Axl & the old songs

[Vincent Vega]

Marc--

How does Axl feel about the old band's stuff--from AFD to TSI? I mean, yes, Axl plays them live, but from your experience, does he ever listen to the material sometimes, the old stuff? Does he enjoy it? If an old song were to come on the radio of his car or whatever, would he listen--How does that make him feel? We've seen him be very bitter about Slash and the past in public but are there any times, any memories of the old days that he looks back on with good feelings, with pride, in private? I mean surely he has to have some good feelings about a big chunk of his life, the period of his life that made him who he is today. Surely he has to have some fond memories of the old days and of the old band.

And secondly, how does Axl feel about the UYI albums nowadays? He seemed to be very proud of them around the time they came out, almost viewing them as the band's masterpiece, something better than AFD...What about now?

And what about you? I and everyone else tends to ask you about Axl or the band, but I genuinely want to hear your opinion on this, as you seem to be first and foremost a big rock fan, you love Zep (so do I!) and you know your shit...How do you feel about the UYIs?

I ask because I feel in terms of songwriting and whatnot, that was GN'R's peak. They're my favorite GN'R records. It showed how capable they were of doing great songs in almost every genre, it was basically their Physical Graffiti. I know everyone loves AFD and I do too but I view the UYIs as one of those great sets of albums which shows the full power and range of a band. It's the band's best statement and best expression of both of who they were as individuals and as a band, and the best showing of how talented each member was. It showed, IMO, that they were much more than some sleazy dirty Sunset Strip band. They could've easily made an AFD II and just become a band that did the same record over and over and been a 2 dimensional limited rock group--but the UYIs pushed them beyond that, and I don't think ANY of the old band has done anything as consistently great as those two records ever since. Every album by Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Gilby etc has it's awesome songs, awesome great moments...But IMO the consistency of quality hasn't been the same since the UYIs. That was ALL of their peak. I don't think Axl has written any song that can top Estranged; Slash hasn't written any song that can top Coma; Izzy's songs IMO none of them top his UYI stuff, etc.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Indigo Miser

[recklessroad]

Marc--

How does Axl feel about the old band's stuff--from AFD to TSI? I mean, yes, Axl plays them live, but from your experience, does he ever listen to the material sometimes, the old stuff? Does he enjoy it? If an old song were to come on the radio of his car or whatever, would he listen--How does that make him feel? We've seen him be very bitter about Slash and the past in public but are there any times, any memories of the old days that he looks back on with good feelings, with pride, in private? I mean surely he has to have some good feelings about a big chunk of his life, the period of his life that made him who he is today. Surely he has to have some fond memories of the old days and of the old band.

And secondly, how does Axl feel about the UYI albums nowadays? He seemed to be very proud of them around the time they came out, almost viewing them as the band's masterpiece, something better than AFD...What about now?

And what about you? I and everyone else tends to ask you about Axl or the band, but I genuinely want to hear your opinion on this, as you seem to be first and foremost a big rock fan, you love Zep (so do I!) and you know your shit...How do you feel about the UYIs?

I ask because I feel in terms of songwriting and whatnot, that was GN'R's peak. They're my favorite GN'R records. It showed how capable they were of doing great songs in almost every genre, it was basically their Physical Graffiti. I know everyone loves AFD and I do too but I view the UYIs as one of those great sets of albums which shows the full power and range of a band. It's the band's best statement and best expression of both of who they were as individuals and as a band, and the best showing of how talented each member was. It showed, IMO, that they were much more than some sleazy dirty Sunset Strip band. They could've easily made an AFD II and just become a band that did the same record over and over and been a 2 dimensional limited rock group--but the UYIs pushed them beyond that, and I don't think ANY of the old band has done anything as consistently great as those two records ever since. Every album by Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Gilby etc has it's awesome songs, awesome great moments...But IMO the consistency of quality hasn't been the same since the UYIs. That was ALL of their peak. I don't think Axl has written any song that can top Estranged; Slash hasn't written any song that can top Coma; Izzy's songs IMO none of them top his UYI stuff, etc.

