why doesn't GnR play more UYI?

[Axl Rose aka God]

I hate when people think a band has sold out. That's an irrational evaluation.

Fact is, Use Your Illusion's hits are being played. If Axl felt there was something not being played that should be, he would. Estranged AND November Rain would bore the crowd, no matter how good.

[Death Star]

Would not mind hearing the new band do Coma.

[Matt13]

Just because you know a few non-fans who know UTLH, it doesn't mean it's widely known. The vast majority of people who aren't GNR nuts will not know this song. Why would they? It wasn't a single, it wasn't even from a proper album.

The fact remains that, outside of the hardcore fanbase, the only GNR songs which a casual listener would know are the hits from AFD, and NR. Possibly YCBM and Don't Cry as well.

Those are the only songs which need to be staples. If we're talking about casual fans who are only going to a GNR show to see the hits, then I don't see them getting excited about hearing LALD or KOHD.

Sorry dude... UTLH is far more popular than Locomotive. It's sure played on the radio a whole hell of a lot more... then, and now. Still hear it from time to time.

[axl8302]

Coma is more well known than LALD...... And it's just a better song. I don't know what kind of GnR fan doesn't know the song Coma, and regardless if people knew the song or not by the end of the song, people would be shitting themselves in excitement. Fact.

Now, I can kinda understand why they wouldn't play Estranged regularly. It's a long song, and similar to Nov. Rain. Still, that doesn't mean they can't play it live ever again.

Really no matter what reasons you guys have for not playing a certain UYI song, I don't see why they couldn't play it once live. It's not like the very fabric of the show would fall apart.

Anyway, no one knows why they wouldn't but Axl and the rest of the band.

Are you nuts? Coma is NOT more well known than Live and Let Die, EVERYONE knows Live and Let Die, it was a pretty big hit before guns got their hands on it, ya know?

[Stro]

I'd think that part of the reason you don't hear songs like Coma and Civil War is due to the vocal strain of the songs. Those beat the shit out of Axl 20 years ago. That also ties into why each guy gets his own extended solo song so as to give Axl time to recover.

I used to kind of buy into that, but when you see Myles playing with Slash recently hopping from song to song with no breaks or solos (except for one) singing CW, NIghtrain, SCOM, PC and other vocally demanding songs it tells me maybe there is more Axl should be doing as a vocalist to keep his voice in shape if he's needing breaks and oxygen that much just to get through the show. They played 3 days in a row last weekend and he sounded as good the 3rd day (on an afternoon after a night show) as the Friday show, so there must be things you can do as a singer to work on your technique to avoid some of the problems Axl seems to have maintaining his voice.

It's been pretty clear since the early 90s that Axl isn't really the most professional musician in the world, especially when it comes to tours. He isn't a big fan of working out physically or vocally before tours and usually the first few shows suffer for it. That's just his style. His voice was MUCH stronger in Central/South America and even Canada than it was in Asia on this tour. The actual style itself doesn't lend itself to longevity even without 25 years of cigars, drugs, and booze.

[uncldirty]

i became a huge loyal GnR fan after listening to UYI 1 & 2, these albums brought me to AFD and lies and of course CD.

is there a legal reason or he just doesn't want to play these songs live in concert?

thanks in advance!

I just started this forum a few days back...kinda found it on accident...but i just saw a thread that read "ask the band members questions" and then it listed, what six or seven names......are you kidding me???? Who are those guys??? Throw the frickin name out if you're gonna do that to it. I went to see Axl,Iz,Slash,Duff and Steven. I bought their sound not their name. We all did. I'm probably wwwaaayyy off here but i would imagine that since UYI was SOooooooooooooo studio generated that the music is MUCH harder to copy live, although I saw Axl sit at a huge white grand and sing November Rain solo and some 17 years later it's still as fresh as the day I watched it. I've never been so proud to feel as old school as I do right now.

[Axl Rose aka God]

Live and Let Die and Used to love Her are far more popular than Coma, Locomotive, or Estranged to the type of fan who doesn't know the GN'R catalog as forum members, or major Guns fans do. Conduct a public survey, it'll go something like this:

Have you heard of..

Coma by Guns N' Roses : No

Used to Love Her: No/Oh yeah that song.."I used to love her but I had to kill her now shes 6 ft under?"

Live and Let Die: No/Oh yeah I've heard that

Locomotive: Nope

At least with UtLH and LaLD they'll recognize the lyrics, with Coma and Locomotive...even if they are really really good songs, they never made it mainstream.

