Realistically, How are you expecting Axl to sound?

[starlight]

I expect him to have a decent voice back and not to be out of breath too much.

[tsinindy]

11 minutes ago, GNRfan2008 said:

 

88-92 I would say. Appetite didn't blow up until Sweet Child was released as a single in August 1988. Then PC/Jungle/Patience all became huge right after. Not too many bands can take a 9 minute song to Top 3 on the Billboard 100, but that is exactly what happened in 1992 with November Rain.

This isn't totally accurate.  The band (and record) hit when David Geffen finally convinced MTV to air the Jungle video early in 1988.  Sweet Child propelled everything to a whole new level and Paradise capped everything off.

[gunsfanoldie]

58 minutes ago, Tom-Ass said:

Appetite and LIES made the UYI era what it was.  November Rain was gigantic but other than that you could see Guns going on a down turn.. They were still selling out shows across the world but Singles like Yesterdays, The Garden and Garden of Eden weren't hits.. People were growing tired of Axl's antics.. The Illusions records did awesome, I loved them but there were a good amount of people that were disappointed in them and there are still endless discussions of what kept them from being great. TSI flopped. Grunge was taking over and Guns N' Roses were becoming uncool fast. They probably broke up at the perfect time. They were kind of becoming a mockery of everything they once stood against.. I think it was Mike McCready of Pearl Jam who had a pretty quote about that. How they Guns N' Roses were like the Antithesis of everything that was wrong with Rock music when they were coming up and then they kind of became everything that they seemed to stand against. 

They probably did disband at the right time.. It is just too bad that they didn't reunite sooner.

That right there is pretty much the whole truth, at least as I see it. Had they gone on longer, it would have probably gotten smaller. They were probably better off breaking up and making their own solo music for a few years without sullying the name of Guns N Roses. Once they broke up, I feel Appetite took on the role it currently has. It became that album that was perfect, and a think a lot of reason for that was people looked back on it fondly now that it wasn't there anymore. Kind of right around when Axl was coming back was when Guns, to me, became accepted as a "great" band by the world and it took on a whole new life. They were kind of "classic rock" at that point and by that point everyone at least knew something from them by then through various channels.

2006 was probably the peak of when the reunion should have happened. Not even because of how Axl sounded, but because it just seemed like the appropriate amount of time had passed where it was a new generation and they were still young enough that it could have been huge. The issue was Chinese was still not out, so I guess maybe 2010 after all that settled would have also been a good time. 2006-2010 after Chinese and after VR was most likely the time, and also before Slash had a solo career. That was the opportunity and they could have had this second act, which at this point seems unlikely but could have happened 10 years ago.

But maybe they'll surprise us. There are bands like Pearl Jam that made it through the shit and came out bigger and more respected in the end, but for a band like Guns that was bound to breakup at any moment, skipping that whole downward period was probably the best thing for them. And as you say, its more just a case of not reuniting sooner for it to make the fullest impact.

[TKesseli]

Axl has been singing throughout almost 15 years with nugnr and i dont believe he gives a shit if he sounds good or not. he sounds almost the same since 2001. maybe he had some vocal problems due to alcoholl or drugs abuse because it was never the same as 90s era. i know he is a lot older but in 2001 it was already like mickey mouse

[RussTCB]

2 minutes ago, TKesseli said:

Axl has been singing throughout almost 15 years with nugnr and i dont believe he gives a shit if he sounds good or not. he sounds almost the same since 2001. maybe he had some vocal problems due to alcoholl or drugs abuse because it was never the same as 90s era. i know he is a lot older but in 2001 it was already like mickey mouse

Except for 2006 and 2010 when he sounded far different than he did in 2001, 2002 and 2011-2014

[GNRfan2008]

22 minutes ago, tsinindy said:

This isn't totally accurate.  The band (and record) hit when David Geffen finally convinced MTV to air the Jungle video early in 1988.  Sweet Child propelled everything to a whole new level and Paradise capped everything off.

 

They were not the biggest band in the world when Jungle was played on MTV. They didn't become a huge deal until Sweet Child. Jungle got re-released and went Top 10 on the Billboard 100 only after Sweet Child blew up.

The Geffen/MTV thing was very important in keeping them on the right track though. Geffen at that point was ready to pull the band off the road and give up on the album, which would have meant no single release for Sweet Child, no re-release of Jungle, and no single release for Paradise City. But they were not the biggest band in the world at this point. It was just a critical point that helped them build toward their destiny.

Edited February 18, 2016 by GNRfan2008

[TKesseli]

9 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Except for 2006 and 2010 when he sounded far different than he did in 2001, 2002 and 2011-2014

Correct. this is the greatest mistery surrounding axl for me. what happens in his throat to make that difference.

[gunsfanoldie]

1 minute ago, TKesseli said:

Correct. this is the greatest mistery surrounding axl for me. what happens in his throat to make that difference.

He tried. Its as simple as that.

