SoulMonster

Yeah, the same goes for long movies. Just leave. You don't have to wait for the conclusion/finale of the show, for Paradise City and the confetti or when the bad guy is killed. Just leave when you are satisfied.

A summary of the three Norwegian reviews I have read: They all give 4 out of 6 in review. The main problem to the three reviewers is the length of the show. It becomes too long and too varied in quality. As it is stated in one of the reviews, it was a "good party that lasted too long". Still, one reviewer (who also attended Graspop) says the band sounds better than it has in a long time. The sound is great and the band members smiles are have a "good day at work". Axl's vocals are the weak link in the show and goes from "inspired" to "just good enough". Still, he is credited for being on time, his mood., and his overall performance throughout the concert. Songs where he is particularly praised were Welcome to the Jungle, the end to Rocket Queen, Wichita Lineman (although the song and its placement in the set also makes "people fall asleep") and Civil War. Another reviewer points out that the vocals aren't critical (yet) and that the band should be credited for not resorting to playback vocals like Kiss and Motley Crue. The band is universally praised, everyone of them (well, Dizzy and Melissa aren't mentioned). The interplay between Richard and Slash is mentioned, Duff's bass and Frank's drumming. All of the reviewers hate on Absurd ("shit sandwich" and where Axl "inexplicable keeps fondling his crotch"), Slither is referred to as "nothing but a generous gesture to Slash", Street of Dreams is "meaningless", and on Better "everything [with Axl's voice] goes wrong". On the other hand, Bad Obsession "hits the bull's eye", It's So Easy "suits Axl's low voice", Chinese Democracy is "better than on record", Welcome to The Jungle showcases Axl's "considerable force as a frontman and a vocalist", Reckless Life and Down on the Farm wins on energy, Live and Let Die and You Could Be Mine, together with Rocket Queen, is referred to as a "triumphant trio" for Axl, while another reviewer says that Civil War and Anything Goes are among Axl's best vocal performances, and Estranged is referred to as a "stroke of genius" (I suppose they refer more to the song's qualities than the actual performance), while the performances of Nightrain and Sweet Child O' Mine are "brilliant". It is clear that the reviewers would have given this 5 or 6 out of 6 if the band had cut the set with an hour and focused on the songs that work the best (although they don't seem to be in total agreement on what songs should be cut - except for Absurd).

A fair review in Dagbladet: https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/guns-n-roses-kan-om-de-vil/79629331 Main complaint is the length of the show which means that some weaker songs are included in the set.

People heard a snippet of Better that wasn't good, and now it is all doom and gloom again.

I think they are cool and wouldn't be at all surpised if such an helmet was found at some point during archaeological excavations.

Or just dismayed for being portrayed with horns on his helmet and such an idiosyncratic axe.

Well, if you love both men and women I would refer to you as bi more than gay.

Kinda shocking since he has never been in a (known) relationship with a man but been in a few relationships with women and clearly loved some of these women.

Surely, these guys are not gays?!

Most of the unreleased music from the locker leaks is also guitar driven.

I just came across two quotes from Tommy from 2017, talking about the unreleased music: Tommy: There’s some stuff with lyrics, some without. We did a lot of stuff that was supposed to be on Chinese Democracy – the record was meant to be more than one disc, but after spending so much time on it we just had to put an end to it. There’s also stuff that was held over from [the original lineup] before they all disbanded, so there’s some stuff that should someday see the light of day. [Rolling Stone, January 27, 2017] Tommy: Well we recorded a lot of stuff. We recorded a shit ton of music. Whether it ever sees the light of day I couldn’t even guess, but we recorded a lot of stuff with the intent that it would be kinda staggered out, I think, you know to keep it rolling in a way. I’m not sure if it was Jimmy Iovine’s fuck up or someone’s fuck up that, you know, made a lot of that just…shut Axl down is what it did, but I’m not really sure where that stuff’s going to end up or what it’s gonna be. Who knows if it’ll be anything ever, you know? [Hard Rock Heaven, February 14, 2017] Some interesting bits: * Seems like Axl already from before Tommy left the band in 2017 may have changed his plan to now release the unreleased music in a staggered fashion. * Jimmy Iovine may have affected Axl to change his plans * And he confirms that music exists from the UYI lineup, or the lineups immediately after the UYI touring (so likely including Paul) These quotes, together with all other quotes I have collected in interviews up to February 2017 about the unreleased music, are found in this chapter: (32) 28. AUGUST 2008-FEBRUARY 2009: CHINESE DEMOCRACY IS RELEASED - Page 2 (a-4-d.com)

Congratulations to you and your daughter. My daughters are 11 and 13 now and what I have found is that grumpiness comes and goes over the years. The youngest was really bitchy at 10 years of age. What is new with the teenage years, though, is the extreme absentmindedness.

Thank you Praise should go to @Blackstar, too, who is doing an amazing job finding and retrieving articles and interviews and weeds out many of the mistakes I make.

Thanks! I don't have a better source for that date then Wikipedia, yet.

That's probably the case for Axl, too, he is singing worse simply because he is bored Just kidding, of course. I think they are both beyond their prime, which is natural for musicians in their 60s. I don't think we need more complicated explanations.

