D..

Terribly boring. You wait forever & it goes nowhere. Vocals are utterly terrible.

I'll leave it to wankers, nothing of interest to me.

1 minute ago, allwaystired said:

Haha- that list of songs you don't like is the total opposite of 'average and almost garbage' to me! Some of my favourite GNR songs in there! Ah well! 

I agree on the CD era songs in general though. It's always been an incredible album to me and I've never understood the criticism it's always had. 

Alright hahaha ; ) That's funny having tastes so different yet loving the same band! No problem here. I've listened to UYI countless times, but I have issues loving those specific songs I named, + Bad Apples (and maybe I'm forgetting others I don't like). My fav UYI tracks: Coma, You Could Be Mine, Estranged, November Rain, Locomotive, Breakdown, Don't Damn Me, Double Takin' Jive and The Garden. I absolutely LOVE those songs. The rest, doesn't work as much for me. I do love "classic Axl" on there though, and I don't mind watching lives with songs I don't dig so much since Axl looks & sounds so great.

I think that part of people's appreciation in old Gn'r stuff is that Axl looked extremely iconic, almost like he came out from a comic book. He looked like his "classic" self and sang in a very specific way. And Slash was still in the band.

On CD, he's alone with a new band, looked very different, and took a lot of risks vocally & lyrically. I appreciate the risk ; ) It takes guts to look naked and despaired when you've had it all.

1 minute ago, Nicklord said:

There're sooo many good rock bands out there it's not even funny

Please give me the names of rock bands that still put out great songs (except the very famous ones like NIN, Muse etc).

I find rock music absolutely garbage nowadays. 

Just now, allwaystired said:

I will for sure, and I'm maybe being a little harsh, but I can't think of a GNR song I've ever been more lukewarm on really. 

Really? Damn... I could name you a lot : p Personally I absolutely love Atlas' lyrics (may have minor things wrong about them), May's parts, and Axl's voice on this track. It sure needs a better mix and clearer vocals. I'm sure the current band can improve on what we have here (as long as they keep Brian's work).

I don't know how to put it but Axl from that era... I have so much sympathy for him. I can relate to him so much. This is what it is to be human. I don't have his fame, I don't work in the same field, but I can relate so much to him. Like a lot of other people can. That's why we love him so much. You'd think he wouldn't encounter most troubles we've all dealt with given his position. But he has. He was in a very dark place at this time. I find it amazing that he found a way to put all of his anger, his fears, his desperation, basically everything in those CD era songs.

Songs like "14 years", "Shotgun blues", "Back off bitch", "Anything goes", "You ain't the first", "So fine", "Pretty tied up" and a few others are what I would call average and almost garbage songs to be honest. I have zero care for that kind of song. I might be a bit harsh on 14 years cause the lyrics have some ironical value now. But yeah, I don't dig almost half of UYI and some of AFD. It's not perfect on CD either, "If the world" "Scraped" or "Riad" are not "great songs" imo. 

But Atlas & Hard School. FUCK. I would have taken them any day over Riad & Scrap. Any day. Fucking amazing stuff.

 

1 minute ago, allwaystired said:

I never thought I'd say it, but its the most average GNR song I've ever heard. Maybe even bland. A wise choice to leave it off the album. 

Not bad, not great.....just a bit forgettable. 

I got the shotgun blues, shotgun blues.

Come on man. Lyrics are fucking fantasting, the May solo is golden, the chord progression is unusual. Give it a few more listens! ; )

I'd like to gather thoughts on several stuff.

Have you ever seen this happen in any band that famous, ever?

What really strikes me is how intelligent Axl is, regarding lyrics, and the way he sees things. He is a true artist.

I really find it... how to put it... I won't find the right word. But I think it's outstanding that Axl read Atlas Shrugged & Catcher in the rye, yet his lyrics for the songs have little to do with the books. They are more references given the title, but the songs themselves are his interpretations of things, he gives a lot lyrically. It's not like he made a summary of the books or paraphrased stuff. He gave his guts on most of the CD stuff regarding lyrics.

I just love his approach. It's fucking tasty.

Axl you fucking genius.