I can't explain 2010 as well, but 2006 was a major comeback he had to nail after 2002. He had the fire and its why he sounded great. He needed people to take Guns seriously. 2010, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the first tour since Chinese came out? So I can see that being the impetus. Chinese comes out, he's finally excited and touring this full new album. He played like 4 shows in 2009, all of which weren't as good as 10, but they were insanely long. Then in 2010 he was warmed up, and once again had the fire. So by that logic, this tour would be the next time he has "the fire" and actually sounds good cause he has something to prove.

[TKesseli]

1 hour ago, gunsfanoldie said:

He tried. Its as simple as that.

I can't explain 2010 as well, but 2006 was a major comeback he had to nail after 2002. He had the fire and its why he sounded great. He needed people to take Guns seriously. 2010, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the first tour since Chinese came out? So I can see that being the impetus. Chinese comes out, he's finally excited and touring this full new album. He played like 4 shows in 2009, all of which weren't as good as 10, but they were insanely long. Then in 2010 he was warmed up, and once again had the fire. So by that logic, this tour would be the next time he has "the fire" and actually sounds good cause he has something to prove.

that's good enough for me. hope you're right. i wanna see axl kill it again like old days.

cheers

[gunsfanoldie]

4 minutes ago, TKesseli said:

that's good enough for me. hope you're right. i wanna see axl kill it again like old days.

cheers

I don't think any of us feel otherwise! I'm rooting for the guy like never before. I've long said in a reunion, he's gonna be the weak spot so I'd love him to prove him wrong. Hell, I'm even giving him the benefit of the doubt of just sound OK but really seem like you're trying and I can probably even give him a pass. The ball is in his court at this point, but I'm praying for a rebirth.

[BigD62]

Me and Axl are the same age. I am not what I was in 1988 either but I am still in pretty good shape. I expect the same from Axl not as good as 88 but still pretty damn good!

Edited February 18, 2016 by BigD62

[TheSeeker]

2 hours ago, gunsfanoldie said:

I can't explain 2010 as well, but 2006 was a major comeback he had to nail after 2002. He had the fire and its why he sounded great. 

He'll never admit it, but GNR at that point was competing against Velvet Revolver - I guarantee you Axl didn't want to look washed up compared to Scott Weiland

Competition is healthy

Edited February 18, 2016 by TheSeeker

[Kill_YourIdols]

13 minutes ago, TheSeeker said:

He'll never admit it, but GNR at that point was competing against Velvet Revolver - I guarantee you Axl didn't want to look washed up compared to Scott Weiland

Competition is healthy

I agree with this and that's also why I believe he'll bring his A game for this tour as well, he won't allow himself to be upstaged by Slash and Duff or be seen as the weak link of this reunion, his ego won't let him and his ego is pretty much the only thing I trust about Axl Rose. So if he sucks I don't think it will be because he wasn't trying.

[EvanG]

26 minutes ago, Kill_YourIdols said:

I agree with this and that's also why I believe he'll bring his A game for this tour as well, he won't allow himself to be upstaged by Slash and Duff or be seen as the weak link of this reunion, his ego won't let him and his ego is pretty much the only thing I trust about Axl Rose. So if he sucks I don't think it will be because he wasn't trying.

Maybe he will suck because at age 54 it's almost impossible to still produce that ''screaming'' voice that he is so well known for, or at least not even half as good as when he was in his prime.

Edited February 18, 2016 by EvanG

[Tom-Ass]

1 hour ago, EvanG said:

Maybe he will suck because at age 54 it's almost impossible to still produce that ''screaming'' voice that he is so well known for, or at least not even half as good as when he was in his prime.

He has so many good voices. He should replace the screaming voice with them more often. I think it would sound just as good in some cases rather than struggling.. And I'm not including Mickey in those voices. This might be extreme but how bad could a song like You Could Be Mine sound with an It's So Easyish voice?

[bigpoop]

6 hours ago, GNRfan2008 said:

 

88-92 I would say. Appetite didn't blow up until Sweet Child was released as a single in August 1988. Then PC/Jungle/Patience all became huge right after. Not too many bands can take a 9 minute song to Top 3 on the Billboard 100, but that is exactly what happened in 1992 with November Rain.

The Sweet Child single was released in June. Wiki has it as August but they are wrong.

[F*ck Fear]

He most likely sound like he did a year ago.

With that being said his 06' -07' or 2010 vocal would be great!

[EvanG]

13 hours ago, Tom-Ass said:

He has so many good voices. He should replace the screaming voice with them more often. I think it would sound just as good in some cases rather than struggling.. And I'm not including Mickey in those voices. This might be extreme but how bad could a song like You Could Be Mine sound with an It's So Easyish voice?

I agree, but that high scream voice is what made him stand out and is what most people know him for as a singer. And that is what I meant... a lot of people will say he sucks now if GnR's most famous songs will suddenly have a ''normal'' singing voice simply because he can't pull the ''scream'' off anymore (which isn't very realistic anyway for a man of that age). I personally won't say he sucks... but people in general are very criticial. 

