Flayer

I went with low expectations based on the earlier shows in the tour, but they really rocked tonight. Axl sounds like he does these days, strong on the low songs and weak on the high ones, but he wasn’t drowning on anything tonight and when you’re there live, the sound of the music is loud enough to obscure the weak falsetto. The setlist was the best of any GNR show I’ve been to. Alice in Chains as an opener was a real treat. Slash’s playing tonight was phenomenal. I haven’t been all that impressed with it at the previous reunion shows I’ve caught, but tonight you really felt the presence of a guitar god. I would actually rate tonight a better show all around than the last time I saw Guns in Houston back in 2021.

Remembering most of it out of order but It’s So Easy Bad Obsession Chinese Democracy Slither Welcome to the Jungle Pretty Tied Up Mr Brownstone Reckless Life Perhaps Down on the Farm Anything Goes Absurd Double Talkin’ Jive Rocket Queen Estranged Hard School Street of Dreams Civil War See That Cat (Duff) Sweet Child O’ Mine November Rain Nightrain Patience Wichita Lineman Don’t Cry Paradise City

I don't have this same problem when I go back and listen to the early AFD demos, where I almost invariably find the final release to be better. With the CD and beyond era, they are genuinely making most of the songs worse (or two steps forward, three steps back) with all the re-recording and over-tinkering in production.

There are isolated multitracks for Welcome to the Jungle that aren’t hard to find. Not sure about others.

The solo isn’t terrible, but it’s bland and forgettable. Rank it against those on CD or on AFD and it would be the weakest (and near the bottom for UYI). Finck’s had more emotion. It would have been middle of the pack on CD. The one other change I don’t like is the muddled distortion effect on the ooohs right after the solo. Those vocals were clear and sounded quite good on the demo. Now they’re annoying.

I think the lyrics actually got reworked a bit between the demo and the final release. There’s a very clear S consonant in the first line on the demo (for “so” or “say”) and that word isn’t there at all in the final version. Second line sounds very different now (like “you’ve forgotten…”), third line is the same (either “want to ignore” or “once ignored,” first makes more sense to me), fourth is the same.

The verses were pretty clear, the chorus on the old leak was muddled and hard to make out. My take was: So you got more than you bargained for You’re all alone now You’re surrounded by the others you were begging for You’re all alone So talk to the ones that you want to ignore You’re all alone now You used to be a little crazy now it’s so much more You’re all alone To me, it sounds like he was singing about himself.

Aien wrote his own lyrics for Quick Song, you could give those a shot. https://m.soundcloud.com/aienofficial/quick-song It is becoming all too clear You hurt the ones that I hold dear A final hour for us to spend The sharp edge of justice to bring your end (Blank eyes see only in red) Oh, it'll happen so fast When the blade finds its target It won't last Through my hands I'll play your fate And in your heart there'll be no weight A consequence, you know it's time An eye for an eye, a justified crime (Blank eyes see only in red) Oh, it'll happen so fast When silver finds its target It won't last (Blank eyes see only in red) Oh, it'll happen so fast When the blood starts running All my problems will fade away Oh, it'll happen so fast When your blood starts running All my problems will go away