Do you think that Axl saved the big guns for a possible reunion?

[DeadSlash]

Maybe on purpose, because in the back of his mind he knew/felt it would happen.

Maybe subliminaly because he simply could not get the sound he wanted out of other musicians, Axl has said, on record that not having Slash was the main thing preventing the release of a proper GnR record. I just came out of another post saying a new album should be 100% from scratch material, I think that is just plain asinine. If The General has been sitting on the shelf in desperate need of Slash's sound, I cannot wait to hear it.

At this point, I'm sure Slash. Duff and probably Izzy have heard Axl's stash and I would be SHOCKED if there has not been a discussion about what they could add to a song.

I think our most realistic shot at a new album is one that is half written. Treat the current versions of Axl's best material like drum machine demos, drop all other musicians and record it with Slash, Duff and whoever else joins sound and spin.

Imagine "This I love" with Slash instead?

Leave the "Should and shouldn't BS for the other thread, this thread is strictly about the POSSIBILITY that Axl hung on to what he thought were his best songs because he always knew they would only be epic with Slash's touch.

[SLCPUNK]

Not at all. I think Axl is lazy.

He may have had big plans, but he failed to execute.

What I want more than anything from this reunion is new music, but I still give that 50/50, and I sure don't think it will be something he's been holding back over the years.

[gunsfanoldie]

No. I really really don't. I think we're at that perfect time where time finally healed the wounds a bit, Slash got divorced, and Axl's band members were leaving/they just didn't have any more to conquer. It was the perfect storm of "eh, here's our final ace in the hole."

I don't think Axl's been singing badly just waiting for a reunion. I think he won't sound that much different, although I'd love to be surprised. He has it in him to get back into shape and do well. But I don't think he was saving anything for this. Honestly, that'd be the biggest fuck you to fans that actually supported his new band, which most of the general public didn't buy at all, so to piss off what you had left just to wait for a reunion would make no sense. I think he's just lazy, and after a few times of genuine trying in 02 and 06, he just went into autopilot.

[DarkLotus1111]

I hope so too. I love to hear that sequel to Estranged. The General and Seven. I hope that they are worth it and not some Scraped sounding track...

[Estranged1]

If it's a true reunion then Duff and Slash will kick things into high gear and shit will happen

[DeadSlash]

No. I really really don't. I think we're at that perfect time where time finally healed the wounds a bit, Slash got divorced, and Axl's band members were leaving/they just didn't have any more to conquer. It was the perfect storm of "eh, here's our final ace in the hole."

I don't think Axl's been singing badly just waiting for a reunion. I think he won't sound that much different, although I'd love to be surprised. He has it in him to get back into shape and do well. But I don't think he was saving anything for this. Honestly, that'd be the biggest fuck you to fans that actually supported his new band, which most of the general public didn't buy at all, so to piss off what you had left just to wait for a reunion would make no sense. I think he's just lazy, and after a few times of genuine trying in 02 and 06, he just went into autopilot.

I don't know, I think it's a valid point you are making, but one thing I think we can all agree on is that it's impossible to know exactly What Axl is thinking. Given that, I think there is an equal possibility that not releasing the big guns is the opposite of a "fuck you" to the fans. I'm a video game nerd so I'll pull examples from that world, but I'm sure people can pull similar examples from all over the place.

Resident Evil 2 and Doom4 were both over 50% complete before being scraped and redone. This was absolutely not a fuck you to the fans of those games, the creators simply did not think they were good enough in their current forms and didn't want to release them that way.

I think releasing a half ass General or Seven would be more of a "fuck you" cash grab than hanging on to it until it was perfect.

Maybe even if he wasn't thinking of Slash, he just wasn't happy with the end product. Maybe Slash can make that end product become Axl's vision.

[gunsfanoldie]

Maybe. I do get what you're saying there, and it is very possible. I just think, he had SO much to hurdle over in order to get this new band off the ground. He knew what people would say, he knew he'd have to prove it, and he knew he'd have to stick to it for quite awhile to at least give the impression that he wasn't backing down. You're gonna do all that, and not even try? Save your best stuff for a reunion that was 20 years down the line? I get what you're saying, but it really does seem like that was such a wasted 15 years at that point.

