Use your Illusion: Izzy Stradlin's Contributions

[Derick]

With all due respect, I can not see or feel anything about Guns N Roses in Izzy's solo project. I tried but I could not. Did not catch me, it´s too boring for me. I´m not a musician but that's irrelevant when it's about art...That´s not are made only for musicians, anyway. But his contribution on GNR songs are magnific, no ones can denied. About Illusions songs..DTJ, Pretty Tied Up, YCBM, Don´t Cry, among others..Are brilliant!!

[Darkenchantress]

I don't think Izzy wanted to do any similar to GnR in his solo career. Actually, according to Jimmy Ashhurst,one of the reasons why he stopped the Juju's project was cause people especially on the US were asking constantly for GnR songs on his shows. 

 

[Zoot]

4 minutes ago, Derick said:

With all due respect, I can not see or feel anything about Guns N Roses in Izzy's solo project. I tried but I could not. Did not catch me, it´s too boring for me. I´m not a musician but that's irrelevant when it's about art...That´s not are made only for musicians, anyway. But his contribution on GNR songs are magnific, no ones can denied. About Illusions songs..DTJ, Pretty Tied Up, YCBM, Don´t Cry, among others..Are brilliant!!

Have you listened to Like a Dog?

Different strokes for different folks and all that but for me if you take a Izzy solo song, add Axl's vocals & Slash's guitar and you've got a basic GNR track easily. Rick Richards actually gives off a bit of a Slash vibe in 'Everythings All Right'

[Izzy_Toronto]

2 minutes ago, Darkenchantress said:

I don't think Izzy wanted to do any similar to GnR in his solo career. Actually, according to Jimmy Ashhurst,one of the reasons why he stopped the Juju's project was cause people especially on the US were asking constantly for GnR songs on his shows. 

 

I saw an interview with the ju ju hounds on youtube and they were taking questions from radio listeners and a lot of questions were about potential GNR songs being played on their tour. Izzy acted like he was into it. My guess that they didn't play any GNR songs were due to a potential legal issue with the band. Remember Izzy played with GNR in 93 and he was owed money from the band so maybe there is something with that

[Zoot]

Just now, Izzy_Toronto said:

I saw an interview with the ju ju hounds on youtube and they were taking questions from radio listeners and a lot of questions were about potential GNR songs being played on their tour. Izzy acted like he was into it. My guess that they didn't play any GNR songs were due to a potential legal issue with the band. Remember Izzy played with GNR in 93 and he was owed money from the band so maybe there is something with that

I don't think it had anything to do with legalities. Izzy wanted to distance himself from GNR and do his own solo thing. Why go solo only to play a set full of GNR songs?

[Izzy_Toronto]

6 minutes ago, Kris_1989 said:

I don't think it had anything to do with legalities. Izzy wanted to distance himself from GNR and do his own solo thing. Why go solo only to play a set full of GNR songs?

He could have added 1 or 2 songs to each show. His set lists from that tour included a lot of covers. Would love to see him do his own version of Pretty Tied Up or Brownstone 

[Darkenchantress]

3 minutes ago, Izzy_Toronto said:

He could have added 1 or 2 songs to each show. His set lists from that tour included a lot of covers. Would love to see him do his own version of Pretty Tied Up or Brownstone 

There's a video around of Izzy singing Brownstone, the quality is terrible though but I like the way he sings it . Anyway I actually like that he didn't want to live of the GnR songs and he had just been creating music all these years.

 

[double talkin jive mfkr]

4 hours ago, Darkenchantress said:

There's a video around of Izzy singing Brownstone, the quality is terrible though but I like the way he sings it . Anyway I actually like that he didn't want to live of the GnR songs and he had just been creating music all these years.

 

this sounds awesome even though the recording is shit, izzy gives it a different smoother feel to the song 

[Derick]

4 hours ago, Kris_1989 said:

Have you listened to Like a Dog?

