Michir

For long time fans who were alive/listening to GN'R in 1990, how did you react to Civil War when it came out or when you first heard it? I imagine it must've seemed a radical departure for GN'R. And for fans in general, do you view the jump from AFD/LIes to Civil War as being a big jump, musically speaking?

Was it a good song for GN'R to come out of their hiatus with, to promote the then upcoming UYIs with? The first GN'R single of the '90s--Was it a good choice to release?

Are we entering another mid-decade period of silence from Axl/GN'R?

From 1993-1999, all was silent. Then from 2003-2005, again all was silent.

Axl seems to operate in a way that mid decade he shuts down...Do you think we're entering another period of silence for the next few years?

How relevant would you say GN'R was between let's say 1990, when Steven was fired, and 1997, when Duff quit.

No. If anything, Axl probably felt some kind of weird victory. Not at all that he was GLAD he was dead, but just that feeling like "huh, well, guess I won."

I doubt it affected him any more than it affected everyone. It was sad and shocking, but he didn't know him personally. He liked him as a musician, and so did all of us pretty much. But life moves on.

I'm sure the deaths of Shannon Hoon, West Arkeen, and Axl's mother were much more devastating.

Slash said something once around '95 that the UYI albums were about GN'R overcoming what Kurt Cobain couldn't. Maybe Axl felt the same?

Looking back with hindsight, how do you view the UYI albums, especially the way they changed GN'R's sound? For example, songs like Coma, Estranged, Locomotive, Breakdown and November Rain, which are utterly different from anything found on AFD and Lies; Matt Sorum instead of Steven Adler; The addition of Dizzy Reed as the sixth Gunner and with him the introduction of keyboards and organ into the band. Singles like YCBM, Don't Cry and other lesser known songs like Perfect Crime, The Garden, Double Talkin' Jive, Dust N' Bones, 14 Years....

In hindsight, looking back over 22 years, what are your views on the UYI records? Are they the favorite GN'R albums of anyone else? Does anyone think if the Axl/Slash dominated GNR had stayed together, could they have outdone the UYI albums in scope or grandiosity?

Had it been taken as is or with some minor changes by Axl and Duff, would it have made a good GN'R album?

Let's look at what Chinese Democracy offered in an objective way, just the facts:

-A radically different musical style on many songs. Many songs are a great departure musically from anything that the GN'R of the '80s/90s did (for example, Shacklers).

-Outside of Axl and Dizzy, an utterly different lineup from the band which peaked in popularity in the early/mid 1990s.

-No one singular guitar style. On AFD-TSI, you have one thing consistent: Slash. Whether it's Izzy or Gilby, you have the dynamic of ONE strong bluesy lead, and a Stonesy off rhythm guitar, with melodic, fluid soloing and riffy, Aerosmith-esque or Stonesy licks and chops. On CD, you have 5 guitar players at times on the same track, in all different styles; very few melodic, bluesy solos; No clearly defined lead guitar; no Stonesy off rhythm. I'd say GN'R's appeal was 50% vocals and 50% guitars--On CD, it's like 90% Axl and a mix of a bunch of very different guitarists. Slash and Izzy/Gilby were not ALL THAT different in their influences or styles, whereas I'd say Bumblefoot, Buckethead, Paul Tobias, Robin Finck and Richard Fortus all have very different influences and stylings. Basically, there's no one distinct "guitar sound" on the record to get hooked to. On the original records, and in general, Slash has a readily identifiable sound, consistent. That consistency is missing in CD.

-No real bass. While Duff wasn't the best bass guitarist ever, he DID have a distinctive sound and made his presence felt in many of the songs. Whereas on CD, you can barely hear Tommy on most of the songs.

There's other factors at work, but my point is, did CD change too much, too soon? Perhaps if there had been some "transitional" records in between TSI and CD, like records where the band slowly changed and the style slowly drifted toward what is on CD, the public might not have been so "wtf is this?" when CD just came out of the blue after 15 years.

Did CD change too much, too soon? Is that why it failed, at least in part?

CD had the audience it deserved. It had the audience Axl WANTED it to have. In keeping the GN'R name, I'm sure he knew (or should've known) that certain expectations go with a name, and that a certain fanbase will follow a name. Being a rock music fan himself I'm sure he had SOME idea of what fans wanted/expected from a "Guns N' Roses" record, but perhaps he felt the fans would accept a great leap forward or perhaps he simply didn't care. CD is not an intelligent or an intellectually challenging or a particularly deep album. It's not something like The Wall. Why would it deserve a more "sophisticated" audience? It's not that far removed in sound or in spirit from a 'modernized' Use Your Illusions (the more experimental numbers ala Estranged). In keeping the name, Axl should've also been aware that certain expectations go with that. Like, do you go into a Die Hard movie expecting a romantic comedy?

I'm not saying no experimentation, experimentation in bands is what keeps things interesting. But overhauling the entire lineup of the band besides himself and Dizzy, and utterly changing the style (especially the guitar style, with no one style dominating CD), and going into industrial type material all in one shot was a bit too much to ask in one sitting.

To simply say that CD failed because it's fans weren't "competent" is a lame excuse and is very insulting to the millions of people who bought AFD, Lies and the UYI albums, and to the 3 million or so fans who did try to give CD a chance.

Is it known if GN'R recorded any original music/demos/song ideas between 1993 and 1996? I've read on other forums about a "lost" GN'R album from the mid '90s...? What's that about?