I just think the perfect storm of everything I mentioned, including the crucial Duff meeting which I forgot to include, led to a perfect storm of a reunion. I find it very hard to believe there was a conscious effort to hold back and save stuff for the reunion. I think if anything ends up being a "big gun" with this reunion, its out of pure coincidence.

[romeorose]

Does anyone know at what date did Axl & Slash actually talked again and when they 1st seen each other in person again? Has that been revealed yet?

[gunsfanoldie]

Does anyone know at what date did Axl & Slash actually talked again and when they 1st seen each other in person again? Has that been revealed yet?

No. I don't even think its been confirmed, although its heavily assumed, that they've actually spoken. Definitely not in person, but even over the phone. Seems insane they haven't given all thats happened. We don't know anything behind the scenes. We don't know when they actually, if ever, got together in person, and we have no papparazzi thats pointed it out yet. As to when they started talking? We don't know that either. We've been told its essentially been a two year process, probably starting with Slash allowing Axl to release his DVD and building from there. We'll probably never know actual dates or when things happened.

[SOH]

Does anyone know at what date did Axl & Slash actually talked again and when they 1st seen each other in person again? Has that been revealed yet?

No. I don't even think its been confirmed, although its heavily assumed, that they've actually spoken. Definitely not in person, but even over the phone. Seems insane they haven't given all thats happened. We don't know anything behind the scenes. We don't know when they actually, if ever, got together in person, and we have no papparazzi thats pointed it out yet. As to when they started talking? We don't know that either. We've been told its essentially been a two year process, probably starting with Slash allowing Axl to release his DVD and building from there. We'll probably never know actual dates or when things happened.

It was probably around the time of that Swedish interview considering Slash's nervous reaction and lack of answer.

[Roky]

There are no "Big Guns".

[wasted]

I think Axl had 3 songs he wanted Slash on or something. Which ones I'm not sure. Whether he held them back or just got Robin and Ron to do them is hard to say.

[DeadSlash]

There are no "Big Guns".

That's really something that we don't know and all indications would show otherwise. There would have to be a major slew of people who have confirmed it that would turn out to have lied about it with no incentive. I know it's fun and in style to just bash wherever you can, haters are running out of material now that the reunion is on, but at this point claiming that the General and Seven are made up is grasping at straws. Stick to ticket prices.

[Rovim]

I'll try to be objective... I think Axl was telling the truth when he said in 2006 that he had 26 done and another 6 songs he thought could maybe be a part of Chinese.

Then years later, many people said the Chinese project was 30 songs. About 30. We got 14. So there are at least 16 more finished and 2 in addition. Chinese era tunes with vocals, Bumble and Frank.

Not sure if those were mixed, but my guess is 30 songs were mixed by now. Recently Fortus said Axl has 3 albums of material, but maybe the completion stage is different.

With Slash and Duff fully on board now and with Izzy helping out, I can see Axl wanting to add the best ideas and tunes from what they can come up with and Fortus as well.

We know Atlas Shrugged exists, the Slash song he can now finish, and Izzy's Down By The Ocean including many more.

To answer the question: no, I don't believe Axl saved anything for a reunion. He probably believed it was never gonna happen. It seems he just picked the best songs that go together in a context of an album.

There will always be big Guns in an Axl album imo. We got plenty of them on Chinese and even a song Axl had trouble to let go of. (This I Love)

I think Slash and Duff can potentially convince Axl that some songs need to be released like Robin managed to convince Axl This I Love must be free.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Rovim

[Stress Fracture]

Slash, Izzy and Duff are all still keen recording artists (not that the members of the previous line up weren't) and Axl has something to prove. It would be sad if they couldn't release at least one song as GNR over the next year or so. It would also help promote the 'regrouping' as something more than a cash grab.

[tonsco]

I've always been a huge fan of Duff's bass work but just recently I begun thinking that Duff's bass lines in many of the key songs are equally as vital as Slash's lead riff's that turn a 'good' song into a 'great' song. I'm sure I'm not alone here so, while I think some songs MAY have been held off for Slash, they can only benefit more from having some Duff on them also. And.....of course..... some Goddamn IZZY STRADLIN sleazy backing vocals!

[wasted]

I think there's an Axl quote about why CD exists. He wanted to make a spirtual album without going religious? He was motivated by petty dictators around the world. So I think there was a theme that in someways guided which songs. But also he talked about what was right to release. Pushing the envelope too far. But also the songs need to be able to be played live. He wants to experiment and be popular.

