ll_tj1

I'm just glad he didn't do enough to keep him. Buckethead is without a doubt an amazing artist, and i love a lot of what he did on CD, and i recognize he was a huge part of that record. But it never worked for me personally watching them preform live as a band.

Estranged. Every part of it. Great work throughout the song.

Bumblefoot is technically a better singer. He has a clean, nurtured vocal style. I feel his only downfall sometimes are lyrics.

Axl technically is an appalling singer. His best attempt at being technical is what people refer to as Mickey. His voice itself however is worth all the technical singers in the world. From the first moment I heard it I was hooked, it will never be successfully replicated by anybody ever. Ron is the better singer, I just prefer Axl's singing.

I completely disagree with the statement that Bumble is "technically" the better singer. Range, pitch, outros, breathing, ect, are all technique, and as much as I do like Ron's vocals, and I think his backing vocals on any upcoming studio tracks would add a lot to the GNR sound, and it would be awesome if he got to do a song on lead vocals with GNR, but he can't touch Axl's range, or his un mistakable unique sound. I'll be the first to admit Axl has completely lost his ability to remain consistent as a live vocalist, but I also believe he is still capable of producing that powerful, unmistakable in pitch vocal that we all are complaining that he does not do enough of. There's a reason why everyone has been arguing and debating back in forth for the last 10-12 years about this. It's because he had consistently produced amazing vocals live. If he didn't, nobody would be even mentioning the topic because it would be a moot point.

Axl wasn't consistent in the old days at all,but I could care less.

I think he was pretty consistant up until the 90's came. Stuff like Live At The Ritz sounds great to me. I think he had some great moments in the early 90's but you can definatly hear the wear and tear from the non stop touring. Like its been said several times, it isnt easy to sing in the style Axl sings, and I dont think it was able to hold up for all the touring they did once they got huge. Just my opiniun, certainly debatable. Case in point about blowing out his voice is Paradise City on Live Era. I don't know how he could sing like that for 2 hours, 3 or 4 nights a week for a year and a half. Its a wonder it isnt more damaged than it is.

None of us have any clue of the real feelings Axl has regarding Slash. None, zero, notta. All that we actually know is that they will never play together again. Slash comes across as if he would do it in a heartbeat. I think everyone is aware that out in the open, in an interview, not including Adler, that all the classic lineup members play a reunion off as something that's not a real concern of there's. But I think everyone is aware that behind closed doors they would all jump at the chance. Not necessarily in the studio, but certainly at the very least a handful of live shows. And IMO, i think Axl has made the scathing comments he's made about Slash so as to be crystal clear to the world that he never wants to even be in the same room with the guy. So no, Axl doesn't want Slash back. I think it's pretty clear.

Bumblefoot is technically a better singer. He has a clean, nurtured vocal style. I feel his only downfall sometimes are lyrics.

Axl technically is an appalling singer. His best attempt at being technical is what people refer to as Mickey. His voice itself however is worth all the technical singers in the world. From the first moment I heard it I was hooked, it will never be successfully replicated by anybody ever. Ron is the better singer, I just prefer Axl's singing.

I completely disagree with the statement that Bumble is "technically" the better singer. Range, pitch, outros, breathing, ect, are all technique, and as much as I do like Ron's vocals, and I think his backing vocals on any upcoming studio tracks would add a lot to the GNR sound, and it would be awesome if he got to do a song on lead vocals with GNR, but he can't touch Axl's range, or his un mistakable unique sound. I'll be the first to admit Axl has completely lost his ability to remain consistent as a live vocalist, but I also believe he is still capable of producing that powerful, unmistakable in pitch vocal that we all are complaining that he does not do enough of. There's a reason why everyone has been arguing and debating back in forth for the last 10-12 years about this. It's because he had consistently produced amazing vocals live. If he didn't, nobody would be even mentioning the topic because it would be a moot point.

