Richie Sambora

[scarygirl]

I don't know if this has been discussed here or not, or if anyone here cares. I am personally sad to see Richie leave Bon Jovi. I grew up with Bon Jovi. A lot of the newbies, aka, younger fans, don't know what they are missing. A lot of them seem to think it is no big deal, that Hugh McDonald is just as good. I am sure he is a nice guy and all, BUT no! I have seen Bon Jovi with and without Richie, and it is not the same. Richie is the soul of Bon Jovi, and this is coming from a girl who thought Jon could do no wrong back in the day. I know Jon started the band and all, but I think it would have been BON JOVI WHO at this juncture without Richie Sambora. Just my two cents.

[Marabelle]

Keep the dream alive Scary!

[scarygirl]

Keep the dream alive Scary!

Go visit the STEVE PERRY "Just visiting" thread. I elaborated a bit on the MCDONALDS AND POWDERED donuts coma.

[slucero]

There is only one member of Bon Jovi.. Jon Bon Jovi.

All the other band members are hired employees... its always been that way. Jon has all the power.

[Hollywood]

I don't know if this has been discussed here or not, or if anyone here cares. I am personally sad to see Richie leave Bon Jovi. I grew up with Bon Jovi. A lot of the newbies, aka, younger fans, don't know what they are missing. A lot of them seem to think it is no big deal, that Hugh McDonald is just as good. I am sure he is a nice guy and all, BUT no! I have seen Bon Jovi with and without Richie, and it is not the same. Richie is the soul of Bon Jovi, and this is coming from a girl who thought Jon could do no wrong back in the day. I know Jon started the band and all, but I think it would have been BON JOVI WHO at this juncture without Richie Sambora. Just my two cents.

I respect the band, but never was a fan. Saw them on the Keeping the Faith tour. Can't say about without Richie as I have never seen that, but he seems important.

Hugh McDonald on bass is just as good as Alec as he played the parts on all the records. I think it is a shame that he is not considered a member. He's played on all the records. I understand that Jon is the only true member and the other guys are hired hands, but he should be treated as an equal to the others. Again this is more proof that it is about money for Jon.

[scarygirl]

I don't know if this has been discussed here or not, or if anyone here cares. I am personally sad to see Richie leave Bon Jovi. I grew up with Bon Jovi. A lot of the newbies, aka, younger fans, don't know what they are missing. A lot of them seem to think it is no big deal, that Hugh McDonald is just as good. I am sure he is a nice guy and all, BUT no! I have seen Bon Jovi with and without Richie, and it is not the same. Richie is the soul of Bon Jovi, and this is coming from a girl who thought Jon could do no wrong back in the day. I know Jon started the band and all, but I think it would have been BON JOVI WHO at this juncture without Richie Sambora. Just my two cents.

I respect the band, but never was a fan. Saw them on the Keeping the Faith tour. Can't say about without Richie as I have never seen that, but he seems important.

Hugh McDonald on bass is just as good as Alec as he played the parts on all the records. I think it is a shame that he is not considered a member. He's played on all the records. I understand that Jon is the only true member and the other guys are hired hands, but he should be treated as an equal to the others. Again this is more proof that it is about money for Jon.

I know that Hugh played on all the records. And I have no beef with him being part of the band. I also know that songs like Runaway were recorded with a different set of musicians.

Back in the 80's and early 90's, I and I imagine a lot of other fans had no idea that the group outside of Jon was considered to be hired hands.. As I recall, in interviews, appearances, etc, the emphasis seemed to be more on the band as a whole and individual members. I think it was only later when Jon incorporated everything that it became much clearer who held all the cards. It seems like in the last ten years or that the band has been referred to as Jon Bon Jovi in appearances vs Bon Jovi, the band. The band bears his name sake, so you might be saying, what's the difference? The difference is in the deterioration of respect for the individual players that make up the band.

Obviously it is about money to him, the brotherhood thing was nothing more than a sham. How sad.

[mikemarrs]

Don't forget that back in the late 80's that Jon Bon Jovi basically owned Skid Row and Cinderella's publishing after helping both of those bands behind the scenes.I could be wrong but i'm pretty sure i'm right.Also i think the guys in Skid Row got very angry once they started selling millions of albums and realizing Jon Bon Jovi had a huge slice of the money.If i'm correct Jon Bon Jovi and Sebastian Bach had a fight somewhere in the northeast on one of those early Skid Row tours.

