shotgunblues1978

It's interesting how many people miss the meaning of this quote or take it out of context. It has nothing to do with the quality of Slash's artistic contributions to GNR.

Slash co-wrote 9 of the 26 songs they played at that concert, not 20. Whatever Slash would make off of this DVD release would be much less than what he already makes from the previous GnR releases anyway. Can guarantee this is a non-factor.

And they did release the Harley commercial with Paradise City. The one with Better was the one that got shelved.

The albums had four songs that hit the top 4 on either the rock or pop charts, so I don't think that was really a problem. Don't Cry, YCBM and November Rain were all big hit songs, with Civil War not far behind; Yesterdays, LALD and KOHD also got decent airplay.

The Garden, Garden of Eden, Dead Horse and Estranged were not official singles were they? Maybe I'm wrong. I know they had videos but I don't think they were actually released as singles.

Bottom line though, the singles from the UYI albums did very well. And the songs with legitimate hit potential were basically all released as singles (and did well, in most cases).

St. Louis does suck. It is a turd on a piece of shit's asshole. Only thing it has going for it is being Duff McKagan's defacto hometown (King of Beers and all)

You mad, bro?

Sailing was amazing. I hope they recorded a 2006 version at some point.

He's a bit shaky on the first half, but the second half of this performance is Axl at his best. IRS kicked so much ass live in 2006

My personal favorite version of "nu" GnR, simply because there was some real hope. Axl was in top form, the band had big time talent and chemistry, etc.

The shows were a lot of fun to attend.

Rock Am Ring: KOHD, such a strong

Rock Am Ring: Nightrain, my personal favorite live performance of Nightrain

Bucket's Nightrain solos were unbelievable. Should've never let the Bucket get away. Also, that 2002 Albany show must've been amazing to be it. You had the Serpico rant, the amazing LALD performance, and a legendary Nightrain performance

Similar to the last thread: a lot of negativity surrounding this era, but a lot of amazing moments as well. Next up will be the 2006-2007 era, and 2009-2010 era. But I think we should have one thread for each iteration of "nu" GnR. Already plenty of points of reference for the old band

Couple of my personal favorites: KOHD performance from the 2002 MSG show. The Buckethead solo here is just beautiful (kicks in at 3:14), and it features a great vocal performance from Axl. Also like how the 2002 version was closer to the Bob Dylan original, particularly since they haven't done it that way on any other tour.

2002 Albany: in my opinion, the best LALD vocal performance of all time. The screams

Only way for Ron to get universal props on this forum:

Just compare him to Axl

I am biased because I was at this show but I thought it was a great perormance:

Shackler's always has and always will kick ass live. Fortunately, they've played it at two of the three shows I've been to since CD came out.

It's funny because both times, I was the only person my in my immediate vicinity singing along to it, but I saw a few people scattered throughout the audience 20-30 feet away doing the same. But the crowd seemed to enjoy it, even though they didn't know what the hell it was

Unlike Madagascar, which always serves as a universal bathroom break

For some reason Axl sounds really good on the old AC/DC covers. Can't lie, as much as I love CD's prog rock style, it would be cool if Axl/Ron/Richard locked themselves in a studio, snorted some lines, drank some whiskey, listened to Powerage and Highway To Hell on repeat, and busted out an album in a month

Lot of negativity surrounding this era, some if it for a good reason, but there have been some great performances too. To start it off (rocked the shit of this):

GnR and Smashing Pumpkins are still awaiting release dates (Pumpkins page on the Rockfuel says 6/26/13 for the DVD release but you can't buy it on Amazon or the Pumpkins website...)

Hope both will get released this year. These were the two Rockfuel DVDs I would buy (if possible)

Riffs have never been Slash's problem. However, riffs alone don't make a great song. Slash is not a natural (like Izzy) or interesting (like Axl) songwriter. The old GnR group worked so well because Izzy was great at laying out the basic framework of a song, Slash was great at coming up with big riffs and solos, and Axl was great at creating vocal melodies and bringing it all together.

I think they've all retained their strengths. Personally, I'm more interested in Axl's music (rare as it has been) because I find his songwriting and sense of melody more appealing without the other old GnR elements than I find Slash's riffs or Izzy's songwriting on their own.

The main gripe I have with them is quite opposite. With Slash, I think he's largely avoided pushing himself since leaving GnR and stuck within his comfort zone. With Axl, the problem is that he can't just trust himself and release his music; if he'd released 3 or 4 albums since 1997, he (and his music) would not be judged so harshly. CD could've come out in 2002 (or 2003 or 2004) largely the same as it was, minus Ron's parts.

Chinese Democracy was the #14 selling album worldwide in 2008, and was only out for 5 weeks that year.

UMG/Interscope would definitely like to release another GnR album. But they don't want to promote it; they know it will sell 2-3 million copies worldwide with minimal promotion, and not a ton more even with a ton of promotion. The labels are generally not interested in spending money to market/promote albums by older acts. It's better spent on newer/younger acts that don't have a built in, global fanbase, where the marketing $$$ will have a greater impact.

