Top 5 AFD songs for potential reunion/hybrid

[rocknroll41]

Mods, not sure if this is in the right section. Feel free to move if needed.

So I noticed a lot of people discussing in the "days away" (lol) thread that if this reunion/ hybrid tour thing really does work out, chances are they'll just play mostly AFD material, which is what they've already been doing on their own for the most part anyway.

So even tho this is HIGHLY unlikely, let's say at some point down the road, if this reunion/ hybrid thing really does become long term (assuming it even happens in the first place that is) they decide to make a record and do a proper tour where they'd play mostly that record and only a handful of AFD songs.

If you had to pick your Top 5 songs off AFD for them to continue doing live at that point, which songs would you pick and why?

My pick:

Welcome To the Jungle (it's one of the big 3)

Sweet Child O' Mine (same reason as above)

Paradise City (same reason as above)

It's So Easy (it's so easy for Axl to sing, and it was kinda a minor hit)

Mr. Brownstone (same reason as above)

Honorable mentions:

Nightrain (I like it but these days it mainly just works as a pre-encore closer, and I feel like they have plenty of other tunes that can fill that quota. They didn't play it on the first few post-CD release shows in 2009 and it was fine)

Out Ta Get Me (it's great but I feel the theme of this song especially is something that the band is pretty far off from now. No cops are chasing them anymore or anything like that)

Rocket Queen (the transition part is especially epic and its a great finale for appetite, but for me it really just doesn't feel as important as the top 5 I picked for some reason)

Your turn

[James Bond]

Realistically they will never drop Jungle, Paradise City, or Sweet Child, so if we're narrowing the list down to five then there's really only two spots to fill. I'd vote Rocket Queen and Nightrain myself. Even with a new album I just don't see them dropping too much of the Appetite material. It's the reason 90% of the casual fans are there. Arguably the casuals would be satisfied with just "the big three" but stuff like Brownstone and It's So Easy will probably stay. Just for the love of God - if there's a reunion tour, don't open with Jungle, Easy, Brownstone. We need a new order!

[rocknroll41]

Realistically they will never drop Jungle, Paradise City, or Sweet Child, so if we're narrowing the list down to five then there's really only two spots to fill. I'd vote Rocket Queen and Nightrain myself. Even with a new album I just don't see them dropping too much of the Appetite material. It's the reason 90% of the casual fans are there. Arguably the casuals would be satisfied with just "the big three" but stuff like Brownstone and It's So Easy will probably stay. Just for the love of God - if there's a reunion tour, don't open with Jungle, Easy, Brownstone. We need a new order!

Yeah that's true, didn't really think of that. I suppose Civil War would be a pretty cool opener

[wasted]

Whole first side minus OTGM plus SCOM

[Gackt]

Welcome to the Jungle

Nightrain

Paradise City

Sweet Child o' Mine

Rocket Queen

simple as that

[rocknroll41]

Whole first side minus OTGM plus SCOM

So no PC? That's bold

[wasted]

Whole first side minus OTGM plus SCOM

So no PC? That's bold

First side includes PC? But that's still 6.

Jungle

Scom

PC

Are nailed on.

Easy and Brownstone.

But hard to leave out Nightrain.

[rocknroll41]

Welcome to the Jungle

Nightrain

Paradise City

Sweet Child o' Mine

Rocket Queen

simple as that

Since you were the second person to say this, I feel like this is probably the way to go. Maybe throw in Brownstone at the most.

Easy may be easy for Axl to sing, but now that I think about it more it can easily be replaced with a new song that is equally as easy to sing

Edited November 30, 2015 by rocknroll41

[Apollo]

Do u really think they are going to drop the Appetite playlist down to just five songs?

Gackt has a great list. Time to retire brownstone and easy.

[DieselDaisy]

There are always going to be playing at least nine songs from Appetite, however, if it was me, I would whitelist Jungle, Nightrain, Sweet Child, Brownstone, It's so Easy and Paradise City - that is six, sorry. If you are going to be really bold, then perhaps It's so Easy and Brownstone could be played interchangeably which would reduce the number to a five, however, I've never seen Guns as that advantageous with their setlists. You are rather expecting GN'R - and a GN'R reunion nonetheless - to act like Neil Young here haha.

[Stress Fracture]

We'll be getting more AFD, not less. On the next tour and any after it. You'll be lucky to get five songs off of any new album!

On top of what's already nailed on, I think You're Crazy will become another reunion staple every night too. Well, the GNR Lies version at least.

As to what are the two most untouchable songs after WTTJ, SCOM and PC? I'd have to say It's So Easy and Nightrain. They could just about get away with leaving Mr Brownstone and Rocket Queen off down the line but they'd need to come up with something special to take their place.

[wasted]

Have they ever not played Easy and Brownstone?

I would question them playing them in the CD era but for a reunion they have to be played.

It would be cool to play the whole of AFD.

Then

Play the acoustic side of Lies

Then play Don't Cry, Nov Rain, Estranged.

Close the set with Live n Let Die, YCBM, Heaven's Door and Civil War.

