How relevant was GN'R in the '90s?

[dalsh327]

Explain how GNR had a "bloated" tour and U2 didn't?

[J Dog]

How did GNR survive grunge? They put out their last studio album the same month that Nevermind came out. Then they went on the most bloated tour ever, while Nirvana and all the other similar bands of the day championed what was pretty much the anti-GNR image. If anything, '91-'93 GNR was the last dying breath of the 80s rock star.

It seems most people forget about how much of a joke The Spaghetti Incident was seen as at the time. Guns may have been huge up to '93, but I think The Spaghetti Incident was the nail in the coffin of any sort of future relevance.

Beside just a few bands from the 80's like U2 or Metallica, every other band from the 80's died, career over, within in a matter of a 3 and half minute music video they were all killed off instantly.

[niceguy]

Explain how GNR had a "bloated" tour and U2 didn't?

U2 didn't bring a horn section, a female backup singer section, or Dizzy Reed. They have always performed as just the four of them.

U2 didn't blow all of their concert money on backstage theme parties for cadres of leeches (like Del James).

[Caught in a Coma]

Explain how GNR had a "bloated" tour and U2 didn't?

U2 didn't bring a horn section, a female backup singer section, or Dizzy Reed. They have always performed as just the four of them.

U2 didn't blow all of their concert money on backstage theme parties for cadres of leeches (like Del James).

The zoo tv tour was kind of over the top though with costume changes and interactive video screens. I wouldnt call it a stripped down tour

[RussTCB]

Didn't want to start a new thread about this so I figured I'd put it here:

I bought a bunch of old Spin and Rolling Stone issues today and one of them had a review of the self titled Motley Crue record. The review was extremely positive but they took a shot at GN'R in the last line for no reason. It said "...the album rocks all the way through which is more than can be said for albums by certain bands who put dolphins in their videos"

[WhazUp]

I would say they were one of the bigger bands around up until everyone started leaving the band.

Alternative music and the whole grunge thing didn't help but as with many 80's era bands it didn't mean your popularity was nil

I would argue the main decline was attributed to nothing happening in GNR after 1993. That may have generated some mystery but at the same it could also have generated loss of interest amongst many people because there weren't any current GNR events to be interested in.

Edited November 1, 2013 by WhazUp

[Estranged Reality]

they were already fizzling out by '93. grunge had started to take a stranglehold and kill off arena music. spaghetti incident's lackluster sales are indicative of this, as well as the fact that GN'R was even allowed to dissolve at all.

they were still a big band, but spaghetti could have been worse and still sold millions more copies in 1991. they could have put out the worst album in the world and still sold more. and the band wouldn't have been allowed to dissolve because there would have been more people involved in making sure they didn't.

by '94/'95 they were all burnt out, the record companies were more interested in promoting up-and-coming talent and different emerging genres (grunge and rap), and they were allowed to slip by the wayside.

[Hollywood Gunner]

Although they were only relevant from 90-93, those were 3 HUGE FUCKIN' YEARS ! Id still rate them the #1 band from the 90's even if everything after 93 kinda sucked

[dalsh327]

When AFD started selling like crazy at a time they were winding down touring for AFD, the demand to see them went crazy high, and never really subsided over the next couple of years.

I think a lot of people were put off by TSI for different reasons and the interest wasn't really there.

When Axl and Slash did the radio interview, they didn't seem bothered by how it did.

[Johnny Drama]

they were already fizzling out by '93. grunge had started to take a stranglehold and kill off arena music. spaghetti incident's lackluster sales are indicative of this, as well as the fact that GN'R was even allowed to dissolve at all.

they were still a big band, but spaghetti could have been worse and still sold millions more copies in 1991. they could have put out the worst album in the world and still sold more. and the band wouldn't have been allowed to dissolve because there would have been more people involved in making sure they didn't.

by '94/'95 they were all burnt out, the record companies were more interested in promoting up-and-coming talent and different emerging genres (grunge and rap), and they were allowed to slip by the wayside.