2 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Intro is my favorite part. The keyboard sounds rad

I like the song, but like Hard School, wish it had another vocal part to change it up. Hearing the one frankensteined Brian May luck is pretty funny (it's a good sounding lick) . 

I think full rasp would have really helped this song on particular. 

I cant brlieve after all these years we have this song. Amazing

I prefer without rasp on this one personally. Makes Axl "weaker" and it suits the lyrics. Wouldn't mind a cleaner vocal take and a better mix though, it's too muddy here.

I think Slash can definitely improve this song, fits GN'R old style, though I hope they keep Brian May's parts.

Can't wait for the official release on the next album.

The more I listen to the song, the more I like it. Fuck was this lineup productive. I absolutely love Axl's personal input on all of the CD lyrics. It turns things into gold. Really love this piece.

32 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Could you post the updated lyrics and I will put them on my site and thank you and @axlsalinger ?

Yep, I think that's pretty much it, though there might be some minor changes. Credit Axl Rose! We didn't write shit haha.

 

ATLAS SHRUGGED

 

Why should I try and judge

The things they say, they just won’t budge

I’m letting go

 

And shelter from the blind, storm

You managed to be kind

But still not to show me how to keep it together

 

When my heart’s crying out in vain

No matter who’s to blame

There are still ways to go

 

So if you ask me to believe your heart will follow you

It’s got a mind of its own

 

When it’s as wrong and the road gets rough

And you’re the one

Whose shoulders just

Ain’t wide enough

Whose shoulders shrug when they’ve had enough

 

I’ll be the last to say « don’t follow your heart »

There’s more to what it takes to be a man

Than what you’ve known

What you’re shown 

And what we know you understand

 

It’s another thing, if I were you

I would say all that I do to be half as strong

Or still belong

You really should take the time 

To look back at all of your past misadventures

 

When it’s as wrong and the road gets rough

And you’re the one

Whose shoulders just

Ain’t wide enough

Whose shoulders shrug when they’ve had enough

 

I’ll be the last to say « don’t follow your heart »

But there’s more to what it takes to be a man

Than what you know

What you’re shown

That’s what we know you’ll understand

 

Don’t ever say « don’t follow your heart »

If I’m wrong, that’s what it takes to make amend (could be "that's what it takes to make a man")

From what you’ve known

And all that you’ve been shown

Jesus now I hope you understand

 

I’ll be the last to say « don’t follow your heart »

But there’s more to what it takes to be a man

Than what you know

What you’ve shown

And what we know you understand

 

I never said « don’t follow your heart »

If I’m wrong, that’s what it takes to make amend

More than you know

And all that you’ve been shown

Jesus now I hope you understand

20 minutes ago, axlsalinger said:

There's a couple of words that are just so hard to make out. It sounds like he says, 

"When it's as wrong and the road gets rough". I think "it's all wrong" makes more sense but it definitely sounds like the word "as" in there. Maybe it's actually "when it goes wrong" there.

For that last line, I don't think he says Jesus, there was some cut and pasting going on so it sounds a bit off but I do think the last line is:

"Even now I hope you understand."

Ah, also he says "you managed to be kind but still not to show me how to keep it together"

Makes more sense.

3 minutes ago, axlsalinger said:

There's a couple of words that are just so hard to make out. It sounds like he says, 

"When it's as wrong and the road gets rough". I think "it's all wrong" makes more sense but it definitely sounds like the word "as" in there. Maybe it's actually "when it goes wrong" there.

For that last line, I don't think he says Jesus, there was some cut and pasting going on so it sounds a bit off but I do think the last line is:

"Even now I hope you understand."

I added another correction, he definitely says "when my heart's crying out in vain". It's so muddy : p

I hear Jesus but I may be wrong about that. Thank you for deciphering so much anyway : )

 

1 hour ago, axlsalinger said:

Some words are hard to decipher but I think this is pretty close. 