[scarygirl]

Don't forget that back in the late 80's that Jon Bon Jovi basically owned Skid Row and Cinderella's publishing after helping both of those bands behind the scenes.I could be wrong but i'm pretty sure i'm right.Also i think the guys in Skid Row got very angry once they started selling millions of albums and realizing Jon Bon Jovi had a huge slice of the money.If i'm correct Jon Bon Jovi and Sebastian Bach had a fight somewhere in the northeast on one of those early Skid Row tours.

I remember that. I saw Skid Row open for Bon Jovi when they were promoting their debut album.. That band cleaned the floor!!! My mother took me to that show. Let's just say she couldn't stand Sebastian's potty mouth.

I LOVE Sebastian's voice.....

[portland]

Don't forget that back in the late 80's that Jon Bon Jovi basically owned Skid Row and Cinderella's publishing after helping both of those bands behind the scenes.I could be wrong but i'm pretty sure i'm right.Also i think the guys in Skid Row got very angry once they started selling millions of albums and realizing Jon Bon Jovi had a huge slice of the money.If i'm correct Jon Bon Jovi and Sebastian Bach had a fight somewhere in the northeast on one of those early Skid Row tours.

I remember that. I saw Skid Row open for Bon Jovi when they were promoting their debut album.. That band cleaned the floor!!! My mother took me to that show. Let's just say she couldn't stand Sebastian's potty mouth.

I LOVE Sebastian's voice.....

Me too!

[maverick218]

Never been a big Bon Jovi fan, but I do like a lot of their songs. I saw them a few years ago and was shocked that they used so many extra musicians on stage- I was really disappointed for some reason about that. IMO, Jon is not a great singer (his voice is suited better for country, maybe that's why he's been shifting in that direction), Ritchie was the best singer in the band and was the one who sang high harmony. That being said, I think it is a HUGE mistake that Ritchie is no longer in the band.

[Starrider]

Never been a big Bon Jovi fan, but I do like a lot of their songs. I saw them a few years ago and was shocked that they used so many extra musicians on stage- I was really disappointed for some reason about that. IMO, Jon is not a great singer (his voice is suited better for country, maybe that's why he's been shifting in that direction), Ritchie was the best singer in the band and was the one who sang high harmony. That being said, I think it is a HUGE mistake that Ritchie is no longer in the band.

I've never seen Bon Jovi live, but I think I would rather see the extra live musicians on stage than find out they had them hiding underneath the stage or behind the stage, or even worse, that they used tapes for the extra guitar parts, backing vocals, etc.

I agree that Richie is a better singer than JBJ. Check out his live versions of I'll Be There For You where he sings the lead vocals and David Bryan covers Richie's vocal parts. JBJ's voice is nowhere near what it was. Having Bobby Bandiera there on stage playing rhythm guitar also gives another voice for background vocals.

I am familiar with Phil X from his time in Triumph (he "replaced" Rik Emmett after Rik left the band). He's a great guitarist and a pretty good vocalist, too. I'm not a dyed in the wool Bon Jovi fan, but I understand what a sacrilege having Phil X there instead of Richie can be to a true fan. People will still buy tickets to see Bon Jovi without Richie and JBJ knows that. I'd rather see Richie though.

[Michigan Girl]

I'm a huge Bon Jovi fan, unfortunately, my last BJ experience was without Sambora, HUGE void. His tone/feel/input was greatly missed. There were no opening acts, therefore, the band played for 3 hrs. 15 min. Jon is a great frontman and he cared that his fans got their $$$ worth.
I hate this news, but I will continue to support as long as I can. Prices?? I just read FU's post in the Journey forum about the newfangled price of a Journey VIP ticket, I paid less than that for 2nd row, all the "stuff" including visiting the stage (no it was not empty) at the last BJ show I attended with Sambora, and the original lead singer ...no comparison. RE: Jon's voice ...well, hell, people just have to make up their minds, do they want the original lead singer or not? Are you happy he's still out there doing his thing or no? He's not the same Jon that he was in '83, but he's no Eddie Money either ...he still does a fantastic job. To each his own. Though, will never be the same, to me, without Richie Rich.

[RPM]

"my last BJ experience was without Sambora, HUGE void."

mine was too, it was still good... but seriously not the same band without him.
kinda like V.H. without M Anthony.

[Starrider]

"my last BJ experience was without Sambora, HUGE void."

mine was too, it was still good...

I had a friend who used to say, "Think about the worst BJ you ever had. Wasn't it great?"

[FamilyMan]

I never thought Richie was a great guitarist... and there's not one guitar solo on any Bon Jovi tune I'd highlight as virtuoso work, BUT... the guy is a master songwriter. All those hits; Jon wrote with Richie. Without him, there is no 3 decade-long run. I was at the Songwriter's Hall of Fame when Jon and Richie were inducted. Jon said that Richie's writing was the key ingredient. It's a shame what's happening. I hope they can work it out, for the sake of their own legacy.

