Dr. Who

I think Axl is a Tier II songwriter.
If Lennon, Dylan, Jagger, McCartney etc are Tier I,
People like Axl, Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury etc are Tier II.

Is it fair enough to place Axl alongside Plant and Mercury in terms of songwriting?

I'm looking forward to Han Solo's death scene. Hopefully Finn does it #SJW

Europe needs to be saved

You just learn to talk to a woman without sweating before you think about putting an entire continent to rights eh dickhead?

In a few decades Europe will look like Israel, rockets, suicide bombings, European women put in burkas and used as breeders for Muhammad's footsoldiers. Europe as it was known is on life support.

Europe needs to be saved

dont forget that the 1991 warm up secret shows were shot on film

Elaborate on this, please. As far as I know all the UYI tour shows were videotaped only. Are you 100% sure those secret gigs were shot on film?

They were used in the YCBM music video which suggests they were shot on film or at least parts were.

What show is Patience from - any audio or video out there for download- It's an amazing version.

Mexico, 1993.

Pawnshop Guitars is a vastly superior album than Chinese Democracy. Shits on it entirely.

Just sayin'

This. I actually really love Duff's "Believe in Me" and think a lot of songs on that could've made great GN'R songs, too.

I might be about to draw a ridiculous parrallel here, it's at best vague but bear with me. Anyone else notice how GnR became a bit shite after Adler left? i mean without getting into the merits or lack thereof of the Illusion albums, they were alright...but they weren't Appetite or Lies. So Adler was a piss artist and a bit of a fuck up...so was Keith Moon...and The Who were pretty much naff once he left I'm sure you'll all agree. I won't even listen to a Moonless Who, i think it's sacreligious. I mean he weren't Mr fuckin' technical drummer...but neither was Moonie. A great many people think that, musically speaking, in terms of correct form etc The Who became a better band with Kenny whatshisface from The Faces but they lost that reckless fuckin' mentalist aspect that made them so unique.

Now I'm not by any stretch of the imagination comparing Stevie Adler with Lord Keith Moon, who i believe to be some sort of incarnation of God but there is a vague parrallel there, the mentalist pisshead drummer without whom their sound sort of changed for the worse and weren't ever quite the same again.

Thing about a player is that they ain't just about what they themselves do as a standalone thing, it's about what they bring out in the other players too, you don't play the same with everybody that you play with, different styles brings different things out of each individual performer and contributes a lot more to the greater tapestry than just what they are doing in and of themselves.

I find it slightly off-putting that it's like 'we can't have Stevie cuz he's a waster' is like the cardinal objection to him, it's something of an indicator of the kind of footing that this reunion will be on, should it ever occur, i.e. a dull boring sterile one. 'But he won't be able to keep it up long term!', if he does then yay, better band and if he doesn't even better, play a handful of blistering fucking gigs for posterity and then collapse again, I could live with that if the other option is Matt Sorum fannying on about fuckin' animal rights and having swingless drum sound that sounds like a lisence plate press.

Yeah you're right in that there are drummers that are great on their own, but horrid in a band context. Just like guitar players, etc.

Izzy said everything was wrong after Steven left. Sounded wrong. And he was right. It was "wrong" in the sense that it wasn't steven on the kit, and he did have perfect chemistry with the rest of the band members from the classic line up. Like Duff said, it could have been only the 5 of them. That obviously includes Adler.

One thing I disagree is that people don't think he's able. It's not that. It's Axl. He said playing even one song with Steven will mean years of litigation.

Indeed. UYIs era (90s) was not GN'R. It was FakeGN'R. Guns N' Roses isn't about real lyrics, it's about the 80s and big hair and havin' nothin' but a good time'.

UYI GN'R sucked, it wasn't real.

Sorry, but I had to post this for the people who think Steven is not reliable and can't play.

Adler was easily and successfully replaced. I liked him on celebrity rehab but that's about it.

