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Piano in Use your Illusion: Was it a mistake?


Piano in Use your Illusion  

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Curious to see if there is a consensus here about whether people have accepted the "saloon" style rockers w/ piano or if they still stick out like a sore thumb.

How do you feel about the piano being used in some of the UYI songs?

I honestly can't say either way. I don't like the piano in the live setting AT ALL - it feels incredibly cheesy. However, songs like 14 years have such a unique vibe with the piano -- can't deny that I enjoy it.

 

Edited by RONIN
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They needed to advance their sound to satisfy Axl's desire to evolve the band. 

Look at one instance in an interview where Axl is talking about playing Live and let Die...he says he wasn't sure if they were good enough to do the song and after doing it he realized they nailed it. 

I think Axl had it in his mind that being a rock band was cool, but being artists/musicians meant they could reach across all genres and be great at everything. Even if it meant sacrificing what made them cool, Axl seemed to be determined to unleash the full scope of what they were capable of. 

Its why he didn't accept Slash's snake pit songs, and why he said he just wanted everyone to see how great Slash was when he left. He probably thought skakepit was too "appetite" and when Slash left for the reasons he did Axl probably felt a bit like someone in a breakup "I did this for you"

now no matter how deluded that sounds, Axl really wanted Guns N Roses to be more Beatles than Led Zeppelin,  he wanted to experiment, he didn't want to recreate things, he knew they were good at what they did, now he wanted to push music to see what he could get out of it. 

I don't believe Axl when he said he wanted to do something closer to AFD on the album they were working on in 96 when Slash left...or that he wanted to make a traditional rock record. 

The piano was necessary for Axl and is a big part of Chinese. You don't get UYI with Axl without the piano. 

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21 minutes ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

November Rain and Estranged are piano songs, they wouldn't make sense without it. Other than those, the one where I feel the piano fits well is Bad Apples but I wish there was no piano in songs like Civil War.

Nailed it on the head. I love the piano barroom rockers like Bad Apples and 14 Years, I actually wish there were some short bluesy piano solos on some songs like what Dizzy did live on KOHD in 1993. But I don't know any song from UYI where I react with "oh that piano annoys me". Never even crossed my mind

Edited by StrangerInThisTown
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22 minutes ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

November Rain and Estranged are piano songs, they wouldn't make sense without it. Other than those, the one where I feel the piano fits well is Bad Apples but I wish there was no piano in songs like Civil War.

Have you heard the acoustic demo of November Rain? I think there is a fair argument to be made that NR could have been an even better song with a simpler, stripped down arrangement that didn't feature the piano. 

Edited by RONIN
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don't get all the "hate" against piano.. especially recently. piano is a great instrument imo and a great way to compose music. And if some guys don't like piano in GN'R songs, why do do you even like gnr that much when it's a big part of their unique sound? NO i don't seem piano a mistake (?) in UYI albums.. November Rain and Estranged? lol is this thread a mistake..?

Was putting drums in YCBM a mistake? or maybe SCOM should be played without electric guitar...:shrugs:

Edited by estranged_85
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7 minutes ago, RONIN said:

Have you heard the acoustic demo of November Rain? I think there is a fair argument to be made that NR could have been an even better song with a simpler, stripped down arrangement. 

a better song? doubt anyone could do November Rain any more perfect than it already is.. but that's my opinion... The acoustic guitar version is great btw.

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7 minutes ago, estranged_85 said:

thank god that Axl wanted to evolve the sound from AFD->UYI that's what makes GN'R so unique against other rock bands out there. There are enough "ac/dc" kind of bands out there that every song sound the same. I love AC/DC, took them just as example.

People forget that AFD was the start for this band, it wasn't their peak, they never got the chance to peak, it ended too early. 

So to say that piano ruined anything is absurd. It was a part of the evolution of this band. Some bands stop growing and some grow up too fast...

you get so many personalities like this band had and it's hard to find a path that works for everyone.  

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49 minutes ago, RONIN said:

Have you heard the acoustic demo of November Rain? I think there is a fair argument to be made that NR could have been an even better song with a simpler, stripped down arrangement that didn't feature the piano. 

this November Rain is the bees knees...really just Axl and Slash no dumb drum fills, no synths....just pure perfection 

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1 hour ago, RONIN said:

Have you heard the acoustic demo of November Rain? I think there is a fair argument to be made that NR could have been an even better song with a simpler, stripped down arrangement that didn't feature the piano. 

Yeah, I heard it and I like it but it doesn't work the same way for me.

I don't see any hate for the piano on this thread btw. I wouldn't want Slash to play slide guitar or to use the talkbox on every song and that doesn't mean I hate those things, I love them when I consider they're used properly. I also love to listen to the instrumental demo of Estranged and doesn't mean I hate vocals.

As I said, there are songs that are enhanced by the piano and others that would be better off without it IMO. Just because the piano is a great instrument (I agree on that) it doesn't mean it would sound great to add piano to Nightrain.

39 minutes ago, IncitingChaos said:

this November Rain is the bees knees...really just Axl and Slash no dumb drum fills, no synths....just pure perfection 

That version would be perfect with the original guitar solos.

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4 hours ago, RONIN said:

Have you heard the acoustic demo of November Rain? I think there is a fair argument to be made that NR could have been an even better song with a simpler, stripped down arrangement that didn't feature the piano. 

No piano, no iconic slash solos, NO WAY.

That said I love listening to both the acoustic and piano demos every now and then to change things up

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1 hour ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

In my opinion, i think the piano is great. I don't mind Dizzy, and it's actually one thing i think Axl doesn't get nearly enough recognition for either.

Axl is very modest about his piano skills. I think he is great. Not Mozart/Beethoven but damn good. Other musicians have mentioned how magical it is to sit and listen to him play piano. 

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4 hours ago, estranged_85 said:

don't get all the "hate" against piano.. especially recently. piano is a great instrument imo and a great way to compose music. And if some guys don't like piano in GN'R songs, why do do you even like gnr that much when it's a big part of their unique sound? NO i don't seem piano a mistake (?) in UYI albums.. November Rain and Estranged? lol is this thread a mistake..?

Was putting drums in YCBM a mistake? or maybe SCOM should be played without electric guitar...:shrugs:

Exactly! Nov Rain without piano is like SCOM without electric lead guitar:facepalm:

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Artistically and commercially I think it was the right decision to include pianos. November Rain was a huge success. Estranged served as a base for Axl and Slash to musically connect on a very high level and that wouldn't be possible without pianos.

It's not like it took away more than it added to the music.

Edited by Rovim
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