This is the biggest issue. Axl was pissed off at the way that the CD release went (particularly, the release of the fucked up draft booklet, the lack of the alternate covers, the complete lack of promotion following the actual release, no budget for a music video, etc). He wants "assurances" and a marketing plan that he hasn't received. The label doesn't want to make these assurances, but they can't release the album without Axl's permission, so here we are.

I don' think this is the case, though it makes sense. I say that because the label released greatest hits w/out his permission and he tried to stop it.

Those songs were all previously released, though, and the band's contract (based on the lawsuit) stipulated a Greatest Hits release. Axl (and Slash) didn't really have a leg to stand on when they sued to prevent the release; Axl's only argument was that it would hinder/delay the release of CD, and Slash's was something along the lines of disagreeing with the tracklisting.

Releasing new material is a different ballgame; I'm sure that when Axl renegotiated the contract prior to CD he had a clause added to ensure that the label could not release new (previously unreleased) GnR material without his consent. I'm sure that's why the UYI documentary has never seen the light of day.

I personally think Axl should use the old era material (AFD remaster, Greatest Hits 2, UYI documentary) as leverage to get what he wants from the label. In other words, tell the label he'll sign off on all those things if they give him the marketing budget he wants for his new album. But I think he's so opposed to any releases that would directly promote (or create royalties for) the old bandmembers (or Slash in particular) that he won't do it.

Nothing stopping GNR playing new songs on tour..

Actually labels can (and often do) prevent musicians from playing unreleased material that the label has rights to, unless it is specifically to promote an imminent release.

Trent Reznor > Axl Rose

no doubt. he's probably my fav musician ever. and yet i could never act like an ali or lolcano regarding him. i know his flaws and i dislike many of his stuff. in other words, i'm sane.

You post incessantly on a message board dedicated to a singer/band you don't even like, just so you can get into a little circle jerk with a few other losers with a similar mindset. Sane? Debatable. Pathetic? Absolutely

you're wrong, i love GNR, specially the 2001-2002 era. just shut your stupid mouth and don't ever talk about me again, stupid.

What are you gonna call me next, a poo face?

Probably a good idea for you to take a time out from the internet and go get some fresh air.

Trent Reznor > Axl Rose

no doubt. he's probably my fav musician ever. and yet i could never act like an ali or lolcano regarding him. i know his flaws and i dislike many of his stuff. in other words, i'm sane.

You post incessantly on a message board dedicated to a singer/band you don't even like, just so you can get into a little circle jerk with a few other losers with a similar mindset. Sane? Debatable. Pathetic? Absolutely

Chinese Democracy was the #14 selling album worldwide in 2008, and was only out for 5 weeks that year.

UMG/Interscope would definitely like to release another GnR album. But they don't want to promote it; they know it will sell 2-3 million copies worldwide with minimal promotion, and not a ton more even with a ton of promotion. The labels are generally not interested in spending money to market/promote albums by older acts. It's better spent on newer/younger acts that don't have a built in, global fanbase, where the marketing $$$ will have a greater impact.

This is the biggest issue. Axl was pissed off at the way that the CD release went (particularly, the release of the fucked up draft booklet, the lack of the alternate covers, the complete lack of promotion following the actual release, no budget for a music video, etc). He wants "assurances" and a marketing plan that he hasn't received. The label doesn't want to make these assurances, but they can't release the album without Axl's permission, so here we are.

Buckethead was allowed to go off on his own "tangents" on the old GnR songs and frankly, it was pretty damn cool (Nightrain, YCBM, KOHD, etc).

But those were still easily recognizable as songs from the old band.

Biggest mistake Axl made when reconstructing GnR was not committing to building the band around Bucket and Brain. In the sense that he should've made them the clear focus of the band and jettisoned anyone (bandmembers, management, producers, etc.) that disagreed.

Also, the 2002 tour was a bad idea. They should've worked on the album until it was done, released it, and then toured with the new songs as the focus (or at least a major part; perhaps play 10 new songs and 10 old songs per night)

Did it ever come to light what sort of events eventually caused Finck to leave GNR second time around? Back when CD was almost out I mean.

It was rumored that Azoff pushed him out as a part of the alleged sabotage he conducted while trying to push Axl to do a reunion. No clue whether there is any truth to that or not, but that was something that was floating around a while back. Nobody from GnR has commented on it directly, nor has Robin himself, though it appears that they're on reasonably good terms, based on Robin taking the stage to play Better in 2011.

Trent was pissed off that Axl "stole" Robin from him. That is pretty well known. Since then Trent has taken pot shots at Axl from time to time, although it hasn't been anything particularly serious.

No. Not anymore than UYI 1 was a "best of" album and UYI 2 was just the leftovers.

Based on the chats, it seemed Axl's original intent was to release the second album quickly (same Bat time, same Bat channel), and additionally that he considered it a double album.

There have also been multiple people who either worked on or heard the album that said some of the unreleased songs are the best or among their favorites from all the sessions (The General - Bach and Brain, Soul Monster - Axl, Atlas Shrugged - Tom Zutaut, Seven - Marco Beltrami, Beta's Barn - Pitman, etc.)

How much did a Nightrain membership cost? $50? They should give the DVD away to all members.