[Michigan Girl]

It depends on how you look at it, FM. Virtuoso? Perhaps not, but BJ didn't require a virtuoso to become what they are today. Richie played exactly what a song required and he does so with such passion and emotion that the "replacements" can't seem to match his "feel', you know ...e.g. AP can (or could) hit all of the notes in the Journey songs, but he'll never be able to deliver the passion, the emotion, the story or the goose bumps that Perry did. When one is done hearing Sambora on "I'll Be There For You" one absolutely believes that all it will take is one call. I feel just as flat hearing Philx do BJ as I do AP doing Journey ...and they are both very talented. Who wouldn't rather hear one note with feeling/passion, arm hair raising, as opposed to a million note spankfest that is technically great but cold and mechanical? I know there are people here that would ...not I. Richie has been much more than an friggin' master songwriter in the BJ business, I don’t care who’s running the show. His absence is very apparent ...so call it what you like.

[Michigan Girl]

"my last BJ experience was without Sambora, HUGE void."

mine was too, it was still good... but seriously not the same band without him.
kinda like V.H. without M Anthony.

lol ..
HUGE void ...a bj without Sambora is better than no bj at all.
But the feel will never be the same ...

[slucero]

..so a BJ with out Sambora is no BJ at all..

[FamilyMan]

It depends on how you look at it, FM. Virtuoso? Perhaps not, but BJ didn't require a virtuoso to become what they are today. Richie played exactly what a song required and he does so with such passion and emotion that the "replacements" can't seem to match his "feel', you know ...e.g. AP can (or could) hit all of the notes in the Journey songs, but he'll never be able to deliver the passion, the emotion, the story or the goose bumps that Perry did. When one is done hearing Sambora on "I'll Be There For You" one absolutely believes that all it will take is one call. I feel just as flat hearing Philx do BJ as I do AP doing Journey ...and they are both very talented. Who wouldn't rather hear one note with feeling/passion, arm hair raising, as opposed to a million note spankfest that is technically great but cold and mechanical? I know there are people here that would ...not I. Richie has been much more than an friggin' master songwriter in the BJ business, I don’t care who’s running the show. His absence is very apparent ...so call it what you like.

Didn't mean to sound like I was dissing him, MG - or minimize his contribution. But Jon proved years ago by firing Alec John Such that he doesn't think the sum of the parts equal the whole. But I bet he'll find it harder than he thinks when he sits down to write the next album.

[slucero]

It depends on how you look at it, FM. Virtuoso? Perhaps not, but BJ didn't require a virtuoso to become what they are today. Richie played exactly what a song required and he does so with such passion and emotion that the "replacements" can't seem to match his "feel', you know ...e.g. AP can (or could) hit all of the notes in the Journey songs, but he'll never be able to deliver the passion, the emotion, the story or the goose bumps that Perry did. When one is done hearing Sambora on "I'll Be There For You" one absolutely believes that all it will take is one call. I feel just as flat hearing Philx do BJ as I do AP doing Journey ...and they are both very talented. Who wouldn't rather hear one note with feeling/passion, arm hair raising, as opposed to a million note spankfest that is technically great but cold and mechanical? I know there are people here that would ...not I. Richie has been much more than an friggin' master songwriter in the BJ business, I don’t care who’s running the show. His absence is very apparent ...so call it what you like.

Didn't mean to sound like I was dissing him, MG - or minimize his contribution. But Jon proved years ago by firing Alec John Such that he doesn't think the sum of the parts equal the whole. But I bet he'll find it harder than he thinks when he sits down to write the next album.

... or SING it..

[Michigan Girl]

Didn't mean to sound like I was dissing him, MG - or minimize his contribution. But Jon proved years ago by firing Alec John Such that he doesn't think the sum of the parts equal the whole. But I bet he'll find it harder than he thinks when he sits down to write the next album.

It doesn't even matter because you're entitled to your take.
I'm not even going to pretend that I know or even understand
the "business" side of this group, but from what I recall, wasn't
Ajs sorta forgetting sets/songs and screwing up quite a bit
live? I don't know how long that went on, but we have all been
hearing about RIchie's issues for some time. Don't know who
made this recent decision, fired, quit, mutual...point is the band
Is forever changed. And based on his absence @this last show,
for me, he was missed. It remains to be seen, going forward,
how things will work out on any new stuff...but the "current catalog"
will never be the same. That's a hella lotta stuff...like a lifetime.

[RedWingFan]

Bon Jovi hasn't released anything good since "These Days" anyway. Can't stand Jon's nasally voice live either. They've been over for a long time imo.