Different strokes for different folks and all that but for me if you take a Izzy solo song, add Axl's vocals & Slash's guitar and you've got a basic GNR track easily. Rick Richards actually gives off a bit of a Slash vibe in 'Everythings All Right'

Yeah,I listened this album. It´s a good album but still...

Anyway.. I'm talkin about Izzy's solo career, the way that was released, without change his art..considering what he made after GNR, what he put out there...It does not bring me anything that makes me feel that have GNR in it. The opposite happens when I listen to It's Five O'Clock Somewhere or any material from Slash's solo caree, there´s  much GNR over there, IMO, even without Axl. Listen to me, I´m not putting Izzy´s career down, I believe, on his way, he makes a lot good tunes and have o lot people that like him. I just don´t see that GNR vibe that people here see.

Maybe, as Darkenchantress said, Izzy don´t wanted to do any similar to GnR.

[Zoot]

Just now, Derick said:

Yeah,I listened this album. It´s a good album but still...

Anyway.. I'm talkin about Izzy's solo career, the way that was released, without change his art..considering what he made after GNR, what he put out there...It does not bring me anything that makes me feel that have GNR in it. The opposite happens when I listen to It's Five O'Clock Somewhere or any material from Slash's solo caree, there´s  much GNR over there, IMO, even without Axl. Listen to me, I´m not putting Izzy´s career down, I believe, on his way, he makes a lot good tunes and have o lot people that like him. I just don´t see that GNR vibe that people here see.

Maybe, as Darkenchantress said, Izzy don´t wanted to do any similar to GnR.

Oh, I wasn't trying to put you down or anything like that. I was just curious what solo material you had listened to. Sorry if it came across that way.

[Sunset Gardner]

izzy's the mutherfuckin' backbone.   the coolest cat in the alley.  

[RussTCB]

Removed a bunch of derailing posts. 

@magnumpiand @MADDOGJONESput each other on ignore and let the rest of the forum move on please. 

[MADDOGJONES]

1 minute ago, RussTCB said:

Removed a bunch of derailing posts. 

@magnumpiand @MADDOGJONESput each other on ignore and let the rest of the forum move on please. 

Okay Russ, will do.

[sanity_lost]

6 hours ago, Darkenchantress said:

There's a video around of Izzy singing Brownstone, the quality is terrible though but I like the way he sings it . Anyway I actually like that he didn't want to live of the GnR songs and he had just been creating music all these years.

 

I love Mr. Brownstone. It is almost always in my top 5 GNR songs. It is cool to hear Izzy's take on it. Maybe this was more what he had in mind when it was written. 

I prefer Mr. Brownstone when the lyrics are sang with a swing, though. It is what makes me love it so much.

[RONIN]

"Slash and I started trying to write new stuff with other guitar players added to the mix. This was the first time we’d written without Izzy to bounce ideas off of and to bring ideas of his own." (Duff, autobiography)

"Duff, Axl, Matt, Gilby and I got together on and off to try and write new material, which didn't prove inspiring at all." (Slash, Autobiography)

"Without Izzy... the way we used to write wasn't all sitting in a room and trying to force ourselves to be a family. We just were." (Duff, Metal Edge, 06/99)

"By that point, the support group I'd always enjoyed to help me deal with Axl was gone - Izzy was the last one in the band who'd been able to get through to him creatively. Between Duff and me... we just didn't have the proper tools to communicate with him effectively." (Slash, Autobiography)

[Izzy_Toronto]

12 hours ago, RONIN said:

"Slash and I started trying to write new stuff with other guitar players added to the mix. This was the first time we’d written without Izzy to bounce ideas off of and to bring ideas of his own." (Duff, autobiography)

"Duff, Axl, Matt, Gilby and I got together on and off to try and write new material, which didn't prove inspiring at all." (Slash, Autobiography)

"Without Izzy... the way we used to write wasn't all sitting in a room and trying to force ourselves to be a family. We just were." (Duff, Metal Edge, 06/99)

"By that point, the support group I'd always enjoyed to help me deal with Axl was gone - Izzy was the last one in the band who'd been able to get through to him creatively. Between Duff and me... we just didn't have the proper tools to communicate with him effectively." (Slash, Autobiography)

Exactly. I think the entire band were big fans of the songs that Izzy brought to preproduction. Would have been a good start point to write a record back then. From all the solo albums, the Ju Ju Hounds album sounded more GNR than the rest

[Darkenchantress]

I'm out of likes but those are great quotes @RONIN I think they prove that, no matter what people say, the rest of the guys really thought that Izzy was pretty much vital for their survival as a band. 