It's Axl by a pretty good margin. Ron is great, I really like him in GNR, but he'd have remained relatively unknown without joining GNR. If he could make records and tour and make the money he's making playing for Axl, he'd do it. As much as a lot of us recognize Ron has great all around ability, its not like he's setting the world on fire with his solo efforts. For the most part, I've read in this thread people talking about Ron singing songs Axl wrote. Songwriting is every bit as important as the actual vocal of the song, just like a riff and guitar solos, bass line and drum beats. A lot of people can sing, but I believe there's fewer that can write. IMO. Axl's resume in comparison to Ron is laughable. As soon as anyone hears his voice, they know its Axl. It's a true signature sound. I get how everyone likes to beat up a 51 year old guy that plays 3 hour shows, but if you hate it so much, why listen? I don't expect the guy to sound like he did in 1985, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 or 2006. In the studio I'm certain Axl can do pretty much whatever he wants, but when he's on tour, maybe he's realized he has to back off on his vocals as to be able to preform night after night. Just a guess, I don't know. But I still like to hear it.

Not in anyway, shape or form. If he wanted Slash back, Slash would be back. It's funny to me that this still gets discussed. Axl could reunite the classic GNR lineup in an afternoon if that's what he wanted. On a personal note, I would love it if it were to ever happen, but its not, so I find no point in dwelling on it. I like every member of the classic lineup, and I like everyone from this current incarnation of GNR. Only thing I'm waiting for is new material with the current members. Until they do that, all of the comparisons, and comments about being a cover band will continue. The only version I didn't care for was the Freakshow incarnation. Great musicians, just not my style. I prefer more bare bones blues based rock n roll.

It's Mack Main (in the GNR shirt), & Lil Wayne with 4 members of the Chicago Bulls

Hell No

I think this is a very complicated question. While Axl gets bad press, and many people in the buisness do not like him or the way he does things, there are still a lot of musicians who respect him greatly. It really doesnt mean much to me when some off the wall musician I've never heard of say that Axl Rose is a horrible person. I pay more attention to people like Zack Wyldde, Duff, Elton, Petty and even Slash (this list could go on and on) that have all called him one of the greatest frontmen ever. Not to say that they havnt said hes difficult, but Ive yet to hear anybody, love him or hate him, question his ability as a preformer, and as a true artist. I dont know many people, actually I dont know anyone who would put themselves thru the things he's put himself thru just on principle alone. While others see a control freak, band wrecker, and just plain crazy, I see someone thats really never backed down from anything. Carreer be damned. I really only see Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant capable of playing on the same stage as Axl, in there prime, and not being completely washed out by Axls presence, charisma and the power of his vocals. Jim Morrison was a gifted lyricist, but I dont think he was one of the greatest singers, or preformers. Drunk and on acid on stage will always make a show interesting, but in the 60's it was a "new" thing, nowadays were pissed off if our preformers are fucked up on stage. I find it sad to say that i honestly believe Axl will never get the credit he deserves until he is gone. Then everyone will come out of the wood work. In the end, I think he will be rememberd as one of the greatest rock icons of all time.

My own personal opinion, when taking into account the studio music, all of the various live performances I've seen on video, and the live performances I've gotten to actually go see in person, I place him at #1. He's my favorite vocalist, songwriter, and live performer, the whole nine yards. Now, as to how I see him outside of my own personal opinion, and again, I acknowledge that favoritism is in play here, I see only Freddie Mercury ahead of him, and that has a lot to do with Axl's limited body of work. When compared to all the great frontmen in history, in the eyes of the casual rock fan, I think the fact that since releasing AFD in 1987 he's only produced an EP, a double album, a cover record, and Chinese Democracy in the last 26 years is going to hurt him in a public opinion poll. But just like Matt Sorum is quoted as saying, I think he's the best frontman ever.

Cool to get a boot from that era with such good audio. Axl sounds better currently though imo.

LOL if you think he sounds better today than in 1991-93, you need your hearing checked

Pretty sure he was referring to the 2002 vid

Yeah, he had to be referring to 2002, because he defenatly sounds a lot better now than 2002.

