DannyVinyard

On 5/18/2024 at 6:51 PM, vloors said:

And it would have been a total flop.

I don't care. Chinese Democracy was a total flop commercially, but an outstanding album nonetheless. There Was A Time, Better, Street of Dreams, Prostitute, all amazing songs. Not using There Was A Time as a single is like not releasing Sweet Child O' Mine as a single. CD II with CD like proper mastering and recording with full on Finck and Buckethead guitars would have been amazing. If it were to be a flop, it would only be a flop due to lack of promotion or people just have bad taste in music (Jelly Roll, Post Malone, rap, etc)

13 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Yeah, just like you would have had it in 2009-2015.

Yeah, just like Axl hinted at a new album in 2014 or 2015. Then reunion news happens and I knew we'd never get CD II as this would be yet another excuse to not release it. Hell, we'd probably have CD III by now if not for the corporate cash grab reunion.

13 hours ago, fabrph5 said:

the ONLY reason was how they handeled it.  lets not pretend Nu-gnr was doing anything more.  the NITLT had momentum and they squandered it sway

They handled it exactly as I thought they would: a huge reunion cash grab tour of the oldies. Oh, btw, Axl has zero interest in an old school rock album that everyone is begging for. Not going to happen, which is why he rejected Slash and Duff work back in the mid 90's. 

6 hours ago, fabrph5 said:

yea, we had SOOOO much before that very successful tour.  An album that took way to long, no promo, and playing it to venues with 7000 people watching a cover band play the hits.  no thanks!

I would have rather seen Axl stick it out with nu GNR and release CD II than the corporate endless cash grab reunion tour that we ended up getting. Cash grab reunion tour was worse case scenario. Anything would have been more interesting than that. 

1 hour ago, 2020_Intensions said:

As far as Robin goes I have to say I completely disagree. His solo on This I Love is a masterpiece. But the rest of his work unmemerable? Street of Dreams, ChiDem, There Was a Time, Better ... Man those solos are so amazing and melodic. His impression is all over that album, just as much as Bucket's.

100%

I would add Perhaps to that list as well. Melodic, amazing solo. I remember listening to it over and over when it first leaked. 

4 hours ago, janrichmond said:

Slash and Duff are on them, they may come from that era but sound more like GnR rather than nuguns. 

 

Oddly enough, the Robin solo on Perhaps sounds more like GNR than the Slash one. Slash solo ruined the song for me, it's so bad.

18 hours ago, username said:

I'm assuming that's because they're a total bunch of yes-men. And possibly drugs. 

When Beta threatened to leave, Axl should have told her to not let the door hit her ass on the way out.

4 hours ago, Tom2112 said:

Well charting in itself is a hit but I was also kind of joking... But not joking. It is a fact that when you get into the top ten even if it's not in the great old USA it's counted as a hit... At least since the beginning of modern music history. I mean we can say the goal posts have moved now, but this was what it was.

Not a song that was on regular circulation like Taylor swift or dua lipa but it was popular enough to get onto playlists and that means it was at least a lower level hit. Nonetheless a hit is a hit.

Who chose the singles for Chinese Democracy? Was it Axl or the record company? I'm thinking record company since they forced the album out and zero support from Axl. Whoever chose the singles didn't do the album justice. The megahit that should have been is There Was a Time, which IMO is the best song on the album and one of the best songs of all time. How this epic song was not released as a single baffles me. It's so much better than the title track. Imagine the traction it would have gained (along with the album) if Axl released TWAT as first single along with epic UYI style music video.  Street of Dreams would have been a hit, maybe megahit, too. Oh well, two amazing songs that nobody knows about. 

On 3/21/2024 at 10:58 AM, Sweersa said:

I believe CD2, as it was prior to NITL was of the same quality overall as the 2008 album. It is my opinion the NITL mixes took them down a notch or two. 

Agree 100%. I loved Perhaps when it leaked, but the Slash replacement solo ruins it for me. The school bell ruins Hardschool, in which case the leak overall was much better. I hate the cash grab reunion. Axl would have released a full CDII, with proper Buckethead/Finck versions of the songs, if it weren't for the reunion. All we got from that was an endless cash grab tour to milk the casuals. 

On 3/20/2024 at 9:42 AM, StrangerInThisTown said:

6./5. The General/ I'm Just Ken

I honestly can't tell what would feel more embarrassing to be blasting out of your car around town with your windows down, I'm Just Ken or The General. 

 

I would proudly blast the The General from my car (and have when it first leaked along with Monsters). Def better than any of that rap garbage I hear blaring from some cars.

Axl Rose pre 2011. It's been all down hill since Rock in Rio 2011. 

Does anyone else hate Yesterdays?

7 hours ago, tboneman said:

I think 2002 lineup and their VMA's performance were much worse received by public. It was seen as a freakshow with hiphop cornrow-Axl, Buckethead, Robin and all the other band members looking like from completely different bands put together. I remember late night shows like Conan making fun of them and Axl.

