alfa75

"He has gone to Axl's house to try and make some peace regarding a law suit."

That 's been the only real gesture anyone seems to have made to mend fences. I think Axl could have met Slash half way at that point, but instead chose a damaging press release. That may have been the last real chance for a reconciliation.

Good thing they wouldn't get the rights, they no doubt would go with Slash and Duff's revisionism and fantasy about the name thing, which would only serve to publicly humiliate Axl further.

Says the guy who wasn't there

You do know that Slash & Duff have contradicted each other's claims, and even their own multiple times right? It's been shown right here in this section. But Axl has been consistent.

Axl hasn't contradicted himself? That's BS. Everything the guy has said since the demise of the old-lineup has served only to re-paint the past as a horrible time that he barely survived dealing with the evil Slash, etc. and cast the multiple lineups since as a god send and best guns lineups ever, and let's not talk how much better the music (what little there has been) is now than then.

Regarding UYI :

Pre-94

"Everything on that record is exactly the f*cking way we wanted it. I can find a couple of points where a not wasn't quite in time, and a couple of things like that, but everything came out the way we wanted it."

"

"It’s coming together just great. Cos Slash is on like a motherfucker right now. The songs are coming together - they’re coming together real heavy. I’ve written all these ballads and Slash has written all these really heavy crunch rockers"

"This time round...Izzy’s brought in eight songs at least, OK? Slash has brought in an album, I’ve brought in an album. And Duff’s brought in one song - Duff said it all in one song- it’s called ‘Why do you look at me when you hate me?’ and it’s just bad-assed. None of this ever happened before. I mean, before the first album, I think Izzy had written one song in his entire life, ya know? But they’re coming now... And Izzy has this, like, very wry sense of humour, man. He’s got this song about...(half-singing the lyrics) : « She lost her mind today, got splattered out on the highway, I say that’s OK... » (laughs) ! It’s called ‘Dust and bones’, I think, and it’s great"

Post-94:

"I gave into a lot of pressure on Illusions both internally in Guns and externally in the press, those albums suffered as a consequence, it's not something I'm too excited to have to live with again."

"Well "Use Your Illusion" has got...You know, there's a much longer...I won't, there's a much longer story that..."Use Your Illusion" is...(sigh) basically Slash wanting to take over the band, Izzy being in his drug world, and the only way that we were able to even survive as a band was to make this double thing you know, like Slash's solo record, Izzy's solo record, and then I wrote stuff, but I mean, I had the phone calls of calling these guys going: "I'm not doing yours, if you don't do his!", and then calling Izzy and saying: "I'm not doing yours, if you don't do his! And I'm not doing either of yours, unless we do mine, and we'll do mine last!" But, it was that kinda fight for years. You know..."

"

Matt:

Pre-94

"We’re rally into letting Matt go more off on his own in terms of drumming for GN’R. On Use Your Illusion, he was pretty much playing just what we wanted to hear on a particular song – which we already had together before he joined the band. On the record, he’s one of the most amazing drummers I’ve ever heard, but he’s better than that."

" When he goes off on his own creative sense it’s pretty amazing. I want to facilitate that getting out. I want Matt to just explode on the next record."

Post 94:

Slash:

Pre-94

It always seemed to me that Duff could be the guy to broker the peace, but he does not see interested in doing it. Maybe he knows too well that it's a lost cause and prefers to at least have good relations with the two guys separately rather than risk his own relationship by bringing up the subject.

Funny how he describes the UYI process and material with such praise and now he complains that everybody just brought in their own songs and the material was damaged from the get go. He was right about one thing IMO, and that's the way the UYI material has dated. Songs like Estranged and Locomotive still sound great and relevant today.

"Not really, Axl can still do both at the same time. 1 hour set with the new band to open the show then a small break and 1 1/2 hours with the old band. This is the only way I see it where I know that it would work out well for everybody involved. Still the only way this would work is they would have to work out their differences. Thats the real problem. Both bands touring together is the easy part. "

Sorry, and with all due respect, but can you imagine Slash accepting this idea? And who would be called Guns N Roses? Does that mean the new guys can't play the old stuff? Seems like a fantasy to me, and obviously you are much closer to the people involved, but seems just like wishful thinking.

I mean we can't even get past the late start times, which Slash clearly won't accept.

Funny how is Izzy is now "the" Co-founder and not "a" co-founder.