[Billsfan]

16 hours ago, RONIN said:

"Slash and I started trying to write new stuff with other guitar players added to the mix. This was the first time we’d written without Izzy to bounce ideas off of and to bring ideas of his own." (Duff, autobiography)

"Duff, Axl, Matt, Gilby and I got together on and off to try and write new material, which didn't prove inspiring at all." (Slash, Autobiography)

"Without Izzy... the way we used to write wasn't all sitting in a room and trying to force ourselves to be a family. We just were." (Duff, Metal Edge, 06/99)

"By that point, the support group I'd always enjoyed to help me deal with Axl was gone - Izzy was the last one in the band who'd been able to get through to him creatively. Between Duff and me... we just didn't have the proper tools to communicate with him effectively." (Slash, Autobiography)

And guess what all four quotes have in common with each other?!?!

Spoiler

They all are about creating new music. Fans complain about the lack of new material, when it's clear that without Izzy, we can't get new material from Axl, Slash and Duff together.

 

[BorderlineCrazy]

12 minutes ago, Billsfan said:

  Hide contents

They all are about creating new music. Fans complain about the lack of new material, when it's clear that without Izzy, we can't get new material from Axl, Slash and Duff together.

 

I think it's the other way around. They can make music without Izzy (quality won't be the same, of course) but the fact that he's not involved probably means they weren't really interested in making new music.

[Billsfan]

3 hours ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

I think it's the other way around. They can make music without Izzy (quality won't be the same, of course) but the fact that he's not involved probably means they weren't really interested in making new music.

They could but who are we kidding, it would be Slash and Duff giving their the on the Chinese leftovers.

[RONIN]

I was reading Chinese Whispers a few days back and ran across these gems:

 

The Ju Ju Hounds project folds without much fanfare and Izzy suddenly has time on his hands. On 03/10/95, he joins Duff and Matt on stage, as they all play in an all-star band at the opening of The Joint, a new Las Vegas venue within Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Little do they know that the next official Guns show would be performed there - only not during their tenure.

Suddenly, Izzy's available.

 

"Once in 1995, I went to ring the doorbell at [Axl's] place, and he opened the door. (Izzy, Hard Rock, 07/01)

"And I go up... there he is. He's like, 'Hey, man! Glad to see you!' Gives me a big hug and shows me round his house. It was great." (Izzy, Classic Rock, 2001)

"In April, 1995, Duff calls me again: 'I'm trying to compose new songs for the guys in GN'R. Come and give me a hand.' It made five [years] that I'd left Guns but I said myself: 'Well shit, after all, why not?' Duff and I wrote ten songs in the space of week. We even recorded them as demos." (French Izzy interview, 2001)

"There's a lot of debate over who's going to play guitar. Axl and I were having an argument about it yesterday (04/12/95)." (Slash, New York Times, 04/20/95)

The argument could've well been related to Izzy's sudden return to the Guns camp, and his possible re-entering to the band.

"[Izzy]'s been writing; he wrote some stuff with Duff. He wants to write songs, but he doesn't wanna deal with the whole thing... He's so laid back. He doesn't want to deal any pressure... Izzy's Izzy." (Slash, Metal Hammer, 11/95)

"Izzy agrees with writing stuff but he's not interested in touring... He doesn't want to deal with Axl." (Slash, Sao Paulo Journal, 07/21/95)

"Izzy jammed with Snakepit in Chicago, and we did a Stones song [Bitch], and it was great to see him." (Slash, Metal Hammer, 11/95)

"Probably a month later, one night [Axl] calls me [and] we got into the issue of me leaving Guns N' Roses. I told him how it was on my side. Told him exactly how I felt about it and why I left.... But, I mean he had a fucking notepad. I could hear him [turning the pages] going, 'Well, ah, you said in 1982... ' He was bringing up a lot of really weird old shit. I'm like, whatever, man. But that's the last time I talked to him. (Izzy, Classic Rock, 2001)

 

Izzy almost came back into the band.