I would accept Gilby but Izzy and Steven would be missed. I do not believe in this 'Axl and Slash, nobody else matters'' policy.

It's good that you don't believe it because no one said that "nobody else matters." They are the prime focus. Always has been and always will be in regards to the reunion. You can replace Izzy and Steven but you can't replace Slash.

You chuck Axl and Slash together with a bunch of new members and you get heavy metal.

This is total bullshit. There is nothing "heavy metal" about Fortus.

You misquote me. Axl+Slash equates 'metal' (or big ballads). You need Izzy and Adler there to provide the swing. Appetite would not be 5% the album it would be without the rhythm section. In my opinion Stradlin is the heart and soul of Guns.

There's nothing metal about Axl or Slash either. They draw comparisons to Tyler/Perry and Jagger/Richards for a reason and it isn't for some "metal" factor.

Listen to Coma and Locomotive. Where is the swing? You need Stradlin and Adler - Duff also who adds his spikey punk-pop bass lines.

Adler does provide that '40s style big bang swing.

CD era had it's good and bad points but it shouldn't be swept under the rug as if it didn't happen. I would support a 4 or 5 CD collection with selections of songs from great shows of each lineup (AFD - UYI - Gilby - CD lineups).

Axl/Slash/Izzy/Duff/Matt/Dizzy is the lineup I want to see.

I know I'm going to get a lot of hate for this but I honestly feel Load and Reload are their best records. Like the UYIs they would've made a stronger single album, but, I suppose because I'm more of a hard rock fan than I am a metal fan, they're awesome records to me and Metallica honestly made a very credible hard rock band and filled a mid 90s void for hard rock.

I don't get why some think synths and rock can't mix. Some of the best rock bands ever (Zeppelin, Yes, for example) have used synths.

Those bands knew how to use them. Axl is a rock singer surrounded by hacks. They are terrible at using electronic elements. Hilariously terrible.

Yeah but people slag off the addition of synths on some UYI tracks, too. I'm not just talking about CD.

I don't get why some think synths and rock can't mix. Some of the best rock bands ever (Zeppelin, Yes, for example) have used synths.

Darlene is an awesome song and should've been on ITTOD.

That makes a lot of sense -- and I would definitely believe it. It would also explain why Axl seems to withdraw from the world when things don't go right -- he just doesn't have the confidence to shake it off and keep going. I remember once reading an interview way back when where he said several times that he was shy, and that can't make it any easier.

I'm kind of dating a girl who is diagnosed as bipolar and takes lithium. Redhead as well. She got hired for a job I knew she was well qualified for, and she's a great person normally, but has a self-destructive side. She went in for job training one day, freaked out thinking she would horribly fail and quit the next day and retreated her form of self medication.

Geez, that sucks. I hope things will go better for your girl in the future. When someone is their own worst enemy it's probably harder to handle than anything else...and if someone doesn't understand their own self-worth or have any confidence in the abilities they actually have, even more so. And being bipolar probably makes it that much harder to see things clearly.

Stage fright and extreme perfectionism seem to fit in perfectly with everything that has been said about Axl. I remember reading that he'd recorded AfD line by line, and that he'd said at one point that oif they couldn't get November Rain right he would leave the business. And with all of the tinkering that supposedly went on with CD. I have a feeling he critcizes himself far more mercilessly than anyone online or off could ever do.

Thanks...Having been around bipolar people besides her before, I honestly think that's how they are. I used to be in acting class with this one girl. She'd start crying for no reason, freak out and not want to be involved with anyone and sit in the corner, give up...Then five minutes later she'd be fine, like nothing happened.

This was Alice Cooper on working with Axl, recording the vocals for "The Garden" back in 1991:

"When you're in the studio one on one with [Axl], he's really amazing - and the guy can really sing. I did my bit maybe three times, but Axl is a perfectionist - almost to the point where you want to say, "at some point, Axl, it's gotta be good enough."

