They went Physical Graffiti too early.

[ManetsBR]

If I'm not mistaken it was EstrangedTWAT who said "The GNR problem is that they went Physical Graffiti too early."

I've been thinking about this lately, and I think this is exactly the main problem regarding OldGNR.

When bands get on the "maximum level", they feel free to do anything. Once you reach that kind of level, nothing is gonna get you out of there. You're already a legendary band, that's a status that won't go away. Reaching that place gives artists free pass to explore other places, musically, because whatever they do, he's already a legend. If they try an experimental album early on their carreer, even if the album is good, it may be very harmful to them.

The thing with GNR, is that just a couple of years after the release of their first album, they got as big as any band can get, something that took other bands like Aerosmith and Rolling Stones decades to accomplish. In the meantime, those bands had to prove themselves, releasing similar albums to afirm their sound and their place in the music industry. As for GNR, it was one album and that's it: you're already a legend.

That gave them space to them bring lots of different things on Use Your Illusions. They went from this two guitar-bass-drum-vocal band to two guitar-bass-drum-vocal-piano-orchestra-harmonixa-sax-female backing vocals deal. It shouldn't be a bad thing that an artist reaches his creativity peek so early on the carreer, but industry-wise, it is a bad thing. On the bussiness aspect, I think would have been better for the band if they had released at least second version of Appetite For Destruction before going epic.

I know what you're gonna say: November Rain and You Could Be Mine were gigantic hits. Yes, they were, but songs like November Rain and Estranged were the threshold of where Axl and Slash could still stand each other, musically. That limit should have been reached years later, not so early.

The problem was not really Use Your Illusion, it was the next album. And that's when things really got bad, right? After the Illusions. Because Axl was taking his music to a place, and Slash was taking it to another. The second Illusion was the border to their sound, the last place where they could co-exist. Pianos and orchestras were ok to Slash, but going Grunge and Industrial was a little too much. But for Axl, going on that direction was inevitable, because that's what artists do, they explore new things they discover and enjoy. As it was an inevitable process, it would have been much better for the band (industry-wise) if they had hanged out in the cool hard-rock Appetite For Destruction garden for a little longer, before pushing themselves to their artistical limits, which were unfortunately, opposite directions, what ended up breaking their bond.

Am I being clear?

I read a Jimmy Page interview once, where he said that he saw how Plant was excited when they were recording Led Zeppelin III, and that he knew that moment that, eventually, Robert would follow that lead and take his carreer on that direction. But, it took them another half decade to go Physical Graffiti.

Does anyone else agree?

Edited August 27, 2013 by ManetsBR

[axlsalinger]

It does seem likely that Slash wanted to go back to basics, and Axl wanted to further evolve. And grunge/industrial were huge at the time, so the dispute was probably about how to integrate the new sounds into the GNR sound. I always sided with Axl on that one.

I would love to have heard an Axl industrial/electronica tinged album, whether it was solo or GNR, so unfortunate it never happened.

The premise is interesting; even the Beatles put out basically 4 albums before they started really experimenting. Not sure that would have stopped the band from falling apart though, from what we know now it seems it was inevitable.

[ZoSoRose]

I lived this post.really insightful

[wasted]

They kind of put out 2 Physical Graphitis. Maybe UYI II could have come out in 94.

I don't know if they thought the band was over, they were always saying it could end any minute.

I guess you make hay while the sun sunshines.

Imagine if they only put out UYI I then Slash OD'd and died.

The whole industry was sort of harrassing them on tour and to put out records.

I think there was that and the danger another less good AFD style record, and judging by UYI, that's what they had, would kill the band. Only YCBM really lives up to AFD - DC, NR, Estranged are what make the records.

Edited August 27, 2013 by wasted

[Brunzopolis]

Personally, I think it all went down about as good as it ever could have.

The band wrote a pile of great songs and, as far as I know, they all got released; we, and everyone who lives after us will contine to enjoy them for years to come.

The writing was on the wall (etched in stone) by 94' anyway.

[T.wa.T]

I ve always thought this to.

By cleaning out the vaults it gave Axl an opportunity to say lets try this instead of working old stuff, which they were out of now because they put it all out on UYI. Except for a few throw away demos.

[wasted]

I think they prob tried to do CD too early. Maybe it shoukd have happened more organically. Like how VR finally Slash did something a bit more modern. They could have wait til 2008 to do CD and still do records of other things. Like Axl singing on Slashs Jack Douglas records.

[trqster]

Gn'R was in it's prime form too much of a perfect band - it was never meant to last. Sometimes I'm actually amazed that (real) Gn'R lasted as long as it did (86-94)...

Edited August 27, 2013 by trqster