Reunion and why I don't think I want it

[GnR Chris]

I've long fantasized about a Gn'R AfD lineup reunion though I knew it'd likely never happen.

The thing is, though it would be kinda cool, they'd still be a shell of their former selves. They wouldn't be the guys we last saw in '91 when they all shared the same stage.

It would be a nostalgica tour, which I guess the current tour already is, but at least right now they play stuff from the Chinese Democracy years.

I would love for the original group to get together and write music, but Axl took how many years to release one record? He still supposedly has two more albums' worth of material from the CD sessions and yet will it ever see the light of day? Now imagine the classic lineup reforming. When would we even get new music?

I suppose some things are better left unwritten. Hanoi Rocks, a band Izzy idolized, had a record called "All Those Wasted Years." That's how I feel about Guns N' Roses.

[WhazUp]

I've long fantasized about a Gn'R AfD lineup reunion though I knew it'd likely never happen.

The thing is, though it would be kinda cool, they'd still be a shell of their former selves. They wouldn't be the guys we last saw in '91 when they all shared the same stage.

It would be a nostalgica tour, which I guess the current tour already is, but at least right now they play stuff from the Chinese Democracy years.

I would only want a reunion if all them are behind it and its not forced

I honestly don't see it ever happening, but I bet they still would sound great together. And as unlikely a reunion is - even if it does happen new material coming out of it is even more unlikely

[WhazUp]

You can't reunite a band that never ended.

Well he did say quite clearly in his post "AFD lineup reunion"

[SunnyDRE]

I would want reunion even if they didn't produce a new record.

I could finally show my gf, sister, coworkers etc. what all the fuss was about...

[GnR Chris]

I would want reunion even if they didn't produce a new record.

I could finally show my gf, sister, coworkers etc. what all the fuss was about...

The thing is, would they be as good? The new band is perfectly capable of playing great music. The AfD lineup, they were always so fucked up on drugs. But they had a raw energy and they had great chemistry together. I think it was Slash who said the Ritz show from '88 wasn't anywhere near their best performance, yet we all look at like one of the definitive shows of that era simply because of that five group of guys and how they took over that FN stage warts and all.

I like Axl 'cause I like the music he writes and I LOVE the AfD era Gn'R. But Axl isn't gonna change. He still probably doesn't rehearse with his new band. It only seems to be them and then him. They're not all together.

All these years and he's still playing late shows. That right there is indicative of his attitude. He'll never change. They even went so far as to defend late stage times, to which I say: Why not just advertise a fucking midnight start on the ticket rather than making people wait two or more hours between the main event and the curtain jerker?

Oh, well. I suppose (to use a cliche), it's better to burn out than fade away, and that's exactly what "the world's most dangerous band" did. I'll still listen to Axl's Guns (if they ever put out new stuff), Duff's Loaded, Slash's work, etc. I still download all the Izzy records.

[dalsh327]

I don't think of reunions as nostalgia tours, because most of the time the audience is from a younger generation. The older generation usually will say "thanks but been there, done that , but my kid's become a big fan so maybe I'll buy his or her ticket".

Nostalgia means it's your association to your own past and the soundtrack to your life at that time. Some people said AFD never left their cassette deck or CD player for a year. Playing that tape 20 years later is nostalgic, even if you bought or borrowed the CD and ripped it to your ipod, listened to it thousands of times. One day, your old boom box resurfaces, along with a box of tapes, because you're cleaning your old stuff out, and immediately reach for it. All these years later, will it still hold up? Does the cassette player even work? Can't remember. Then do you toss out your memory or keep it around so your kids discover it one day? Or is it time to goodwill your stuff?

Now, that person has a different memory of GNR, than the one who might have been born when UYI came out, and discovered it around 16-17. Anyone who's in the audience that's 18-27isn't waxing nostalgic. It's part of music history to them, but that doesn't make it nostalgic or irrelevant. The themes on the majority of GNR's songs are still things people can relate to. Even though we live in a more politically correct time doesn't mean we don't have politically incorrect thoughts from time to time. Bands cycle with certain styles from the past, and GNR were noted for doing that, and it set them apart from everyone else. There was a dangerous element to it, but it was something that people of different ages could relate to and enjoy. It wasn't full on assaulting you song after song, or full of "party on" anthems. But yeah, GNR are kicking your ass one minute, serenading you the next, and have a party anthem or two in there as well. There's something for everyone in the GNR back catalog.

The Led Zep reunion was more of a memorial to Ahmet than about nostalgia. And again, people who were there ranged in age. People who clamored to see the Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8, had never seen them. And even the people who were around at the time would go "I'll catch them next tour" and didn't.

The question about whether or not the original band would do the songs justice - they'd still have to rehearse them.

If the classic lineup reformed to record new music, you're talking about everyone giving something up for a 2-3 year timeframe in order to do it. Just the discussions of putting it together could take months, if not years. If GNR wanted to do a one off show with the original members to do an hour long show, that's not that tall of an order. All they would need is to meet up in the same place and have a few days off.