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#591 Re: Guns N' Roses » Coachella Festival profile and rumours » 541 weeks ago
Looking at the Vegas lineup (which is a fitting name for them), you got
Axl - DJ - Fortus - Ron - Tommy - Dizzy - Pitman - Frank.
Reshuffle, the guys in bold leave or their contracts expire.
Axl - Slash - Fortus - Izzy - Duff - Dizzy - Pitman - Frank.
Replace them with original members and it's quite balanced.
You get a rhythm section which has been tried and tested on the road and with Duff. This last bit is crucial - Duff, being the bassist, would be the guy to gel this bunch into a solid unit. Izzy I included in this hypothesis for the sake of the argument. Fortus would be the most skilled wingman Slash has ever had, and he's also humble enough to step away from the spotlight. He can do variations on the more exotic leads on CD songs and serve as the all-purpose rhythm / co-lead on older material. With Fortus on stage, Izzy's superfluous in regards to getting the job done.
The argument about Slash refusing to do any and all CD songs sounds like fanboy bitterness to me. Axl would want to have, say, 3 songs included. CD, Better and The Blues come mind. I would imagine Slash would approach them the same way he would take on any cover song. Learn the parts, rehearse with the band and figure out the ways to inject your style into them, to make them your own. Much like how Robin and Bucket did with his stuff to begin with. Why would Slash want to argue with Axl about that? That's asking for trouble.
Lastly, why a hybrid configuration instead of 'just' a reunion? First off, Axl. He has an emotional attachment to the crew that've stood by him for a better part of the decade. I can imagine he'd feel antsy about taking the stage as an AFD 5-piece. He'd need to harken back to 1987 and that might well end in tears. Physique aside, his mental state might prove a stumbling block. Second, CD. I'd imagine Axl would want any reunion to also serve as a continuation of his 'vision' of Guns. He'd need the big band sound to pull off the new songs. Third, the big band sound camouflages the wear on Axl's voice and performance. 1987 was several lifetimes ago.
Axl aside, I find Adler to be a pipedream beyond anything other than guest appearances. The reasons should be obvious to anyone. He'd be a nightmare to get an insurance, and his antics might soon grow tiresome to everyone else. If I were their manager, I'd say 'Fuck this headache' right off the bat. As for Izzy, he'd likely embrace the idea of doing select shows as a full member and perhaps guest appearances on a bigger tour. But knowing Izzy, I can see why he'd like to see where things would go before making any long-term commitments. He would remember 1991 quite vividly.
I'd find that 'hybrid' lineup to be plausible, and it would certainly be an interesting one to see.
#592 Re: Guns N' Roses » Coachella Festival profile and rumours » 541 weeks ago
I don't get the 2002 love.
That's fair. I fail to see why 2016 should be the best year for Guns in the 21st century by the power of suggestion.
We all know Axl can show up as a bloated Mickey, if he wants to. He's done it before and had a career afterwards.
Part of me would certainly chuckle at seeing him in Vince Neil shape, as then it would blantantly be all about the money.
#593 Re: Guns N' Roses » Mysterious Guns N’ Roses Teaser Hits Movie Screens Nationwide » 541 weeks ago
Yup, that's Adler.
Devoted fans like to romanticize, but from a business point of view, Axl and Slash (with Duff for good measure) constitutes as a reunion. Anyone (and I mean anyone) else is expendable and/or interchangeable.
#594 Re: Guns N' Roses » Mysterious Guns N’ Roses Teaser Hits Movie Screens Nationwide » 541 weeks ago
I just watched this vid from two years ago with Adler and Duff performing ISE. I assume this is the last time they performed together?
I guess so. Two months later, Adler called off all future tour dates and checked into rehab. He'd started boozing on the interim and, lucky for him, was interventioned toot-suite.
He seems better off now, but that served as yet another reminder on how Adler does things the hard way. He tried to get his Appetite band going with various live configurations since 2003-4, always finding new ways to screw it up. One might say he's a lot like Axl in that respect.