And that was a track he probably cared less about than say, NR or Estranged.

Adler reminds of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

That's the feeling I get too. I remember reading how back in the early 2000s he would spend inordinate amounts of time online reading anything that was said about him. I don't think he always understands what is needed to make things the best (ie, showing up on time) they can be -- but I think that he does genuinely get upset when he thinks that people aren't enjoying tyhe show or it's not his best effort.

I distinctly remember Adler saying years ago in a radio interview how Axl judges himself harshly. He said Axl thinks he doesn't sound good, doesn't look good, etc.

The interviewer proceeded to mock Axl and said "so he's right on the money lol". I think Axl is very insecure. When he feels good about his performance it gives him the confidence he naturally lacks imo.

So in rock in rio 2011, it was bad, and he knew it and it was one of the few times he seemed lost and fragile to me even. Tommy helped, but it was a glimpse into how deeply he can be affected by ultimately what people think of him.

Alan Niven also said Axl suffers from pretty severe stage fright and fear of failure, which is to blame for the late starts.

That's the feeling I get too. I remember reading how back in the early 2000s he would spend inordinate amounts of time online reading anything that was said about him. I don't think he always understands what is needed to make things the best (ie, showing up on time) they can be -- but I think that he does genuinely get upset when he thinks that people aren't enjoying tyhe show or it's not his best effort.

I distinctly remember Adler saying years ago in a radio interview how Axl judges himself harshly. He said Axl thinks he doesn't sound good, doesn't look good, etc.

The interviewer proceeded to mock Axl and said "so he's right on the money lol". I think Axl is very insecure. When he feels good about his performance it gives him the confidence he naturally lacks imo.

So in rock in rio 2011, it was bad, and he knew it and it was one of the few times he seemed lost and fragile to me even. Tommy helped, but it was a glimpse into how deeply he can be affected by ultimately what people think of him.

That makes a lot of sense -- and I would definitely believe it. It would also explain why Axl seems to withdraw from the world when things don't go right -- he just doesn't have the confidence to shake it off and keep going. I remember once reading an interview way back when where he said several times that he was shy, and that can't make it any easier.

I'm kind of dating a girl who is diagnosed as bipolar and takes lithium. Redhead as well. She got hired for a job I knew she was well qualified for, and she's a great person normally, but has a self-destructive side. She went in for job training one day, freaked out thinking she would horribly fail and quit the next day and retreated her form of self medication.

The whole point of a reunion would be to strike up

The old chemistry. But if Steven isnt there thats fucked. So what they are giving you giving you is like the illusion of reunion.

One minute it's a special chemistry the next it's just ah whatever Duff, Slash and Fortus and Frank who gives a shit.

I guess if they get Slash, Duff and Izzy and Steven is the only one missing then that is understandable really. He a fuck up for sure. But give him a chance! If he fucks up get Bill Burr.

I'd rather see this than Adler partying like it's 1985.

Lithium - the drug he's reportedly on - can cause a person to develop a goiter. If he's also on steroids as I've heard rumored, that causes moon facies.

Adler put down the best drum track on the best hard rock album ever, and one of the all time best rock n' roll albums. You can talk about Brains, Franks and Sorums and all these other wankers but none of them could have done what he did.

That is true. It takes a rare breed of fuck up to be kicked out of a band of drug addicts for being too much of one. So yes, Brain, Sorum and all those other wankers definitely couldn't do what he did.

Everything Adler says is correct. All of the best songs are on Appetite. People like Illusion but they love Appetite. The Illusion era will never live up to the Appetite-Lies era.

Appetite era saw Guns be big, UYI era saw them be huge.

He really sounds strung out on heroin in that interview. I've been around heroin addicts when they're strung out, and they sounded a lot like him.

The plan was to save Ain't Goin Down for the next record. Gilby said they were working on it with him before he was fired, it was the last song that they worked on with him. They wanted to release it on the next record.