Sweersa

DJ Ashba's tone reminded me of Buckethead's tone. I though GN'R's 2011 and 2012 performances were better than the 2016 and 2021 performances, except I enjoyed the NITL Chinese Democracy more. I was not a GN'R fan until I heard the leaked Better in 2007 or so.

My understanding is he didn't like touring. Not sure as to why specifically, but there's a lot of things that make it unappealing to some. It's a big commitment, can be challenging if one has a family/wife/GF and/or pet(s), etc. Stage freight certainly can play a role, it's a lot of pressure to perform, and the traveling, customs/airport security is never fun, lots of temptations in that world as well, I'd imagine.

Yes, at least for the CD solos that Slash doesn't seem to care about. DJ doesn't deserve the level of hate he gets here. He's no Robin Finck, he's no Slash as far as the classic songs go, but he did a pretty good job on the CD stuff, and I'm certain he did his best on the classic stuff. I enjoy a lot of his work with Sixx:A.M. as well, so perhaps I'm biased.

It's highly subjective.

Imagine if they open with Chinese Democracy, and have DJ Ashba as a guest, and he leaves before the Sorry and This I Love solos.

I can barely hear Tommy on the 2008 album. I can hear the bass on If The World. I guess since that was was Pitman's bass he wanted it higher in the mix. I think if they cranked up Tommy's bass a bit, and kept al of Bucket's leads, the 2008 album would have been a notch better.

The version that plays in the credits of the End Of Days movie sounds a little cleaner, though it may just be because of my TV. That version has a shortened guitar solo, which is a bummer.

The 2000 mix of Hard Skool from the Village leaks would of been a great opener with that long guitar and drum intro. It would have opened up CD2 fairly well too, I'd say.

My dad and I saw them the same year in Michigan. One of the best concerts we have been to.

They could call it something else. (Like Silkworms/Absurd) There's more than one different version in the vault. A remix Axl described, and an updated version with Buckethead and Bumblefoot, which leaked. The leaked version doesn't fit the description of what Axl described, which is interesting. "OMG2" was on the leaked 2008 CD2 list, so there's definitely something there. I feel the 1999 OMG suffered from being rushed out. I don't like the muffled effect on Axl's vocals either and the instrumental is a little less punchy than the leaked version. Bucket's guitar during the chorus is great. I do prefer the original solo vs Bumblefoot's (Or was that Bucket's solo?) The above shouldn't be confused for "Oh My God" by Sixx: A.M. featuring DJ Ashba.

If they actually work on material in October would it be possible for a November 2023 release? I assume it would take longer than a month to get the CDs pressed, art created, approved, printed etc. I believe the Spl8t guy said the band already submitted songs, so if they are still working on stuff, maybe it is to complete songs to add to what was submitted to have an album instead of another single or EP. The two studio track and two live track EP was nice of course but 4 songs on one disc gets boring quick. I don’t have it in the CD player in the car for long for that reason. 2-4 more songs would have been nice, even if live just to have more variety on that CD.

I get that. The Village leaks indeed were a big blessing!

Me too!

Me too, his solo ties in really well with Axl's vocals. I can't imagine it being improved. I'd love to be proven wrong though. I wish they featured Robin on at least one more album worth of material (which almost happened). The Village leaks really highlighted his abilities, especially with Zodiac 13 and Me & My Elvis, to name a few.

It's been brought up before, and it didn't really strike me as unusual until I was listening to Perhaps in the car for the 100th time... but anyways, the song has one verse, that is repeated twice. So it has the chorus, 1 verse, and that same verse repeated. Is this normal, or could it be placeholder for a new verse that wasn't written when that mix was made (2000)? The song still seems complete to me (more than Absurd) but just wondering what (if anything) is going on there.

Yes, I believe he obtained a position of some importance related to sports. I forget specifically, but I think he's an announcer or commentator. He's doing well, had a GF for a while, they seemed to be doing well, he lost a lot of weight and looked good, and most importantly, happy. I hope they are still together and doing well. I was never very close to him, but we have had some conversations.

Interesting... The intro to the Shackler's "demo" and end both were definitely changed. I chalked it up to an editing change in the studio. I believe MSL tricked L!VE FREE (Brodie) into obtaining that song, so I wonder where he got it. L!VE did imply to me he did have the Rockband multis long before they leaked, so that supports your theory.

I don’t think future lockdowns/mask restrictions will be taken as seriously. There were a lot of unknowns, people were scared. Now, most of it has seemingly blown over and people are sick of the stay home, no parties, no bars, nonsense. I almost got the single JJ jab, glad I didn’t, as they don’t offer that one anymore. Never did get a shot. Didn’t feel it was worth the risk at my age and health.

If there is such a Shackler’s, I hope we hear it eventually. When the 2008 leaks occurred, some people assumed they were the final mixes of the songs. I recall Bumblefoot responded by saying they were “older demos” so it’s possible and probably likely there are later mixes without Bumblefoot. I think Bumble joined in 2005, I do not know if he actually recorded anything that year or if they recorded his parts in 2006-2007. I assume his contributions were present by 2006 since the album was apparently coming that year at one point. And the Shackler’s that leaked earlier in 2008 had Bumblefoot on it and was close to the album version.

My apologies! I misread. I need to listen to the earlier leaked versions, for YEARS I just assumed it was Buckethead. You described that track accurately. The Bumblefoot solo just seems to wacky and directionless, but I suppose it sort of fits the song. I think Bumble's solo on Shackler's is amazing. I've long wanted to hear Bucket's solo on that track. (It's different than the one we got with Village) I'd love it if we got all of the Andy Wallace mixes. I assume he probably mixed close to two albums worth of material. Did anyone ever date the 2008 leaks? I assume they are 2003-2005 (Pre Bumblefoot) Even back then, they were fairly bloated (TWAT, espicially) but I prefer most of them to the album versions.

I wouldn't say that's an accurate description of Robin and Bucket's playing on GN'R material. Did you listen to the locker leaks, and the 2008 album? I get Slash is iconic, comes up with good riffs, etc. but he's far from being the best as far as technical ability, and he's one of the first to admit that. It works for a lot of GN'R material, but not the more evolved CD material. He did do a decent job with Absurd. Hard Skool, was okay but I prefer Robin's work on that song.

I get that, but if we have yet to hear unheard songs in the style of Scraped, Shackler's etc. I'm not so sure Slash could come up with a fitting solo to fit the style of those songs.

I wish/hope they utilize Fortus in more of a lead guitar role on future studio material. If they re-record all or most of Bucket's parts, he would be the man for the job if the songs themselves demand more technical playing.

Interesting! So that was Robin's playing on all of the leaks. I wonder why they would have Bumblefoot re-record that when Robin was still in the band?

I'm pretty sure the Riad solo from the Village CDs is Buckethead, it's the same as the 2008 leak, except the 2008 and album version have additional Bucket guitar after the solo in that song. I really think Bumblefoot butchered Riad with his solo on that song. Bucket is on some of the RM1 CD.