[Apollo]

20 hours ago, Tom-Ass said:

Appetite and LIES made the UYI era what it was.  November Rain was gigantic but other than that you could see Guns going on a down turn.. They were still selling out shows across the world but Singles like Yesterdays, The Garden and Garden of Eden weren't hits.. People were growing tired of Axl's antics.. The Illusions records did awesome, I loved them but there were a good amount of people that were disappointed in them and there are still endless discussions of what kept them from being great. TSI flopped. Grunge was taking over and Guns N' Roses were becoming uncool fast. They probably broke up at the perfect time. They were kind of becoming a mockery of everything they once stood against.. I think it was Mike McCready of Pearl Jam who had a pretty quote about that. How they Guns N' Roses were like the Antithesis of everything that was wrong with Rock music when they were coming up and then they kind of became everything that they seemed to stand against. 

They probably did disband at the right time.. It is just too bad that they didn't reunite sooner.

Spot on. 

But I think if they would have just disappeared from the public eye for a year and then came back with an old fashion kick ass rock album more along the lines of Appetite and less along the lines of the bloated and pretentious Illusioms then they could have kept the ball rolling. 

IE - songs and videos like SCOM and Jungle instead of the extravagant videos like Estranged and Nov Rain. 

Think about this. If in 95/96 the label said "here is a million bucks, give us an album in one month, and we've booked you for a six month mini tour playing small clubs. Let's get back to your roots." One guy would have said "fuck you" while four guys would have said "hell yes."

Axl wanted to be larger than life. He wanted to be a celebrity. 

Axl wanted to marry super models, hang out with Hollywood elite and "prove" to the world that he was special. Slash and the rest of the boys wanted to bang strippers, party and play clubs.  

 

[Apollo]

16 hours ago, TheSeeker said:

He'll never admit it, but GNR at that point was competing against Velvet Revolver - I guarantee you Axl didn't want to look washed up compared to Scott Weiland

Competition is healthy

Spot on. 

And unfortunately, Axl not wanting to share his music with his millions of fans is what really hurts him now in terms of his voice and concert performances. 

If he would have released 5-6 albums over the last 20 years, each album would have been a progression that matched his maturing/aging voice. 

So as a 54-year old his live performances wouldn't have to feature songs he wrote 30-years ago. It is a bit silly to listen to a middle aged man singing welcome to the jungle and paradise city and being on the nightrain. 

Axl is so talented and GnR was such an amazing band, it's a shame that they have to rely on albums released in 1987-1991. 

[GNRfan2008]

5 hours ago, Apollo said:

Axl wanted to be larger than life. He wanted to be a celebrity. 

Axl wanted to marry super models, hang out with Hollywood elite and "prove" to the world that he was special. Slash and the rest of the boys wanted to bang strippers, party and play clubs.  

 

 

I think it's more complicated than that. Otherwise Axl would not have become a Howard Hughes-esque recluse.

[Strange Broue]

Something similar to the stronger 2012  and 2014 shows... 

which would be a bit bad in this case

my dream would be the 2010  full raspy voice, but i don't think it's possible but who knows....

 

[Strange Broue]

On 2016. 02. 17. at 0:29 AM, Tom2112 said:

The amount of people who say "I don't really mind if Axl sounds bad, Slash and Duff will make up for it, and take the pressure off Axl"... This idea is ridiculous, if the singer sucks! the band sucks! End of!

If Axl sounds like crap, yeh seeing Slash, Duff plus whoever will be a novelty, but am I going to enjoy the show? Is it going to reviewed well, is it going to sound good on a live release or pro shot? No.

If Axl doesn't good there's no point in doing it.

Like it or not, he is still the deciding factor. Obviously peoples attention will now be divided three ways, but the majority don't care if a guitarist or bassist flub a note, they can't hear it; a singer on the other hand is open to a whole lot more scrutiny.

I hope that Axl sounds great when the shows start in April, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. 

great post

I'm very optimistic with Slash and Duff on board, that will motivate Axl to sound good again


but if he sounds like shit, then this whole regrouping/reunion is just turns out to  nightmare.... seeing Slash and Duff with a washed up Axl Rose who sings like Mickey Mouse would be the ultimate point where i completely give up on this band... 

[Apollo]

35 minutes ago, GNRfan2008 said:

 

I think it's more complicated than that. Otherwise Axl would not have become a Howard Hughes-esque recluse.

Axl wasn't a recluse from 86-93. 

You can throw in his ego and wannabe dictatorship role and partially Slash/Duff substance abuse issues as well. 

[GNRfan2008]

6 minutes ago, Apollo said:

Axl wasn't a recluse from 86-93. 

You can throw in his ego and wannabe dictatorship role and partially Slash/Duff substance abuse issues as well. 

 

He was already well on his way to becoming one by 1992-1993.