Richie's return would have some impact but not enough to make that much of a difference... He doesn't have that Slash appeal.

Jon carries the name Bon Jovi, Jon is the image, and Jon is the star. There are a ton of fans who complain and wish Richie was back in the band but they are still however going to the shows... They are there to see Jon... and Phil has really warmed up to most people so it's "good enough". Most fans are still attending because it is "good enough" and there are other fans who are no longer attending because they will not settle for "good enough". I respect both opinions... I have a feeling if you polled the people who are no longer attending, it's not just solely about Richie. There are other factors driving that decision as well... Voice, Performance, New Catalog, Etc.

I'm going to a bunch of shows this tour. Why? Because it's still a good time & still a very good show on its own. If Jon was doing a solo tour, I'd still go. I'm not buying 300 dollar pit seat anymore. I just got regular affordable seats.

I have been following this band for over 30 years. This is the year they are going into the RnR Hall Of Fame. I'm okay with it not being the same as it was 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago. Jon's old and I'm getting older. That's life...

I went to a bunch of shows this last tour and it's not nearly as bad being there in person. I've seen significant improvement in SA and Jon is talking about opening his catalog even more. That first leg they performed together was their first time touring together as a band and they did a fantastic job. Based on what I've seen in SA, they are getting even better so I'll remain optimistic.

Bon Jovi were once an elite band who were in their own league. I will never experience that ever again in any band. Bon Jovi are still a very good band and still a contender in comparison to others. The band itself still sounds incredible being there live. Jon still has that front-man appeal. I love the catalog, I love live music, and I love going to concerts. It's a fun night out and worth the 50 bucks. It's entertainment and not that serious.

Maybe in the US.

The ROCK fan (not the POP fan) is still the bands main audience here in the UK. The average rock fan here cares about who is playing guitar, or drums, etc. I know it's not like that in the US, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's much more Star orientated it seems. The live rock scene over here is thriving and is completely different to what you guys in the US experience, for what I gather. There is no rock scene there, apart from the nostalgia market. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just going on what I've read.


Again, most people over here have absolutely no idea who Phil X or or who is playing guitars currently, because the band have hardly done anything over here. You are still looking it it from the point of view of the big Bon Jovi fan that still follows there every move, but there isn't many of those left here these days.


I'm not suggesting that all the people not going to see them over here, if we were offered the chance that is, are all about Richie, there are of course other factors, but again, most people that are not hard core Bon Jovi fans have no idea what the state of Jon's voice is. This makes no bearing on them buying tickets or not. They don't look up the band's current performances up on YouTube like we do. They don't care about the new material either. They've not heard it. I highly doubt that anyone that brought This House wasn't already a Bon Jovi fan...that might have changed if the band could have been bothered to promote it over here, but they didn't so....

This “twisting the narrative to make it more meaningful” sometimes feels like an effort to justify liking something everybody else says it's shit or even you feel it's not as good as you wished. So what. Like whatever you want, whether you realize its flaws or not, you are allowed to like it without the need to justify yourself. I'm not telling people what they should feel or think, but the pattern of “every song is about Richie" is very amusing. To me WWWU is just a thinly veiled effort to play nice. Appeal to nostalgia without being too overt about it. A nice song they can play at the HOF ceremony with the old and new band.

The thing that I really don't understand is the wanting Richie back. Why, really? I get the why, but his personal/professional project is not going as well as fans and Richie hoped. That's what he wanted to do, and his fans really want Richie to drop it and come begging with his tail between the legs? Sorry, it doesn't make any sense.

Besides, Richie's has made abundantly clear that he's super duper happy now, the happiest he's ever been. Whether this comes from a place of spite because he wasn't allowed back or it's a real feeling (probably both), that doesn't sound like someone you'd want playing in your favorite band. Those reunions where the ex-members have been bitching and bickering for years cheapen the thing for me. Why would anyone want this? It's much better to reunite for a one-off show every now and then. At least it's makes it easier to believe they all want to be there for that special occasion

I don't think that's what "his" fans want at all. I would rather her carried on with RSO, than rejoin the band he doesn't really have the passion for anymore. I think that some of the Bon Jovi fans that are currently disillusioned with the band want to see him back. But Richie's returning is not miraculously going to return the band to their former glories, like some seem to think, as far as the performances go...

That's what you want... you are the minority here...

I played I Got You Babe at work and I asked people what they thought...Real response 'What the hell is this?".... Me 'Richie Sambora and his Girlfriend'... Response 'he needs to go back to Bon Jovi'

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I never stated that it was anything other than what I wanted.

