Bono wrote:

Honestly lately you've seriously been drifting into uncharted fanboy territory with Axl. You talk about Slash phoning it in and not pushing himself yet praise the laziest mother fucker on the planet. A guy who's content to live off Slash's work and tour the hits. Chinese Democracy is underwhelming for far too many people  for you to be acting like Axl is the musical genius post 1994 while Slash's output is just a guy phoning in cheesey generic stuff. Axl had 13 years,  an insane budget an a group f incredibly talented musicians to do CD and THAT is what he came up with? An average at best album. The fact you can sit there and paint the guy as a creative genus who pushes himself while slash is a slacker is rather laughable.

Lately? I've always been a staunch supporter of Axl's studio work. And you can go as far back as you like, you wont find any posts from me giving much praise to any Slash effort. I like original gn'r as much as the next man, but the reason I'm here today is because of Axl and what he, God willing, might do next.

What's happened lately is the myth about Slash being the gatekeeper of proper, old school guns n' roses is starting to shatter.

Here's the difference between Axl's work and the others post 95. On the albums people are actually able to name a title on the fly, the best songs are, more or less unanimously: Beggars And Hangers On, Slither and Anastasia. You ask that same question for CD and you might get 10 different answers. That's the difference, and as it so happens that's also the response you'd get on the old albums. People struggle to decide what's the best song cause they all have so much quality.

If you want to rag on Axl for all of his many shortcomings that's perfectly legitimate, but it's time people stop letting their adoration for the curly tress get in the way of acknowledging the musical accomplishments of the greatest rock n roll front man in history. It's time to stop forgetting who we're actually talking about here. The man who brought a promising club band to the top of the world and inspired one of the greatest group of musical talent ever assembled to write a heap of timeless stuff. He's not just the singer making life tough for the guitarist with his alien antics. If the counselor would present Snakepit 1&2, VR 1&2 and Slash 1&2 as evidence it becomes clear he's the red thread in being able to sustain a riff for more than 60 seconds and come up with lyrics and modulations you've not already heard 5 times in the last hour on the radio.

Axl's band might not sound quite like GN'R but in time you realize it certainly feels like it. There's 1 average song on that album and the best of Slash and Duffs work can barely compete with that. The rest is in a league of it's own. In order to back up my opinions I've forced myself to endure what can only be described as an unhealthy amount of generic rock by the ex members. The relief on my ears when I put on TWAT and Catcher was significant. At last a well composed, true masterpiece. That solo can compete with anything the sun glassed one ever put his name on. Not better, but belonging in that same peak class.

Why can't Slash reproduce earlier efforts? Either because he's lazy or because he can't hack it without the red head. Axl can be lazy in all other ways all he wants. Ultimately he puts out stuff worth coming back to. Worth remembering. Something you know there's not really anything else like it out there. That's GN'R. The sound of Slash' guitar is just the variation.