Touring is how every band makes money now. Astronomic record sales in the AFD/UYI vein are pretty much unheard of now, the world has changed and tickets n' merchandise is where the money is now. Even a new album by Axl IMO would not be that financially successful. There is no way anyone will give him the kind of financial leeway he had with CD (maybe that's a good thing creatively speaking) and i honestly believe that any release will actually be less successfully initially than CD. There is no 14 year buildup factor (although there could be) and certainly no urban legends floating around, and CD was not embraced by the general public or radio. It's long term success will depend on the music, promotion, etc.

I believe Axl has artistic integrity and won't do it for the money (unless perhaps he was really broke).

If GNR is a corporation, the point is to MAKE money. Of course it COSTS money to put on a show, pay the band, etc, but if he's not making a profit at the end of all that, what's the point in continuing to do it?

And if he sold his publishing rights for 19 million, well he has 19 million doesn't he? Maybe that's not considered "rich" anymore, but it's certainly not struggling.

As far as CD goes, it was Geffen who picked up the majority of the tab, so the 14 million or whatever didn't come out of his pocket as far as we know that is.

I am with you all in theory, but even if the 150m is hugely exaggerated and it's only 30m or something, I have to assume that GnR activities must pay for themselves at minimum and at best turn a healthy profit, despite all the aforementioned expenses. My point was simply that it seems unlikely that money alone would be enough motivation for any sort of AFD reunion.

Again, I can't see money as motivating anyone to reunite.

http://loudwire.com/...rock-vocalists/

Pretty amazing that Axl is worth this much after all those years of inactivity. Shows how much GNR netted back in the day.

Hell, even Steven makes this list, and he was bumped 22 Years ago. AFD made all those guys richer than I would have though after all this time.

http://loudwire.com/...the-world-list/

A quick google search shows Slash at 32M, Izzy at 28m, and Duff at 20m.

Surprising to me that Axl is worth SO much more than Slash n Duff. I ould have assumed that any Pre 96 money was pretty evenly split and also that any royalties from AFD up to TSI gets divided between the 3 guys. So either these list are BS, Axl made a ton of money off of CD, or the other guys spent alot more.

He's the perfect Slash-alike, Hat, playing style, etc. The guy Axl wanted all along to complete the GNR makeover. Fortus is Izzy-like, Tommy has a punk background like Duff, and now Ashba. Axl never got along with Steven so no need to replicate that.

Madagascar is a horrible song IMO.

People tend to see what they believe so if you think it was al Slash's fault you will tell yourself that Axl had it right all along and CD was the right way to go musically and thus will enjoy it more...

"but by all accounts Slash wrote an album of guitar songs himself"

Because Axl wasn't singlehandedly responsible for NR, Estranged, My World, Dead Horse, etc and then there's all the Izzy songs on UYI. Duff was So Fine and GITR, etc.I love UYI and find the best moments vastly superior to anything on CD. The process changed. There was no storage space to mutually live and jam in. AFD II was never gonna happen, but GnR had become something else and everybody was responsible for it. The results, despite what Axl now claims were and are pretty remarkable by almost any standard. Post UYI , no one has even come close to an Estranged, NR, Locomotive, Coma, etc.

THey didn't get along, didn't agree on lots of things; That IS often the creative process behind lots of great art, but both seemed to tire of it eventually. Luckily we have what was recorded as a testament to what that chemistry yielded, even when it wasn't functioning as it once had. Anyone who saw GNR back in the day can tell you that despite what we know now was going on behind the scenes, the onstage chemistry was often AWESOME!

Axl and the hired Guns get along great? Slash and the Conspirators? Duff and Loaded? Cool, great, they are all happy? Fantastic. Does that all that happiness get us selfish fans the same quality of creative output. Not at all, IMO.

Perhaps, just maybe, Axl realizes that any reunion will be anti-climactic (which it would be) with the potential to fall on it's face and realizes that by keeping this feud w Slash, he can avoid that situation. As much as I appreciate and love both their contributions to GNR's catalogue, a reunion would see a past his prime Axl having to do an about face on all his CD era band and play with people (esp Slash) who he's written off repeatedly.

We all know deep in our hearts and minds that a reunion at this stage is nothing more than a nostalgia trip. In 2002 maybe, there could still have been some valid musical collaboration with classic GNR members, but now, really? Slash is an incredible guitarist with his own band and is an iconic figure in the music world, having surpassed Axl in terms of recognition. Axl has assembled a HUGE band, and spent over a decade making one album. On what common creative ground could they meet? Do a concert together? As what? GNR? Axl would never allow Slash to be part of GNR again.