You clearly played them that song in order to get the response you wanted. I Got You Babe is by far the worst thing that they have done, and I've been staying that since I first heard it. It's the worst thing you could have used to introduce anyone to their music. If you'd have played them a different song you would have got a different response. But that wasn't your goal. For example, the response to Forever All The Way has been overwhelmingly positive, even from people here who are notoriously the hardest to please...

Like someone else said, why would you want Richie to go back to Bon Jovi and be in a situation that makes him unhappy. It makes no sense and nothing good is going to come from it, just more lacklustre shows and albums...as a fan of the band and of Richie's music it makes no sense for either...

So what???? I dont understand what the problem is with having an opinion that goes against what the majority thinks. So someone is in the minority. And...?

Richie might not be unhappy with Bon Jovi though... I think whatever decision made Richie leave, wasn't a clear one...

Someone with a clear head just doesn't walk off a tour because they miss their daughter... There was 8 months left and a lot of time off inbetween... He could have easily finished that tour. That was a walk in the park...

I think Richie has a much bigger Drug / Alcohol problem then most people think... I think he hides it very well from the public and because he's not a Slash or Nikki Sixx, the public buys into his Bon Jovi type image...

He goes into these Hollywood Country Club Rehab Centers for a month, gets cleaned up, walks the treadmill, loses 10 pounds and everyone thinks he's all better now...

No! He left Bon Jovi because of his inner demons, thought he was replaceable and could comeback at anytime, and Jon said **** You!!!

Everyone thinks Richie has the upper hand because he dumped Bon Jovi but that's not the case at all...

It's not just a Jon and Richie thing either... He hasn't equally spoken to Tico or Dave too... It's Jon's band and he's the higher profile so I get why people come up with these conspiracy theories between Jon and Richie like music direction or whatever.... But Richie walked out on all three guys and haven't spoken to any of them so if Richie wasn't happy with the musical direction for example, you walk out on Jon and explain that to Tico and Dave... or Richie would have said that himself... 'Hey, I left because I wasn't happy with the musical direction and wanted to do my own thing for a while'... I would actually accept and respect that but Richie never stated that...

Richie meeting Orianthi wasn't part of the plan... Remember that... Richie is trying to turn back time and it's just not working... Not at 58 years old....

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Nothing wrong with that but your missing the rest of the content... He was speaking on behalf of the fans as the majority thats why I called him out being the minority... Come on Jackie, keep up...

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No I wasn't. I said "I" not "We".

I did say that I don't think "his" fans necessarily want him to go running back to Bon Jovi, but the important word there is "think".

Seems that you are the one that needs to keep up...

Turn back time!? Um...ok....

You're bringing up the same old shit again RD, in the hope that Richie is going to go running back to the band. He isn't.

There is no doubt that Richie was disillusioned with the band. Just read the lyrics to Take Me, which he has admitted is about exactly that. But you continue to choose to believe only everything that Jon says, so I guess you will just continue to ignore that...

I disagree with pretty much all of what you said, but I'm not going into it for the millionth time. Nothing I say will change your mind anyway, you are clearly going to believe what you want to believe, as am i...

No!!! You said 'That not what his fans want'... and then continued with what you want... Again, if you read the entire content, you are speaking for the fans based on what YOU want...



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He definitely will... and I'm not just going by what Jon said... Richie has done interviews too...

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Time will tell...if he does it won't be anytime soon...

Again, I said "I" not "we"....sigh....I don't actually see myself as anywhere close to a Richie only fan. I see myself as a Bon Jovi fan over everything.

I do not think Richie is pushing back the time, I think he's just Richie Sambora, and he does what he wants, sometimes it's not always a good idea. Before leaving the band, he always talked about how he loves collaborating with other musicians. In 2013, when he was no longer with the band, he visited Lady Gaga and even liked being able to be part of a project together in a hipotetic future. I think that RSO is the fruit of desire, and not of something that appeared to pass the time while waiting for Jon's call. As you say, he is 58 years old, if he wants to do something outside Bon Jovi, now is a good time.

For you, no matter what Richie says, you will continue to condemn him because he left the tour in the worst way, so there will never be a plausible justification for you and many other fans who do not know how to forgive. Life can be a path with a time limit, being judged by an unpopular decision or an error that you made should not undo all the positive things you did or are about to come.

