[sweetmisery]

The way Ashba was constantly butchering Slash's solos. Or is he doing perfectly fine? And he plays them as it is or adding his own style?

Just curious.

[rokuli]

Lay Your Hands On Me (particularly solo) & Raise Your Hands (at least intro) were SLOPPY at some point...

[Captain_jovi]

From what I understand, his point of entry to how they were played were pro shot videos of the 2011 tour provided by management. I have to imagine he's playing them based on the live version and less on how the studio recordings were, which is a shame. Richie was always more about feel then speed and sometimes I feel like Phil is the opposite.

[jazzsta]

Yeah he has some problems with Hands, does a little better in these Arms.

I would like to hear him on Fingertips as I suppose there he could do well nevertheless.

On a more serious note, his notes are almost never serious when he is impovising, hence a difference in style and dramatization in solos. In other words he cannot imitate well Richie's solos. But I have no problem with that. Let him be PhilX.

[JackieBlue]

I'm not a real guitarist, and the ones here who are will probably have a different take on it; but I think Phil-X does a good job. I don't think anyone is going to play with as much feeling as Richie does, especially on his songs; but I have no complaints as far as Phil's guitar is concerned. (Or Shanks' either, for that matter.)

Vocals and on-stage chemistry are where I think nobody is standing in the gap; but there isn't anything Phil-X can do about that.

[Rdkopper]

My ear is good enough to tell the difference between the KOS and Bon Jovi but when it comes to these one off musicians, I really can't tell... Prior to Phil, I feel they've been on so much cruise control, that Phil actually adds some excitement visually... Sure you can go on YouTube and pull up a bunch of amazing one off performances by Richie but as a whole, the past 10 years have been lacking... I can't even tell that it wasn't Tico during the Rock In Rio show back in '13... I guess if I put it on and really listened, I could tell but I have a mix of Soundboard Songs throughout the '13 tour and I can't tell who is who... The only thing I really miss is Richie's harmonizing... I think Jon and Richie doing Real Love could add so much flavor to that song...

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[Lucky0003]

I miss Richie's harmonizing. "Scars on this Guitar" would sound awesome with his high notes.


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[golittleperson]

Phil has said in several interviews that he was not there to "replace" Richie. Now, that is what it became, and who could blame him for accepting the offer once it was clear that the position was open. I don't think he is "struggling" so much as maybe making such a conscious effort Not to be Richie and that is what comes across. He uses different gear and his personality is different. I like his energy. Now, no one imo will ever harmonize with Jon the way Richie could - and vice versa. I'll always miss that.

[Javier]

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

From what I understand, his point of entry to how they were played were pro shot videos of the 2011 tour provided by management. I have to imagine he's playing them based on the live version and less on how the studio recordings were, which is a shame. Richie was always more about feel then speed and sometimes I feel like Phil is the opposite.

I kind of feel it is the opposite. Phil is playing some of these solos exactly like the studio versions, like Always, Bed of Roses (2013), These Days, LH, WLOL, Dry County and more than a few others. His improvisation at the end of KTF and Always is more about feel than speed. Richie always played them faster. In truth I prefer Richie's style when he's on as it was the perfect balance of speed and feel, but Phil adds some melodic undertones that I feel were missing from Richie's playing with the band, maybe because he stopped giving a shit by the end.

[Thinny]

I enjoy Phil's playing mostly, but for me it just doesn't have the heart and soul that Richie's does. And as a lot have already pointed out, the lack of Richie's vocals leave a big gap in the sound for me also...