Point being, Adler's still the odd man out. He's still to wholly prove his capability to function as a professional touring musician for extended periods of time. If the reunion happens with him onboard, you can bet there'd be a mountain of temptations in store for him. He'd be a loose cannon, and any management with half a brain would keep someone like Matt or Frank as an understudy so that the show could go on even if Adler would be down for the count.
Adler's recent whinings about how Slash and Duff still have their doubts are telling. He tactfully forgets that his track record for the past decade mainly consists of falling off the wagon and getting back on again. Had he commandeered Adler's Appetite as a minor yet respectable rock band while keeping it together on a personal level, he'd have a point. But the latest blow-out was just a few years ago.
Hopefully, he's good now, but the burden of proof rests solely on him. It's one thing to do a token appearance in RRHOF, and quite another to man the Guns drumstool after 25 years of ups and downs.
goes off to phone Finck & Chris Vrenna bring them along instead
Ok that was funny. karma worthy.
Don't forget Pitman with the Fat Boys sampled beats!
It'd be cool to see that as an Axl solo project. 
#595 Re: Guns N' Roses » Mysterious Guns N’ Roses Teaser Hits Movie Screens Nationwide » 542 weeks ago
One thing's for sure. Putting that thing in front of the new Star Wars cost money. Big time.
Given the elusive nature of it all and - as James said - an emphasis on the US market, it needs a payoff real quick.
A Coachella confirmation in a week or so would be a logical way to proceed.
Its also the greatest GNR promotion since UYI was released. That fact might clue them in as well.
Oh, come on. Have you forgotten about CD's monumental campaign alread... err, nevermind.
#596 Re: Guns N' Roses » Coachella Festival profile and rumours » 542 weeks ago
I've said it again and now that it's imminent I won't change my opinion.
A reunion makes me lose much of the respect I have for Axl. Especially now. It seems the worse (1998~CD RELEASE) has passed so it's even worse on my book to do it now.
I get that, surely.
The post-Slash -era was all about defiance. Axl aggravated just about everybody; the record company, the promoters, the media, the fans. A big fuck-you to all of them, he's going to take his time and do his album; the hell with the world around him saying he 'needs' to do this or that. The effort and the way it was handled was certainly vintage Axl, for better and for worse.
The CD-era was more than Axl being insecure and insufferable. There was Geffen/Interscope bleeding for a hit album, which hampered things. There were the managers cutting throats and deals with ClearChannel. He had control of the name, but lacked control of the money surrounding the name - this caused various sycophants to walk in, exploit his weaknesses and put him in untenable situations.
Had his environment been more supportive and encouraging, more music would've come out by now. Meaning, he should've been coaxed to regularly attend band rehearsals and listening parties and to give face-to-face feedback to his session band. Boots on the ground would've gone a long way to give everyone an idea of what he was after, even if they'd be just vague 'Like this, dislike that' kind of things.
To me, the new band died in Rock in Rio 2011. That yellow raincoat was miles away from the devil of a singer beleaguered by his ambition. Had he soldiered through then and there by showing up in 2010 form and unveiled a new song or two, I would've applauded him. It would've send out the message that he was still on his mission and that the public reception of CD would've been a mere blip on his radar.
The creative fire was exhausted by a wave of free alcohol, and now he's pissing it away by officially retreating to the 90's. Too bad.
#597 Re: Guns N' Roses » BST Hyde Park London Festival profile and rumours » 542 weeks ago
AtariLegend wrote:People seem to think a reunited Gun's could sell out dates at Wembley Stadium, then why would they blow their moment "load" on this kind of deal.
All good points. I also believe it could sell out Wembley and probably a few other stadiums over there.
In the past few years, Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC have attracted around 70-80K attendance at the Wembley Stadium. Axl, Slash and some other people as Guns could do the same, definitely. However, there are many factors involved. Tour routing, promotion, their ability to perform and to handle each other. Promoters may want them to prove themselves instead of taking the Led Zep route of a one-off.