ATLAS SHRUGGED

Ohhhhh
Why should I try and judge the things they say 
They just won't budge, I'm letting go
Ohhhhhhh
And, shelter from the blind, storm
You managed to be kind 
But still not to show me how to keep it together

When my heart's crying out in vain
No matter who's to blame
There are still ways to go
Ooohhh 
So if you ask me to believe your heart will follow you
It's got a mind of its own

When it's as wrong and the road gets rough
And you're the one 
Whose shoulders just ain't wide enough
Whose shoulders shrug when they've had enough

I'll be the last to say, don't follow your heart
There's more to what it takes to be a man
Than what you know
What you're shown
And what we know you understand

Ohhhh
It's another thing, if I were you
I would say all that I do to be half as strong
Or still belong
Ohhhhh
You really should take the time to look back at all of your misadventures

When it's as wrong and the road gets rough
And you're the one 
Whose shoulders just ain't wide enough
Whose shoulders shrug when they've had enough

I'd be the last to say, don't follow your heart
But there's more to what it takes to be a man
Than what you've known
What you're shown 
That's what I hope you'll understand

Don't ever say don't follow your heart
If I'm strong, that's what it takes to make amend
From what you've known
And all that you've been shown
Jesus now I hope you understand

GUITAR SOLO

I'll be the last to say, don't follow your heart
But there's more to what it takes to be a man
Than what you know
What you've shown
And what we know you understand

I never said, don't follow your heart
If I'm wrong, that's what it takes to make amend
More than you know
And all that you've been shown
Jesus now I hope you understand

Thank you man, added some corrections ; )

I think it's almost spot on now, might need another relecture.

1 minute ago, Creed said:

What? No way.

Atlas Shrugged is the first song from CD that has a positive vibe. It sounds totally different then any other song on CD.

Axl and May are magic.

Exactly, it doesn't sound dark as the rest of Chinese. Very positive vibes indeed.

I dig it, very catchy. Can't help but wonder if a small was solo was cut (song is badly edited at 2:42).

Very unusual chord progression and at the same time it reminds of a lot of "Yesterdays". Love Axl the way Axl sings, different from the rest of CD.

It feels like a classic, only lacking a true solo, but then again, maybe we haven't heard the full thing.

Love Brian May guitar.

It won't leak anymore, extremely shady stuff have been going down, but I'm not allowed to discuss it here out of respect for the rules here. We will have to wait for proper official releases, hoping the vault gets a box at some point along the road. Or maybe a collector's edition for the next album with a CD having material from Bucket & Robin untouched.

I'm all for ears transplant, I wish I could appreciate mediocre songs like some of you do ; )

I think Axl can sound amazing in studio, still. Live, it depends of the show and it depends of the song. He can actually still sound great live. They should shorten the setlists, he clearly can't take 3 hours shows no more, especially when some songs like Coma are so demanding. And it's not like he could ever sing that one properly to begin with, even back in the day. Same goes for You could be mine. I don't know if a human being can sing those songs properly anyway. 

 

@rocknroll41 yeah, but no, all of those Slash songs go from generic/mediocre to okay (Anastasia is cool). Hard School is miles better than any of it. But cool if you prefer Slash material. I'll stick to Hard School personally. Great lyrics, great voice, great instrumental.

6 minutes ago, Jordan Rose said:

Gotta disagree there. In November '08 he said Robin's work in CD2 was done and hoped to release in November 09. We got the tracklist we did because of the leaks. I'm confident CD2 would have been what he said: if you like Chinese you'll like the next. Meaner sections ahead. 

I also think he's likely worked on more in the last decade. But after all the leaks that shit is on lock down. Definitely no way the record company heard let alone have copies of anything. 

Given how much he's compromised and walked back on everything he said (from saying in the 02 letter that working with alumni would be a prison sentence to saying reunion was always an option) I wonder if he's looked back at any point from '99 and thought he could have done anything differently to have gotten stuff out and kept the Bucket, Robin etc lineup together. 

You are a true fan man. Always thought so.

I've had a hard time accepting Axl reuniting. As of now, I don't care for it. Like, I don't give a fuck about the reunion and I have little faith in the upcoming album on technical terms. I'm sure Axl will sound great and I will listen to it day one, but I think the instrumental will be disappointing if Bucket & Robin are left out.

I know it will sound crazy to some people who are more into the appearance than into the true quality of things, but I really don't care for Slash & Duff. I really have no faith in their abilities to write quality material as of 2019. They were relevant in the 80's/early 90's. But times have changed.

