UsedYourIllusion

still not sure why ISE is not on there, or Estranged

The lyrics to You Could Be Mine are in Appetite for Destruction, at the end of the LP gatefold. Matt more than likely played a slightly altered version of the drum track Steven had already laid out 

13 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I'd read an article from 1992 about gay activism in L.A., and someone was quoted saying many metal guys from the Strip were closet gays and had to act homophobic because the scene was macho (despite how they dressed).

Does anyone know some major metal stars, besides Rob Halford, coming out?

1 hour ago, gavgnr said:

But, but, but......Axl

But, but, but......beta.......fernando

Axl looks happy in that last picture :/ wish him the best, but don't think that can be the case with Beta controlling shit

Hmm so while it is true that GN'R blocks videos, I've only seen them block live videos--not content like his--see watch Mojo. I definitely could be wrong. But also sucks he couldn't say a damn thing about the record.. boring--not much to say that hasn't been said yet, but I just want to hear other people's opinions is all. Eh sucks

Also, imo, the ONLY record that can compete with Appetite is Zeppelin 1 for best debut

This would only be correct, in some measure if Axl gets the chance to record CD, in a couple years or so, the WAY HE intended it to be. It's very obvious the studio wasn't happy with the product--see the difference in the demos from 1999-2000, 2002, 2006, etc. The final product is just an amalgamation of what Axl could get by with, I think. 

SMiLe hid under in the shadows--only a few, somewhat incomplete versions of the songs were released through records like Smiley Smile, and Surfs Up. Brian had an amazing voice and was a generational writer and producer. I love Axls voice and his lyrics are pretty out of his world. Axl works best with others on tracks though--often getting bogged down with overdubs and not a concise vision. So, I would give the talent nod to Brian. 

But they are somewhat similar in analogies--uncompromising in their music. I just hope both finally found peace after all these years

Among CD fans, Catcher in the rye, I just thinks it's an awful song

Among the contrarian fans--One in a million, song where the verses don't have anything to do with the choruses. I like the chorus, dats it. Coulda been a good love song 

Among casuals probably either SCOM or November Rain. I love both songs, but SCOM is overplayed, and the production on NR could've been better--see live versions of the song

Among hardcore fans, Don't Damn Me. Still have no idea how anyone can stand that song one bit

Great photos, you can sense, feel, hear the power of Axl's singing in the last photo--especially. 

16 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

Could they actually release a blu ray of just any old show? Like, if everything they recorded is the same quality as Chicago or Oklahoma '92, how much could they improve the quality? We know the '91 warm-up shows were shot on film, so they could use those shows, but other shows like Tokyo '92 won't get much better than the original release from what I've read. 

So, it depends.. i think, bare minimum--any show would probably look like Tokyo '92. I'm just guessing, or like an upgraded version of saskatoon. Which, i think is more than good enough. I just don't know what kind of cameras they used to shoot the shows--i doubt film cameras, they're just a little too expensive for each show. BUT, if they used professional broadcast cameras--which they probably did (since they had to project screen feeds that are HUGE)--then i think the quality would be more than sufficient! I think all the videos stolen by the crew were just reference tapes, hell Saskatoon doesn't look bad for a long-play (lower quality tape mode/tape type) VHS. I strongly doubt that Chicago or Oklahoma was some kind of master tape that was transferred to VHS. But, if someone did steal a master tape from the show, then just created different generation VHS tape copies to distribute--hence the shoddy quality/consistency, then the quality could be even better! But, honestly, you could pack any of the camcorder '80s shows and pack them with a soundboard and i'd be ecstatic! I think the visual quality is important, but second to performance and audio quality (which hopefully is close to the Yesterdays, Live in Las Vegas-single). 

Also, just listened to some demos from UYI, they definitely could remix the album to be like TSI--or at least, superior to the original release. I won't provide a link, but if you listen to The Garden instrumental, the sound is so superior to the record version--versions of all the tunes like that would blow me away

3 minutes ago, Ant said:

AFD is so crisp... really the remaster didn't do much to my ears because it was already solid as a rock. 

The 5.1 mix, however, takes that crispness and literally puts you in the room with them. It's a religious experience.

With the UYI's as they are, there just isn't the distinctness to each player / instrument. I get that a song like November Rain probably wouldn't have been the larger than life thing it was without it's sort of "blockbuster album" production.... but it sucks it had to be a one size fits all kind of thing for the rockin' songs. 

 

I just think a song like Dust N' Bones... if it was recorded during the AFD sessions... would have been that much better of a song. 

God yes... Dust N' Bones is probably my favorite track--Duff sort of blends with Izzy in the middle--spilling into the left channel. Dizzy's keys are kinda muted--the overdubs take too much of the soundstage (especially the vocal overdubs). It's a shame, really, such a dirty-bluesy song too

6 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Bumping the thread, because I just noticed Slash had answered this in 1992:

Q: "Civil War" sounds much improved on Illusion II.