Slash coming in now is perfect. Axl has songs written, no need to wait 5 years for him to write something. If Slash, Duff and Izzy knock up some songs that's great.

I'd be happy with Bride of Franenstein mixtape. Made with chemicals from 96 to 16.

They just need to write one classic GNR rocker to hang it all on.

[Lies They Tell]

I do believe that Axl saved many big guns for later. Not because of a potential reunion, but because it's the wise thing to do. Never put all your eggs in one basket. Plus there's a lot of evidence that suggests that many of the greatest songs are yet to be released.

But I do think that there's a big chance that the release of CD2 was delayed many times because of the potential reunion. There was negotiations between Axl and Slash and Axl didn't want to release CD2 before he knew if Slash is coming back or not. So in that sense Axl may have been saving those songs for the reunion. He originally intended to release the album with the band that he had, but ever since the negotiations started his mind and focus has been on the reunion.

Only guessing of course!

[prettytiedup88]

Maybe on purpose, because in the back of his mind he knew/felt it would happen.

Maybe subliminaly because he simply could not get the sound he wanted out of other musicians, Axl has said, on record that not having Slash was the main thing preventing the release of a proper GnR record. I just came out of another post saying a new album should be 100% from scratch material, I think that is just plain asinine. If The General has been sitting on the shelf in desperate need of Slash's sound, I cannot wait to hear it.

At this point, I'm sure Slash. Duff and probably Izzy have heard Axl's stash and I would be SHOCKED if there has not been a discussion about what they could add to a song.

I think our most realistic shot at a new album is one that is half written. Treat the current versions of Axl's best material like drum machine demos, drop all other musicians and record it with Slash, Duff and whoever else joins sound and spin.

Imagine "This I love" with Slash instead?

Leave the "Should and shouldn't BS for the other thread, this thread is strictly about the POSSIBILITY that Axl hung on to what he thought were his best songs because he always knew they would only be epic with Slash's touch.

Interesting thought. I'd quite like to think Axl has a level of humility and can realise when he has a track which requires older members of the band.

I would love a reworked 'This I Love'. Slash's sound with Axl's rasp vocals. The CD version is underwhelming for what is obviously a well written song.

[Brunzopolis]

Yeah, I can see this.

It would fit in with Axl's world domination/grandiose thinking/shoot for the stars mindset, that you sometimes get the sense he has - either by things he's said outright, or implied, or just by reading into his actions.

Maybe he's mellowed too much, and these traits are no longer there, but maybe not. I think Axl is maybe crazy enough to still have these types of ideas, even at his current age.

But too, it may be that he doesn't even know what he has, musically, in The Vault; and so therefore his decision to withhold stuff, wasn't necessarily a conscious decision. It just "happened" that way. Because that's sometimes how these things work.

[RussTCB]

Nah.....

Because that would make CDs flop look even worse and even more like Axl couldn't do anything w/o Slash.

[Colossus of Rhodes]

When these guys collaborate they produce big guns.

All of them must have accumulated some material by now (maybe worth of few albums taken altogether),
but taken individually it's just more of a the same - more of CD, more of SLASH and more of Izzy's solo work. IMO, the key is for them to sit down and work together.

[life_247]

I have never bought the idea that Axl with one of the most anticipated albums of all time in Chinese Democracy decided that he would hold back material. If the songs were good and there was a consensus among the members that a song was good I could see it going on the album. For all the talk of hired hands and employees at the end of the day the guys were there to be musicians - they must of been respected on some level by Axl so I just can't imagine them creating these master pieces and Axl going no,no.no we have to hold onto it.

If Axl wanted to hold on to something and everyone else (People in the band, Producers etc) turned round and said "no this has to go on the record!!" - I think he would of obliged.

While I can see certain songs left off because they didn't fit the feel or sound of the album (Im not sure what that would constitue that album has everything on it), the only other material is either not good enough, similar to songs that were on CD but didn't stand out or REALLY FUCKING WIERD!

[Silent Jay]

Axl wants another platinium record.

[Tom-Ass]

I don't think Axl waiting 15 years to release a CD worth of crap so he could save his big guns for a reunion.. If He had any big guns, they would have been on Chinese.