Voodoochild

I wouldnt say his solo album is just a rumour. Aside from posting a source (the girl who run that thumbler is pretty credible), Robin himself already stated how he would like to work on his own stuff in this 2009 interview:

http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/music/nine-inch-nails-interview-54.aspx

Gotta love people's misconception about what is ProTools or even the whole recording process.

And yeah, Bucket is amazing.

They did the same thing in 2001. And yeah, the original source, Veja magazine, is the biggest here in Brazil.

And, again, there's the thing about being just a former band member and being a former band member who are still part of the future...

Anyways, the excellent Robin Finck thumbler called Finck The World posted this interview from 2000. Lots of it were already posted elsewhere, but some of the article (in bold) are pretty much "new" to me. Its interesting because you can relate to Robin's comments from back then to when he left GNR again in 2008.

http://www.fincktheworld.com/day/2011/09/12

Calm me down first. I didn't make up reasons, there is a logic behind that and I already explained it. To me makes sense to discuss about the current in the main section, but leaving the old stuff in other child boards. Or else it would be a giant mess, with 25 years of history getting discussed over and over. Its not disrespectful, its just for the sake of organization. If you find that so hard to understand, you should try to convince the adm and mods instead of whining about it in a random thread.

seven would be but the other 2 from what i no about them aint big radio hits

I know I will regret asking this, but what do you know about those songs?

Thanks, I thought it was, but wasn't sure. I like the way just the two of them sound without the wall of guitars behind them. I've always wondered how GNR would have sounded with just one lead guitarist instead of the duo, but hey at least we got some really great stuff out of the double guitar attack that GNR now has.

I know how you feel, it really got messy in the album mix. But I really thought the demos still had this distinction - check out Riad old demo, you can clearly say how Robin is the rhythm guitar in the right channel of stereo, with a really cool strato sound in the 1st half of the song and then in his regular overdriving Les Paul in the rest. The final version mixed Robin's and Paul Tobias in the left channel to include just Bumblefoot's rhythm guitar in the right, which sounded not nearly as good. Also, the chorus lost the beautiful dissonance of the chords to put a fairly standard power-chord approach. At least Robin's leads following Axl stayed...

Also another question is which part of Catcher In The Rye has Finck's solo? It sort of all meshes into one solo when I listen to it and it all sounds like Bumblefoot to me. I still can't figure it out.

Before and through the 1st chorus,from 44 to 1:15. Then, after BBF solo through the 2nd chorus, from 2:47 to 3:12. Then from 3:41 to 3:52.

You can notice it's the same lead in the Brian May demo, although there's one extra lead from Robin at the ending, in the left channel, kinda matching Brian May ending solo. I loved that part, but it was gone in the album version.

Before Chinese Democracy was released Slash and Duff were a part of the last GNR release and we were not allowed to discuss them at that point, so whats changed? Your making the rules up as you go along.

But Slash and Duff wouldn't eventually appear again in a future release. Brain, Buckethead and Robin may still be present in the next album, at very least in writing credits.

I have a question, on the leaks from the 2000 Intensions album, does Finck play all the guitar except the Catcher In The Rye solo? I think that it lists the demoes as 99, which would have to feature Finck since Buckethead had not yet been recruited in the band. I have There Was A Time, Catcher In The Rye, I.R.S., and the snippet of Checkmate from those sessions and it sounds like Finck, but I wanted to make sure.

There's also Paul Tobias in those demos (the old IRS intro its him, I guess). But yeah, the leads are all Robin.

Talked to het a few times in another forum, I mixed Shacklers to her with Ron's tapping louder.. Really sad about this. RIP

Ok, what about this particular Sometimes Salvation solo with never-ending bends and lots of stops in an overly distorted guitar? Anyways, this particular one always reminded me something Robin could write IMHO.

Russtcb, I have the DVD. Not HD, but I could still manage to put Robin's solo on YouTube.

