Oh, please.

If some current members attend their boss' party, how'd that be cocky and arrogant?

Tommy's been in the band nearly 14 years. You go tell him he has no right.

Well, I'd say that a bit of a two-edged sword.

Without people investing good money on Guns albums, shows and merch, there wouldn't be capita to share amongst the band members. Without a maintained popularity, there wouldn't be any public interest in a reunion. Their relevance and bankability are directly related to their legacy. But is the legacy the work of a band or an audience?

Surely, many good bands have their moment and 20 years later, have gone the way of the dodo, with some one-time fans scratching their heads at the name before finally placing it and digging up a worn copy of their debut album, which may or may not showcase a fledgling group about to peak. And it may still sound absolutely stonking.

Legacies are therefore created only partially by the artistic endeavor, although it certainly helps in the long run. An equally important aspect is exposure. People need to know who they are applauding, they need to have the idol doing rounds. They want to see and hear someone they can wholly relate, impressing millions while expressing singular sentiments. Slash doing his SCOM solos, Axl bellowing his screams.

However, simple marketing doesn't cut it. To create some to endure the test of time, one needs a myth with solid content one can go back to. Guns' discography is riddled with lesser-known gems aside rock radio mainstays. There's a surprisingly fair representation of varying influences in their work (compared to the overall number of releases) for a casual fan to sink their teeth into.

In regards to the myth, one could say Axl wrote the book. His rock n' roll bad boy behavior was legendary at its prime, the tantrums, the riots, the works. Looking back, I've come to think we did indeed witness a mental deterioration over the UYI tour, which the press reported in gusto and those close to him grieved to no end. Overall, Axl wasn't well as a human being, even if he put everything he had to every show he pulled off.

And there was always the album. That bloody album, which was said to have cast Slash out, took years upon years with nothing to show for, was the butt-end to every industry joke - and only after that did we actually start to hear some tracks off it.

CD never got a fair trial, simply because what was released in 2008 is hardly the exact same thing the band started working on in 1994. The great tragedy there is that the music on CD is inconsequential in regards to the status The Album had already achieved. I wager any another album with a different track listing would've been equally vilified simply because it would've been The Album.

Because with a band like Guns, The Album is an enormous deal. You have something to go in line with AFD, Lies and the UYIs. Great tunes, controversy, indulgence, exprimentation... The main discography has it all. Anything to be presented next to it has to have that same gestalt working for it, the all or anything attitude of boundless energy.

Without Slash, Duff or Izzy, CD does good as a Guns album. As The Album, it fails to deliver on the rockier aspects, but it does wax poetic very matter o' factly with TWAT, not to mention an overall strong early middle section from Better to CITR. When it comes to songwriting and lyrics, I maintain at least half the album is a kissing cousin to any previous Guns release.

The Album would've required an equivalent to YCBM, WTTJ, or whatever. Better needs a Slither to do rounds with. The Album would need a Slash to elevate itself to what public originally defined as Guns. It needs that bona fide guitar hero with a top hat to fully embrace the masses.

With The Album finally out there, Guns have a legacy immense. A RRHOF reunion is definitely expected and desired, and from the legacy viewpoint, Guns do owe the fans that. From an artistic standpoint, not as much. I can't see an album or a tour with the original lineup happening as anything beyond that last payday.

An individual track on the next release with guest appearances would be nice and would absolve Axl a whole lot in the public perspective. Moreso, a RRHOF reunion would be a pivotal step in the right direction and Guns' stock would soar because of it.

Axl completed The Album rigorously on his own terms, for better or for worse. He's got nothing to lose to take the stage with Slash and co in April, if he so chooses. In my mind, Guns do not particularly owe that to anyone but themselves.

It would be a great way to move beyond The Album, and pave the road for the release of an eponymous album, as I feel Guns are still to arrive to their ultimate peak.

Will it happen? We'll be a whole lot wiser in April.

The crux of the story is that Slash used Les Paul replicas. Now, nothing wrong there as they got the job done.

However, him being a corporate mannequin for Gibson now makes replicas a touchy subject. That's where the most disinformation spawns from.

Am hearing Civil War on this stream. Cross fingers.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/rickdunsford