It's one thing to be an armchair tour manager, and quite another to actually take the stage at a packed Wembley to deliver. In this day and age, it takes minutes for some smart alec in the crowd to start tweeting their discontent. Depending on how Red sees the big picture, the prospects of a meltdown may loom heavy in the air 
#598 Re: Guns N' Roses » Coachella Festival profile and rumours » 542 weeks ago
We've been hearing the rumors for months about a reunion of the original line-up of Guns N' Roses. But even our well-placed Epiphone informants are still keeping details under wraps. But is there something going on? Yes... something good is in the works and that much we can tell you. Meanwhile, Slash and his Conspirators will be ringing in the New Year in Las Vegas at the House of Blues.
Ironic.
Guns were restarted exactly 15 years earlier at the same venue.
#599 Re: Guns N' Roses » "To shrug." » 542 weeks ago
The thing with Ron is what really baffles me – Axl spent years and years painstakingly chopping and changing bits from solos by Robin and BRIAN FUCKING MAY, and he was prepared to slap a last-minute Bumblefoot solo on the album version? WTF?
Apparently, he was prepared to exclude Atlas from CD. Reading Ron's take sounds like he did the solo without prompting, just because he liked the song.
The symbolism of Madagascar along with Atlas "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders" makes you wonder if there will be similar themes. Not a leap to speculate that the song has something to do with the old band breaking up and/or Slash.
There's Axl's wonderful sense of self-awareness, again.
He'd likely see himself as Atlas, but if you look closely, Slash is the one who shrugged.
The achievers went 'fuck this' over government-imposed regulations (Axl turning Slash and Duff into employees).
The analogy goes on without casting a too favorable light on Axl's effort.
Also, the title is a hard sell nowadays. As said, the book takes the side of the 1%.
Of course, Axl may have taken all this into consideration and we only need to hear the song to get his side of the story.
#600 Guns N' Roses » "To shrug." » 543 weeks ago
- apex-twin
- Replies: 9
"Well, he's been doing a lot of reading..." (Bryn Bridenthal of Geffen Records, MTV, 08/08/97)
Atlas Shrugged is a big book from 1957 by Ayn Rand.
It depicts a society held together by a group of achievers, industrialists, who bail out facing new government-imposed regulations. At that point, the infrastructure begins to shake and crumble. In today's world, Rand's book reads out as the 1% cleaning out their desks, with the 99% left astray and directionless. The patronizing overtures are, therefore, a bit unsettling.
"[Atlas Shrugged] doesn't have all that much to do with the book, other than trying to do what you believe in and a line about shoulders not being wide enough." (Axl Rose, MyGnR Forum, Dec. 2008)
Right, a song about justifying one's actions by ideology. As for the narrow shoulders line...
The title is a reference to Atlas, a Titan described in the novel as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders". The significance of this reference appears in a conversation between the characters Francisco d'Anconia and Hank Rearden, in which d'Anconia asks Rearden what advice he would give Atlas upon seeing that "the greater [the titan's] effort, the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders". With Rearden unable to answer, d'Anconia gives his own response: "To shrug". - Wikipedia
If it's too much for you, the hell with it.
Let go. They'll come crawling back.
Atlas is said to be a cross-breed of 70s glam rock and November Rain. That would suggest the music has a lingering style, with that big bass line and shifts to groovy, built-up choruses. And orchestration. Lots of it, likely. It worked well for Marilyn Manson with Mechanical Animals in '98, resulting with (I think) his best album.
Produced by one Sean Beavan.
Coincidence. Surely.
"[With Atlas, there've been] recording issues." (Axl Rose, chinesedemocracy.com, Dec. 2008)
"Robin's parts for the album [had] tuning issues [in the past] that needed to be addressed." (Del James, 2008)
Atlas may have had its guitars reworked by the simple token that the boss changed his mind. Issues on guitar tune suggest Axl wanted to sing the song, in part or in full, in one or more different keys. Robin's guitar follows Axl's vocals around a lot on CD, they are in tune, doing harmonies. They certainly have the squealing high-end for it.