 

Meanwhile, Izzy came back to ring Axl's doorbell, which may have been the first of those since 1995.

 

"To tell the truth, [Izzy] visited Axl's house about two weeks ago." (Duff, Burrn Magazine, 12/99)

"[Axl] casually mentions that a while back his security camera caught an unannounced visit by Izzy Stradlin to his front gate, but quickly adds that he had no interest in getting together with the old school buddy and former collaborator, whom he originally followed to Los Angeles from Indiana. 'It wouldn't be healthy for me,' Rose explains." (Rolling Stone, 01/00)

"Somebody told him that Axl is not there answering over the interphone at the gate. First he said 'Wait a minute' and he came back and said 'He is gone.' Izzy said 'OK' and went back. There is always emotional thing with GN'R. At least the old GN'R." (Duff, Burrn Magazine, 12/99)

"Axl called me when he had the plan to play Rock In Rio. I don't believe that he hoped to reform the group as a whole because I am the only one that he called, but, in any event, I declined the offer." (Izzy, Guitar & Bass Magazine, 2001)

Therefore, Axl might've considered Izzy to play with Buckethead and Robin.

Axl went back to the demo tape Duff and Izzy prepared in 1995.

"In '95, Duff and me recorded songs for the band. We made a tape that went nowhere. Then, a couple of months ago I have a message on my answering machine: 'Yo! It's Axl, I need a copy of the songs that you did.' There was one called 'Down by the Ocean' or 'Down by the Sea', they may have used it, I haven't come back to know nothing." (Izzy, Popular Magazine, 2001)

 

Edited March 15, 2017 by RONIN

[Izzy_Toronto]

28 minutes ago, RONIN said:

I was reading Chinese Whispers a few days back and ran across these gems:

 

The Ju Ju Hounds project folds without much fanfare and Izzy suddenly has time on his hands. On 03/10/95, he joins Duff and Matt on stage, as they all play in an all-star band at the opening of The Joint, a new Las Vegas venue within Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Little do they know that the next official Guns show would be performed there - only not during their tenure.

Suddenly, Izzy's available.

 

"Once in 1995, I went to ring the doorbell at [Axl's] place, and he opened the door. (Izzy, Hard Rock, 07/01)

"And I go up... there he is. He's like, 'Hey, man! Glad to see you!' Gives me a big hug and shows me round his house. It was great." (Izzy, Classic Rock, 2001)

"In April, 1995, Duff calls me again: 'I'm trying to compose new songs for the guys in GN'R. Come and give me a hand.' It made five [years] that I'd left Guns but I said myself: 'Well shit, after all, why not?' Duff and I wrote ten songs in the space of week. We even recorded them as demos." (French Izzy interview, 2001)

"There's a lot of debate over who's going to play guitar. Axl and I were having an argument about it yesterday (04/12/95)." (Slash, New York Times, 04/20/95)

The argument could've well been related to Izzy's sudden return to the Guns camp, and his possible re-entering to the band.

"[Izzy]'s been writing; he wrote some stuff with Duff. He wants to write songs, but he doesn't wanna deal with the whole thing... He's so laid back. He doesn't want to deal any pressure... Izzy's Izzy." (Slash, Metal Hammer, 11/95)

"Izzy agrees with writing stuff but he's not interested in touring... He doesn't want to deal with Axl." (Slash, Sao Paulo Journal, 07/21/95)

"Izzy jammed with Snakepit in Chicago, and we did a Stones song [Bitch], and it was great to see him." (Slash, Metal Hammer, 11/95)

"Probably a month later, one night [Axl] calls me [and] we got into the issue of me leaving Guns N' Roses. I told him how it was on my side. Told him exactly how I felt about it and why I left.... But, I mean he had a fucking notepad. I could hear him [turning the pages] going, 'Well, ah, you said in 1982... ' He was bringing up a lot of really weird old shit. I'm like, whatever, man. But that's the last time I talked to him. (Izzy, Classic Rock, 2001)

 

Izzy almost came back into the band.

