More about: Bon Jovi
Sambora not as influential as we believed on Bon Jovi tracks….
Jon Bon Jovi was interviewed recently about the band’s new album ‘This House Is Not For Sale’. When asked about the space left when founding member guitarist Richie Sambora departed in 2014, the frontman had some interesting things to say.
The singer played down Sambora’s role within the band dynamic. Saying that ‘Richie did participate in the song-writing process in the past.’ Those were primarily guitar riffs and solos, that made the band stand-out. It seems he was perhaps not as involved as many thought in the writing side of things.
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A Bon Jovi vintage era song would always feature a distinctly Sambora created riff, lick or indeed full guitar solo. They may have lacked Slash (GNR) style swagger, but they always resonated what the song was all about.
Sambora was interviewed by Classic Rock Magazine last month. There he said he was proud to be included in the mags 100 Greatest Guitar Solos list and that his work on the New Jersey bands hit ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ was one of his proudest moments.
His idea was to bring acoustic music back to the fore and add it into the mix for the stand-out 1986 album ‘Slippery When Wet’. That was the LP that saw the band get noticed and shot them to stardom.
However, since the guitarists split from Bon Jovi and this subsequent new release by the group, it seems as if Jon is trying to put the emphasis on the fact the fan of the double-neck guitar was not as instrumental in the creation of those iconic hit songs rock fans still love to belt out today.
This it seems is an album that has seen the whole band play a greater role in shaping the music and telling the story they wanted. ‘The band were in the room the whole time (unlike the past records). Some of the songs took on a different life from notebook to studio. The process changed here from how we worked before (with Sambora).’
Regarding Sambora's role on past albums, Bon Jovi said, ‘Richie did participate in the record-making, but it was always me and guitarist John Shanks joined at the hip, and then Richie second to that, and then keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres. David really filled that void left by Richie and took on a whole different leadership role in the studio and it was a welcome addition to the way we operate.’
Bon Jovi were formed in New Jersey circa 1983 and to date have released 13 studio albums, compilations and live CDs, clocked up numerous number one hits (album and single), awards, recognitions etc. Sold over 130million records and played all over the world.
The band have had a pretty good run of retaining original band members. Sambora has been the biggest loss yet. It looks as if Jon and Co. are trying to distance themselves from the past and embrace a whole new future.
‘This House Is Not For Sale’ Is available now.
More about: Bon Jovi