Ain't it also a worthy point that even grunge was essentially done by 94? Most would say In Utero-Vitalogy-Superunknown-Jar of Flies-Purple (Tiny Music if we're pushing it) were the last great hurrah for grunge IMO

[RussTCB]

they were already fizzling out by '93. grunge had started to take a stranglehold and kill off arena music. spaghetti incident's lackluster sales are indicative of this, as well as the fact that GN'R was even allowed to dissolve at all.

they were still a big band, but spaghetti could have been worse and still sold millions more copies in 1991. they could have put out the worst album in the world and still sold more. and the band wouldn't have been allowed to dissolve because there would have been more people involved in making sure they didn't.

by '94/'95 they were all burnt out, the record companies were more interested in promoting up-and-coming talent and different emerging genres (grunge and rap), and they were allowed to slip by the wayside.

Ain't it also a worthy point that even grunge was essentially done by 94? Most would say In Utero-Vitalogy-Superunknown-Jar of Flies-Purple (Tiny Music if we're pushing it) were the last great hurrah for grunge IMO

Exactly. Grunge had a fairly short reign overall. Of course, the main acts kept putting out records after 93 and some were popular, but the main hey day was pretty much done around late-93.

[Angelica]

Grunge was nowhere near done by 94, just the Seattle scene aspect. It's influence, for better or worse, carried on throughout the rest of the decade and even into the early 00s with the continuous onslaught of pseudo alternative bands (ie Bush, Creed, Days of the New, Stain etc etc etc). The major labels bled it dry.

GNR are 'the most influential band of the last thirty years'? Based on what, Buckcherry?

Edited November 1, 2013 by Angelica

[ARBeast]

When AFD started selling like crazy at a time they were winding down touring for AFD, the demand to see them went crazy high, and never really subsided over the next couple of years.

I think a lot of people were put off by TSI for different reasons and the interest wasn't really there.

When Axl and Slash did the radio interview, they didn't seem bothered by how it did.

Well said. Good stuff.

[Caught in a Coma]

Grunge was nowhere near done by 94, just the Seattle scene aspect. It's influence, for better or worse, carried on throughout the rest of the decade and even into the early 00s with the continuous onslaught of pseudo alternative bands (ie Bush, Creed, Days of the New, Stain etc etc etc). The major labels bled it dry.

GNR are 'the most influential band of the last thirty years'? Based on what, Buckcherry?

Grunge is a bit of a blanket term though. Most of the grunge bands don't sound alike. I wouldn't call Creed grunge. I think the heart of the grunge movement was done by the mid 90's. Anything labelled grunge after was simply marketing.

[D-GenerationX]

Explain how GNR had a "bloated" tour and U2 didn't?

U2 didn't bring a horn section, a female backup singer section, or Dizzy Reed. They have always performed as just the four of them.

U2 didn't blow all of their concert money on backstage theme parties for cadres of leeches (like Del James).

The zoo tv tour was kind of over the top though with costume changes and interactive video screens. I wouldnt call it a stripped down tour

It was also a goof. They were mocking it all, as well as exhibiting some self depreciating humor towards their own rep for being no fun.

they tried a similar thing with the POPMART tour that did not go over as well, because most felt they got the joke the first time.

[Angelica]

Grunge was nowhere near done by 94, just the Seattle scene aspect. It's influence, for better or worse, carried on throughout the rest of the decade and even into the early 00s with the continuous onslaught of pseudo alternative bands (ie Bush, Creed, Days of the New, Stain etc etc etc). The major labels bled it dry.

GNR are 'the most influential band of the last thirty years'? Based on what, Bruckcherry?

