GNFNRUK

Guys… Not sure if this is the right time but it’s just dawned on me that this might actually be State of Grace…

I don’t mean to be morbid but some of us will likely die without ever hearing this song. Sorry to darken the mood, back to discussing the fake artwork and ‘insider’ info now

Mother of God… My ears are still ringing from that…

I’m crying over those lost Buckethead solos we will never hear 😢. I hope after this is released the superior original version leaks.

I have to ask. How would you all feel if ‘The General’ was an instrumental featuring orchestral arrangements, guitars and some random occasional shrieking by Axl?? This is still a possibility right??

Exactly. This is the boat I’m in. He really half arsed that ‘Perhaps’ solo. In fact I don’t think a Slash studio solo has really blown me away since Slither on Contraband 20 years ago…

This is my worry too, although I guess we won’t know any different since we’ve never heard the original. If Buckethead played on this originally I think it’s safe to say whatever he played would have been far superior to what Slash has come up with though. Imagine if we’d never heard the original TWAT and that beautiful bucket outro solo had been replaced by 2 minutes of Slash’s noodling, that really would have been a tragedy.

Thanks for clearing that up for me, I feel somewhat ashamed for being uncertain wether Dave played that whole part, as he is one of my all time favourite guitarists! Nice cover too btw, very well played 👏🏻

I’ve always wondered, does Dave Navarro play that whole guitar solo section from 2:23 - 2:53? The only reason I ask is because Finck, Tobias and Gary Sunshine are all listed as playing guitar on that track too and I’d love to know specifically which part Dave plays!!

I don’t know much about mixing but do you think that’s maybe why the bend is there? Because it was somehow evident on Axl’s vocal track where he’s singing “you’re all alone”? I’m guessing they’d have still been able to remove it somehow with modern technology though?

The bend being left in definitely sounds like an amateur mixing job, wether it was intentional or not. I find it rather jarring tbh and wish the solo just started the way it does when Slash plays it live.

But but ‘Perhaps’ is a brand new song written by Axl, Slash and Duff earlier this year! It said so on the website!

A user on Reddit claims to have heard from an “insider” that The General and State of Grace are the same song… Make of that what you will…

I was hoping Robin would be on stage to perform his ‘bend’ into the solo and rightly receive his 1 second of fame 😔. The way the solo comes in on the live version is how the studio recording should have been, robins lick left in just sounds really odd.

How so? We were all literally just 2 days ago discussing how Robins original solo on ‘Perhaps’ was better than Slash’s poor attempt. 🤣

I’m obviously really looking forward to finally hearing ‘The General’. The only sad thing is, if Buckethead DID record the original guitar solo for it, you can almost guarantee that it would have been better than anything Slash puts on it. I’m thankful we got songs like TWAT with Buckets amazing contributions intact.

I don’t either, this is the same Axl who wrote “I’m sorry for you, not sorry for me”…

Which vocals specifically are previously unheard? Honestly to my ears it sounds like the same vocal track but with effects and trickery here and there?

It was never one of my favourite Robin solos tbh (not a patch on what he did on TIL, TWAT or Better) BUT I think it’s the fact that Slash’s solo is SO bland and uninspired, that it makes Robins seem like a masterpiece in comparison.

My general musings: I definitely think the verses have been ‘rocked up’ compared to the demo, I like Slash’s slinky little riff during that part, Duff’s bass sounds sexy and the drumming has been improved throughout. As others have already mentioned, robins bend going into Slash’s weak/uninspired solo sounds VERY amateurish though and it’s annoying… Wish they’d removed some of the “heyyy heys” during the verses because they make Axl sound like a mental patient (which may have been what he was going for 🤔). I’ve always thought the chorus was pretty epic but still haven’t got a clue what Axl is singing and the deeper vocal track is not new, it was always there in the demo but buried lower in the mix (you can hear it with headphones). I think that’s all for now 🤣.

I agree with Jarring, it also seems completely unnecessary to leave it in. I’m not a huge fan of the Slash solo here but it would have worked better if it went straight into it WITHOUT the bend. It really does sound like a mixing error, even though I’m sure (for whatever reason) it was intentional…

Interpreter please…

It’s all up to Fortus now, what a weight upon his shoulders!

Yes because, like I said in my original post, his solos on that VR stuff from back then were lacking too, outside of 1 or 2 songs. I love the solos on Slither, Fall To Pieces and She Builds Quick Machines but other than that I recall being pretty disappointed with his playing even back then, I think it’s gotten progressively worse though… Don’t even get me started on his wanky improv live solos on TIL or his butchering of Buckets TWAT solo!

I’ll say one thing, after hearing Slash’s pathetic uninspired attempt at a solo on ‘Perhaps’, I’m glad he didn’t rejoin the band before Chinese Democracy dropped. Imagine if he returned in 2006 and replaced the solos on TIL or TWAT with this shit? It’s crazy because his guitar solos on AFD and UYI were really inspired and full of feeling but nothing he’s done ‘solo wise’ since (outside of 1 or 2 VR songs) seems to be anywhere close to that standard…