 

Meanwhile, Izzy came back to ring Axl's doorbell, which may have been the first of those since 1995.

 

"To tell the truth, [Izzy] visited Axl's house about two weeks ago." (Duff, Burrn Magazine, 12/99)

"[Axl] casually mentions that a while back his security camera caught an unannounced visit by Izzy Stradlin to his front gate, but quickly adds that he had no interest in getting together with the old school buddy and former collaborator, whom he originally followed to Los Angeles from Indiana. 'It wouldn't be healthy for me,' Rose explains." (Rolling Stone, 01/00)

"Somebody told him that Axl is not there answering over the interphone at the gate. First he said 'Wait a minute' and he came back and said 'He is gone.' Izzy said 'OK' and went back. There is always emotional thing with GN'R. At least the old GN'R." (Duff, Burrn Magazine, 12/99)

"Axl called me when he had the plan to play Rock In Rio. I don't believe that he hoped to reform the group as a whole because I am the only one that he called, but, in any event, I declined the offer." (Izzy, Guitar & Bass Magazine, 2001)

Therefore, Axl might've considered Izzy to play with Buckethead and Robin.

Axl went back to the demo tape Duff and Izzy prepared in 1995.

"In '95, Duff and me recorded songs for the band. We made a tape that went nowhere. Then, a couple of months ago I have a message on my answering machine: 'Yo! It's Axl, I need a copy of the songs that you did.' There was one called 'Down by the Ocean' or 'Down by the Sea', they may have used it, I haven't come back to know nothing." (Izzy, Popular Magazine, 2001)

 

I wonder if there was any talk between Axl and Izzy during the 93 illusion tour (the 5 shows Izzy came back for) about Izzy coming back to the band......wonder if there was a mutual desire or an offer on the table

[RONIN]

20 hours ago, Izzy_Toronto said:

I wonder if there was any talk between Axl and Izzy during the 93 illusion tour (the 5 shows Izzy came back for) about Izzy coming back to the band......wonder if there was a mutual desire or an offer on the table

Given Axl's constant Double Talkin' Jive rants on Izzy in '93 and Duff/Slash being drunk/drugged zombies on tour, it seems highly unlikely. Izzy doesn't seem to remember his '93 return fondly.

[RONIN]

Some interesting quotes from Marc Canter:

Gilby was a perfect fit for the live GNR even better than Izzy. There really is no one that could replace Izzy with the songwriting stuff that he had to offer. If the band was going to stay together, it was going to be different. I don't think Gilby would have had that much to offer that would have been used. The way I see it if Slash and Duff had stuck around, the song writing would have come from Slash Duff and Axl. It would have not been the same without Izzy but still very good. There are many old GNR songs that Izzy didn't really have a hand in and they worked out well. Slash was not going to work with Paul and Axl was not going to work on all 12 songs that Slash thought the band was going to do. I do belive that if Slash and Duff didn't sign over their rights to the name, there would have been a much better chance that the Slash and Axl would have met in the middle and work it out.

On Izzy returning to the band in '95:

Izzy was back for a short while. I thought they should have all gone in a room together and write but no one would listen to me so it fell apart fast.

On Gilby being better than Izzy Live:

Not the 1985 to 1988 Izzy. I'm talking about the 1991 Izzy, he didn't move on stage. It was cool to see him sing the 2 songs but he didn't add anything to the swow and his guitar playing was so so. It was not the same Izzy

http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?/topic/196898-gilby/

 

[Sunset Gardner]

this tour, i think double talkin' jive is a nightly acknowledgement to izzy.