They were way better than what we have today, and that performance was way better than anyone else's that night.

I still love the General. Since that song and Monsters was leaked, I've listened to it as a lead-up into Monsters. These songs are an exceptional listen, back to back, especially on the way to the gym right after having my pre-workout. 

4 hours ago, rumandraisin said:

Exactly that. It's very clear what Azoffs plan was. Get Chinese out, fuck with communication and members pay, touring plans and force Axl in to a reunion situation. I'm so glad Axl was able to hold out until he was ready. Say what you will but Axl in that era always came out on top and stuck to his integrity even if it meant being pretty much seen as the enemy by fans, press and the mainstream who just wanted a reunion. He never caved in. 

This is the Axl I miss, the real Axl Rose, not the TB controlled cash gouger that we have now. 

Not sure how there was a lack of communication between Axl and Robin though. Did they really not have each other's cell phone numbers?!  You'd think Axl would realize his contract was up soon and reach out to him for an extension.

11 minutes ago, Voodoochild said:

to me CD is million times better than both of those albums. Also, TWAT could've had a radio edit, the track length is not a deal breaker. But I really don't see it as a radio single at all. IMO, Street of Dreams would suit it better.

Agree 100%. AC/DC has always been an okay band to me, not remarkable, but not bad either. I don't think Black Ice broke any new ground for them. Death Magnetic, same thing, an okay album (better than St. Anger), although it did have a great song in The Day That Never Comes. I wouldn't rank these albums anywhere close to Chinese Democracy.

6 hours ago, colonizedmind said:

You think Robin left because of sales?

I think he left because Axl refused to promote/support the album. 

On 12/2/2023 at 11:32 AM, invisible_rose said:

Very well put. Chinese Democracy is criminally underrated almost entirely because people see it as "GNR without Slash". If it was its own standalone album, even just Axl Rose, I think it would be considered a modern classic. Maybe I'm bias, I dunno, but I listen to way more CD/CDII material now than the OG era. 

Call me crazy, but I rank it as the best album to this day, post 2000. It sold a million copies in the US without any promotion or support from Axl Rose, and releasing one of the weakest songs on the album as the first single. Let's say, Axl does proper promotion of the album, interviews, shows, releases There Was a Time as the first single along with epic UYI style music video, followed by Better, Street of Dreams, Prostitute, Catcher in the Rye....all with epic videos, this monster sells 10 million plus, easy. If Axl did this, Finck stays and hell, even Bucket might have come back.

2 minutes ago, Dean said:

That looks fucking amazing!

Here it is embedded:

 

Thanks, Dean. I was trying to figure out how to embed it, but was not working for me. After this show, I was certain this band was poised to take over the world. Axl no-showing Philly 2002 and the tour being cancelled was a huge disappointment for me.  All that potential that this band had, gone just like that. 

I was there for the 12/31/01 show, front row. Axl and the band were absolutely amazing. I can confirm Axl had the washboard abs. I believe he was in pretty much the same shape throughout 2002, just that he was wearing oversized jerseys that gave the illusion that he was overweight because of the width of the jerseys. 

Jake (@meandmyelvis) • Instagram photos and videos

2 minutes ago, CaioAKR said:

Because Evader, just like the rest of us, thought the leaked cellphone clip was from The General. He was mistaken. You can ask the man himself if you want to. It was Monsters (almost certainly Soul Monster) all along, we just thought otherwise because of the orchestra.

That's my point. Everyone thought this song was the General, because of the leak, but it turned out to be Soul Monster, now known as Monsters.

Just now, ZoSoRose said:

Jesus Christ I can’t 

Then thats on you, not me.

3 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Monsters was never The General. Everyone thought it was because of the orchestra

 

Then why is Axl's bridge from Monsters in Evaders remix of the General?

6 hours ago, Arnuld said:

This is the power of denial. It was over in 2008. NO ONE cared about CD anymore except people like us.

GNR was almost at the theater/county fair level in the US by 2014.  So Axl was completely wrong in 2008 hence the 2016 reunion. 

Things were different in 2008. He still had Robin, he still had his voice & look (pretty much, at least) By 2014, NUGNR had significantly downgraded since 2002 and 2006. No more Brain, Buckethead, and Robin. Their replacements were significant downgrades and Axl looked and sounded like hell. Axl fucked up by no-showing Philly in 2002, which lost him Buckethead and the tour, not releasing CD in 2006 on the heels of a successful tour, and then releasing CD in 2008 with zero promotion, which lost him Robin. 

8 hours ago, gavgnr said:

I think the key message is to take anything Baz says with a pinch of salt. For instance, he clearly mistook Monsters for The General. 

Well, whoever recorded the 13 second clip was under the impression that the song title was the General, which it probably was at that point, but is now called Monsters.