I met the guy, he was nice to me and my wife. Later not so much, but still. I dont have a problem with his optimism or anything.

What bothers me is that the guy doesnt really play that well. He often goes off-key and plays simplified lazy-ass rhythm and solos, taking A LOT of short-cuts. Still, people are overlooking this while bashing Robin when he fucked up (which of course I know he did a lot). And yeah, I loved Robin's playing since I first heard that rerecorded SCOM and the Ghosts of Mars OST.

About Ashba writing, from what I see of his studio recordings, live material and Ballad of Death, I thought pretty much all of it sounded either cheesy or boring. Or both. Just my opinion.

Marc Ford is a very different player from Robin, doubt very much that Sometimes Salvation solo is how Robin would play it.

Didn't know the guys name, but I think the bending notes are pretty much what Robin loves to do. IMO pretty much how he would play it without a doubt.

That was a bit too flowing for Rob, he tends to staccato his notes more and his bendings aren't always that in tune/control. They play quite differently from each other. Plenty of doubt.

Didn't get it. You're saying Robin isn't always in tune/control in studio? Just listen to his solo in Better with that bend/release thing.

Marc Ford is a very different player from Robin, doubt very much that Sometimes Salvation solo is how Robin would play it.

Didn't know the guys name, but I think the bending notes are pretty much what Robin loves to do. IMO pretty much how he would play it without a doubt.

LOVE that. I've got a blu ray bootleg from December of 06 where Robin does something similar and even better. I use it to show people what a complete bad ass he was.

Which one, the Gibson Amphitheater? I missed the bluray, only saw some 1080p on YouTube...

I'm saying as long as they are under the gnr name, they should be playing the classic solos as accurately as they can. From what I could tell, finck almost ALWAYS butchered the classic solos. Every other comment on youtube bashes him for his inaccuracy to play them. So I'm guessing more fans were upset about it than to the naked eye. I personally feel that ashba does a better job playing the classic stuff than finck did.

As for labeling him just as industrial, that was my bad. But still, his guitar playing just never did anything for me in general. And I never understood how axl gave him more lead spots over bucket and bumble. Even richard, he was way more suited for lead imo than robin was. Just didn't make sense to me.

YouTube comments aren't really the place to look for fair opinions. About Richard, he's a good player, but I guess he wasn't anything special for writing leads. But then again, I prefer him than Ashba, so...

As for Robin - I'd still take old stuff from him anyday over DJ's ideas but that's just me.

Not just you.

^ This solo is brilliant. I prefer his Tokyo '07 solo spot, tho (its a shame we never had a DVD from that concert).

I think there was a time and place for Robin. Back during the early sessions, when Axl was going for a mainly industrial sound during the Oh My God and Silkworms days. But after that...I just don't see what made Axl look at this guy and say, "I want him to play lead live more than Bucket and Bumble", let alone keeping him around at all. He butchered the old solos, almost all the time, and fans want to hear the "Sweet Child o Mine" solo the way it was meant to be heard, not the "Robin Finck Remix". I think he gave off some ok ideas with Chinese Democracy, but be "creative" with your own shit, not an established rock classic.

Honestly, I think Ashba's mainly just a hungry cash cow wanting to expose himself through playing with the Guns N Roses name, but I do find he was more suited for lead guitar (especially with the classic material), than Finck EVER was.

Ok, 1st, he at least was able to play the SCOM solo, unlike Ashba. Second, I don't think he went too far on that one to the point where the solo became unrecognizeble, so casual fans wouldn't mind at all (I'm sure people getting pumped in that MSG '02 video proves it).

