Fundamentally, this is the same as the already released single. (The review of the single version is here.) Most of the points that I already made there still hold true for this version.
The major difference between the two versions is the addition of the new guitar solo. Richie went back and recorded a new solo for the song after the initial bad reaction to the solo (or lack thereof) in the single version. I’m going to focus on the new solo for this review.
This new solo is more what we would have expected from a guitar player of Richie’s caliber. Before, the lead guitar was almost lost in a muddy, overproduced solo. In contrast, the solo from the album track practically sparkles. The rest of the song is a high-energy piece, and the new solo fits much better with the energetic nature of the rest of the track.
Plus, now that there is a well-defined lead guitar presence in the solo, Jon’s yell of ‘Guitar!’ right before doesn’t seem quite so out of place. On the album track, it now leads into something that is clearly identifiable as a guitar solo. It makes a whole lot more sense now.
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