[bacardimayne]

Around six of those are from the new album. Leaving twelve spots for other songs. They're going to play fan favorites like Nightrain and Jungle over obscure shit like Locomotive and Coma.

Shit like Coma? That's one of their greatest songs ever, period.

And your argument doesn't work, there's no difference in UYI play rate compared to 8-9 years ago and now that CD is out.

Coma's a great song, but it's not a casual fan favorite like Jungle and Nightrain are.

AFD is a much more popular overall album than the UYIs, so they play more AFD.

Ok? Since when did Guns sell out? Whatever happened to "we play what the fuck we want to", the attitude that GN'R is known for?

Nothing. My opinion is that they're just too lazy to learn to play more old songs written by the old band.

They play 6 CD songs a show. The crowd usually doesn't get into those songs, so they have to balance it out with 12 songs that the crowd will know and get into. Christ.

[SlashFinck666]

Jesus christ are u people crazy Coma,Loco and Estranged are 3 of the very best songs old gnr wrote i love em all and i love CD too but FFS arguing over wether people know Coma Loco and Estranged over the CD tracks now THOSE are the obscure songs.How many millions did UYI sell?Has CD even sold a million?I dunno, but i know whats more popular amongst the public and GNR fans...............rant over

[redrum]

They should chop and change EVERY song every so often. There's only 4 1/2 (excluding SI) albums worth of material for god's sake, we're not talkin the rolling stones here with loads of material to choose from. Keep things fresh and interesting for everyone. Why the likes of estranged isnt being played occasionally is bizzare.

[Cdlove]

Jesus christ are u people crazy Coma,Loco and Estranged are 3 of the very best songs old gnr wrote i love em all and i love CD too but FFS arguing over wether people know Coma Loco and Estranged over the CD tracks now THOSE are the obscure songs.How many millions did UYI sell?Has CD even sold a million?I dunno, but i know whats more popular amongst the public and GNR fans...............rant over

But then you have to incorporate how many copies were illegally download/listened to on myspace......then I would say it's still pretty close.

[Casual]

I would rather hear CD songs instead of UYI songs.

[Cdlove]

I would rather hear CD songs instead of UYI songs.

Me too.

TWAT and CITR is needed every night.

[bacardimayne]

Jesus christ are u people crazy Coma,Loco and Estranged are 3 of the very best songs old gnr wrote i love em all and i love CD too but FFS arguing over wether people know Coma Loco and Estranged over the CD tracks now THOSE are the obscure songs.How many millions did UYI sell?Has CD even sold a million?I dunno, but i know whats more popular amongst the public and GNR fans...............rant over

I never said UYI was more obscure than CD. It isn't.

However, this is the CD tour, so they need to play songs from CD.

[Naupis]

TWAT and CITR is needed every night.

TWAT is my favorite New GNR song and I agree it should be played every night. However, for whatever reason he can't seem to handle it vocally so it goes unplayed. It's a shame.

[axl8302]

I just started this forum a few days back...kinda found it on accident...but i just saw a thread that read "ask the band members questions" and then it listed, what six or seven names......are you kidding me???? Who are those guys???

You have no idea how stupid that sounds for all the loyal fans here who have actually been following the band through 1996-2010. They are not nobodies to us. Show some respect.

This +10

[Fun n' Games]

I'm gonna say it again: The simple reason the UYI songs are not played is that Axl doesn't treasure them enough.

And playing a diferent additional UYI song once or twice on tour is probably not worthy the effort for the band.

[redrum]

TWAT and CITR is needed every night.

TWAT is my favorite New GNR song and I agree it should be played every night. However, for whatever reason he can't seem to handle it vocally so it goes unplayed. It's a shame.

I agree, as inexcusable as favourites such as Estranged and Civil war not being played regularly is, the two strongest songs on CD IMO should get a look in every so often

[Nintari]

Jesus christ are u people crazy Coma,Loco and Estranged are 3 of the very best songs old gnr wrote i love em all and i love CD too but FFS arguing over wether people know Coma Loco and Estranged over the CD tracks now THOSE are the obscure songs.How many millions did UYI sell?Has CD even sold a million?I dunno, but i know whats more popular amongst the public and GNR fans...............rant over

But then you have to incorporate how many copies were illegally download/listened to on myspace......then I would say it's still pretty close.

No, it's still not even fucking close. And you fail anyway because you can't compare downloading a FREE album vs. paying full price back in the day. People download shit just for the fuck of it.

