I stopped listening to AFD cause I found it stale compared to live bootlegs, old and new. Anytime I want my AFD fix I'll listen to live versions, they have so much more energy. Havnt really listened to much GNR lately and thought I'd throw on AFD while I was working out the other day.
After becoming acclimated to the live versions I more often listen to, I found the album really did sound its age. And the drums stood out to me as what dates the album more than anything else, its not the technique, patterns, rhythm or whatever - its just the sound they make. Thats all it is, and its not because Axl mentioned timing flaws or whatever shit you want to convince yourself that you know peoples opinions better than them.

Hmmm... I listened to AFD for the first time in fuckin ages today and found it a bit dated, it was the drums more than anything. Listened to Lies and it was a bit fresher, then it was UYI 1 and the songs sounded fantastic. It pisses me off that the media piss on the Illusions cause to me thats GNR at the peak of their powers, the musicianship and vocals are exceptional. The drums might be a bit bland, but Matt had just walked in the door but he still did a decent job. To me CD is the next logical step in the progression in the GNR legacy after hearing how they developed through the albums. VR and any of those side projects just followed a safe formula, CD is by far the freshest and liveliest of all the GNR albums and offshoots imo

The outro to Catcher sounds great, it was always my favourite piece of the demo but the album version is just a mess. But this accoustic version has Axls vocals driving it with the guitars only subtly complementing them, the way it should be. The CD version is a tragedy.

Taking a long break from it, I've played it to death over the last few years and finally its lost its lustre. Not due to the music being weak or anything, just because of total overkill on my part.

Part 2 this Christmas would be perfect, I'm dying to hear the rest of those songs. Cant see it happening though, too many spooks, goblins, evil doers and usurpers ceaselessly attempting to exploit GNR at Axls and our expense. Thank the lord he's ever vigilant to their shenanigans.