It maybe, but at least it's a bit of a shakeup in the Jovi landscape.

Yes, there's no Bon Jovi without Richie, but I'd be interested what they come up with without him. It may be shit. It may be better than WAN. Who knows. Plenty of bands release albums with different members. Richie may come back eventually and they go from there. It's a bit more intriguing than the same old.

Richie is GONE. Richie's decision to leave doesn't get to dictate whether Jon, David, and Tico (and Hugh) continue to work together if that's what they want to do.

That is understandable. But I still think that go forward without Richie is a bad idea.

But as Becky said, If Jon, David, Tico & Hugh want to record a record and tour why shouldn't they? It wouldn't be fair to have their efforts under the "Jon Bon Jovi" banner, so it should be a Bon Jovi release.

And I repeat that is logic and respectable what says Becky. But I, as big fan of this band, without Sambora, it does not feel good, and I have every right to say it.

i guess i finally come to the point that I really don't care about him anymore
i was only hoping for a new producer

No Richie, no Bon Jovi. Of course the rest of the band is free to relase the album under that label anyway, but that doesn't change the fact that it will be missing a vital band member and songwriter - at least to me. And trying to replicate that signature sound (rather than doing something new on a solo album) will probably feel second rate to me.

+1. You can't spend 30 years marketing a band by putting its 2 frontmen and songwriters under the spotlight and then go on without one of them as if nothing had happened and no one was missing. It kills the whole brotherhood image and propaganda.

And please remember that when Richie didn't show up in Calgary he didn't mean to leave the band for good, he just needed a break and wanted to go back a few months later. But apparently Jon wouldn't let him and the rest is history.
Please remember that Matt Bongiovi, "the man in the know", first tweeted that yes, Richie would come back, then he tweeted he'd be back in the Summer or Fall, then Matt deleted his Tweeter account.

True. So is the implication, then, that people shouldn't still have the right to think it's not a good idea for them to do so? We are still allowed to think it's not Bon Jovi without Richie Sambora, right? Even if the others choose to continue to work together under the same name?

Just checking because, otherwise, I may be in a world of trouble! :)

(Just ragging on you, Becky! I was afraid Sebbie might be going through "entertainment" withdrawal! :D)

But things that are "apparently" can't be used as a source of info. I'm not nagging or being a stickler but we don't know that, and since we don't I don't think it's right to use that in his instance.

For what it's worth I don't feel right about this being a Bon Jovi album. He contributed way too much, for better or worse, to the albums and I get wanting to keep it going because the rest of the band does but their role in the albums is so minimal these days. I'm not naive enough to think Dave will be co-writing six songs on this album.