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- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
Yeah poor bumble basically begged the band in every interview to do something, then took to releasing monthly songs and covers to show how easy it was to drop a single....
Bumblefoot 2014: "In the GNR world, Axl holds the key, and when he decides to do something is when he decides to do it"
DJ Ashba 2014: "The focus is getting in a studio and putting together what we all feel is the best Guns N’ Roses record. Lack of material is not an issue – we have tonnes of stuff and Axl has two full albums that he’s recorded"
Richard Fortus 2017: "It's too good not to happen"
<Crickets>
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
The problem is I can't imagine him doing anything at all.
2 finished albums sitting on some HDD somewhere.
it's a joke.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
In an seriousness though...how much longer do they have?
I think it's fair to say that Axl's voice has noticeably declined in recent years. I'm not just talking since his prime of 88-91 and stuff either. The modern shows make his 2006 shows look incredible. The difference is marked. I guess at this age 10 years is 10 years. It's perhaps a mild improvement from 2013 era in the sense that it's obvious he's trying harder now...but it's clear that he also struggles a lot harder now too.
He is still able to wing impressive moments in songs that let him use his spoken register (ISE, Nighttrain) and songs where he can just scream a lot (Shoot to Kill, Black in Black). But the cracks are showing.
It's clear its only getting harder and harder, and we've reached a point where while he still sounds great in certain moments, on some of the classic hits he's losing the battle. YCBM, Yesterdays and songs like that are starting to sound actively bad. He's getting away with it...JUST. But can anyone see him being able to pull of a tour of this type in 10 more years?
Meanwhile, in finger sills if perhaps not stage presence, Slash hit peak form around 2012 or so, and he's still very close to it now I would say, although there seems to be more error making recently than in the past (not including when he was drugged to hell in the 90s) but how long will this last? He's 52 now...how fast will he be shredding at 62?
Lets put it in perspective. Angus young is a similar age to what Slash will be at that time. While he is still enjoyable to watch...he's noticeably slower and clunkier than he was even 3 or 4 years back. But at least when Angus goes...he will go having done his all first.
This is without the spectre of illness that haunts and us and particularly men once you get into your 50s, 60s and beyond.
The way i see it...there is a window now where they could still do something amazing....Axl has some pre-recorded vocals, and he can still scream enough today that in the studio he could write some songs that still sound killer and world-class...just...Slash still has some juice....it could still happen if they do it NOW and then get out and tour it as a fairwell album or something of that sort in the next 3 years or so.
But if they sit on their cards for another 5 or 10 years as is the pattern.
Well, I fear it's going to be too late.
I want to be cute and quote the line from CD about being out of time, but bullshit aside, they nearly are...they still have a chance to do something awesome here in the twilight years...and damn I wish they would.
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
2006 was pretty incredible. Best Guns N' Roses tour since 1987-1993.
And this is it.
If we look past the fact that Axl will be 57 at his youngest once the AC/DC tour concludes, can we reasonably expect new music given everything we know about the state of the music industry and past Guns history? Going even further, can we expect Axl to make peace with the record company? Can we expect the record company to give into Axl's demands given he isn't a marketable artist anymore? And without a cut of the tour profits? Can we expect Slash and Duff to be enthusiastic about rerecording CDII? Can we expect Axl to put CDII on the shelf in favor of an album from scratch? Can we expect a band flush with money to want to get to work on a new album in the first place?
The answer to most of these questions is a hard no to extremely doubtful.
We're in full "better get it now before it's gone" mode.
Drinks up, gents, this ship is going down. Nothin' left to do, nothin' left to say.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love for them to get serious and prove everyone wrong, but it doesn't look anything near likely.
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
Everything is possible when it comes to Axl.
He a mercurial and unpredictable motherfucker.
I think when he gets AC/DC off his system he will begin working on next album which of course will be a painfully slow process.
Then again, maybe I`m just hopeful and Axl and label are at outright war with each other.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
I think when he gets AC/DC off his system he will begin working on next album which of course will be a painfully slow process.
I think he will most likely do this too.
But I question if he has the time anymore.
I mean they could always bust out the stuff that has finished Axl vocals - silkworms, This I love Remix etc...and easily add Slash to that.
But if Axl starts working on something for 10 more years...I have to ask what shape his voice will be to record it then...and who knows if Slash and Duff will still be healthy...etc....clock is ticking.
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
I don't buy that Zombie.
When things go wrong it's due to bad planning. It isn't because the winds of fate blew unfairly.
The saga seemed to have been a combination of Axl's personal issues and band money issues. The former was why we didn't get an album 1999-2002 and the latter why it took so long to get one in 2008 and never got a followup 2009-2011.
Axl is stable at the present and both Axl and the band is relatively flush with money.
It's not cut and dry. I can speculate the variables and angles. But it's mostly now or never.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: The Creative Crisis of Guns N' Roses
Going even further, can we expect Axl to make peace with the record company? Can we expect the record company to give into Axl's demands given he isn't a marketable artist anymore? And without a cut of the tour profits?
I think this will be the major problem.
I think the labels would be falling over themselves to make a new GNR record with both Axl and Slash..even a bad selling GNR record will sell more than many of the bands they still back. Sure it won't be like the UYI era top of popular culture era...but if they can sell records from The Darkness and Buckcherry and similar acts then a reunion album is no brainer.
But..they are not going to want to spend a fortune on it given modern sales, and, they would most likely prefer a cut of other revenues or some type of 360 deal.
Meanwhile...Axl and co already have no love for the labels....and are also unlikely to want to work within a budget....and are more likely to want retro style marketing or tour promotion funds and that type of thing....
It's hard too because record companies often ARE assholes, meanwhile we know Axl will shoot himself in the foot rather than back down or do something he doesn't wanna do. Just look at the lame release CD got in the end.
Can we expect Slash and Duff to be enthusiastic about rerecording CDII?
This bit doesn't worry me as much.
They seem of with doing the CD songs live, and in fact, they seem to have put a lot of effort into really owning them for themselves.
So I could see them going into the studio and dismantling the guitar parts around Axl's lyrics and really owning them too.
I think Axl would be cool with it too considering he was letting DJ and Bumble do the same thing with CD after it came out and toying with a re-release.
Of course the risk is that it's too industrial for slash even if he rocked it up, but you'd think maybe that could be fixed by letting him add 1 or 2 new songs of Slash/Duff origin to go with it.
In a world where Slash plays This I Love, Chinese Democracy, Catcher in the Rye and Better all the time...I can see him rocking out versions of Axl's other albums. He might prefer it to doing nothing too....like sure he can go back to SMKC for a fun smaller scale tour for a year or two....but what then...it will be time for more GNR....
My worry is they are going to run out of time though, simply because they take the time with projects as if they are 20 year olds when they're in their 50s or whatever now.
