Chinese Democracy solo from Buckethead (Boston 2002)

[Sosso]

Someone should give that Video to Slash. He should Play the solo exactly like Bucket did, The Kill Switch rules!

[Eric Cantona]

33 minutes ago, Sosso said:

He should Play the solo exactly like Bucket did

So maniacally stomping the whammy pedal and raping the kill switch?  

[-W.A.R-]

I like the intro allot better.

[ToonGuns]

always preferred the extended version of this with the double solo (by robin then bucket) as opposed to the earlier version that only had the shorter robin solo.

[BorderlineCrazy]

Slash plays Robin's solo, Fortus plays Bucket's.

Edited October 18, 2017 by BorderlineCrazy

[Sosso]

2 minutes ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

Slash plays Robin's solo, Fortus plays Bucket's.

I know.

[AxlRoseCDII]

Fortus’s take on Buckets CD solo is great live. Honestly surprised he’s able to nail it nearly note for note every night. 

[felixGNR]

24 minutes ago, Sosso said:

I know.

Someone should give that Video to Slash. He should Play the solo exactly like Bucket did, The Kill Switch rules!

?

[Gordon Comstock]

CD sounds good live the way it is. If anything about it were to change, it should be louder synths.

The 2002 versions were pretty good too though.

[F*ck Fear]

I like the way it's played by the current lineup. Richard nails Buckets solo, and Slash absolutely shines on it too.

Regarding the 2002 version check out the Pittsburgh performance.

[HollyWoodRose84]

Slash's take on Robins solo makes the song great. Actually, Slash's take on all the CD solos make the songs more enjoyable. He was always the missing piece of the puzzle. There's a difference with just playing guitar and playing with emotion. Every single "lead" guitarist post Slash (with the exception of Richard) has lacked the emotion that made the original songs great. Just my two cents. 

[Gackt]

I could listen to a killswitch jam all day 

 

[AlterL]

1 hour ago, HollyWoodRose84 said:

Slash's take on Robins solo makes the song great. Actually, Slash's take on all the CD solos make the songs more enjoyable. He was always the missing piece of the puzzle. There's a difference with just playing guitar and playing with emotion. Every single "lead" guitarist post Slash (with the exception of Richard) has lacked the emotion that made the original songs great. Just my two cents. 

He sucks in Twat, ruined Better, and is totally mediocre in his renditions of Catcher and Sorry. TiL is a gamble from night to night and the only two songs where he is constantly good are CD and Madagascar. And that's coming from a fan of both CD and him, they just don't mix well live and make me wish he would give more of those leads to Richard.

[Chunder Monkey]

To be honest my opinion of this video was:

Axl. Sounded good - and so much movement - those were the days.

Bucket - the "killswitch jam" was kinda cool but sort of bizzare in the song - only works if you really already know the melody that's normally there. Fun as a novelty way of doing it but I prefer his studio solo. Wouldn't want this every time.

Pitman - dear god I forgot how much syth they slammed on everything back then. Check out that noise at 0:13. 

Ron - he may be long gone but when I hear the early versions of this song I realise how cool the "sleazy guitar" lines he added during the verses are. It sounds nude now without it here.

Robin - plays his 2002 solo worse than 2006 Robin would....

Slash....if only....

All that said I did like the video, but it does show to me how the song has improved to be honest.

[RussTCB]

2 minutes ago, Chunder Monkey said:

To be honest my opinion of this video was:

Axl. Sounded good - and so much movement - those were the days.

Absolutely no disrespect to you 'Chow as I hope you know I have a lot of respect for you, but I have to laugh when I continually hear people referring to 2002 as "the good ol days" in any way shape or form. 

I remember getting my head caved in continually by every single user on the forums at that time about how many different kinds of an idiot I must have been to be into GNR at that time. 

Nowadays people act like it was some sort of amazing experience when they were all bashing the shit out of it (and me) as it happened. Again, this isn't directed at you really but it just stuns me every time I see it. 

 

Side note- I was just saying this to a buddy of. Saturday night but I have not one clue what the affinity for Buckethead is during this time. The CD solo in the OP is nothing special by any means. As someone else mentioned, it's literally just hammering his whammy pedal. I don't say this about much to do with Bumble or Bucket, but even I could do that, so what's so special?? 

[HollyWoodRose84]

1 hour ago, AlterL said:

He sucks in Twat, ruined Better, and is totally mediocre in his renditions of Catcher and Sorry. TiL is a gamble from night to night and the only two songs where he is constantly good are CD and Madagascar. And that's coming from a fan of both CD and him, they just don't mix well live and make me wish he would give more of those leads to Richard.

