I never understood why the Illusions were tagged overblown and self indulgent. Some things were a bit OTT imo, like 2 Dont Crys, the quotes at the end of Breakdown but overall they are both very good rock albums. They seem to unfairly have a bad reputation.

I like the long songs, mabye its just me, but I couldnt care less how long a song is, if its good.
I listen to classical music and cant imagine any composer being constrained to a set time, purely because of peer pressure.
I dont think they are over produced either, they might sound that way compared to Appetite, but compared to albums from other bands in my collection, Illusions dont sound anything special.

I think Spaghetti Incident is a very well produced album, better than any other in the GNR catalogue.

I guarantee one thing. The 06 tour would have been an absolute flop if not for this:

Guns N'Roses - Greatest Hits

GNR were dead in europe until this, it completely reignited interest in the band. In 2001 the Glasgow gig for the aborted tour barely sold a ticket, in 2006 it sold out in a day. Nothing Axl did to promote the band did this, it was the Greatest Hits album that stormed the charts all over europe and still sells well.
I listened to GNR throughout 1996 to 2004 and and all the parties I threw and attended GNR were not popular, I was often mocked. After Greatest Hits Guns N Roses exploded back into popular culture.

They will tour, if they were happy to milk Appetite yet again in 06/07 then they will milk this album to bring in some income.

Theres a couple of problems I forsee though. Axl was fired up and ready to rock before the 06 tour, he seemed happier and more comfortable than ever in public. It was a great tour and they seemed like one big happy family.

This time there are already murmers about his desire to push this, there is already fragments in the camp, the album has not been as well recieved as they would have hoped. I think the overwelming reaction on the boards is that it is a good album, not a masterpiece. I think they would have hoped for the boards to be overwelmed with new members and all hailing this as the greatest thing ever, that hasnt happened. That doesnt bode well for the album being a runaway success. I think it could be if they push it in the right way. Streeming the album was an odd choice, especially as most of the songs are "growers" even to the most diehard fan. I wondered at the time if it was wise, but time will tell I guess.

The big problem for me is that if Axl is not 100% focused and fit to tour, it will not be long until the wheels come off, if they do go on the road. People will not tolerate no shows, with no suitable warnings.

I said it before in another thread, in this interview Andy Gould definently side-steps the question about working with Axl, and gives an indirect answer.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A16XV79G9Lk

I used to dj locally, playing hard techno and occasionly drum n' bass. We all used vinyl and all of the professional dj's used vinyl in their sets as well at huge professional events, hip hop dj's used and still use vinyl in their sets.
Bass is one of the major components of these genres and yet vinyl has always been the main format used in clubs and at raves. All of this is usually played as loud as can possibly be. Our events motto was "so fuckin loud, we're gonna make your ears bleed."
I have never heard of vinyl being a bad choice if strong clear bass is what your after. I have drum n' bass collections on cd and honestly they pale in comparison to the vinyl versions.
Surely it is the power of the amp and the output limits of the speakers that determine clarity.
I'm not getting on your case, just curious if you could elaborate because I am interested.

Its quite unbelievable how the people in GNR are reluctant to talk about GNR, its like they are scared they will get into trouble.

I dont know if I would be attracted to them at all, if it wasnt for the history of the original line up, because frankly they are all a bit dull.