I don't know how Axl feels anymore about any of those records. I would hope that he can still see the importance of AFD and I could see him having some remorse on how a few of the UYI songs could have been a bit different or maybe left of the record and used for a different project. I liked UYI and wish some of the songs were more of a team effort instead of recording a song and then forcing some lyrics and melodies to fit it. This was not a bad thing, it was just a bit different then the way they used to do it, by having the band ripping the song apart. I think because they all lived in different places in 1990,1991 is why things were different. In the old days songs didn't really have a chance of being written with out the whole band being involved because as they were coming up with ideas or riffs, someone else in the band was in the same room and they would build on it. However if i was in charge of the band when the record was coming out, this is how I would have handled the record. It would be one record with 12 singles with 12 B sides if I had to put all those songs out at once.

If these 12 songs in this order were on one record and then they put out a single for each song, everyone would buy the single to get the B side and the record would have been as big as AFD or bigger and they would have had lots of top 10 singles because of the sales to get the B sides. The rest of the songs save for a different project or the next record.

Dust N Bones --------B side 14 Years or the other way around

Perfect Crime ---------B side Back Off Bitch

Live And Let Die----- B side Bad Obsession

Don't Cry ---------------B side Don't Cry ALT

Double Talkin Jive--- B side Right Next Door To Hell

November Rain ------ B side Dead Horse

Civil War --------------- B side So Fine

Pretty Tied Up ----------B side You Ain't The first

Locomotive --------------B side The Garden

Estranged ---------------B side Yesterdays

YCBM ---------------------B side Garden Of Eden

Coma ---------------------B side Breakdown

Total 75 minutes =

[zepsun]

Marc--

How does Axl feel about the old band's stuff--from AFD to TSI? I mean, yes, Axl plays them live, but from your experience, does he ever listen to the material sometimes, the old stuff? Does he enjoy it? If an old song were to come on the radio of his car or whatever, would he listen--How does that make him feel? We've seen him be very bitter about Slash and the past in public but are there any times, any memories of the old days that he looks back on with good feelings, with pride, in private? I mean surely he has to have some good feelings about a big chunk of his life, the period of his life that made him who he is today. Surely he has to have some fond memories of the old days and of the old band.

And secondly, how does Axl feel about the UYI albums nowadays? He seemed to be very proud of them around the time they came out, almost viewing them as the band's masterpiece, something better than AFD...What about now?

And what about you? I and everyone else tends to ask you about Axl or the band, but I genuinely want to hear your opinion on this, as you seem to be first and foremost a big rock fan, you love Zep (so do I!) and you know your shit...How do you feel about the UYIs?

I ask because I feel in terms of songwriting and whatnot, that was GN'R's peak. They're my favorite GN'R records. It showed how capable they were of doing great songs in almost every genre, it was basically their Physical Graffiti. I know everyone loves AFD and I do too but I view the UYIs as one of those great sets of albums which shows the full power and range of a band. It's the band's best statement and best expression of both of who they were as individuals and as a band, and the best showing of how talented each member was. It showed, IMO, that they were much more than some sleazy dirty Sunset Strip band. They could've easily made an AFD II and just become a band that did the same record over and over and been a 2 dimensional limited rock group--but the UYIs pushed them beyond that, and I don't think ANY of the old band has done anything as consistently great as those two records ever since. Every album by Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Gilby etc has it's awesome songs, awesome great moments...But IMO the consistency of quality hasn't been the same since the UYIs. That was ALL of their peak. I don't think Axl has written any song that can top Estranged; Slash hasn't written any song that can top Coma; Izzy's songs IMO none of them top his UYI stuff, etc.