To each their own I guess.TWAT is near impossible live, and I was there the first time it was played at Hammerstein. It's a difficult song to play on all fronts. I prefer Slash because 99% of CD was waaaaaaay overproduced. I enjoy the more bluesy, stripped down versions Slash plays. Robins TIL solo completely sucked on the album, again my opinion. Just a mishmash of noise. Robin also butchered  the old songs (don't get me started on Ashba) and Bumble never fit. I'm looking forward to if and when Slash plays on whatever material Axl has been holding back. 

[viruzzz]

16 minutes ago, HollyWoodRose84 said:

To each their own I guess.TWAT is near impossible live, and I was there the first time it was played at Hammerstein. It's a difficult song to play on all fronts. I prefer Slash because 99% of CD was waaaaaaay overproduced. I enjoy the more bluesy, stripped down versions Slash plays. Robins TIL solo completely sucked on the album, again my opinion. Just a mishmash of noise. Robin also butchered  the old songs (don't get me started on Ashba) and Bumble never fit. I'm looking forward to if and when Slash plays on whatever material Axl has been holding back. 

It's really complex, I think Slash is playing really good versions of CD songs, the TWAT solo is pretty good IMO, not perfect as Bumblefoot used to play it.

And... come on. "Near impossible", no. It's not, it's not a "near-impossible" solo, it is complex and beautiful, something Buckethead can do all the time, but I think it's too much to call it "near impossible".

 

 

I still have a lot of problems with Slash playing the TIL solo, mainly because, I was never 100% convinced of that solo (Maybe the studio version is the one I most like), Ashba... god damnit Ashba, never try to play that solo again.
But I seriously thought Slash would give that song a great solo, the song is too beautiful and it deserves an amazing NR-like solo, and the man to do that is Slash.

 

...I still hope the guy can compose a great solo for that song.

[Chunder Monkey]

2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Absolutely no disrespect to you 'Chow as I hope you know I have a lot of respect for you, but I have to laugh when I continually hear people referring to 2002 as "the good ol days" in any way shape or form. 

I remember getting my head caved in continually by every single user on the forums at that time about how many different kinds of an idiot I must have been to be into GNR at that time. 

I understand what you mean - that's a fair point.

To me there was a middle ground.

A good example was Rio 2001.

I remember when i first saw that boot I was actually shocked. 

I'd seen GNR live in 1993 and had spent the following years trading GNR and snakepit boots with people. So I had a mindset about what GNR was like. Then that 2001 band came out....and well...it was hard to reconcile....Robin just looked so bizzare and his guitar playing in 2002 changed the iconic solos on the old songs so much that it upset me (I felt by 2006 this had improved for whatever reason). Meanwhile Bucket...i love his guitar skills...but his whole stage gimmick was just at odds with the rest of the band. Then you had Paul Tobis who seemed to be a nobody, and the overbearing pressence of Pitman. Then with Axl changing his dress sense to be a little more rapper-esque...and the premiere of his Mickey Voice.....I dunno the whole thing just stuck me as a circus. I didn't hate it but I was just like "WTF....WTF.".. to be honest.

However despite all that...the presence was still pure Axl. There were some antics. Like his rant about oasis and the reunion. Like him kicking out the guy during ISE. And although his voice seemed odd...he still had that stage presence and Axl dangerous vibe about him. So I hung in there - and I actually really loved the next incarnation of the band in 2006 as you know.

Anyway...so I guess you're right...2002 was hardly a glory era overall for me....but I think what I mean is since about 2011 i've missed that Axl charisma...and while there's still aspects of 2002 i'm not fond of....if I focus on Axl you can still see what a powerhouse of a frontman he was in those times.

Aside from the 90s....2006 and 2009 Axl really had that magic for me. Since then he's been a little different. Some of it is age, some of it is he seems happier (which is good really), some of it is he's less mobile, and of course there's been more obvious vocal issues (aside from the early 2016 shows and Axl DC).

But a part of me really dreams what it would have been like to put one of these younger Axl's with the current line up....imagine what we have now in 2006...

[RONIN]

2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Absolutely no disrespect to you 'Chow as I hope you know I have a lot of respect for you, but I have to laugh when I continually hear people referring to 2002 as "the good ol days" in any way shape or form. 

I remember getting my head caved in continually by every single user on the forums at that time about how many different kinds of an idiot I must have been to be into GNR at that time. 

Nowadays people act like it was some sort of amazing experience when they were all bashing the shit out of it (and me) as it happened. Again, this isn't directed at you really but it just stuns me every time I see it. 