I look at it pretty simple. Guns N Roses to me is anyone who was a member from AFD thru UYI. NUGuns is everything after. I know it's vague, but that's wher I draw the line.

Do a live televsion interview, answer all questions honestly. Take questions from callers (not trollers) and answer them honestly as well. End the interview with an emphatic fuck off to Slash !! Release the entire CD era catalog. Get the curent band in the studio, record and release whatever we come up with, kinda like they did with Lies. Then when the real Axl wakes up the next day, theres nothing to hide from anymore

MSL is using this as a stunt to promote his forum. He wins either way.

It wouldn't do much to promote his forum if he's lieing. Can't possibly win both ways there because if he's lieing his credibility would be shot to hell, therefore his forum would crumble. However, if he's telling the truth, which I believe, then your absolutely correct. What a great idea to promote his forum. THE TRUTH!

The podcasts my the Hitman and MSL are most definitely worth checking out and listening to.

Axl has anger, because Slash made it without him, whereas he failed without Slash. That is his main thing.

I'll agree to disagree here. Axl hasn't failed anymore or less without Slash, than Slash has succeeding without Axl. Just because Slash is seen more doesn't necessarily make him more successful. Pretty sure if Axl agreed to do every interview he's asked to do, every guest appearance he's asked to make and every guest appearance on any random artists record hes been requested to do, Axl would be out there in the everyday scene like Slash is. But if all your comparing is CD sales to Slash's solo efforts, I think you have to consider the money made by touring as well, and my guess would be that both have done just fine without the other. Although, without question, they both would have been much more successful had they staid together, but, shit happens. And by all appearances, this is what they both want at this point in time.

Ballads are what Axl does best. Or at least the mid-temp songs like Catcher and Twat. SCOM. Estranged. Yesterdays.

CD didn't really have any tradition rock type songs. Maybe CD, but that songs really sucks.

At Axl's age and stage in life, we could be done with the angry rock type songs like Jungle and YCBM.

I would like 3 ballads and 5 songs in the vein of Catcher and the group mentioned above.

If so, I'd might lose a lot of my interest.

Mid-tempo songs often suck. SCOM is one of the worst GNR songs, so is Catcher.

It's obvious how much anger Axl still has inside of him, he should make the best out of it and rip out some mean hard songs.

Would be cool with a couple of great mid-tempoish songs but we need something else now, since that's what we got with CD.

Just out of curiosity, what makes you believe it's obvious Axl still has anger inside him? I mean, he's rich, gets all the girls he can handle, does whatever he wants whenever he wants, answers to absolutely nobody, and gives the middle finger to anyone who doesn't like it. What is there to be mad about? There's no way in hell he's ever going to recapture the angst of his youth. He hasn't been a struggling artist in 25 years. I just don't see it, his anger that is. I mean yeah, he's going to freak out every once in a while when he doesn't like something, but that's a far cry from the guy who wrote WTTJ, YBM, or anything like it. I expect most of it to be line with CITR, SOD, and Better. I just don't think you can expect a 51 year old millionaire to be all that angry about anything, and at the very least expect he's gonna write songs that will reciprocate his youth.

What a shallow world you live in if you think girls and money solves every man's problems.

He answers to nobody? probably depends on how you look at it, but EVERYBODY wants something from him, that's frustrating.

It's funny how you go from "giving the middle finger" to asking what there is to be mad about, I'm thinking that if you're giving the finger to something, well then you're probably mad at it.

He hasn't been a struggling artist in 25 years? What about those years when he didn't know what to write about since all he did was being sued or suing someone? That's a struggling artist.

There is or has been frustrations with the label, managers, producers, current/former band members, the press and some "fans" etc.

You think all is good and easy for Axl Rose? Walk a mile in his shoes.