It is sad but true, many fans will never forgive, it is sad that these fans do not see that behind that figure, there is a human person who makes correct and incorrect decisions throughout his life.

For me, Richie does not have to ask for forgiveness, I've seen enough interviews where he feels his absence, I do not care if it was his daughter, alcohol, drugs or a fight with Jon..... For me, Sambora will remain one highlights and most important in this band , even with his absence.

Now well,
If you want to know my point of view why Richie did not come back with the band for THINFS I have a crazy theory.

We all know that in 2013, a few months after Richie left, Jon did some press conferences in Europe insinuating things about Richie, and one of them was that "this is not the time to be angry and be professional to continue touring". It seemed that Jon was sending a message to Richie to stop playing games and come back because they were waiting for him in Europe. I also remember that Obie did not know when I was going to return, that maybe it could be the next show or later. But after Slane the thing changed, Richie said he wanted to go back to Hyde Park but nothing happened, then he said he was struggling to get back in the NJ shows and it did not happen either. And later he said that maybe it would happen at the South American shows but it did not happen either. I think Jon got rid of Richie when he spoiled that Slane show, maybe Jon wanted to immortalize him for a possible release and without Richie it did not make sense. That is one of my crazy theories.

From there, I think Jon wanted to punish Richie by not letting him return to the tour (as a lesson), but despite that, I think there was a plan for Richie's return on the next album-Tour.

In 2014, Phil was asked if in the next album-tour he would continue with Bon Jovi, and he said that everything depended on Richie, that he had to make that decision. Other members of the band commented something similar, implying that the ball was on the roof of Richie. And after months of not knowing anything, in 2015 launch Burning Bridges and Richie will no longer be part of the next cycle.

I think this is because Richie met Orianthi at the beginning of 2014, they strengthened a relationship, and they planned their future by doing this duet project. Months passed and when Jon wanted to go back to the writing process of a new album, Richie had to decide to be with the band or do the project with Orianthi, and I think his decision at that time was correct, since it would be strange abandon that collaboration to return to the same point where the problems began, a new album + tour cycle with Bon Jovi. It is from there, when Jon and Richie seem to soften, and despite following different paths, no bad blood.

I think the door may remain open in the future, but not for now. Maybe in about 2 or 3 years it will happen. A possible return of Richie with the band would be 2023, just 10 years later, it would be an expected, desired and timely return, imagine a new album + tourning 2023-24 (40th anniversary of the band).

No, it wouldn't return the band to their glory days any more that it would Richie. But I think they'd be happier together than they are apart. I personally don't think any of them are happy with the way things are and, tbh, I can't see how anyone else believes it either, unless they just take what Richie or Jon says at face value, and totally ignore everything else like body language, expressions, actions, and the other things they say, all of which belie the press patter.

Richie says he's ecstatic; and his and Ori's chemistry is off the charts. Bullshit! His eyes haven't smiled in 5 years. And the 'chemistry' is nonexistent onstage and, from what I've seen, off-stage as well. It's a front, imo; or he's whistling in the dark. Did anybody pay any attention to the lyrics in "Together on the Outside"? Even if you don't listen to the whole song, which spells it out quite plainly, the hook alone tells the story. ("All you want with me, all you want with me is 'together on the outside'.")

For two years, Jon has said, "we've got a lot to say and nothing to prove" and iirc, he even repeated it at the beginning of his speech in Sao Paulo. But, then, how did he end that speech? "So for everyone who thought we were done, **** THEM ALL, because we're still here!" Nothing to prove? Right. People puzzled over how Jon could sound so good in those last two shows when he had sounded so bad in all the others. Well, as far as I'm concerned, there's your answer, right there. It was the adrenaline push that comes when the finish line is in sight. He had recorded an album without Richie and it didn't bomb. He had made it through an entire tour without Richie, when he knew some people thought it wouldn't happen. And more than that, I don't think JON was entirely sure it could happen. Not until that night. It was all over his face after he finished the last song and turned back to face the band. For one short moment, he was literally glowing. His relief and exhultation was damn near palpable. But it didn't last much longer than that.

They may be doing okay, but I think if they were to get back together for the right reasons they would still be better (and happier) together than they are apart. By 'the right reasons', I mean because they want to - not for the money, not for the fans, not because it's not working as well for either side separately, but because they want to. Because they miss the magic of making music together and playing to each other's strengths, and seem have a lot more fun doing it together than they do as separate entities. There's a lot to be said for synergy and real "chemistry." Aristotle was right: The whole IS greater than the sum of its parts.