 

Side note- I was just saying this to a buddy of. Saturday night but I have not one clue what the affinity for Buckethead is during this time. The CD solo in the OP is nothing special by any means. As someone else mentioned, it's literally just hammering his whammy pedal. I don't say this about much to do with Bumble or Bucket, but even I could do that, so what's so special?? 

I think it's because of two reasons Russ:

1. If enough time passes by, almost everything becomes "vintage/classic" and people get nostalgic for it because the bad stuff is sort of erased. Time almost accentuates the positives and blurs the negatives. People are nostalgic for MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice - their hits are seen as "classic" now. George W. Bush's approval ratings and likability have climbed upwards with the passage of time. Hell, right now there are probably fanboys lurking on the forum who are missing 2011 and wistfully thinking of Axl's yellow raincoat and pimp cane. 

With regards to the 2002 era, I suspect it has a lot to do with that iteration of the nu-band having the strongest lineup, and the immense hope and possibilities fans (and Axl) had at that particular moment in time - many great things were predicted for the band and they appeared to have a ton of (missed) potential. A lot of classic era fans, with time, have begun to see this and appreciate that era for what it was. We really have no idea what those guys were even capable of and that has sort of created more mystique and intrigue. It's sort of parallel (on a much lesser scale) to how the mainstream media and casual fans find GnR' breaking up in the mid 90's, as alluring due to the wasted potential. Hell, even Diesel Daisy likes Buckethead and the '02 iteration of the band. 

2. There was more of a chance for hearing new music back in '02 than there is now. 

[BorderlineCrazy]

2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Absolutely no disrespect to you 'Chow as I hope you know I have a lot of respect for you, but I have to laugh when I continually hear people referring to 2002 as "the good ol days" in any way shape or form. 

I remember getting my head caved in continually by every single user on the forums at that time about how many different kinds of an idiot I must have been to be into GNR at that time. 

Nowadays people act like it was some sort of amazing experience when they were all bashing the shit out of it (and me) as it happened. Again, this isn't directed at you really but it just stuns me every time I see it. 

 

Side note- I was just saying this to a buddy of. Saturday night but I have not one clue what the affinity for Buckethead is during this time. The CD solo in the OP is nothing special by any means. As someone else mentioned, it's literally just hammering his whammy pedal. I don't say this about much to do with Bumble or Bucket, but even I could do that, so what's so special?? 

I think it makes sense that the opinions have changed. Back then, that thing was presented to the fans as GNR and then the band would hit the stage looking more like some horror movie characters than like GNR. The coolest rock band in the world had been replaced by a freak show, it must have been impossible for most fans to accept it. It didn't matter that Axl was using the name, "their band" was gone.

Nowadays, GNR are (partially) back and the 2002 era can be seen as something different, an interesting experiment while you can buy a ticket and see/hear something close to original GNR. I love Buckethead, Brain and Tommy and like Robin too, I don't want them to be part of GNR but I like them so it's cool to me to look back at that old footage and see them playing with Axl, giving the classic songs their own style (Bucket slaying on Nightrain was epic ) as well as coming up with their own stuff. It was a very interesting band, full of talent. It couldn't look and sound any further from GNR but it was a great band in their own way.

IMO, every lineup change there was since 2002 until the reunion was for the worse (Bucket/Bumble, Robin/DJ, Brain/Frank) but still people was more accepting of the band because it looked like a "normal" rock band. Not only the replacements, also Robin went from circus dude to 70's rocker and Axl started wearing jeans and leather jackets instead of Shaqulile O'Neal's clothes.

I feel the 2002 band was never meant to be accepted and successful but it sort of left a mark, unlike what came after. Chinese Democracy belongs to them, even if many of them were gone by the time it got released and they didn't get to play most of their songs.

[RussTCB]

6 hours ago, Chunder Monkey said:

I understand what you mean - that's a fair point.

To me there was a middle ground.

A good example was Rio 2001.

I remember when i first saw that boot I was actually shocked. 

I'd seen GNR live in 1993 and had spent the following years trading GNR and snakepit boots with people. So I had a mindset about what GNR was like. Then that 2001 band came out....and well...it was hard to reconcile....Robin just looked so bizzare and his guitar playing in 2002 changed the iconic solos on the old songs so much that it upset me (I felt by 2006 this had improved for whatever reason). Meanwhile Bucket...i love his guitar skills...but his whole stage gimmick was just at odds with the rest of the band. Then you had Paul Tobis who seemed to be a nobody, and the overbearing pressence of Pitman. Then with Axl changing his dress sense to be a little more rapper-esque...and the premiere of his Mickey Voice.....I dunno the whole thing just stuck me as a circus. I didn't hate it but I was just like "WTF....WTF.".. to be honest.