Me personally, I'd like to see Axl and his band play nothing but CD songs this whole tour. Then, when people stop coming to the shows (which is what would happen, we all know it, outside of the Jarmo's of the world anyway) the whole new vs. old debate would be dead.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Nintari

[Cdlove]

Jesus christ are u people crazy Coma,Loco and Estranged are 3 of the very best songs old gnr wrote i love em all and i love CD too but FFS arguing over wether people know Coma Loco and Estranged over the CD tracks now THOSE are the obscure songs.How many millions did UYI sell?Has CD even sold a million?I dunno, but i know whats more popular amongst the public and GNR fans...............rant over

But then you have to incorporate how many copies were illegally download/listened to on myspace......then I would say it's still pretty close.

No, it's still not even fucking close. And you fail anyway because you can't compare downloading a FREE album vs. paying full price back in the day. People download shit just for the fuck of it.

Me personally, I'd like to see Axl and his band play nothing but CD songs this whole tour. Then, when people stop coming to the shows (which is what would happen, we all know it, outside of the Jarmo's of the world anyway) the whole new vs. old debate would be dead.

No, it's still not even fucking close. So you're telling me if the album was released without the millions of people who listened to it on Myspace and the millions that illegally downloaded the leaked and official would have bought CD it wouldnt have sold 5X as many copies as it has in the US?

And you fail anyway because you can't compare downloading a FREE album vs. paying full price back in the day. People download shit just for the fuck of it.

I cant even understand what you're going for here. MILLIONS of people download music everyday and never get the album.

Me personally, I'd like to see Axl and his band play nothing but CD songs this whole tour. Then, when people stop coming to the shows (which is what would happen, we all know it, outside of the Jarmo's of the world anyway) the whole new vs. old debate would be dead. No people would still go because it'll say GUNS N' ROSES on the ticket. No one will know what songs are getting played.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Cdlove

[SunnyDRE]

I just started this forum a few days back...kinda found it on accident...but i just saw a thread that read "ask the band members questions" and then it listed, what six or seven names......are you kidding me???? Who are those guys???

You have no idea how stupid that sounds for all the loyal fans here who have actually been following the band through 1996-2010. They are not nobodies to us. Show some respect.

Not really.

I'm sure there are plenty of people that, bought CD, attended shows, or made their way to this site, that thought (hoped) Slash, Duff and company where still and the band - or expected some else.

And like it or not - the current roster (besides Axl) is filled with nobodies; Sure the hardcore fans know who they are - but if we wanted to be honest with ourselves - we would be willing to admit that we really didn't know who they where are gave a fuck about what they had done, before they joined Axl's solo project.

Edited May 27, 2010 by SunnyDRE

[bacardimayne]

Me personally, I'd like to see Axl and his band play nothing but CD songs this whole tour. Then, when people stop coming to the shows (which is what would happen, we all know it, outside of the Jarmo's of the world anyway) the whole new vs. old debate would be dead.

But you have no problem with Myles and Slash's pathetic renditions of Civil War and Nightrain? Get out of here.

[LLL]

^^^^ It seems they become tone deaf when they listen to that whiney whimpy Idols contender kill a cat during Civil War and SCOM. I can't take people serious who think lil Mylie can sing those songs.

Only reason Axl isn't picking Illusions songs is because he thinks people rather want to hear AfD and he wants to make sure the audience hears the songs they want. They are also a safe bet with the average person in the audience who isn't necessarily a fan.

He probably read the many opinions about this, the tired 'GnR only did 1 good album' bullshit. He likes the Illusions songs better too, so why not just play them, he should do a 'bury Appetite' tour. The band knows a lot of the Illusions songs already. Buckethead played Estranged during a session with the band at the time, which was recorded too.

Legally they can play whatever they want.

I think many hardcore fans are sick of hearing the AfD songs and would rather have the Illusions (which I personally think has better songs too, musically and expression-wise).

Edited May 27, 2010 by LLL

[Guest Nasty Nate]

Good question.

I actually prefer the Use Your Illusion albums over Appetite for Destruction. These two albums didn't have the hair metal edge to them, and they were more straight up in-your-face rock and roll.

[Naupis]

Me personally, I'd like to see Axl and his band play nothing but CD songs this whole tour. Then, when people stop coming to the shows (which is what would happen, we all know it, outside of the Jarmo's of the world anyway) the whole new vs. old debate would be dead.

But you have no problem with Myles and Slash's pathetic renditions of Civil War and Nightrain? Get out of here.

I must have missed the part where they were billing themselves as Guns N' Roses. You are also very much in the minority with that opinion of them being "pathetic".