Your ignorance is astonishing. You are acting like anyone could have been there playing lead and it wouldn't have mattered much. Slash made Guns N' Roses' sound, he was the most important musician. Without him, they would have sucked like Rapidfire.

I don't care that Slash didn't realize his SCOM's intro's potential when he wrote it. The others (not only Axl, but all of them) realized and that was important. But Slash WROTE that piece not the others. Big difference. Also, I don't hear Locomotive or Coma level epics on CD. I don't hear anything epic at all. Just a lot of sweat to make weak songs longer.

The band does not "agree" with you regarding the writing credits. That was only a method, when one of them became a dictator and another one wanted to quit. They found out a way to keep the band working, which meant that Axl and Izzy got overcredited. BTW anyone who thinks that the vocals in NR or Estranged are more melodic than the guitar solos, hence Axl deserves credit and Slash does not is delusional and deaf. Slash would deserve writing credit for much more UYI songs. What makes DTJ a fan favourite? Slash's amazing playing. What makes The Garden? Slash's slide guitar and powerful electric rhythm guitar. He'd even deserve credit for the KOHD cover, since his stuff makes that GN'R version, not Dylan's base chords. Never mistake legal shit with art.

I think most of GN'R's songs were so strong musically, that the lyrics and the vocal melody were only icing on the cake. Axl's stuff was unique and genius, no doubt, I don't wanna take away his credit, but Coma is a monster even without the words. It's not Alphaville we're talking about where the vocal melody drove the songs. In GN'R the guitars, mostly Slash's guitar was the driving force. I also think that Slash's (and Duff's) stuff was essential to the Axl's songs greatness.

Yeah, Axl's word is gospel, isn't it? He's a really reliable and honest guy, isn't he? It took him only two decades to remember correctly, while when Slash was in the band, Coma was "Slash's baby"?

Sorry, but it's ridiculous that Axl comes up with his bullshit regarding Coma, but he wrote November Rain, Estranged, Breakdown, Dead Horse etc. alone, right? The man who can't play guitar. They wrote those songs together. Period. Just one guy stole a ton of writing credits from the others and another was overcredited to make him stay in the band.

On the epic vs. straight forward songs debate. Yeah, Axl was the one who was pushing them to make huge epic songs. That was a good thing. But. As time proved it, without Slash all those Axl epics suck big time. Look at Chinese Democracy. He didn't have quality material to begin with, but blown up Catcher, that mediocre, Yesterdays-type 3 minute song to a 7-minute boredom. Chinese Democracy is the epitome of dreaming big, while not having the talent and working ethics needed to succeed.

One is not a big risk. I'd say at least two.