I think the importance of Duff in GN'R is underrated. Everybody knows that Slash wrote the most important riffs, those awesome solos and he made Izzy's simple Stonesy "songs" heavy and bluesy. Everybody knows that Izzy was writing all the time and watered Slash's songs to be more mainstream. Everybody knows that Axl wrote his epics and was some kind of supervisor regarding the others' songs and ideas.

But it was really Duff who made that rhythm. His solo albums and Loaded (and occasionally VR) have the same pulsing as the GN'R songs. You can clearly hear that most of the notes are typical Aerosmith/Zeppelin-type of Slash tunes, but the rhythm is different and it makes them unique and not ...well, let's say..."traditional". He made it GN'R.

Bumble and Fortus was good, too. Frank just can't play YCBM and has problems with other songs. Dizzy and Pitman...any backup musician could do their job. DJ was horrible.

I'm convinced: it's the happiest hat I've even seen.

Axl looks 10 years older than he actually is. It's really surprising, since he has all the money and time on Earth to get the best care possible. Instead he's a bloated, depressed alcoholic, who's a shadow of his former self and can't do his job anymore on a decent level. He's horrible tbh.
Just look at him singing those songs - it's like he'd be utterly sad how it all turned out. Noone thought he'd ever sink this low. People thought of Slash, Steven, Duff dying young or becoming zombies. Instead Duff looks amazing, Slash looks alright nad even Steven is in better shape than Axl. I'm really sorry for him and I think that Duff may feel himself guilty. Axl did a lot of shit against them, for sure, but since they, Izzy, Slash and Duff abandoned him, he's lost himself.
It's not the end of the world, you're right, just a very talented man wasting his gift and going to the Elvis route.

Slash

Who says a song can't be 8 minutes long? iiii]; )'