To each his own of course, but those that like the album (and there are a few) tend to really like it. Was going through CD song by song on youtube the other day and I gotta say the responses were overwhelmingly positive. Not the cross appeal of old of course, not even of Contraband, but those that enjoy it tend to hold it in very high regard.

I did not say he's creating symphonies. I said compared to the ex members he does. It may take forever, and many might not like the style or sound, but there's a very good reason he still has active forums where rabid debates take place while Slash don't and never have had. His music simply touches people more profoundly. To the point where people write elaborated essays and even haters can't stay away. As much as the Slash crowd hammers on that his solo stuff is the shit you certainly don't see that type of dedication. Take that for what you will.

Slash and co sounds more like the old band, but I don't find the quality of their songs to be even close. Sometimes I will hear something that could have been a good GN'R song but they never go that extra mile. Maybe not too surprising when the ultimate philosophy seems to be "make a record in 1 week and hit the bar". I tried listening to Anastasia again since there's so much raving about it in certain circles. It's actually a very good example of how a decent riff and solo won't get you very far when you have Whitesnake doing lead vocals. The reason I got into GN'R was that they rose above all those bands. They tried to be something more. Far as I can tell that does not seem to be the case anymore for Slash.

(bah, this turned out way longer than I planned)

I think their contributions have been vital too, and for them to be credited with that by ASCAP is totally fair. Still, adding a great solo or a fill needs a foundation. So I wouldn't say Robin for example really wrote 6 songs on CD (as the linked thread proposed), but he did contribute to 6.

Apart from BH nobody in the band have really done anything remarkable creatively outside of GN'R. I'd propose the same to be true for the old band after they left. Ok you have Slither which I'd easily consider the ex members best work since 91, but that song competes with something like Pretty Tied Up or Out Ta Get Me, not YCBM or Jungle. One of the reasons of course is the unique voice of Axl, but it's not the main one. What they're lacking is that little extra in structure, arrangements and vocal melodies. The ability to sniff out a song, to find the perfect hook at the perfect time.

Truly great bands usually have two guys like this. Lennon/McCartney (Harrison probably belongs too, so that's three), Jagger/Richards (you might include Taylor since their best work was done with him), Page/Plant, Waters/Barrett. In Gn'R it was Axl/Izzy and "these days" you could say Tobias is one since he seems to play such a large part on CD despite being a rythm guitarist who hasn't even been mentioned in connection to the band since 02.

Slash is David Gilmour. Integral part of a great band, contributing to and being indispensable to some fantastic work. After Waters left however he was nothing. Even having the two other remaining original members there to help him, both of which have writing credit on some of the best Floyd songs, the two albums he was fronting wasn't even close to being Floyd. On the other hand, The Wall in which Waters received something like 99% of the royalties was Floyd to the core. Different, but very much in the proper vein of the band.

Likewise I consider CD to be "real" Guns in that the proper care and subtlety have been taken in structuring the songs, albeit with mostly different (and at times you could say inferior) players. In that sense I'm not all that worried that Thal or DJ is going to give us some shitty Poision esque album. Either they'll deliver or they'll be rejected and possibly replaced. Still, the focus should definitely be on getting out the remainder of the CD sessions. You just don't waste the talent of BH and Finck like that. I think we might be looking at a mix, to include the new guys. Maybe give em 4 or 5 songs on top of what's already there. How easy that's going to be accomplished in GN'R land is another matter of course.

If they can patch up this:

The lawsuit also attacks Axl's integrity as Slash and Duff, in a vindictive attempt to aggrandize their own stature, re-write history through false statements, which have been repeated by the media. Their attacks on Axl stand in sharp contrast to Rose's conduct. Axl has at all times worked diligently to maintain the artistic integrity of the band by choosing with great care which properties to license Guns N' Roses songs to and refusing to participate in what he believed were potentially embarrassing projects. He has fought to avoid the release of material that does not live up to the highest of standards demanded by the band's history and it's followers. Axl chose not to respond through the media while taking the high road in the face of Slash and Duff's attacks. Hudson and McKagan, by contrast, have told ever changing - and false - stories regarding the formation of the band and its history and believe that the band's catalogue should be exploited without careful consideration - for the Guns N' Roses brand and their loyal audience - or Axl's input as if it were fast food by anyone willing to pay for it.

And this:

In October of 2005 Slash made an unannounced 5:30 AM visit to Axl Rose's house. Not appearing to be under the influence, Slash came to inform Axl that: "Duff was spineless," "Scott was a fraud," that he "hates Matt Sorum" and that in this ongoing war, contest or whatever anyone wants to call it that Slash has waged against Axl for the better part of 20 years, that Axl has proven himself "the stronger."

Maybe Duff really is spineless?   Talk about swallowing camels (if none of it is true).

In fact, I've been going through a lot of interviews lately and I find it odd that both Slash and Duff go around talking about Axl in a generally positive manner (compared to 10 years ago) considering the many claims he's made about them over the years.

BH and Finck were great, but let's not forget they only had 2 or so writing credits on the album. CD was an Axl/Tobias effort, and I don't see why he can't still contribute (or Izzy) in that department. I think also maybe Dizzy had more credits than those 2?

Besides, 30 songs were completed years ago. If it is true that Axl can't do shit with Bumble and DJ he always has the option of releasing that in some form.

I'm really, really hoping it's the label or something this time. If we're gonna wait for a brand new album....