[Słash]

Welcome to the Jungle

Nightrain

Paradise City

Sweet Child o' Mine

Rocket Queen

simple as that

THIS.

I would want them to play You're Crazy and some other stuff, but these are the top 5 songs they will play no matter what.

[11dayempire]

WTTJ – non-negotiable. The show has to open with That Riff and Axl asking us if we know where the FUCK YOU AAAAAAAAAAAAAARE.

You're Crazy – never as big a hit as the others, and perhaps for that reason it's always been the one that the band felt free to fiddle around with. Slow versions, fast versions, electric, acoustic – even Fortus tweaked the main riff a bit. I'd like to see how they mix it up this time.

Nightrain – really want to hear Fortus and Slash trading licks on this one.

Rocket Queen – just 'cause I'm curious how they'd divvy up the solos. Would Fortus get to do the slide guitar while Slash does the talk box stuff?

SCOM – come on, who wouldn't want to hear Axl and Slash belting out the iconic GN'R song one more time?

[LTD]

Nightrain (I like it but these days it mainly just works as a pre-encore closer, and I feel like they have plenty of other tunes that can fill that quota. They didn't play it on the first few post-CD release shows in 2009 and it was fine)

Your turn

Hehe. I think you kinda touched the fundamental insanity in any and all 30 year old rockbands. How the fuck are you supposed to perform (let alone record) songs like Nightrain in that position? It has been like 35 years since these guys walked Streets of Hollywood wasted, randomly shouting Nightrain like pile of idiots.

I'm not saying you need to be young, wasted and shout Nightrain like a fucking moron to make a good rock album.. But I feel it DOES often require taste of life to write songs people can identify with.

Utterly detached multi-billionaires living life of an extremely privileged mansion-hermit end up making albums like CD, no matter how talented they are. Ie utterly detached rock epics. They have approx as good a change in sounding life-tasting as an album recorded by some lizard aliens posing as humans. In that place, it seems you end up writing songs about a relationship with trophy supermodel that ended 20 years back. Or alternatively, you write about how watching CNN 3 p. news while wearing your 5000 dollar pyjamas makes you feel. As you sit in your Mansion. Surrounded and cushioned by TB.

Edited November 30, 2015 by LTD

[rocknroll41]

Nightrain (I like it but these days it mainly just works as a pre-encore closer, and I feel like they have plenty of other tunes that can fill that quota. They didn't play it on the first few post-CD release shows in 2009 and it was fine)

Your turn

Hehe. I think you kinda touched the fundamental insanity in any and all 30 year old rockbands. How the fuck are you supposed to perform (let alone record) songs like Nightrain in that position? It has been like 35 years since these guys walked Streets of Hollywood wasted, randomly shouting Nightrain like pile of idiots.

I'm not saying you need to be young, wasted and shout Nightrain like a fucking moron to make a good rock album.. But it DOES require taste of life to make em.

Utterly detached multi-billionaires living life of an extremely privileged mansion-hermit end up making albums like CD, no matter how talented they are. Ie utterly detached rock epics. They have approx as good a change in sounding life-tasting as album recorded by some lizard aliens posing as humans. In that place, it seems you end up writing songs about a relationship with trophy supermodel that ended 20 years back. Or alternatively, you write about how watching CNN on your 2000 dollar pyjamas makes you feel. As you sit in your Mansion. Surrounded and cushioned by TB.

I do agree that this is the reason most rock bands tend to fall out-of-touch after a while. Youth helps to connect to what's relevant in the world right now, and being part of the lower or middle class helps even more. Once you're old and rich, you're naturally placed in your own little world and kinda become detached from the rest of society.

That's not to say you still can't write good songs, tho. For example, I consider Billy Corgan to be one of the greatest songwriters ever. His new record is a fun listen every now and then, even tho it certainly is nowhere near the level of epicness that his classic records were at. Even he admits, tho, that if rock were to ever become a significant influence on modern music again, it'd have to be from someone young who's actually going thru relevant things related to influential music. I'm pretty sure his exact line was "It couldn't be from me, it'd have to be from someone with youth behind them." I also vaguely remember another interview where he said part of what influenced him so much as a kid was living in a run-down town and having a shitty childhood. But now he lives in a nice area and made peace with his family. So there yah go. He says that it's for this reason specifically he just writes mostly love songs now instead of trying to make Siamese Dream II. Tho even that get's stale.

Same issue applies to Axl/GNR. I want them to let go of Appetite apart from a few staples cause it's no longer relevant to where they are now, but the casuals (who would be the majority of the audience) would want mostly Appetite, I guess. Also, I want them to make a new record cause we deserve more music, but if they tried to do Appetite-style songs it'd be silly, and if they tried to write about stuff going on with them now (love songs, politics, etc) it'd probably be a boring theme.

So it seems like a lose-lose scenario as far as creativity goes. But oh well, I would still be beyond happy to see Axl and Slash playing together again regardless of what they play, and I'll take whatever new music they'd be willing to throw out there regardless of tone/theme.

