In 2012, Richie was still in Bon Jovi. His departure was not too far in the future as he becomes unhappy with the direction of the band. His solo albums are his chance to do something he wants to do and I will say that this is better than anything Bon Jovi was doing at the time. Richie went deep in to his problems and laid them out bare for all of us to see. A very personal album, but based on what happens later, not sure it was a healing album for him. He was still fighting demons even after this release.
The album, ‘Aftermath of the Lowdown’, was released on September 12, 2012. Okay, that was the release date in Japan, the UK saw September 17th and North America saw the 18th (well, digital release, physical was even a week later on the 25th). Yeah, I hate these staggered release dates. Just do it all at once or none at all. The album only went to #149 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, but did go to #10 on the Hard Rock Album Charts, so it had moderate success. But the real success is in the music. A Richie Sambora solo album is always welcome especially when a Bon Jovi album was not in my world. Bon Jovi had lost the plot, but Richie found his way with this one.
The album opens with “Burn the Candle Down” and it is a wall of sound with an explosive opening, a killer riff and some distorted vocals by Richie. The guitar sounds like a siren warning of the onslaught of rock we were going to get. A heavy rocker, with drum beats that will break your balls. The solo shreds harder then anything BJ was doing at the time; heck, there are even two solos in this song. Damn it is killer. The song really gets the blood flowing and kicks off the album in style.
“Every Road Leads Home To You” kicks off with an incredible keyboard opening. It feels airy and light and is a killer pop song. It sort of reminds me of “Hard Times Come Easy” from his ‘Undiscovered Soul’ album. I can see why this was the first single as it is so radio-friendly. The song talks about how hard life can be on the road and the desire to get back home. An issue for him that would cause problems only a year later. I love how it ends with him and an acoustic guitar. Beautiful. One of the best tracks he has ever done.
Richie has always been a blues man at heart and “Taking A Chance on the Wind” brings some down in the bayou, steel guitar bluesy goodness. It harkens back to his debut album which was full of blues. I like the variety of these first three tracks as it lets me know we don’t know what to expect from him this go ’round.
“Nowadays” is a high energy rocker with even more distorted vocals. Musically, the song is a blast, heaviest one on the album yet with those distorted vocals it borders on cheesy. I’m torn because I want to like it but I hate the vocals even though it has a great beat and musically is on fire. We’ve already done the distorted vocals in the opening track, why go back there.
“Weathering the Storm” was actually co-written with Bernie Taupin. Yep, Elton John’s Bernie Taupin. Which I thought was cool until I heard it. It is a ballad, but it is tragically boring. It does have a huge chorus that is catchy so it has that going for it. But the hooks and melodies don’t do it for me and the verses are too dull. Very inconsistent song.
Then we get “Sugar Daddy” and what a mess. More distorted vocals, way too much Richie!! A lot of keyboard programming and no real identity as it is trying to be too many things. Experimental maybe, whatever it is, it does not work for me.
“I’ll Always Walk Beside You” is another ballad and ladies & gentlemen, this is how you do it. It is heartfelt, tender and simply stunning. It has a very haunting vibe to it and when Richie hits that bridge/chorus it is nothing short of perfection. I like how the first half of the song is acoustic and the back half goes full on electric with full band in tow. Lyrically, it is about his daughter which is why it touches at my heart as I have two of those. You can tell this one is personal and has meaning because you feel it in his vocals. Perfection Richie!! Simply Perfection!
If that song wasn’t perfect enough, we get another stellar track with “Seven Years Gone”. This one talks about his struggles he has faced over the last, you guessed it, 7 years. It has some more piano work, a driving drum beat and a lot of passion in those vocals. The chorus is stunning. It is catchy, but it is his vocals that are what grab you. It is the best of his vocals, that great tone he has. Oh, and that guitar work at the end of the song, holy crap! Richie nails it. The back half of this album is really strong so far.
Now we get the most Bon Jovi song on the whole album with “Learning How to Fly with a Broken Wing”. The song is a pure rocker and I can picture Jon singing this one and it being a killer Bon Jovi song. Richie owns this one and reminds us what Bon Jovi could be without Shanks at the helm. Too bad Jon wasn’t seeing it. The song seems to be about living life despite all the problems of the past. He is broken, but he isn’t down and out. I love the solo on this one too and that heavy bass line, damn. Good stuff.
Next up is “You Can Only Get So High” which opens with a haunting piano landscape. If it isn’t obvious from the title, the song is about substance abuse and once you get high, you have to come down and you can only get so high where it doesn’t help. I love the story of the song and it is a decent track, just isn’t as perfect as the last three tracks in comparison. But, I still like it.
“World” is an acoustic ballad and is a little cheesy. When the band kicks in, it doesn’t get much better. Pure filler and they should’ve stopped at “You Can Only Get So High” as that would’ve made a better close. This one just doesn’t need to be here. It leaves a bad taste in my ears.
Track Listing:
- Burn The Candle Down – Keeper
- Every Road Leads Home To You – Keeper
- Taking a Chance on the Wind – Keeper
- Nowadays – Keeper (1/2 Point)
- Weathering The Storm – Delete
- Sugar Daddy – Delete
- I’ll Always Walk By Your Side – Keeper
- Seven Years Gone – Keeper
- Learning How to Fly With a Broken Wing – Keeper
- You Can Only Get So High – Keeper
- World – Delete
The Track Score is 7.5 out of 11 Tracks or 68%. Despite the track score of 68%, I actually think this is as good as ‘Undiscovered Soul’. The songs that are good on here are actually great. There are only 3 songs I don’t really like, the rest are pretty solid. The album feels personal and therefore touches you in ways other albums can’t. Plus, Bon Jovi was really sucking for me at this time so this is a breath of fresh air. More of what the fans want from these guys. Richie just happened to be able to do it on his own. The three opening tracks, then the three starting with “I’ll Always Walk By Your Side” are some of Richie’s best work to date. They are stellar tracks and what takes this album to another level. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. Spend some time with this one and I don’t think you will be disappointed. When an artist connects to the lyrics, I think it can connect to the listener.
NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘WHAT ABOUT NOW’ (2013)
THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:
- Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
- Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
- Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
- Bon Jovi – “Burning For Love” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1984)
- Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
- Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
- Bon Jovi – “Borderline” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1986)
- Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
- Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
- Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
- Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
- Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
- Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
- Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
- Bon Jovi – “Keep the Faith” – CD Maxi Single (1992)
- Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
- Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
- Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
- Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
- Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
- Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
- Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
- Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
- Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
- Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
- Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
- Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
- Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
- Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
- Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
- Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
- Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
- Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5 & 6, Part 6) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
- Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
- Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
- Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
- Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
- Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
- Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
- Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
- Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
- Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
- Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
- Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
- Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
- Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
- Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
- RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
- Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
- Bon Jovi – Forever (2024)
- Bon Jovi – “Legendary” – 7″ Single (2024)
- Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)
We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:
- Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
- Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
- Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
- Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
I remember seeing this in the adds of Classic Rock Magazine which I was reading at the time. Like a few of these I will have to check it out on Apple at some point. The first three tracks have me curious if anything. Great stuff Sir.
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I always thought Ritchie was the music talent behind Bon Jovi, it’s good to hear what he can do on his own.
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I not only never heard it, I didn’t know it existed until just now. Pretty good sounding tunes, I like the “middle of nowhere” vibe in that first video too, those type of videos always stand out to me.
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