I don't know how Axl feels anymore about any of those records. I would hope that he can still see the importance of AFD and I could see him having some remorse on how a few of the UYI songs could have been a bit different or maybe left of the record and used for a different project. I liked UYI and wish some of the songs were more of a team effort instead of recording a song and then forcing some lyrics and melodies to fit it. This was not a bad thing, it was just a bit different then the way they used to do it, by having the band ripping the song apart. I think because they all lived in different places in 1990,1991 is why things were different. In the old days songs didn't really have a chance of being written with out the whole band being involved because as they were coming up with ideas or riffs, someone else in the band was in the same room and they would build on it. However if i was in charge of the band when the record was coming out, this is how I would have handled the record. It would be one record with 12 singles with 12 B sides if I had to put all those songs out at once.

If these 12 songs in this order were on one record and then they put out a single for each song, everyone would buy the single to get the B side and the record would have been as big as AFD or bigger and they would have had lots of top 10 singles because of the sales to get the B sides. The rest of the songs save for a different project or the next record.

Dust N Bones --------B side 14 Years or the other way around

Perfect Crime ---------B side Back Off Bitch

Live And Let Die----- B side Bad Obsession

Don't Cry ---------------B side Don't Cry ALT

Double Talkin Jive--- B side Right Next Door To Hell

November Rain ------ B side Dead Horse

Civil War --------------- B side So Fine

Pretty Tied Up ----------B side You Ain't The first

Locomotive --------------B side The Garden

Estranged ---------------B side Yesterdays

YCBM ---------------------B side Garden Of Eden

Coma ---------------------B side Breakdown

Total 75 minutes =

Interesting track listing, however, when I was a teenager and UYIs were out, Don't Damn Me was one of the most popular songs that didn't have a video - at least with my friends. Such a brilliant, bad ass song.

[DownUnderScott]

Marc--

How does Axl feel about the old band's stuff--from AFD to TSI? I mean, yes, Axl plays them live, but from your experience, does he ever listen to the material sometimes, the old stuff? Does he enjoy it? If an old song were to come on the radio of his car or whatever, would he listen--How does that make him feel? We've seen him be very bitter about Slash and the past in public but are there any times, any memories of the old days that he looks back on with good feelings, with pride, in private? I mean surely he has to have some good feelings about a big chunk of his life, the period of his life that made him who he is today. Surely he has to have some fond memories of the old days and of the old band.

And secondly, how does Axl feel about the UYI albums nowadays? He seemed to be very proud of them around the time they came out, almost viewing them as the band's masterpiece, something better than AFD...What about now?

And what about you? I and everyone else tends to ask you about Axl or the band, but I genuinely want to hear your opinion on this, as you seem to be first and foremost a big rock fan, you love Zep (so do I!) and you know your shit...How do you feel about the UYIs?

I ask because I feel in terms of songwriting and whatnot, that was GN'R's peak. They're my favorite GN'R records. It showed how capable they were of doing great songs in almost every genre, it was basically their Physical Graffiti. I know everyone loves AFD and I do too but I view the UYIs as one of those great sets of albums which shows the full power and range of a band. It's the band's best statement and best expression of both of who they were as individuals and as a band, and the best showing of how talented each member was. It showed, IMO, that they were much more than some sleazy dirty Sunset Strip band. They could've easily made an AFD II and just become a band that did the same record over and over and been a 2 dimensional limited rock group--but the UYIs pushed them beyond that, and I don't think ANY of the old band has done anything as consistently great as those two records ever since. Every album by Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Gilby etc has it's awesome songs, awesome great moments...But IMO the consistency of quality hasn't been the same since the UYIs. That was ALL of their peak. I don't think Axl has written any song that can top Estranged; Slash hasn't written any song that can top Coma; Izzy's songs IMO none of them top his UYI stuff, etc.

I don't know how Axl feels anymore about any of those records. I would hope that he can still see the importance of AFD and I could see him having some remorse on how a few of the UYI songs could have been a bit different or maybe left of the record and used for a different project. I liked UYI and wish some of the songs were more of a team effort instead of recording a song and then forcing some lyrics and melodies to fit it. This was not a bad thing, it was just a bit different then the way they used to do it, by having the band ripping the song apart. I think because they all lived in different places in 1990,1991 is why things were different. In the old days songs didn't really have a chance of being written with out the whole band being involved because as they were coming up with ideas or riffs, someone else in the band was in the same room and they would build on it. However if i was in charge of the band when the record was coming out, this is how I would have handled the record. It would be one record with 12 singles with 12 B sides if I had to put all those songs out at once.