Again, one more saying that Robin could only do industrial songs. If this video above isn't proving how far from industrial he can be, I dunno what more. You don't like his guitar playing and style, ok. But don't come with this crap about industrial sound. His solos like the one in This I Love have NO industrial feeling at all. Its as bluesy as this one from Black Crowes (IMO, its exactly what Robin would play):

Here's a question, if you go to see a local band that plays covers, do you want them to play the exact same as whats on the albums? (Not saying GNR is a cover band though). Of course not, in order for them to srurvive they have to make things their own. 2 brilliant covers on older songs that take awesome new takes on classic songs are Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson and Hurt by Johnny Cash. They both do new things with old classics, which is exactly what Finck does. Sure it doesn't always work, but at least hes being original and when it does work, its brilliant and at times better than the originals.

I got what you're saying, but I honestly don't think Robin changed that much. He sure put his own touch, but the songs were still pretty much faithful for the regular fans. Even Kurt Loder and several other journalists said back in 2001 and 2002 how the band were spot on, saying how "if you close your eyes, it's just like the old band".

I think only the die-hard fans and haters are nitpicking about those kind of things. Hell, it goes for me too: I find outrageous how Ashba changes Robin's solos, but the casual fans just don't care.

The difference for me is that Ashba changes because he just can't play the high bends and even when taking shortcuts he still sounds off-key. I love how people talks about how Robin "butchered" the solos but just forget about how DJ goes constantly off-key in bends or just pretty much hit the wrong note. And let's be honest, his tone and guitar playing are nothing special and could be from at least a thousand other guitarists in LA right now.

Wonder how much the whole "I look cool on stage" thing with Ashba affects this perception.

I too prefer Robin's version of Patience (not only the solo, his whole guitar work for the rhythm) and November Rain. And, of course, his SCOM solo, which was way more interesting to me.

i don't no for sure that it dates back to 1994 however in an interview in 1994 axl said he was working on a new song and he was going to include brain may so im guessing he meant catcher but didn't may also work on atlas shrugged?

I think you misunderstood. Axl *wanted* to have Brian May back then, but that didn't happen. Later, in 1999, Robin left to get back with NIN and Axl invited May to replace Robin's leads in some songs - as he said himself, because he was "emotionally attached" with Finck's work and he had to get someone as good as May to not feel bad about replacing those leads.

Brian May himself said he recorded with Axl back in 1999 or 2000. Also, Catcher corrected credits on the alternative Chinese cover (and on the official guitar tab book) says pretty clear that the song was written by Axl, Paul Tobias, Stinson (who only came in in 1998), Robin and Dizzy.

forget robin,, ugly and bizarre person.

the place for him is in the NIN.

Robin to leave was one of the best things in the last ten years, for GNR.

I get it, you're trolling this thread for the sake of it.

Anyways, why the hell does people say things like "the place for him is in the NIN"? He's one of the most emotional guitar players when playing bluesy solos, which just don't happen at all on Nine Inch Nails. Even his guitar tone is a bit far from what Trent Reznor used in the records. And don't even get me started as how much of talent he has when writing ORIGINAL leads in comparison to DJ Ashba...

I'm sure Robin is always getting this shit because of the way he looked back in 2001/02. This prejudice about his visual is always used to bash him, as if his sound doesn't even matter.

@Voodoo: As far as we know Finck is just taking a break from touring and letting Ashba fill in for the time being lets just cross our fingers and hope that the 1 in 100,000,000,000,000 actually does work out. But definitely he will be a part of the next album in some capacity given the fact he was there for 10 years, only missing out on any 99-00 recording.

I wish. Saddly, I think he just doesnt want it anymore. But yeah, I think he'll still be present on the future album, but it may be more likely that we'll end up hearing it on leaks than an actual release.

i love his work on the album and songs he helped to write are some of the best

he was one of the main forces behind 2000 intentions ( aka the industrial album )

and im happy that some of that work made it to democracy

dint really agree with his look in 2001-2002 a little too goth for my taste but hey that's his choice

loved his backing vocals and i would like to think him and bucket will remain on the next 2 disks