Some people will call me crazy but Hard School, as far as I'm concerned, blows away anything I've heard from Slash & Duff material-wise in the last 10 years.

I love the old school GN'R material, but I have to admit I love the CD material more. I'm just very sensitive to Bucket & Robin's abilities, and I find it miraculous those two were ever in the band at the same time, with fucking Axl Rose fronting that band. How crazy is that? Like really? Robin is kicking asses with NIN, but Axl > Trent any fucking day. And I absolutely LOVE Trent. No bias. He's an amazing musician, vocalist and writer. He's even superior to Axl in some ways. But Axl as a whole, is the fucking real deal. 

I really consider Robin & Bucket as better musicians than Slash & Duff, by far.

I remember Axl saying at some point all of this was like comparing football or basketball teams from a certain era and everyone's gonna have their favorite. He was completely spot on. It's exactly what I'm feeling. I've always rooted for a certain CD lineup (with Buckethead & Robin, and now I even prefer having Josh Freese on the drums over Brian Mantia, crazy).

Also, the lyrics, the words... they have a meaning. I don't buy those CD songs when Axl sings them with Slash & Duff. It's obvious to me a lot of what he's written on CD was directed to Slash & Duff. So it makes absolutely no sense to hear Axl sing some CD tracks live next to Slash & Duff, especially a song like "Sorry".

Then again, I'm happy Axl settled things with Slash. It's cool. It gives the right message to a lot of people. For that alone, the reunion had to happen as the world is getting stranger and crazier every day.

But from a pure musical point of view... I feel Axl needed to be angry & disappointed & betrayed to write his best lyrics and sing his best. Just being honest here, I know it sounds harsh.

He's at his best when he's depressed. Which is the case of any true artist. You only write your best material when there's a urge, when you're fucked, when you're desperate, when you're anything but happy.

Given what he's given to us, I prefer for him to be happy and be given mediocre material than the contrary, obviously. But I really hope we get the CD vault at some point. Seems more interesting than anything upcoming/new. And I really don't want to hear Slash replacing Bucket parts, please. He won't cut it. He doesn't have the talent.

And more than that, Slash has been a fucking liar for years. I won't forgive that personally. He has no guts. I can't dissociate the artist from the human being. He's trash.

It's not necessarily the mix, which sounds alright. Not definitive, but alright. I think whoever leaked this (apparently Rick) fucked up with the original quality so we don't have the "real" thing, it sounds muddy. I'm pretty sure a better version is out there.

Apparently "Me & Elvis" is "Soul Monster" (Leave Me Alone). That's one of my biggest anticipations. Sadly, "The General" won't be part of the leaks.

 

Thanks for the translation! Based on the listing, it's pretty clear the person who leaked Hard School & all of the 99 sessions is already in possession of everything listed in this boxset.

I hope he can leak the rest 

Was it taken down or no more supplies?

Fuck, I hope someone will actually get this and leak this. Looks like everything we wanted is in this box. If a link comes back, I can buy it and share it afterwards.

4 minutes ago, TheSeeker said:

I think we're seeing the leaks now because that 15-CD set has been cloned and will be available for sale soon

The tracks will be worthless to hoarders at that point - might as well create some excitement now while they still can

Reminds me of the idiot who paid $1000 for the Chinese Democracy album 5 days before it was released and posted it on here

So that's why? I wasn't even aware of this set. What's on this boxset exactly? Can we expect The General & the rest of the vault?

Can we please have a TRANSLATOR here? ; ) We neeeed an interpreter.

50 minutes ago, El Nono Pololo said:

Man, I find it hard to believe some people are seriously accusing Bob Ezrin for CD's fate. How long did Bob Ezrin last as a producer? How many producers did Axl go through? After Bob Ezrin's input, how long did it take Axl to release his album? 8 years? Long after Ezrin was gone, "soon [was] not the word".

Besides, I don't remember his advise being "just keep the same vocal tracks, basically the same songs, add even more layers of shit on top, add another guitarist, and keep tinkering for a decade or so". If anything he thought the whole thing was too disjointed and overlaboured. Maybe he thought he was talking to a stable, first-class professional musician and band leader who could rework and simplify some songs, bring more cohesion, freshness and focus to the whole project and perhaps write a rocker or two  with some chance of getting some radio airplay. Nothing a guy that had fronted the biggest band in the world for years couldn't do in a few months of hard work.