The next chapter deals with January to June of 2016: JANUARY-JUNE 2016 - SLASH AND DUFF JOINS GUNS N' ROSES, TOMMY AND CHRIS LEAVES THE BAND, AXL JOINS AC/DC Not a long time period at all but by Jove the amount of things happening and the levels of excitement that were reached! It started out by Slash and Duff being confirmed to having rejoined Guns N' Roses, something that was highly anticipated after the events of 2015. With Duff coming in it was clear Tommy was indeed out of the band, something which was also kind of in the cards after the previous two years. What was a little bit more unexpected, was Chris leaving the band not long after, in a huff and a puff, and then being replaced by the band's first and only female member, Melissa. The rest of the lineup was also confirmed to include Dizzy, Richard and Frank, basically creating a hybrid lineup comprised of "classic Guns" and "most recent Guns" As if this wasn't enough action and drama for at least one GN'R year, we then learnt that Axl would join AC/DC for a tour in Europe, replacing Brian Johnson who suffered from hearing issues, and basically becoming the frontman of two of the biggest rock bands in history, simultaneously. These news were quickly followed by successful shows by the new GN'R and a successful Axl/DC tour in Europe. Wow!

I hope they take that to heart and start releasing more songs. They don't have to settle into the role of a boring, nostalgia act, they could make things a bit more interesting for themselves and us, while still playing the absolutes on every show.

No, I don't remember because I wasn't really part of this discussion when you posted that. I came (back) in when I read you demand that @Rovimshould prove that talent is genetic with "facts and science". That is what I responded to. Looking back, this discussion started with a child piano prodigy and your argument was that these skills were due to extensive practising, while others claimed there was also a genetic component, an inherent talent that the child was born with which gave him/her a predisposition to become really good at piano playing. The genetic basis for being good at music is not as well-studied as, say, long-distance running, but there is still sufficient data to confirm that we are born with different potentials for becoming good at music: Practice does not make perfect: no causal effect of music practice on music ability - PubMed (nih.gov) Genome-wide linkage scan for loci of musical aptitude in Finnish families: evidence for a major locus at 4q22 - PMC (nih.gov) So going back to Slash: his excellence is likely not just a result of practising hard but having the right genes, too. I don't personally like anecdotal evidence, but I can't help myself from arguing that I am also evidence of this connection because despite me having practised and practised and practised to the level where I should be a ginger Jimi Hendrix by now, I am still pretty shit on the guitar, indicating that I was born with an unfortunate combination of genes in that regard.

I was about to argue that you're right, when Axl has added vocals, which is typically the last thing he does, the song is pretty much fixed, but then I remembered Oh My God and how that song changed (while keeping the vocals fixed). So maybe State of Grace has gone through something similar to what happened to Oh My God. Still, it seems to me that that the jury is pretty much on the fence regarding whether the songs are very similar or not, and the attempts at deciphering the lyrics of The General that I have seen, ends up with something unlike State of Grace.

I agree, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Axl was happy enough with old vocal tracks for Perhaps to not have recorded new vocals specifically for a release today. But he could have worked on those vocals in other sessions, like in 2006. He seems to think that if the vocals were good enough in 2001, they are good enough today. And I suppose that makes sense.

Oh, I agree completely with everything you say. I am certain there were previous sessions. Just look at Hard School. it was a complete song existing in only one version in the locker leaks whereas Atlas Shrugged was obviously being worked at with about 245 versions. This suggests to me that Hard School had been finalized in earlier recording sessions and that there likely exists, somewhere, a bunch of DATs containing Axl's vocal tracks for that song. Actually, the locker leaks don't contain much vocal tracks at all. It was instrumental experimenting and tracking new songs. The vocals all seems to have been from earlier recordings. Who knows what else existed from those earlier recordings? But most likely, whatever it was, wasn't considered for release on the album (like Oh My God).

Genes define the potential of your muscles and organs which again is another word for talent. Take running as an example, someone with a "talent" for long-distance running would often have specific gene combinations that result in a muscle fibers suitable for this purpose: Genes and Elite Marathon Running Performance: A Systematic Review - PMC (nih.gov). The same can be said about many other of our physical characteristics, like singing, analytical thinking or swimming, all of which have a large genetic component.

Yeah. I just don't find it plausible that Axl would record vocals after 1999 for songs that would all either be released (on Chinese Democracy, Loony Tunes) or all leaked (General, remix album) with nothing remaining. The extensive recordings from before 2000 were for most part unknown to us until the locker leaks - why should everything he recorded afterwards all have been leaked at various instances or released, with nothing remaining unheard? What's the odds of that? Makes little sense to me. And then we have indications from Axl himself that he recorded vocals to unheard music (Soul Monster) and Tommy saying Axl recorded vocals every year. I think people are trying desperately to align the fact that they dislike Hardskool and Absurd, containing old vocals, to mean there is nothing else remaining and hence Axl simply couldn't have recorded more. It is post-rationalizing.

Furthermore, Axl would likely not have written new lyrics so if the lyrics don't match up, it is likely different songs.

Perhaps has been sound checked and is likely on the setlist, so it is possible it will be released this year. The General is maybe on the setlist, so it is some possibility it will be released this year. Atlas Shrugged was ready in 2008 and is likely one of the song the band has worked on, so it is possible it will be released this year.