First of all, how shallow are you that your first statement needs to be of the name calling variety. And don't blow a comment made into your own personal Axl Rose manifesto. You show me where I ever said money and girls solves every problem. You can't cause that's not what I said. I'll repeat it for you, money is not an issue for him, woman are not an issue for him. Period. That's all I said, never did I say this solves everything. As far as being frustrated that people want things from him, very true, but aren't equally important things wanted from you or I from our wives, girlfriends, children, employers friends and family? Maybe not on as such a grandiose stage as Axl, but things are wanted and needed none the less. My kids wanting food on the table, power and heat to be on, and an opportunity to go to college are every bit as important to them than what anyone wants from Axl. What does anyone want from Axl that's anymore important than what is wanted and needed from any self respecting man around his age? Now, on to the middle figure comment. I guess this is open to perception since neither of us actually knows the man, but I don't see an angry man giving the world the middle finger because he's pissed about former band members, record labels r ex girlfriends, but I do agree this was Axl Rose from the late 90's to his beginnings. I see a guy who does whatever he wants because he can. I see a guy who in all likelihood laughs about all the crazy shit he's done. He doesn't care about the band members waiting and waiting to go on stage, not the fan who showed up to the concert 2 hours late only to wait an additional 3 hours for Axl to take the stage. Not to the record company he agreed to produce new material from, and certainly not from anyone else who doesn't fall into any of these broad categories. As far as the struggling artist thing, Axl CHOSE this. Nobody forced him into exile, nobody voted him off the island. He left on his private Lear jet, all by himself. Then made another choice. Stay in seclusion. For 17 years. At least based on musical production. And I completely believe everything I've read about what he had to go through to get CD released. But again, he made his own choices. Sure there were easy work a rounds to cut through red tape to get his music to the masses. But he CHOSE not to. And hey, I for one think its pretty bad ass they way he held his own and never backed down. But make no mistake. It was a choice.

Axl better milk this while he's ahead... in another 5-10 years South America will discover Grunge and it will be all over.

I admit it made me laugh.

Pearl Jam played a concert to 60 thousand people here last month and last year Alice In Chains played to 50 thousand. Heh...

Alice and Chains, without Lyne Staley, pulled in 50,000 people there? That's like three times as big of an audience that they played before while headlining at the height of there career. That shits crazy. Pearl Jam I can see. But AIC? We're they with 5 or 6 other bands or what?

Axl is 51 years old for Christ sake. I think he looks fine. I do think he should give his voice a rest, and take better care of it. But as far as how he looks fuck n a, do some comparisons. Check out guys of the same era. Jack Russell (Great White) Janni Lane (RIP) Stephan Piercey (Ratt) Vince Neal (Mötley Crüe) they all have something in common. They all abused the shit out of there bodies and they aged. It happens.

Axl has anger, because Slash made it without him, whereas he failed without Slash. That is his main thing.

I'll agree to disagree here. Axl hasn't failed anymore or less without Slash, than Slash has succeeding without Axl. Just because Slash is seen more doesn't necessarily make him more successful. Pretty sure if Axl agreed to do every interview he's asked to do, every guest appearance he's asked to make and every guest appearance on any random artists record hes been requested to do, Axl would be out there in the everyday scene like Slash is. But if all your comparing is CD sales to Slash's solo efforts, I think you have to consider the money made by touring as well, and my guess would be that both have done just fine without the other. Although, without question, they both would have been much more successful had they staid together, but, shit happens. And by all appearances, this is what they both want at this point in time.

Ballads are what Axl does best. Or at least the mid-temp songs like Catcher and Twat. SCOM. Estranged. Yesterdays.

CD didn't really have any tradition rock type songs. Maybe CD, but that songs really sucks.

At Axl's age and stage in life, we could be done with the angry rock type songs like Jungle and YCBM.

I would like 3 ballads and 5 songs in the vein of Catcher and the group mentioned above.

If so, I'd might lose a lot of my interest.

Mid-tempo songs often suck. SCOM is one of the worst GNR songs, so is Catcher.

It's obvious how much anger Axl still has inside of him, he should make the best out of it and rip out some mean hard songs.