I agree with the look thing, I kind of thought it was neat at Rio in 2001, but in 2002 it just didn't suit my style. Also this is unrelated, but do how much exactly do we know about the 2000 Intentions album and do we have any of the music from it?

if i remember correctly and i could be wrong but 99 I.R.S demo is from the 2000 intentions days ? also t.w.a.t

again i could be totally wrong im not an expert but ive heard claims that checkmate is from the 2000 sessions

Yeah Checkmate is supposed to be from those sessions, thanks for what info you have though, I've heard there is a 4:21 version of Checkmate out there, which remains to be heard by me at least, would love to hear it if it actually does exist. But anyway I would love to hear some more Industrial stuff from GNR with Finck doing the majority of lead since Buckethead's Industrial and Finck's are really different. I loved the Industrial parts of CD and would love to hear more myself.

i have heard an alt version of OMG also known as oh my bucket ( it contains buckethead where as original didn't ) however i do not have the file it was played to me over the phone about 4 years ago

there are a few bogus versions of checkmate going around apparently the person who leaked it ( razz? ) only had that small clip and because he leaked it the hoarder he was trying to trade with got pissed off and pulled out of the deal

oh and also catcher in the rye dates back to 1994 so in theory that and this i love may of been recorded for intentions

in 1994 axl mentions he is working on a secret project and will be getting brain may involved i can only imagine he was writing catcher at this point

Catcher dates back to 1994? I dont think so. Do you have any source?

As far as I know, the songs from circa 1999 are Catcher, IRS, TWAT, This I Love, Riad (because Josh Freese is credited on the drums arrangement), Street of Dreams, Prostitute, Madagscar and Chinese. Pretty much the whole album besides Bucket songs and Better and If The World.

I was really surprised he spoke Portuguese. Most non-Portuguese people don't know what Portuguese is when they hear it.

Wasn't Axl talking about Robin doing some Stevie Ray Vaughan shit on a track? I so want to hear that!

Me too!

But Robin was just reading the teleprompter, he didnt actually learn Portuguese. I wonder who suggested Sossego, tho (maybe he already knew it, I dunno).

So I don't get it. This guy picked some solos from the beginning of his first tour, from which he has improved quite a bit?

And then he picked the best possible solos from Finck, including his best SCOM solo, which usually sounds off.

An uneven propaganda comparison imo.

Aside from SCOM, he picked up some similar situations. Better is from Hammerstein 1st night in 2006, the first time they played Better. Street of Dreams is from Inland Invasion with Robin and the Leeds festival with Ashba (both pretty much the start of the 2nd half of the tour). He also used bootlegs with similar quality, IMHO.

Ruins? He improves the solo here, at least it flows a lot better than on the album.

Granted, I much prefer Robin's tone there though.

Fuck, Ashba should just borrow Finck's guitars! Or ask him what his settings and gear are.

He would need also Finck's playing style. But as far as flow and improvement, I disagree - the album version is much better in my opinion. And it flows just right, its just Robin's style - he plays some notes in a slightly mid-tempo between the normal tempo, which brings some unexpected dynamic. A lot more interesting than Ashba boring rendition.

The solo on the album is 100x better than DJ ever got at it. The very beginning of the solo is just terrible and takes all the bang out of it. And the huge bends that Robin does right before the drums come in are amazing. They're not supposed to be some second rate, noodled step down that leads to no where.

This. Also, same for Street of Dreams.

Former Gunners section please mods. Thanks.

As far as I know, Robin could still be on the next album if it ever surfaces.

He's working on a solo effort?!?, is there a link to this or something?

Yeah: http://www.fincktheworld.com/post/9375292840/its-a-blurry-blur-but-its-robin-from-last (read the last sentence).

I love Finck. DJ doesn't do exact note by note perfection, we might actually like him a little more if he did. But I never meant to imply that he does. I'm just saying his solos sound too close to the studio ones for their own good, nothing special and because of this when he misses a note its far harder to correct the mistake with another note.

