Richie's gone soft
 

Recently (watching YouTube videos) it seems that dear Mr. Sambora has gone soft musicly and physicly. He still nails the solos somewhat ok, however, I reckon they lack certain "edge" that used to make them brilliant say mid-90's. Overall appearance of how he performs during the songs has gone way down, for example compared to how other guys perform. Richie imitating Hugh's style (physically) now?

And for fu'ks sake the belly - what he wishes to become? Big lovely teddy bear?

So what's wrong with this guy? Becoming a blues artist after divorce or what? Afraid to throw himself into it like he used to? Cause that, to big extend, is what made Richie such a good guitarist originally.

This is going to sound weird but....I've been thinking of making a thread like this for a while. Not so much about Richie's looks, more about his playing style. It seems so watered down. The repeated licks, you can almost guess which note he'll play next. Maybe that's from watching so many vidoes but it just seems like his playing lacks the fire it used to have. Not saying it's good, not saying it's bad, just obvserving.

I suppose you never saw him play I'll Be There For You with the extra solo's, or Dry County with the different solo? If you mean more like the newer songs, well I think Jon probably wrote some of the solo's, I know he did for a couple of songs on Bounce. I don't know much about guitars, I don't know what is technically good playing but the show I was at Richie was awesome. He had a broken shoulder and a lot of personal stuff to go through this year but he went out night after night and played. I don't really listen to a wide range of bands so don't know how other guitarists are, but I think Richie seems to put a lot into his playing than just hitting notes, really feeling it, especially in I'll Be There For You.

As for attacking his weight, he can hardly be considered fat. So he has a bit of a belly, not everyone in the world, especially at his age, has a 'perfect' body, and I'd imagine a broken shoulder and other things to be doing, not to mention touring, makes it difficult to get as much exercise.

Sambora is a rock star, not some average middle aged guy from your local, remember? And speaking of the playing style, different solo in DC or well played I'll be there for you don't make a difference when the rest of the songs seem to be lacking the edge...

Perhaps he needs to go solo for a while to get back on track?

So he has to look a certain way to be able to play guitar? :rolleyes: That is one of the many flaws generated from this stupid celebrity culture we have. If a star isn't borderline anorexic they are considered fat, pathetic.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course. If you saw the band this year and thought Richie wasn't up to his usual standard that's your opinion. My opinion, one shared I bet by many people, is that he did exceptionally well for a guy with a broken shoulder and a very public divorce happening whilst on tour. Any other 'rock star' would probably have gone on a drink and drug spree and ended up cancelling gigs and such but he carried on. I only saw one show myself and as I said I thought he was awesome. I have no basis for comparison having not seen them on any other tour, but I had a fantastic time that night and I did find myself watching Richie as much as, maybe more than the other guys, and thought he was awesome. My opinion though, I'm sure many others will share theirs here.

I'm not talking about this tour only. If you watch some of his performances from solo tours & TD tour to 200x something gig's there's quite dramatic difference.

Did you check this by the way, found it awesome cover:

Bon Jovi - It's My Life~We Gotta Get Out Of This Place Live

From "An Evening with Bon Jovi" video... Great show this one, their best live video by far. You can see and hear them so happy to be back together, and the electricity in the air with make or break KTF album about to be released.

Wasn't it cool when they had a live bassist too? Imagine the Hugh'bot in there instead of Alec, the circle would be broken... maybe not in the sheer quality of bass playing, but in terms of live presence, emotion, trippin with the other four etc... The more I see old videos the more I miss him in this band, and the more I believe him leaving/being fired had a bigger influence on what followed than one would think.

Richie has gone soft imo too, like the rest of the band and their music really. He hasn't had a challenging new song to play live since what... Next Hundred Years solo maybe? Perhaps Last Man Standing this time... That's two songs in 5 years... I mean he can't do much if there isn't much to do...


Ponrauil

1. he always was a blues artist, his roots are blues music
2. If you had a broken shoulder you for sure wouldn't move very much either, probably even wouldn't hold a guitar.

Älä ny Heppinen hurjaks ryhdy ettet kaiken vihan kohteeks joudu... Vaikka olenkin melkein täysin samaa mielt sun kaa...

First time I hear that - source?