If Axl had had any conviction or trust in his own vision (or any coherent vision to begin with), he would've pushed through and the record would've come out in 2000 or 2001, 2002 tops. Blaming any of the myriad of producers, record-company execs or band members that came and went is silly. If it hadn't been Bob's brief stint, it would've been sth else - Bucket joining, Bucket leaving, Finck leaving, Finck re-joinging, the new drummer has to re-record things just as they were, the new drummer has to re-record them his way, the record-company doesn't want it out, the record company wants to rush it, there is not enough material, there is too much material, etc., etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if Slash and Duff were forced to work around vocal tracks that are decades old for their next project. Just surreal. And Axl was said to have recorded them in about a week... Imagine if he had put in two weeks! We could've had Rock the Rock in 2003 tops.

 

So much things I'd like to counter here.

When you say Axl recorded this in a week, it's like when someone told Picasso "hey it only took you two minutes to draw this", and Picasso answered "no, it took me 50 years".

Laying vocals down is not just a matter of the time it took you to record. It's a matter of how long it took you to be in the state of mind to record it, to think it, to anticipate it, to feel it. To feel physically capable of doing it. To feel that you are at the top of your game. That now is the exact right moment to record it. It's so much harder that what any people know or think they know.

And you also have to add the experience, the time it took to get to this talent, to this moment.

And the time it took to write the lyrics down, to think the lyrics, everything man.

You can't just wrap this up stating "oh, it just took Axl one week to record".

And one week of vocal work is actually a lot. I don't know how long Axl actually took, but I can tell you that just one day of vocal work, repeating the same words over and over to get to the "perfect" version, is fucking exhausting. It drains everything you got.

 

As for the producers & stories, I'd actually like to know more on the subject. But whoever told Axl the material was not good enough is retarded. It was what Axl was about at this moment in time. It was his art. You can't compromise art. You can't just go to an artist and tell him "oh, you know man, it's not good enough, you have to do this & that". Who the fuck are those people to think they know any goddamn shit? It's for Axl & the band to feel it, and for the public to judge. 

Those leaks are fucking unreal.

I fucking love what I've heard. There was one person who said it sounded exactly the same as the 2008 release, uh... no. Maybe it does to casual listeners, but for the true lovers of CD, it's a big change.

I've listened to every version so far, and I'm very happy with those "new" takes, with a very clean sound.

I have to say, even though I've listened to Prostitute for god knows how many times, I do wonder if Axl's vocals are different on "version 3" on some parts. Maybe it's the mix that tricks my perception. It might be the same vocals.

However, the instrumental has huge differences all over those mixes. Street of dreams/The Blues sounds soooooo great like this. Very similar to the leak we got last year or two years ago, but finally a very clear sound. The ending part is just better that way.

Chinese Democracy sounds better with Josh Freese, the drums are perfect, the sound... Amazing.

Catcher, which is one of my fav CD songs, sounds so much nicer as well with Brian May, I can't help but wonder why Bumblefoot was asked to replace his parts. It just works better this way. It's not just May, it's the mix, Axl's vocals in the background, some differences, it's much more coherent.

IRS is marvelous. I don't have much love for Riad, but I have to say it sounds a lot better here.

TWAT, I have to say I prefer the 2008 version. Buckethead has to be on there, period.

This version of Going Down also works better.

I could go on an on, but overall, I prefer those versions, except TWAT.

 I just have zero clue what happened, it goes beyond my comprehension. From what I understand, all of those songs were ready to go in 2000?? And it's not even "properly mixed"? How come the mix sounds better than the 2008 mix by far? Who the fuck mixed the 2008 product, I can't remember. What the fuck happened. Why the 8 years delay?

Somebody should really do a recap of everything that went down during the making of CD and explain it clearly, with details. So much time as gone by, I forgot a lot of stuff, and I'm just confused about the whole situation in 2019. Also, any hints as to how this leaks now? Why? Where? WHAT YEAR