Grunge is a bit of a blanket term though. Most of the grunge bands don't sound alike. I wouldn't call Creed grunge. I think the heart of the grunge movement was done by the mid 90's. Anything labelled grunge after was simply marketing.y

I wouldn't call Creed grunge either, but they were obvious descendants of it and that's what I meant by 'it's influence carried on throughout the rest of the decade'. Aside from GNR's reign from 90-93, Metallica, and maybe Aerosmith's Alicia Silverstone era, the commercial face of American rock in the 90s was largely grunge and then post-grunge. The movement had a tremendous impact on the industry that lasted long after Kurt died and the remaining core bands stopped being topics of conversation on MTV. It can't be brushed off as simply having petered out after a couple of years, that's only half the story.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Angelica

[dalsh327]

Grunge was nowhere near done by 94, just the Seattle scene aspect. It's influence, for better or worse, carried on throughout the rest of the decade and even into the early 00s with the continuous onslaught of pseudo alternative bands (ie Bush, Creed, Days of the New, Stain etc etc etc). The major labels bled it dry.

GNR are 'the most influential band of the last thirty years'? Based on what, Buckcherry?

Grunge is a bit of a blanket term though. Most of the grunge bands don't sound alike. I wouldn't call Creed grunge. I think the heart of the grunge movement was done by the mid 90's. Anything labelled grunge after was simply marketing.

"Influential" gets thrown around a lot, but I think the level of songs and songwriting that came from the late 80s and early 90s were very good whether it was on the radio or not.

[dalsh327]

Explain how GNR had a "bloated" tour and U2 didn't?

U2 didn't bring a horn section, a female backup singer section, or Dizzy Reed. They have always performed as just the four of them.

U2 didn't blow all of their concert money on backstage theme parties for cadres of leeches (like Del James).

The zoo tv tour was kind of over the top though with costume changes and interactive video screens. I wouldnt call it a stripped down tour

It was also a goof. They were mocking it all, as well as exhibiting some self depreciating humor towards their own rep for being no fun.

they tried a similar thing with the POPMART tour that did not go over as well, because most felt they got the joke the first time.

I'm not really sure what made GNR bloated when the Stones had a horn section, female singers, and a piano player back in the 70s. Springsteen has more people than GNR ever did and no one says it's bloated.

[alfa75]

Regarding GNR's influence, I usually tend to agree that it seems they were not very influential as compared to say, Nirvana.

I think what is often overlooked is that the uniqueness of those particular, some would say over the top and even cartoonish characters in the band would discourage any band from trying to be directly like them.

Nirvana, by contrast with their stripped down jeans n t-shirts, guys next door image gave a bunch of garage bands a sense of "hey , we can be like that" and that's what the record companies wanted after 93.

Why would any band flaunt obvious influence to GNR when that kind of over the topness was devalued from 93 on.

I do think it says a lot about how special GNR were that they were essentially not easily copied.

[wasted]

By 94 they sold 100 million records. Thats what Zepp or Beatles sold whole career.

[DR DOOM]

Explain how GNR had a "bloated" tour and U2 didn't?

U2 didn't bring a horn section, a female backup singer section, or Dizzy Reed. They have always performed as just the four of them.

U2 didn't blow all of their concert money on backstage theme parties for cadres of leeches (like Del James).

The zoo tv tour was kind of over the top though with costume changes and interactive video screens. I wouldnt call it a stripped down tour

It was also a goof. They were mocking it all, as well as exhibiting some self depreciating humor towards their own rep for being no fun.

they tried a similar thing with the POPMART tour that did not go over as well, because most felt they got the joke the first time.

I'm not really sure what made GNR bloated when the Stones had a horn section, female singers, and a piano player back in the 70s. Springsteen has more people than GNR ever did and no one says it's bloated.

Yeah but Dizzy Reed is no Ian Stewart and the 911 horns or whoever sure as fuck werent Bobby Keyes.

edit: just to elaborate, The Stone's music suited all the extra personnel-besides KOHD and Move To The City/harmonica on bad obsession I cant really think of an old school GNR besides those that needs anything besides keys.

Edited November 2, 2013 by DR DOOM

[wasted]

They were relevant to me until about 94. they guided me through years, introduced me to old bands, and made history themselves with records and live shows. Then Oasis came along