them or something medical. He used to speak a whole lot clearly.

Exactly right! He's obviously done a lot of drugs in his lifetime and it does mess with your body permanently, especially as you get older. People forget that these guys are pushing 60 now...

More clearly and more coherently in his train of thought. I am in the camp that thinks he has beeing drinking/drugging over these past few years, but it does seem like years of abuse beforehand have had some kind of lasting effect. Could this also explain his utter decline in guitar skills? I mean, we have to presume he played some amazing shows down the years while completely off his tits, so something has changed.

He didn't start making "mistakes" live until HAND-ish era which make sense given his life situations and how it was dealt with. I don't recall too many guitar slip ups on the Crush and Bounce tours but HAND forward I can think of more than a few. Is it a case of youtube being more prevalent? I don't know.

Suggesting that he has brain damage to explain his slurring rather than the most obvious cause of current alcoholism / drug use is nonsensical and not rooted in any evidence.

He's an addict. I don't know why people can't come to terms with that instead of finding excuses for him. You'd all be useless in AA.

You clearly have a complete misunderstanding of how years of abuse can effect you physically...brain functions yes, but other physical functions too. I've seen how it effects people...

I'm not saying that he is or isn't, but from my experience, he didn't seem drunk to high to me in that interview. For you he did, and that's fine, but that doesn't make you right, anymore than my beliefs make me right.

You have no more evidence that Richie was high in that vid then we do that it is because of lasting effects of years of abuse.

Truth is none of us know, it's all speculation so asking for proof is pointless..

Jesus, who the hell said brain damage?

Well, I did say the "brain damage" would probably have been caused by drink and drugs. Again, I am firmly in the camp Richie has been off the wagon for years and it has contributed to a lot of his problems. However, it is more than speculation to say thirty years of consistent boozing interspersed with periods of being hooked on some kind of drug or another can take its toll when you get to 55.

That said, something clearly changed with him from the Aftermath period to just after leaving Bon Jovi. Unfortunately for the naysayers, returing to booze and/or drugs is a damn good explanation for that change.

That's one of the reasons I asked in response to the post below (from the other thread) if anyone knew when it was made clear to Richie that returning to the band wasn't an option. I can see how that could have resulted in a relapse.

(And before anyone screams that I'm accusing Jon of making Richie drink again, that's not true. Even if there's a connection, Jon isn't responsible for Richie's reaction to changes in his life situation. And as has been pointed out, no matter what led to Richie's departure, if it was his decision not to show up - and I don't see how it would have been any other way, tbh - then ultimately the aftermath of that decision is also his responsibility.)

You and others inferred it. You said you don't think his slurring of words is from current misuse but from the effects of past abuse so that would have to be brain damage. Unless you have some other prognosis, Doctor?

Well, to be fair, it would be a form of brain damage, but you wouldn't really refer to it as that (only for shock value...). Brain Damage is seen as something much more severe. More accuratly it alters the brain....

By the way, slurring of the words is also common with someone who is in recovery/withdrawal, so saying he's high because he's slurring is far from an accurate assesment...

Also, some people just slur more when they get older....

Another amateur Doctor amongst us.

It would absolutely be referred to as brain damage by any medical professional.There are two types, traumatic, which is acquired through e.g. a blow to the head and acquired brain damage which comes as a result of the misuse of drugs or strokes, heart attacks etc.

You and several others suggested the latter.

I'm completely done with this topic as you're obviously in la la land and making bizarre excuses for an addict and then back tracking when you're made to look silly.

How about.... Maybe he loves hot sauce so much that his tongue has become enlarged and makes him sound drunk? Sounds plausable and no one can actually prove it's bullshit and it fits my fanboy ideal that Richie isn't on something.

Anyway as I said I'm done talking about it. You can have the last word if you please.

I wasn't talking about what it would medically be referred to, as you say I'm not a doctor and never claim to be (for the record, neither are you, I expect...). I'm talking about how it would be reffered to on a day to day basis. "Brain Damage" is perceived as something much more severe (see Cap's response for instance)....but as I said, it is a form or brain damage....

So yeah, I'm done too as you are clearly unwilling to see any other point of view but your own, and resort to slinging insults around instead of actually making a decent argument...so it's not really a discussuion is it...

For the record I never back tracked on anything and never categorically stated that he wasn't on something, just that in my opinion he wasn't in that particular video...You think he's drunk in the video, I don't. That's the end of it really....

I'm wit chu. ;)

This is one of the problems when discussing Richie. There are undoubtedly times since he left Bon Jovi where he has been high and/or drunk and it has showed. However, some say he is off his head in every single video he does, on stage, off stage, interview, TMZ airport surprise, or whatever.

As much as I would ridicule someone denying he has his issues, it is equally as stupid to believe he is always ****ed up. According to some, he never touches substances, and according to others he is swimming in coke, pills, and vodka every waking minute.

I would suggest the truth may be somewhere in-between.

I can't tell. I said he was drunk, some people wanted to make me a wet pulp of blood and flesh. Now I defend the man and I am laughed at. You can't please the people. To me Richie isn't fully himself and hasn't been for years now, whatever the cause is. In 2012 he was at the top of his game, though, so can't say it was drugs and booze that made him drift away. I'm sure his relationship with Jon was complicated and deteriorated a lot around 2010-2011 onwards. The shows months prior to his departure were so full of tension it was hard to watch *or enjoy* well, we all can see what happened to both of them AFTER they've split. Jon aged a hundred years and Richie became a shell of himself. Some people are just better together, whether they like it or not. Like two sides of one coin, bringing out the best out in each other....

Okay all. We now have TWO threads going on about Richie. This is exactly what I thought would happen. Let's keep this one to talk about his new album and the other one can be about everything else please.

I was an admin in many groups and used to think order and sticking to one topic was everything but this is not how things work. Let people live and express their feelings and you'll see how much they have to contribute. The more I told them to behave, the less they wanted to contribute. See? You want to come back and read what folks want to say here...

Right but it's not only for the sake of the board but for the discussion. If five people here are talking about something and another five are also talking about the same thing doesn't it just make it easier to have one place to do it? I know when I want to quote something someone said but it was in a different thread completely it's a little difficult. And when people want to learn about the new album and all it is is discussion about whether or not Richie did whatever ...It's confusing.

We want this board easy to read and keep people coming back and no one is telling people....not to express their feelings...? Just why not do it where the most people will see it and talk about it.

I would prefer only one thread about Richie, this: https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/bon-j...ambora-t70391/

hihih

Wrong answer
https://drycounty.com/jovitalk/bon-j...e-tour-t55338/

https://media.giphy.com/media/2MftzjLne1QJi/giphy.gif

but that brings bad memories... lol