Slash: It's the same version, just mixed better. It was ironic in the timing when it came out. When we recorded that, it wasn't in our normal studio. I didn't have a normal amp. It was one of those things where we had to do it because we were doing it for a benefit album, and it was a rush thing. The song was great, but Steven couldn't play. It took two days just to get the drums. That's out of the norm for us. I had to use a rented amp, and I wasn't particularly happy with the sound. Then Clink tried to mix it in a couple of different studios. I wasn't happy with the mix, and we usually don't use Clink to mix. We sat in on the mix, but I couldn't get it right. I didn't like the studio. When it came time to use it for our album, we had it mixed by Bill Price, who is awesome. He did the Pistols, the Pretenders, the Nymphs. There's a classic story that goes with the mixing. We couldn't work with Thompson-Barbiero, who were the two guys who mixed Appetite. At first, we chose not to work with them, and then by making that decision, they took on another gig, and we didn't have anybody to mix it. Then we asked them to do it and they couldn't, because they were working on Tesla. Being that we don't know that much about mixing and because we were so close to the music, we got to a point where we didn't even know what it was supposed to sound like anymore. Bill Price is somebody that we originally wanted to produce the album, in the early days, because he'd done the Pistols and the Pretenders. We really liked the sonics on those records. So we got in touch with him and he came out, and he brought a whole new life to the album. He has a great overall idea of what separation's all about, as far as instruments go, especially because there were so many things going on in some songs. He was great to work with, and he has great ears, so it was a real relief, 'cause I thought the album was destroyed. The hiring of Bill Price is one of the reasons this album took so long to get out. And then, of course, because we're so brilliant, we decided to start touring before the album was even mixed. Which wasn't our fault. It was more the fault of our old manager, because he booked these gigs and we hadn't finished the record yet.

https://www.a-4-d.com/t518-1992-04-dd-guitar-for-the-practising-musician-slash-duff

(Interestingly, Slash didn't mention Bob Clearmountain at all in this interview).

So it seems that it was a comedy of errors that lead to the mix we have now, and how Bill got involved. Surprising that the band chose to not go with Thompson-Barbiero again; say what you want about the drums and the reverb-- Appetite sounds great; I think Appetite sounds much better than the Illusion records. Everything has this soft, hazy sort of sound on the illusions (to me at least). Vs. Appetite and the Spaghetti Incident sound mean, dirty and sharp like a razor. It's hard to describe I guess. Don't Cry sort of exemplifies it, listening to the tone of the live versions and how aged the studio version sounds--not a big fan. Seems to be lacking grit, punch, and sharpness to me. I love all the playing on the record, just not the mix and overproduction. It seems like the band clashed and didn't have a good vision for what they wanted with the records

13 minutes ago, The Holographic Universe said:

How could they get UYI to sound like TSI? I love the songs on TSI, but a huge part of the charm of that album is the sound.

You'd essentially have to remix the tracks and albums. I think you could get it pretty close, especially with someone EQing Matt's drums, turning up Izzy's guitar, maybe tweaking the gain on Slash's guitar. Now thematically, I think if you removed or tweaked a lot of the overdubs and sound effects--thatd go a long way (tracks like Perfect Crime, Garden Of Eden, Coma) could really benefit

52 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Yep, I'm absolutely picking the vinyl set up on day 1 without question. I'm the same way in that I've wanted something like this well before he passed. 

Let me get my next paycheck, and that sucker is mine. Prince and Chris Cornell are the deaths that really hit me recently. Not much more than a cursory knowledge of his discography, but you can't deny the value and greatness of this release

Unpopular opinion--eh maybe not--but the CD sessions seems like a misadventure of direction from Axl Rose. CD, Better, Sorry, Hardschool, TWAT, IRS, TIL seem like an evolution of Guns N' Roses songs, an evolution that makes sense. Tracks like Oh My God, Shacklers, Riad, silkworms are so thematically different, they almost seem like a different band all together. I'm not suggesting either set of songs should be thrown out or not released. But, ideally, I imagine that Axl could've turned into someone like Jack White; releasing different projects at the same time. CD, i think, is a great album, but man does it have a crisis of identity in the tracks. Some tracks could blend greatly with the back-catalog (not that everything has to sound like Appetite), and then Shacklers gets played... and now were in some quasi-NIN concert. CD is as uneven in theme and genre as UYI. ITW, which i love, doesn't fit in between SOD and TWAT.. Riad and Scraped REALLY stick out between Sorry and Catcher on the album. 

I'm not against industrial music at all, but I just think Axl needed more time to perfect that blend that really some tracks ultimately fall short of, while the songs that do seem to have that blend down--Better is a great example--just fit waaaaaay better (pardon the pun) with the show, themes, and genre of GN'R. I think a really industrial-heavy, experimental album, on it's own, separate from what CD seemed to be thematically, could've really allowed Axl to explore the sound he wanted. Except what we got was a hodge-podge of songs that are over-produced and underdeveloped at the same time (if that makes any sense). 

I would've loved to see CD with

1. Chinese Democracy

2. Better

3. Hardschool

4. If the World

5. I.R.S.

6. The Blues

7. There Was A Time

8. Madagascar

9. Sorry

10. This I Love

Then Axl could've released an album that further introduces the Industrial/Hard rock genre blend he was going for

1. Oh My God

2. Shacklers Revenge

3. Atlas

4. Riad N' the Bedouins

5. Scraped

6. Perhaps

7. Eye on You

8. Quicksong

9. The General

10. Prostitute

or some combination of leaks. 