(And RDK, please note that this is my personal opinion and I don't give a flip whether anyone else agrees or not, including your coworkers!) :p

I get that Jackie, but I honestly don't think Richie will be happy in the band while he is still being treated like a hired hand. I believe that he felt pushed out by Jon and Shanks' newfound partnership. And I think he felt like he was more important to the band than he was being given credit for. If he went back, I think it would be back to how it was before he left, which yeah, it would be better than things are now for the band, but I don't think it would for Richie. Richie is somewhat of a control freak, and Jon is a major one, and I believe that Richie felt his control slipping away and therefore, began to lose interest in the band's new material. Unless Jon decided to let Richie back in in the level on that he used to be in the late 80's to early 2000's, which I can't see happening, then it would be doomed to fail. With RSO the control is pretty much his, and he can live or die by his own sword...yes, it's a partnership, but I can't see Ori challenging Richie's decisions that much. I do think Richie enjoy's that freedom...

I'm keeping up just fine, tyvm. ;)

First, he wasn't speaking of fans, in general. He clearly said "his" (Richie's) fans.

And then he said "I"(indicating a personal preference) whereas in his previous post about the fans here being hardcore fans, he said "we" (including himself in that group).

Even if Thinny was implying that his preference reflected those of the majority of Richie's fans (as opposed to the majority of fans here), he wouldn't be far wrong, just much less extreme. I avoid both Richie-fan and Jon-fan sites, but from comments and screenshots my friends who are on those sites send me, the vast majority of hardcore Richie fans don't want him to return to BJ - with his tail between his legs or otherwise! In fact, many of them would prefer that he stay as far away from Jon & Company as possible, because they think he was under-valued, unappreciated, and held back by Jon; and that he's doing much better his own. They also think he's madly in love with Ori, and that RSO is the greatest thing since sliced bread (a slight exaggeration, but not by much)!

By the same token, in the same post, you said that some of your coworkers thought Richie should return to BJ, implying that just because that was their opinion, that was what the majority believed.

Pot-Kettle-Black, my friend.

What's always made me wonder is how Richie was all over The Circle, co-writing every single song and you can hear his playing/writing style throughout yet they needed a studio guitar player for What Do Ya Got. I don't know if I believe his hold on the band was slipping if he's that much of a presence on an album, and then not be used for a band track a year or so later, you know?

And The Circle was only one album before What About Now which didn't have much Richie at all so I see that viewpoint from 2011 forward but he was a big big big part of the 2005 - 2010 albums.

I know that people always say that The Circle is a Richie album, but I don't hear it! I know he co-wrote every track, but none of them really sound like Richie tracks to me. More like Jon tracks that Richie contributed to somehow. I might be completely wrong, but you know, if it was that much of a Richie album then you'd think he would play at least something from that at his solo or RSO shows. While he's played stuff from Crush, Bounce and Have A Nice Day, he's never touched any material after that....

Lost Highway is the last record that I could actually hear Richie's influence on...

What Do You Got demo is Richie, but What Do you Got final version from GH have some guitar arrangements added by Phil.

When these songs were re-recorded, the band worked for two weeks, and then they went on vacation, so Jon kept working with Shanks in the mixs, Jon want change the sound of guitars or add something more, and since Richie was not available, they finally chose to call a session guitarist to add some parts. That guitarist was Phil.

The absence of Richie and the impatience of Jon was the cause in that recording.

The original solo is extended.

As Richie played on live.

I think his reliability had been in question for years. Remember the intervention they did after a performance that was to be aired to promote Lost Highway? Also, remember that Phil was on retainer to show up at a moment’s notice before The Circle tour even started. It appears that the band was hoping for the best and preparing for the worst for quite a while.

But don’t lose perspective. Richie leaving the band is not really the worst that could happen. Someone dying would be much worse. And I don’t limit that someone to Richie. Tico had two emergency surgeries that tour. Jon had surgery that tour. Anesthesia can kill anyone. No guarantees, no matter how simple a procedure is for the doctor.

See here's the problem.....you're talking with a lot of authority to make Jon the root of the problem when Shanks didn't produce the song, Howard Benson did. So are you going on theory or are you basing on this an interview or something?

Sorry, I should have clarified. That the band would operate as a band, like they seemed to function in the beginning - the 5-fingered fist Jon talked about in the box set DVD - is a given. To me, that is an understood part of "the magic of making music together and playing to each other's strengths."