If these 12 songs in this order were on one record and then they put out a single for each song, everyone would buy the single to get the B side and the record would have been as big as AFD or bigger and they would have had lots of top 10 singles because of the sales to get the B sides. The rest of the songs save for a different project or the next record.

Dust N Bones --------B side 14 Years or the other way around

Perfect Crime ---------B side Back Off Bitch

Live And Let Die----- B side Bad Obsession

Don't Cry ---------------B side Don't Cry ALT

Double Talkin Jive--- B side Right Next Door To Hell

November Rain ------ B side Dead Horse

Civil War --------------- B side So Fine

Pretty Tied Up ----------B side You Ain't The first

Locomotive --------------B side The Garden

Estranged ---------------B side Yesterdays

YCBM ---------------------B side Garden Of Eden

Coma ---------------------B side Breakdown

Total 75 minutes =

Great idea Marc, I always thought the same that if it were condensed into one regular album, or one double album it would have been as strong and successful as AFD.

Everyone would have their own different opinion but here's mine -

A fast song to kick off the album, maybe Perfect Crime.

Don't Damn Me and Bad Obsession definitely on the album and not as B-sides - they're great songs. Maybe even Dead Horse and Yesterday's too. But then again that might fuck with your concept too much? Maybe 14 songs with B-side singles ???

Anyway, great idea.

[zepsun]

To me, Yesterdays was a song that totally stood out. It was unlike anything else they had written. Sounds like something you would hear in a jazz cabaret bar. To be honest, with the exception of My World, I wouldn't want to drop any song from any pre-96 album. Once I knew each song, from obsessively listening for weeks, I started going through 'favourite song' phases. That lasted for a couple of years, then the internet came along with bootlegs and unreleased stuff and I had so much more new stuff to listen to.

I always wished they had properly recorded Crash Diet too. Such a great riff.

[SweetRose]

I must be one of the few to like nearly all of UYI I & II.

The ones I go around singing the most are

Bad Apples

Bad Obsession

Back Off Bitch

Perfect Crime

Pretty Tied Up

Right Next Door To Hell

Don't Cry(orig)

Nov.Rain

Estranged

Dust~N~Bones

Live & Let Die

You Ain't The First.

LOL In other words,I could have done without Breakdown,Don't Cry(Alt)....actually,I think those two are the only ones that I hardly ever go around singing!Here lately I have had a thing for Back Off Bitch!Not long ago it was Bad Apples and Bad Obsession.

Fun little tidbit,someone once asked me what Izzy sings in Dust~N~Bones......asked if he said "I'm six feet five...."

I nearly fell over laughing my ass off!

And I am with you Marc.....had they gotten in one room together and just played.Not this over the phone and sending tapes back n forth Bull Shit.

[recklessroad]

I must be one of the few to like nearly all of UYI I & II.

The ones I go around singing the most are

Bad Apples

Bad Obsession

Back Off Bitch

Perfect Crime

Pretty Tied Up

Right Next Door To Hell

Don't Cry(orig)

Nov.Rain

Estranged

Dust~N~Bones

Live & Let Die

You Ain't The First.

LOL In other words,I could have done without Breakdown,Don't Cry(Alt)....actually,I think those two are the only ones that I hardly ever go around singing!Here lately I have had a thing for Back Off Bitch!Not long ago it was Bad Apples and Bad Obsession.

Although Civil war was put together where the lyrics just fit after the music was done.

Fun little tidbit,someone once asked me what Izzy sings in Dust~N~Bones......asked if he said "I'm six feet five...."

I nearly fell over laughing my ass off!

And I am with you Marc.....had they gotten in one room together and just played.Not this over the phone and sending tapes back n forth Bull Shit.