I think, in this form, CD would've been a lot less jarring, inconsistent, and with material being released--Axl could've gained some momentum--especially considering i think these albums would've been much better received.  

24 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

"Izzy turned up not long after. He said hi to me and then played a couple of demos he’d brought with him—small cassette tapes of acoustic versions of “Dust N’ Bones” and “Bad Obsession,” among other things. They sounded really raw"

Stuff like that (from Matt's book) would be way more interesting than alternate mixes. I want as many of Izzy's "home demos" as possible.

Why not both? I think if they could get a remix of the UYI albums to sound like TSI, it'd be fantastic. Pack it with demos and live stuff, and you're good!

2 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

I saw Duff play Dust N' Bones when he opened for Axl in 2011. It was great! GNR could definitely be playing it, even without Izzy. There's plenty of deep cuts that Axl would still sound great on, too (Down On The Farm, Pretty Tied Up, Bad Obsession, etc)

A lot of tracks--especially if Izzy came back-- could help Axls voice. 14 Years, Dust N' Bones, maybe a solo Izzy song, a TSI song for Duff, replacing Better with Sorry, Move to the City, the songs you mentioned, The Garden,  Breakdown even

28 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

I'm just gonna leave this here, it's old but it's awesome. Steven is undeniably the best drummer for GNR.

 

 

Steven always had a great groove, one I would've loved to hear on Locomotive, Dust N' Bones, Breakdown. Hell, I would've liked to hear his take on If the World

3 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Totally agree

I agree with Slash and Duff now; although I think they still sound great. 

I'm just curious what Tommy, Fortus, and Bumble felt like after years of doing nothing productive. Surely it's why Bucket and Robin left.

27 minutes ago, Voodoochild said:

From the Instagram and Twitter snippet, the audio is not mono, but somehow Slash's guitar is in the center channel.

They just didn't do channel/stereo separation on his guitar, kinda like the UYI bootlegs--i.e. Chicago and Oklahoma, the drums, audience are in stereo; but both guitars are in the center

12 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

I'd definitely prefer something we've never heard over a higher-quality version of something we've already heard.

I would probably say this as well; something we haven't seen, honestly just help pick a great show, great diverse setlist and performances! I believe in y'all. PS, a show with Dust N' Bones please 😁😁😁 or you know, all the Illusion shows

5 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Thank you, @troccoliI

I'd like to bring out again the show in Greensboro, NC on June 25, 1991 that was discussed a couple of pages back. We don't have the full setlist (as there aren't any audience recordings), but it is known that it lasted about 4 hours and according to reports of the time all the songs from UYI were played (!). Although I doubt that the latter is completely accurate (I don't think Get in the Ring and My World were played ) it would be awesome if, for example, we discovered that there was a live version of Don't Damn Me that we didn't know it existed. Regardless, it sounds like a great show, and it would be worth to have even just audio of it if it's available.

Do we know if there are any recordings of the shows before/after the Charlotte/Greensboro shows? I know that the St. Louis show was a week later, but are there recordings for the Maryland, Lexington Kentucky, or Knoxville shows? I'm curious roughly how good Axl would sound

12 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

I doubt they'll ever do a full AFD 5 reunion. LOL at hoping for Matt or Gilby to return.

They might have a few big tours left in them, assuming touring goes back to normal by next year. I'm pretty sure they'll eventually end up back in Vegas, doing residencies for ridiculous ticket-prices. Maybe they'll do a "farewell tour" when Axl decides he's physically incapable of performing most of the songs, but it's more likely they'll just fade away without a formal announcement.

In 2026, people on here will be saying "the 10 year anniversary is the perfect time to finally release a new album".

Hell, I'd hate to see what would happen if Axl actually learns how to adapt the songs and his voice--like Robert Plant has done with his excellent solo career. Dude is almost 80 and can still belt Zeppelin tunes well. If Axl could sound fantastic on 90% of tracks, GN'R would almost certainly never retire until his death 😂

I like the July 17th show, I'd much prefer a Proshot version of the July 16th show. I think the acoustic performances are better, albeit, some of the songs are cut off due to the radiobroadcast. I think Axl sounds less strained and tired in his vocal performances during these shows, as opposed to the Saskatoon show--his voice sounds drained, especially during SCOM. 

3 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Tokyo was definitely taped but yeah, it would've been a higher quality tape. Beta, like you mentioned or something like that. 

But yeah, there's so much available from that time I just hope they choose the right stuff to include. 

Yeah, and honestly, now that I think about it, if you listen to the end of YCBM from Live Era (from the Tokyo show) Axl sounds pretty mean and nasty, in a good way. It sounds much better than the DVD version.

I think remastering would go a long way to making some of those 91 performances sound pretty good. Not sure if Rock In Rio or the Indiana show could sound good, but some of the others one yeah. Multiple shows would be ideal, show the variety. Just give me Dust N' Bones and Locomotive and I think I'll be happy 😁😁