[Captain_jovi]

Can anyone piece together how Phil wound up playing on What Do You Got? I know Phil's connection with Howard Benson runs really deep and he's his session player (or was I guess?) of choice. I did a deep dive of Phil's twitter and Jon and Phil didn't talk in between him recording Levon/his involvement with Aldo Nova and 2011 which seems to indicate Jon wasn't involved in Phil's involvement on the BJ song.

Maybe the label asked for some changes and the band couldn't be arsed? I know Jon wasn't fond of it being a single choice.

[Javier]

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

Can anyone piece together how Phil wound up playing on What Do You Got? I know Phil's connection with Howard Benson runs really deep and he's his session player (or was I guess?) of choice. I did a deep dive of Phil's twitter and Jon and Phil didn't talk in between him recording Levon/his involvement with Aldo Nova and 2011 which seems to indicate Jon wasn't involved in Phil's involvement on the BJ song.

Maybe the label asked for some changes and the band couldn't be arsed? I know Jon wasn't fond of it being a single choice.

The only thing I think Phil has said on the matter was at a clinic he did after his sting with Bon Jovi in 2011 he was saying a few things he was in which included "bon Jovi's new song which I'm not sure I'm allowed to say". Then I remember he told the story of saying it to his grandmother because the song was playing on a Greys Anatomy commercial "hey look that's me on guitar!". Which I always just assumed he played all guitars except the solo but that's just always bend my assumption based on not much so I'd love to be wrong on that....

[bonjovi90]

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

Can anyone piece together how Phil wound up playing on What Do You Got? I know Phil's connection with Howard Benson runs really deep and he's his session player (or was I guess?) of choice. I did a deep dive of Phil's twitter and Jon and Phil didn't talk in between him recording Levon/his involvement with Aldo Nova and 2011 which seems to indicate Jon wasn't involved in Phil's involvement on the BJ song.

Maybe the label asked for some changes and the band couldn't be arsed? I know Jon wasn't fond of it being a single choice.

I'm not sure if Jon and Phil had talked inbetween, but as far as Phil's story goes since that recent interview, he had been hired and on hold to fill in for Richie on tour since the start of The Circle I think.
Now, What Do You Got? dropped at the end of August (27th) and usually, the band takes that month off to be with their families. I think that Jon originally wanted This Is Love, This Is Life to be the single (he talked so fondly about This Ain't Love in a Japanese interview for the Circle and how he pulled it to keep it for the GH record) and the record company ultimately had different plans. If we take into consideration that the later-leaked version of WDYG was the initial one, the record company might've asked for a more radio friendly edit and the band was on vacation. So Jon just might've told Benson to get some additional parts done by Phil X since that's his session player of choice and that's the one who had been put on standby for the Jovi tour anyway.
Usually, Jon likes to have control of everything, but on the One Wild Night album, he also just nodded off the single edit that Richie and Obie had created without his involvement.

[Captain_jovi]

Makes sense. I think the idea of him playing ALL the guitar parts is a little much. The solo was lifted from the earlier version, the main riff screams Richie and. There isn't a TON of guitar parts, some appreciated chords in the verses, the rhythm in the chorus/bridge and that slinky lead chorus part. It'd have to be one of those, produced by Howard using Phil with no other band present.

[bonjovi90]

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

Makes sense. I think the idea of him playing ALL the guitar parts is a little much. The solo was lifted from the earlier version, the main riff screams Richie and. There isn't a TON of guitar parts, some appreciated chords in the verses, the rhythm in the chorus/bridge and that slinky lead chorus part. It'd have to be one of those, produced by Howard using Phil with no other band present.

I also think that it was mostly some licks for overdubs here and there. Maybe the intro - the was played by Bobby live and sounded live pretty much like on the record. Don't know if that was laid down by Richie, if Bobby was in the studio or if Phil X just emulated the style Bobby was playing for the record.

[Faceman]

Originally Posted by bonjovi90

Maybe the intro - the was played by Bobby live and sounded live pretty much like on the record. Don't know if that was laid down by Richie, if Bobby was in the studio or if Phil X just emulated the style Bobby was playing for the record.

The intro is an easy chord progression every amateur is able to play. So there's no need to "emulate the style"

[bonjovi90]

Originally Posted by Faceman

The intro is an easy chord progression every amateur is able to play. So there's no need to "emulate the style"

Let me rephrase it: Maybe Phil X broke it down to a progression even Bobby could replicate

[angelsambo]

https://twitter.com/UndercoverIndi/s...33832342978560

[Captain_jovi]

Hundred percent it's Richie playing the intro. Bobby, in my opinion, was never able to play it exactly like it and there's a photo of Jon and Richie in the studio in that time frame and Richie is playing a guitar with a capo on the 7th or 8th fret (I cant remember) which is pretty much where it should be for that intro. Plus it's way too bluesy for Phil's style of playing.

[Alphavictim]

The intro riff was written by Richie for all I can tell, yeah. It'd make little sense to replay that, so I'd assume that Phil mostly contributed licks, fills and maybe additional fattening in the chorus (different voicings maybe?).