GoodOlJohnnyK

Jesus Christ, I’ve been so busy in the other thread arguing about this very fucking song and I missed that it had been delayed! …and that the usual suspects came in here to defend Axl (all the while acting as if they’re not)! Ha! What the *fuck* man?! This song is already wayyyyyy fucking overhyped and will *never* live up to its own legend…and now they’re delaying the inevitable letdown even longer?! *phew*. Regardless - I’ll be checking TouchTunes at midnight.

I don’t believe he said they didn’t fit his style, but rather they didn’t have enough going on melodically, or something to that effect (I can’t seem to find the exact quote and I’m not going to spend much effort defending Slash on a Guns N’ Roses forum). Basically - not that they didn’t fit him, but rather he didn’t like them. So why recreate something he’s not too impressed with? Why not have fun with it? His “noodling” some nights is better than others. Other nights it’s sublime. That’s the nature of improvisation and live music. Though speaking of Slash’s style, I find it interesting that the two solos everyone is so bent out of shape over - This I Love and Street of Dreams - are the two most Slash-inspired solos on the record. Those were the two songs that anybody uncomfortable with the shift in musical direction could listen to and think “oh okay…this sounds kinda like the Guns N’ Roses I like.” The rest of the solos are a bunch of soulless shreds and bleep bloop computer noises. Talk about noodling. I don’t know what the fuck chewer biscuits are. Will they get me high enough to think that Slash playing guitar on a Guns N’ Roses song is a bad thing? If so, yes please. I’ll have two.

Well first of all - I never assumed it would be great. Quite the opposite. I've only posted, I dunno, 500 fucking times that I think all the good shit from that era has already been released. I've specifically questioned how good The General could possibly be if it was passed over for Chinese Democracy. And I *am* living in reality - Slash's work on both Absurd and Hard Skool is better than the versions leaked on the Village Sessions. If you don't think so, fine, but to my ears both songs received a significant upgrade. And I'm on record as hating Perhaps, and even Slash couldn't save that piece of shit. You don't like his work on the ChiDem songs live? Understandable - but they're improvised. And he's explained why - he doesn't find the original solos all that inspiring in the first place (though it's telling that he stays truer to the original solo on TWAT, probably because he likes it). I don't have a problem with a musician improvising at a live show. It's live music. If you want the recording...listen to the recording, that's what it's there for. I'm not particularly interested in hearing artists painfully recreate every moment of the album - I want the live feel. Which is what Guns N' Roses, historically speaking, have been about - the looser rock n' roll tradition in the vein of Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. And if we *are* going to start taking people to task for not sounding like the album...have you heard the singer lately?! Yes it is. For both cases. See? I can do that too.

Sorry bro, but I’m not sure what people you’re referring to. I’m certainly not one of them. Slash’s “Better” solo is equal to Finck’s. His TWAT solo actually stays pretty faithful to Buckethead’s while also putting his own spin on it. People treat the This I Love solo like it’s fucking November Rain. It’s not. It’s a nice solo on the record, and Slash improvises it live. Why not? It’s not something holy that can’t be touched. As for Prostitute and SoD - again, are those solos really sacred works of art that can’t be messed with? I certainly don’t think so. As for the recorded songs? Both Absurd and Hard Skool were *improved* by Slash. Perhaps isn’t any better or worse than the demo, but that’s just down to it being a boring song in the first place. Again - the reverence for Robin’s solo on Perhaps blows my mind. Everyone has their own tastes, of course, but if you ask me, I’m *excited* that Slash is on The General because, to me, that means the song will at least have a *little* character, instead of sounding like some dated generic early 2000s industrial rock like the rest of the ChiDem leftovers.

I wasn't replying to Coma16 (if I was, I would have quoted them). Rather, I was referring the general attitude of a lot of posters on this sub who pine for the ChiDem lineup and dismiss Slash's playing. There are a few posters who are *already* complaining that Duff and, especially, Slash will be featured on The General because they're convinced that Slash's guitar work will be subpar and not as good as Buckethead's original work...that they haven't heard.

"Slash?! On a Guns N' Roses song?! NOOOOOOOO!" - This forum, unfortunately.

I agree, though I think it stops there, as I don't think there's much more that's worthwhile. Including potentially The General, by the way. Maybe it's my cynical nature, but I just can't see why this showstopping, epic, future classic would have not only been left off of Chinese Democracy, but also relegated to a B-side (or R-side) of Perhaps if it was really that good. Spare me the "Axl had a plan..." talk. Axl had a plan for Chinese Democracy, too, and eventually the label had enough and dragged it out of him. If The General was an A+, I have a feeling it would have been on ChiDem. But I'm so glad it's coming out so we can move on. Same goes for Atlas and SoG - I hate the songs, but get them out so we can be rid of this unnecessarily mysterious and ultimately disappointing era and move on to something new.

According to the videos I've seen of some of the other performances...unlikely.

"He's capable." One of the greatest guitarists of all time is capable. His playing on Hard Skool is way better than anything on the Village Leaks. It's a vast improvement. Perhaps isn't his greatest, but neither is Robin's solo. I can chalk that up to it just not being a great song. Also, I like Slash's Better solo. Not necessarily 'better' than Robin's, but I have them neck and neck. It's been officially announced, no?

Wow. Lean!

I'm only half kidding when I ask - has anyone checked TouchTunes? Someone should stay on top of that.

So you're telling me that "Epic" didn't make the cut? This is bullshit.

I am so not looking forward to reading the usual suspects here rip apart the solo and demand the restoration of Robin/Bucket's solos, swearing that their solos were better without ever even hearing them.

Robin has a nice solo on This I Love and Better. Buckethead has a nice solo on TWAT. Besides that, I have no desire to hear these two on a Guns N' Roses song ever again. Just a bunch of fast notes and bleep-blorp nonsense. Robin Finck's Perhaps solo might be the most overrated solo in Guns N' Roses fandom. It's the most pedestrian, any-session-player-could've-come-up-with-this solo I'd ever heard.

I said this in the other thread, but I'll repeat it here: I want to know exactly what the question was that was asked to Duff. The journalist here has given Duff's quote, but not the question posed to him. This is important because: "Can Guns N' Roses fans be on the lookout for new material?" - Don't worry, we've got this, is a lot different than, "Is Guns N' Roses working on a new album?" - Don't worry, we've got this. It's an important distinction because The General and Atlas Shrugged both qualify as new material and we know The General is on the way, and Atlas very well could be next. But that's a long way from a new album.