I remember somewhere Jon was quoted as saying that Richie wanted to go back to the 80s and that wasn't going to happen. Some assumed that he meant that Richie wanted them to write songs like Bad Medicine again and Jon wasn't going to do that. I could be wrong, but I thought what going "back to the 80s" meant to Richie was more about how they functioned as a songwriting team and as a band. All that stuff that Jon realized after Richie left about writing together and recording with everybody together in the studio, more band input, all that.

I would love to find that interview. It was part of an interview Bon Jovi files claim they had from unused interview footage that they claimed they had access to but then they claimed they had Mona Lisa and would auction it off so I don't know how legit it is. I think some board member said they were getting it sent to them. Hmm I need to go looking.

That's it! I couldn't remember where it came from, just the quote. Was it bonjovi90? For some reason, now that you've mentioned it, his name comes to mind.

No, I'm with you on this one. I've heard several rumours that Jon and Richie had artistical differences throughout The Circle era since the direction Jon chose sound wise wasn't what Richie had envisioned (he wanted to get back to a more rocking overall sound like they had in the 80's).
It might've very well been that Richie just didn't care too much about What About Now or didn't show up the day of recording and Phil X just stepped in.

Chances are those “rumors” were just fan speculation that traveled, much like the fan page publicized track list for Burning Bridges that went around the world but started right here on Dry County by fans listing known tracks that were unreleased.

Lets say all that was true. Why cut off Dave and Tico too? Why not just Jon? Look, bands disagree all the time like a marriage but that's not a reason to walk off... It's much deeper as Jon most recently insinuated on Howard...

Spot on that man!

Wasn't WDYG? a leftover from the Circle sessions anyway? Maybe they just overdubbed some additional leads and the rest of the band wasn't even in the studio again for that one. Then again, different producer - not sure if the band (or label) owned the master tapes and could just readily switch them between studios and producers.

WAN didn't have much Richie on it because he was doing Aftermath right around that time and probably didn't have too many ideas to present to the band at that point, so I don't see that as an indication of him becoming less of a presence either.

I seriously doubt that. None of the stuff Richie did on his own, safe for Rosie and Father Time, ever sounded like BJ's 80s phase either.

Gotta agree that The Circle doesn't sound overtly Richie, though. Bullet sounds like Bounce-era Richie, but the bluesy fills stuff, which he did on, say, You Had Me From Hello, the last solo original he released, IBTFY, all these tracks, that's nowhere to be found, just some arpeggiated stuff.

I mean it could have been the case of them giving it to a producer to do but why Howard Benson, a pretty in demand producer, and not just a random producer. Why such a detachment that the band wasn't involved while the label demanded overdubs be needed. Something just doesn't feel right about that. Richie didn't play on Wildflower off HAND and it's tough for that to be because of Shanks because he didn't produce that one either. Dynamic shift or not, Richie's involvement started changing earlier on and I don't know if I can put that on Shanks.

Well his major breakdown with the AA stint and all was during the LH tour, wasn't it? The accoustic IML performance with the All American Rejects doing additional instrumentation and Richie being all drunk was around that time unless I'm mistaken. So around HAND does sound about right for initial seeds of problems. I know his father died and his marriage ended on the HAND tour, but that might have just worsened it. We don't know his drinking habits from before.

The AA stint and breakdown would have been the promo of LH. If I recall he got out of rehab the day before the Lost Highway video shoot so we're looking at summer of 2007. The 4 newer tracks for HAND would have been recorded between November of 2004 and September of 2005.

Anyway, I don't know. If him not playing on a track was for drinking problems or not, just making the point that him not being on band tracks started around that time frame if we're not including Jon solo tracks being b-sides/box set songs. (For all we know. There could be tracks here and there that we just don't realize it's not him prior, I just don't think so).

And me, I cant believe I havent heard it yet :)

That really started during the Crush era, or even the Destination Anywhere era - Crush had repurposed JBJ solo tracks, and Drive was a band track repurposed for JBJ solo.

That's what I meant by Jon solo tracks re-purposed as Crush B-sides and box set songs. After that it was conceivably Richie on every album song with a guitar going forward until HAND, and the biggest consensus is that Jon and Shanks were together at the hip but that theory doesn't hold water on songs Shanks didn't produce. The wedge driven couldn't have taken effect that early on enough to make Richie say "I'm not showing up to these recording sessions" hence my confusion.

I’ve only listened to the leaked track once, when it aired during the interview with Howard Stern.