It was great. It's over. I enjoy some of their post Guns musical output, but for me that chemistry that fueled the music is over, "never to return"

I would love to be proven wrong, FWIW.

I wish I could agree but playing in front of large crowds they still do solo (OK not as big as UYI days). Working together for a few songs? Can you imagine Slash working w Axl at this stage and not in a GnR context to boot? Money? Are any of these guys NOT financially secure?

I would love to see it, but as Duff once said ...Once they stopped needing each other, the band started to fall apart (paraphrased), they certainly don't NEED each other now.

The only real reason to do it, would be a real desire to play together again...anyone see that day coming? The other might be money, but do we really want that to be the reason? Plus it doesn't seem like any ex GNR guys are financially motivated, or else this reunion thing would have happened already years ago.

"Even during the UYI tours they would say comments about 'not setlist' but it was always the same. Dunno who they are trying to fool, since UYI their shows have always been 'same same' setlist wise. Whilst they never even shake up the delviery of the songs themselves. Bands like Jack White's ones, or the Black Crowes....now those are setlists that change and evolve."

Sorry, but that's BS, I saw them on the UYI tour and the setlists were indeed different each time. I think I was at one of the only shows were they played Breakdown, Locomotive and So Fine. They came on 3 hours late and not one person I saw walked away not in complete praise of what a great show that was, despite the wait. I was them 6 months later w/ Metallica and they were flat in comparison.

I have also seen these guys on the CD tour and, while not bad, and obviously a very tight band musically, it did seem scripted and lacking any sort of spontaneous quality, which is part of why GNR was exciting in the first place. I have not seen them since 2010, and I don't think I have missed a thing. From what I can tell, it's been exactly the same show, over and over.

Unfortunately, I think a percentage of people here are perhaps too young to have seen the pre CD lineups and are defending the current shows based on YouTube videos of past tours. Sorry, but you had to be there.

One thing that I feel gets lost to alot of fans here when hoping for some sort of GNR reunion or just reconciliation is what would be the motivation to do so?

Axl doesn't NEED Slash and it's not like he's gonna start dumping nuGUNS band members to start working with the other guys again, and surely Slash, Duff , Izzy are not gonna accept from Axl now what they wouldn't before.

I mean, BEST case scenario, there could be a show or two, but even then Axl risks so much and puts his new thing in jeopardy by drawing comparisons to the much loved original lineup. And how do you bill the reunion "Original GnR" as opposed to just "GNR". Possibly even worse than that, and something Axl must realize is that the whole thing could just be disappointing, and that is surely not something he wants to be involved in.

Not to mention what must be tons of legal red tape to resolve.

So, other than to please some hardcore fans, what is really anybody's motivation to work together again?

With all due respect, I think it's ludicrous to ask Marc to hold off with Reckless Road. He waited more than a reasonable amount of time. Axl's had 15+ years to establish an identity for NuGuns or to erase that of Old, depending on how you look at it, something that only, possibly could ever have happened with a significant body of new music and semi-stable lineup (which he now does seem to have).

It took the AFD crew one year post release to establish an identity.

It would be unfair to ask Marc to tippy toe around Axl until he was ready to give RR his blessing, a day which may never come.

"It's a miracle how long we can stay, in a world our mind's created, in a world that's full of shit"

So essentially you are not worried about any perceived betrayal of Axl, as he already feels that way? Does that mean you will become a permanent addition to the "evil" list?

Marc, just curious, given all the very inside info you've shared with us here, which in some cases might be perceived as betrayal of Axl and/or Slash's trust. Are you worried about what their reaction might be?

It seems like Axl is opposed to ANYONE talking about ANYTHING to do with Original Guns/Slash, and Slash too, might be seen as able to take exception to some of your comments.

While they may not follow it themselves, you'd think eventually your comments would get back to and or upset them?

IRS and Fall to pieces

Full acoustic would fit his voice best. A la late Johnny Cash.

I love the Tracii Guns ownership posts As if lending his name to the group before they recorded anything somehow entitles him to any of that band's legacy. Oh yeah, he was the "original" guitarist too, lest we forget how important that is, what with all the writing and playing he did on AFD.

Axl on Bass?