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#771 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
You're forgetting 1994 which is when they became uncool and nobody gave a crap. Sympathy for the Devil was dead on arrival and stores had piles of them rotting. The song was on a hit movie. I don't know if Axl/GNR were paying attention to this but I guarantee the label noticed the shift.
I see your point but I also think part of that was due to lack of content by GNR.
UYI was a massive deal - but we'd all worn the damn cassettes out by then and been to the shows. The cycle had gone from 1991-1993 - it was time for new GNR stuff.
Although i love TSI - it didn't quite work cos the radio was pushing it as the new GNR album but it's just covers...it was supposed to be an EP to tide people over until an album....but yeah....then you get to 1994 a full year after TSI and GNR just drops ANOTHER cover....and although I like the stones one - it's not even a song where they do anything very GNRish in terms of changing up the original to make it better.
I think part of the bordom was that it was more of the same.
Compared to say Nirvana that had Nevermind in 91, In Utero in 93, then the MTV album in 94 which while it was covers and old songs was stylistically very different due to the lack of heavy guitars whuch was their whole prior sound. Thats a lot of fresh content over a few years.
I think the world wanted a follow up from GNR. People were getting bored with the 80s and early 90s stuff but then. Grunge type stuff seemed fresh but has turned into a flash in the pan.
I think GNR needed to "answer" grunge with a strong as fuck classic rock album...but instead they released Estranged...possibly the most overblown of all GNR songs...with a 15 million dollar film clip...a song everyone and their dog had owned on the album for 2 years by then....and then sat around doing 70s covers for 2+ more years...before going silent for a few more.
Anyway I see your point, but i think its hard to know, as a think a properly creative and vital GNR would have perhaps altered the way pop culture tastes change - people were waiting on them - hell even in 2016 look how the media bought straight into the reunion - GNR was VERY VERY over with the mainstrean back in the day for a rock act...the world has always wanted more from them...but they've fought and fucked around now for 30 years...it's sad.
It's weird to me - like Axl seems to think the media is out to get him - but people loved the drama - and basically the world always wanted GNR to step up and deliver more of their world conquering early stuff - that's why people put up with the silence, why they tollerated fake line ups for 3 decades, why they don't write about Axl's voice cracking, why they overlook the lack of key members and call this a reunion....the world is waiting to give Axl a MASSIVE PASS FOR HIS BULLSHIT STILL - but the band seems hell bent on dying without doing it....
#772 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
I kinda see it as the other way around.
I think simple piano songs (at heart) like "This I Love" and simple guitar songs like "Neither Can I" are way more timeless than stuff like "Oh My God" or "Shackler's Revenge" that's using (then) modern effects.
I think an album full of 5'oclock riffs, and Axl ballads made in 1995 would have made a strong timeless classic rock record the way that YCBM and SCOM still sound like good songs.
#773 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
I see what you mean.
I just think Sebastian Bach = 80s to most people. And I'm a huge fan of his - love his voice - just think he has a distinctive sound that evokes that kinda period.
I guess in a way Axl does too - but I see Axl are more changeable than Baz.
#774 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
It's hard to say.
I mean the world was pretty into grunge and all that then. With most bands I would agree...
But then again - AFD2 would be a long way less 80s than Skid Row. Also...People were hanging on a new GNR record to bring rock back a bit. I remember my record store was absolutely nuts about TSI - selling shirts for it, posters everywhere. They were playing "Since I don't have you" on the radio. It got an insane amount of attention for something that's a throwaway covers album.
I think an AFD2 based around 5'oclock would actually have gone pretty nuts, it would have been the antidote to the people who felt the Estranged and November rain GNR had lost touch with it's rock roots and was too MTV like. With Axl lyrics it would have come off less glam rock like and more like solid hard rock. I think it would work.
In any event - even if it didn't go totally gangbusters it would have done a lot more for the band's reputation than a couple of decades in the wilderness did.
#775 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
Yeah - terrible decision - 5'Oclock Somewhere was packed with AFD style Slash playing - give it some Axl melodies and it would have been a killer return to rock form after the softer UYI.
I love that his solution to Slash making the band too southern was to try and hire Zakk too....hahah...
#776 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
Zakk jammed with the band when Slash was in the fold. AFD on steroids is not in reference to the Chinese Democracy project.
Ahh if he was just describing GNR with himself in the band then that makes perfect sense - Zakk is basically a blues player like Slash but kinda roided up on metal shredding. So AFD songs with him and Slash would sound like that!
Axl said in the Loder interview that it would've been easier to make an AFD style album 95-97 as that was his headspace at the time but Slash prevented it for whatever reason.
Always struggled to believe that.
I'm sure it's true to Axl but I suspect it's perspective.
I mean if you look at Slash's solo work - both in snakepit and with myles there's GNR style guitar riffs everywhere. If anything one could accuse slash of not changing up his style all that much over the years...
So i suspect Axl means something more vague - like Slash through his conduct made it so there would be no Axl and Slash chats which made it so there could be no AFD or something that makes sense to Axl but wouldn't be everyone else's take on the situation.
#777 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
zakk wylde referred to what he heard as "afd on steroids."
This quote interests me - because it seems very far removed from the album we ended up with.
AFD is a guitar rock album with almost no ballads - in that SCOM is kinda a ballad but its rocked up heavily.
CD is more like the softer parts of UYI with long and slow piano oriented numbers.
Given he's usually a straight talker, and he knows his guitar, it makes me wonder if he heard some old demos of some other songs that were subsequently ditched after Slash left.
#778 Re: Guns N' Roses » The Chinese Democracy Sequel References Thread » 423 weeks ago
the line about interscope discouraging them from making a video is interesting. in axl's head, that's probably another way the label "didn't support him".
It could also be about the cost.
Estranged video cost $5,000,000.
When your album is already a long way in the hole on recording costs you could see the label would question getting further behind.
#779 Re: Guns N' Roses » New Slash solo album with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators incoming » 423 weeks ago
I think that happens with a lot of bands some of it is because once your famous you kinda start living in a little bubble not the real world society anymore.
Like in terms of song motivation.
Think about Axl's life in 1985 or whenever they were writing AFD, vs the kind of day to day like he was living by 1997.
85 they're on the street hustle trying to make it big, but 97 it's gated security and private living. Would have to make a difference.
#780 Re: Guns N' Roses » New Slash solo album with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators incoming » 423 weeks ago
The trips to Arizona to get aura readings from a psychic master named Yoda,
I used to think this was a bit wacky, but given we subsequently found out Niven and Izzy were experimenting with JuJu and curses and stuff it makes you wonder.
Add in that there's a lot of folks in the music industry that dabbled in occult stuff too - Led Zep, Motley Crue, Megadeth.....whole thing is rather strange. I thought it was something right wing fundamentalist christians said about Rock to cause panic - but then you read their autobiographies and a bunch of stars start saying they were fooling with magic and stuff.
In a way it sure sounds crazy but when people you have issues with people who are into weird stuff themselves I can see how you could get mixed up in some psychic defence.