However despite all that...the presence was still pure Axl. There were some antics. Like his rant about oasis and the reunion. Like him kicking out the guy during ISE. And although his voice seemed odd...he still had that stage presence and Axl dangerous vibe about him. So I hung in there - and I actually really loved the next incarnation of the band in 2006 as you know.

Anyway...so I guess you're right...2002 was hardly a glory era overall for me....but I think what I mean is since about 2011 i've missed that Axl charisma...and while there's still aspects of 2002 i'm not fond of....if I focus on Axl you can still see what a powerhouse of a frontman he was in those times.

Aside from the 90s....2006 and 2009 Axl really had that magic for me. Since then he's been a little different. Some of it is age, some of it is he seems happier (which is good really), some of it is he's less mobile, and of course there's been more obvious vocal issues (aside from the early 2016 shows and Axl DC).

But a part of me really dreams what it would have been like to put one of these younger Axl's with the current line up....imagine what we have now in 2006...

Totally understand where you're coming from  

5 hours ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

I think it makes sense that the opinions have changed. Back then, that thing was presented to the fans as GNR and then the band would hit the stage looking more like some horror movie characters than like GNR. The coolest rock band in the world had been replaced by a freak show, it must have been impossible for most fans to accept it. It didn't matter that Axl was using the name, "their band" was gone.

Nowadays, GNR are (partially) back and the 2002 era can be seen as something different, an interesting experiment while you can buy a ticket and see/hear something close to original GNR. I love Buckethead, Brain and Tommy and like Robin too, I don't want them to be part of GNR but I like them so it's cool to me to look back at that old footage and see them playing with Axl, giving the classic songs their own style (Bucket slaying on Nightrain was epic ) as well as coming up with their own stuff. It was a very interesting band, full of talent. It couldn't look and sound any further from GNR but it was a great band in their own way.

IMO, every lineup change there was since 2002 until the reunion was for the worse (Bucket/Bumble, Robin/DJ, Brain/Frank) but still people was more accepting of the band because it looked like a "normal" rock band. Not only the replacements, also Robin went from circus dude to 70's rocker and Axl started wearing jeans and leather jackets instead of Shaqulile O'Neal's clothes.

I feel the 2002 band was never meant to be accepted and successful but it sort of left a mark, unlike what came after. Chinese Democracy belongs to them, even if many of them were gone by the time it got released and they didn't get to play most of their songs.

Understand and agree with most points. I was (and still am not) a Bucket fan, nor did I like Brain. So for me, the late 2006/2007 lineup was the best of that era.

[RussTCB]

6 hours ago, RONIN said:

I think it's because of two reasons Russ:

1. If enough time passes by, almost everything becomes "vintage/classic" and people get nostalgic for it because the bad stuff is sort of erased. Time almost accentuates the positives and blurs the negatives. People are nostalgic for MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice - their hits are seen as "classic" now. George W. Bush's approval ratings and likability have climbed upwards with the passage of time. Hell, right now there are probably fanboys lurking on the forum who are missing 2011 and wistfully thinking of Axl's yellow raincoat and pimp cane. 

With regards to the 2002 era, I suspect it has a lot to do with that iteration of the nu-band having the strongest lineup, and the immense hope and possibilities fans (and Axl) had at that particular moment in time - many great things were predicted for the band and they appeared to have a ton of (missed) potential. A lot of classic era fans, with time, have begun to see this and appreciate that era for what it was. We really have no idea what those guys were even capable of and that has sort of created more mystique and intrigue. It's sort of parallel (on a much lesser scale) to how the mainstream media and casual fans find GnR' breaking up in the mid 90's, as alluring due to the wasted potential. Hell, even Diesel Daisy likes Buckethead and the '02 iteration of the band. 

2. There was more of a chance for hearing new music back in '02 than there is now. 

I think that's the biggest bummer of the whole thing; not knowing what could've been with that era had Axl only followed through on any number of claims that he wanted to move forward.

[Sosso]

12 hours ago, felixGNR said:

Someone should give that Video to Slash. He should Play the solo exactly like Bucket did, The Kill Switch rules!

?

I just said that it would be cool to hear Slash doing this.

[F*ck Fear]

I liked the '02 era. It was my first time seeing Guns N' Roses live.

Albany, Toronto, Boston, Pittsburgh, MSG were all good shows. 

To this day I prefer 'The Blues' and 'Madagascar' soundboards to the album versions.

 

[BorderlineCrazy]

7 hours ago, RussTCB said:

I was (and still am not) a Bucket fan

You never cease to amaze me! 

Edited October 19, 2017 by BorderlineCrazy