Would be cool with a couple of great mid-tempoish songs but we need something else now, since that's what we got with CD.

Just out of curiosity, what makes you believe it's obvious Axl still has anger inside him? I mean, he's rich, gets all the girls he can handle, does whatever he wants whenever he wants, answers to absolutely nobody, and gives the middle finger to anyone who doesn't like it. What is there to be mad about? There's no way in hell he's ever going to recapture the angst of his youth. He hasn't been a struggling artist in 25 years. I just don't see it, his anger that is. I mean yeah, he's going to freak out every once in a while when he doesn't like something, but that's a far cry from the guy who wrote WTTJ, YBM, or anything like it. I expect most of it to be line with CITR, SOD, and Better. I just don't think you can expect a 51 year old millionaire to be all that angry about anything, and at the very least expect he's gonna write songs that will reciprocate his youth.

I think classic Gn'R is as relevant as ever. It's Axl's new lineup that no one really respects or considers legitimate. As I said elsewhere, more music would legitimize the current lineup. As is, they're just a cover act.

I believe this incarnation could be relevant, but it would require a somewhat steady output of new music, and I don't see Axl releasing a record every two years, or every 8 for that matter. To bad, they have potential to be much more than they are being allowed to be.

Yup, exactly. Gn'R were around in the midst of the hair-metal movement, but they were different as has been said so many times. They weren't glam or hair metal. In fact, I think they helped kill it the same way Cobain and his Seattle counterparts supposedly "killed" Gn'R.

What ended Gn'R reign atop the rock world, honestly, was themselves. They ended a highly successful tour and faded away.

It's an interesting theory, and I've read that Axl did want to create more of a grunge sound that Slash was against. I think that's dangerous ground to walk. Pave your own way, you know? Can't chase trends.

Warrant put out a couple cool grunge sounding records but they got buried by people for being the "Cherry Pie" guys trying to mimick the new sound. But as an aside, I really enjoyed those later Warrant records.

I agree completely. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, nor any other Seattle band killed GNR. GNR, was on top when Nevermind and Ten came out, and while the grunge scene did finish off the hair metal scene, ala Warrant, White Lion, Firehouse, Poison, ect, it had little effect on GNR, just like it had little long term impact with Metallica. Guns killed themselves. I don't care who you wanna blame, Axl was to controlling, Slash was on drugs, Duff was a drunk, mix it all together and you get one big fucking mess. They outed themselves. They didn't need any help with that at all.

I wouldn't say GNR got big at the end of the hair metal era. I'd say they got big right in the height of it. And obviously they were pretty glam back in the beginning. As to why they changed, I just think they adapted. They didn't really need the theatrical look of the glam scene anymore. To make it in Hollywood they probably chose to, but it likely wasn't even much of a choice as it was to stay in the scene. They sure seemed to make a pretty clean break from that look once they made it. WTTJ, is really the only video where they had all that glam shit going on. As far as starting to wear flannels to change with the Grunge movement, I really don't think so. You couldn't go anywhere from 1990-1995 without seeing dudes wearing flannels. I wore them in high school from 86-89 and after, and it didn't have anything to do with grunge. But I do believe GNR helped to put the final nails in the coffin of glam. That and record companies signing any pretty boy band that sang ballads (insert Firehouse here) flooding the radio waves with a Mecca of bands that all wanted to sound the same.

Here's a few, as close as I can get to Axl. Not really trying to go out of my way to sound like him, but being that he's my favorite singer there is an extremly heavy influence.

November Rain http://www.4shared.com/mp3/QsZmxils/November_Rain__Long_Version_.html

I Used To Love Her http://www.4shared.com/mp3/CwBd7WSg/I_Used_To_Love_Her.html

The Blues http://www.4shared.com/mp3/aIQgBLTo/The_Blues.html

Sympathy For The Devil http://www.4shared.com/mp3/1iFliY-z/sympathy_for_the_devil.html