So, if Axl decides vocals need to go up or down a notch or two, Robin needs to pick up the guitar and do it all over again. While nailing the elusive 'feel' Axl was fussing about. Which may have already required a massive amount of takes. Note for note, different tune. Still a fun job?
Small wonder Robin left - after his Guns contract expired - to tour with NIN in '99. People like to forget he was a free agent at the time.
Axl brought in Brian May, who was in CD ground zero for a week. His main responsibility was to record over Robin's parts on Catcher, Atlas and third track. Funny enough, the first two carry a title reference to English prose. The Robin/May conundrum puts Atlas up as a big track in the sessions.
"Axl was feeling that he was in a difficult place because... the guitarist that had done most of the tracks had departed, and Axl had a real emotional attachment to what he'd done, and yet he didn't want him on the album... because he'd disappeared...
"Brian, can you come and do stuff which I WILL LIKE, (laughing) and I won't feel too bad about ditching this other stuff?" So I did, I went over there, and I think I played on three tracks." (Brian May, 2000)
"I actually comped [the solos] up with [Sean Beavan] myself." (Brian May, 2008)
"I would go in there and [from] one day to another, Axl would have been in there like, from 5Am to 7AM, comping little bits of my solos and saying 'Can you get Brian to try this?'" (Brian May, 2000)
"All that feel and emotion referred to now [in Catcher] had a lot to do with Sean [Beavan] and I, and the parts I chose out of Brian's different runs, versions, practice runs, etc., to make sure we had those elements in one version. It's entirely constructed from edits based around one specific note Brian hit in a throwaway take." (Axl, 2008)
"He's so intense about EVERY single note that's on there, and the solos that I played. He was totally into it VERY much in the way that Freddie used to be... He did like it, but he wanted to get into EVERY single take of every single note." (Brian May, 2000)
There's a good chance May's work on Atlas was similarly chopped up and glued together again from a multitude of takes. That brings us back to the tuning issues Del James referred to. Once the songs had a structure, they were still a bit loose. Axl wanted to have that literal breathing space for his vocals.
He might've tried going over difficult parts by singing them in an alternate key. Then, his takes would be comped and he'd pick the best deliveries. With drum and bass, they'd be ok. Once Beavan clicked the guitar track on, some parts might have complications.
"[In October 2001, we were recording] overdubs with Buckethead and Robin Finck and some stuff with Tommy Stinson... Atlas Shrugged was pretty good." (Tom Zutaut, Classic Rock, 04/08)
"[On Atlas, an issue has been] getting the mix to a good level." (Axl Rose, chinesedemocracy.com, Dec. 2008)
"I have my own rough mixes, which I took away at the time for the purposes of working on the stuff further, if necessary." (Brian May, 2008)
Getting the mix to a good level would've also been gruelling if various guitar and vocal parts would be interchangeable. Throw it on the wall, see what sticks. Repeat.
Axl certainly had a vision for the album, but his method was to fumble there in the dark.
Ron worked on both Catcher and Atlas. Wonder if Bucket ever did that.
"I actually have the old guitar solo [on my laptop] that I played for [Atlas]... two days before the album was going to be mastered." (Bumblefoot, Eat More Heat, March 2013)
"In October [2008, I] first heard some of final mixes which were incredibly multi-layered and dense." (Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering, 11/25/08)
Get this. Ron recorded a solo for Atlas a month or so before the album came out. Talk about down-on-wire for stuff that was painstakingly comped eight years prior.
"Interesting song... We couldn't put Atlas Shrugged on Chinese Democracy... It would've taken it past the [74-minute time] limit... I was like, "Let's see if we can squeeze it on to the album." I busted out some guitar tracks for it, I have my own studio." (Bumblefoot, Eat More Heat, March 2013)
Is it just me or does this sound like Ron doing a bit of campaigning to include Atlas? The final track listing leaves 2mins and 42secs of available time on the album - big surprise Atlas fell short on the cut. A beleaguered guitar track might've been a dealbreaker for Axl, and perhaps Ron went on an 11th hour quest to elevate the song to the A-list.
Axl may had heard the guitar solo.
He shrugged.