Edited November 30, 2015 by rocknroll41

[dalsh327]

Instrumental intro for the hybrid lineup

(I think this was the first song Fortus and Stinson worked together on)

[BreakDown2014]

Nightrain for the rest of eternity

[SlashElvisTCB]

Honestly as a GNR fan I love the songs Mr Brownstone & Its So Easy but when songs like "Don't Damn Me" and "Get in The Ring" have never been played live I think the cookie cutter generic GNR songs need to take a back seat for a bit and let the stuff with meat on the bone go to the crowd.

Obviously theres no way in Hell Paradise City won't be played, its probably the top 1 or 2 hard rock guitar songs & best end solo of all time and theres no way to top it as a closer. Unlike "Its So Easy" & "Mr Brownstone" Paradise City NEVER gets old, weather I'm jamming it with my band or playing air guitar while washing dishes between bartending in front of everyone, Paradise City is BOSS.

As for the Appetite stuff in general, you don't even need to ask for it because you'll receive it anyway!, the real question is WHAT Illusions & Lies stuff or even TSI stuff do you want to hear?. In light of that here are my picks I'd like to see played at some point in a potential tour...

"Don't Damn Me"

"November Rain"

"Shotgun Blues" (Never Played Live)

"Coma"

"Back Off Bitch" Only in the VERY early days was it played live and once by request during 91 in Toronto, would love to hear the Illusions style done properly Live.

"Estranged"

"Pretty Tied Up"

"Locomotive"

"Get In The Ring" but updated to reflect the newer generations of GNR shit talkers, it was also never played live so I feel it needs to be vindicated.

[TOS--LOA]

Honestly as a GNR fan I love the songs Mr Brownstone & Its So Easy but when songs like "Don't Damn Me" and "Get in The Ring" have never been played live I think the cookie cutter generic GNR songs need to take a back seat for a bit and let the stuff with meat on the bone go to the crowd.

Obviously theres no way in Hell Paradise City won't be played, its probably the top 1 or 2 hard rock guitar songs & best end solo of all time and theres no way to top it as a closer. Unlike "Its So Easy" & "Mr Brownstone" Paradise City NEVER gets old, weather I'm jamming it with my band or playing air guitar while washing dishes between bartending in front of everyone, Paradise City is BOSS.

As for the Appetite stuff in general, you don't even need to ask for it because you'll receive it anyway!, the real question is WHAT Illusions & Lies stuff or even TSI stuff do you want to hear?. In light of that here are my picks I'd like to see played at some point in a potential tour...

"Don't Damn Me"

"November Rain"

"Shotgun Blues" (Never Played Live)

"Coma"

"Back Off Bitch" Only in the VERY early days was it played live and once by request during 91 in Toronto, would love to hear the Illusions style done properly Live.

"Estranged"

"Pretty Tied Up"

"Locomotive"

"Get In The Ring" but updated to reflect the newer generations of GNR shit talkers, it was also never played live so I feel it needs to be vindicated.

My gut feeling is that if you're hoping for GNR Reunited to explore the illusions back catalogue you're gonna have a bad time. I think new material that caters more to 2015 Axl would be in the best interests of all involved. I mean maybe he could pull off The Garden or Breakdown and continue with Yesterdays but if Old Uncle Axl even attempts COMA, Locomotive, Garden of Eden, Don't Damn Me etc. I'll eat Slash's iconic top hat.

*Edit - Actually they would have to cater to 2016 Axl who is actually older than 2015 Axl.

Edited November 30, 2015 by TOS--LOA

[Silent Jay]

Three too obvious songs that I will pass.

Nightrain

Think About You

Rocket Queen

Easy

My Michelle

Really want to hear Think About You again.

[dalsh327]

Rocket Queen's probably going to be 20 minutes long

[rocknroll41]

Since the UYI stuff has now been brought up in here, I'll add what I think should be played from the other records:

Lies: Patience, Used to Love Her

Use Your Illusion I: November Rain

Use Your Illusion II: Civil War, Yesterdays, Estranged, You Could Be Mine

The Spaghetti Incident: nothing

Chinese Democracy: I feel like it'd be cool if they played just one song from here...not sure which one though...

And that's it! Save the rest of the concert time for the solo spots, improv band jams, Appetite stuff, and hopefully a few new songs.

As much as I like some of the deep cuts, they're a bit dated now and probably wouldn't sound right live in 2016.

Edited November 30, 2015 by rocknroll41

[Tom-Ass]

I want to see the whole damn album but if I had to pick 5

Think About You

Out Ta Get me

It's So Easy

Rocket Queen

Nightrain

[adamwolff11]

They could probably alternate Brownstone/It's So Easy and be alright, but obviously that's highly unlikely. I think I'd probably go:

Welcome to the Jungle

SCOM

Paradise City

It's So Easy

Rocket Queen

I'd take It's So Easy over Brownstone because I think it's probably the song Axl sounds the best on these days.

Realistically, a reunion will just result in more AFD music, not less. Fun discussion, though.