Indeed. Even his Patience solo is a copy-paste of Slash's live solo. I guess he learned the solos by listening to Live Era.

Also are you talking about Ashba in the second sentence, I'm a little confused by your wording, sorry. (pretty sure you are, but just making sure.)

Sorry. I was indeed talking about Ashba. I meant that he tends to dismiss more of Robin's work than Slash's. Ashba takes shortcuts in his playing and does a pretty lazy guitar work on rhythm, just ignoring a lot of fills that were supposed to be played.

Hell here's some proof as far as the two being compared:

Oh and if you wish to see how badly Ashba ruins the TIL solo, here you go

Damn, that's hard to listen to.

I can't understand why poeple are saying DJ plays exact note by note and is a "better guitar player". He often misses notes on solos, even on Slash ones. He couldn't even play the SCOM solo on his own (and yes, it was probably handed to Ron after the fans backlash when we heard that piece of rehearsal before the tour in 2009 in a video with that sound guy).

When Ashba plays Robin's lead is way more outrageos, as he just simplify everything, just like he did with his TIL solo, when he just couldn't play the very first note (a fairly standard bend, nothing that hard to play) and went offkey all the time. Hell, even after he simplified this solo, he still goes off key on that high note before the drums kick in.

Anyways, Robin's departure was a huge loss to me. I lost a lot of interest in the band after that, which didn't happen when Bucket left. Robin had the most unusual approach to guitar I've seen without the need to use extra effects or extreme technique and I love his guitar sound.

Thanks God he's working on a solo effort now. Hopefully we'll see this soon enough.

I love Riad, its my favorite song. E guitar riffs, the chorus, Robin's lead following Axl on the chorus, the BBF solo and the ending with Bucket's killswitch - everything is awesome on this song, but Brain's drums in the begining are out of this world. Such a kick-ass track.

I love Scraped too, really love the solos and the heavy guitar+bass slide in the chorus (missing in the live version).

I like both but I REALLY want to hear Buckets solo on Rhiad. I think both Rhiad and Shacklers are on the top of my "wanna hear Bucket's version" list. Not that Ron ruined it or anything but I just wanna hear the original versions and see how good they were.

I assume you meant Scraped instead of Riad, because we do have a version of Riad with Robin and Bucket playing the main solo.

Really? I've never heard it!! Is it on youtube?

Didn't find on youtube anymore, but I'm sure you can ask for anyone here for a mp3. It was leaked in 2008 by that guy who got arrested along with If the World with Brain drums and Prostitute in that shitty mix.

I love Riad, its my favorite song. E guitar riffs, the chorus, Robin's lead following Axl on the chorus, the BBF solo and the ending with Bucket's killswitch - everything is awesome on this song, but Brain's drums in the begining are out of this world. Such a kick-ass track.

I love Scraped too, really love the solos and the heavy guitar+bass slide in the chorus (missing in the live version).

I like both but I REALLY want to hear Buckets solo on Rhiad. I think both Rhiad and Shacklers are on the top of my "wanna hear Bucket's version" list. Not that Ron ruined it or anything but I just wanna hear the original versions and see how good they were.

I assume you meant Scraped instead of Riad, because we do have a version of Riad with Robin and Bucket playing the main solo.

Don't post much nowadays, but I had to login just to say how stupid people got here in this thread. Ron wasn't dissing the songs or the fans at all, just the cupcakes who keep flooding Poc's chat. That's all, no reason to get anal for this as if Ron was speaking about every single fan out there. Just shut the fuck up for a second and think for a second, it won't hurt.

Some of the song credits in the booklet are off. The full list of writers of

each song on CD is here:

http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=GUNS%20N%20ROSES&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1

Thanks man, good find. It seems that even in the alt. booklet there's wrong stuff. Robin is credited in 7 tracks instead: http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1723057&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1

It's blocked here. Could you please repost it on imageshack.us or some other?