Do you feel Snakepit could have been a worthy GN'R album?

[Nulla Lex Ink.]

Nah. Axl's heart wouldn't have been in it. Slash and Duff were doomed to eventually leave GN'R, that's just the way it is, and when they did, this album would have become the "One Hot Minute" of GN'R's discography. But who knows? Maybe if Axl had agreed to do it that way, Slash would have realized it wasn't a fit and said "Actually, sing it the way you want." But I don't know. I'd have to see which songs Slash actually showed Axl before I could say "Oh yeah, would've been a much better improvement if Axl sang this!"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those three unrecorded/performed songs the ones Duff and Izzy wrote, one of which is "Down by the Ocean"? I have no idea where I read Duff and Izzy worked on three demos exactly, but I'm pretty sure I read it. God, the "What Could Have Beens" of this band are insane.

Izzy co-wrote one song on Snakepit and Duff co-wrote another.

The "Down By The Ocean" sessions were AFTER Snakepit was released, in April 1995.

Izzy came back twice to GN'R--Sporadically throughout 1995, (including the full week where he and Duff wrote a dozen songs in April '95) and then, for several weeks with the whole band in the summer of 1996 (according to Marc Canter).

Nah. Axl's heart wouldn't have been in it. Slash and Duff were doomed to eventually leave GN'R, that's just the way it is, and when they did, this album would have become the "One Hot Minute" of GN'R's discography. But who knows? Maybe if Axl had agreed to do it that way, Slash would have realized it wasn't a fit and said "Actually, sing it the way you want." But I don't know. I'd have to see which songs Slash actually showed Axl before I could say "Oh yeah, would've been a much better improvement if Axl sang this!"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those three unrecorded/performed songs the ones Duff and Izzy wrote, one of which is "Down by the Ocean"? I have no idea where I read Duff and Izzy worked on three demos exactly, but I'm pretty sure I read it. God, the "What Could Have Beens" of this band are insane.

One Hot Minute is the only RHCP album I like. What is wrong with Navarro?

Also, can somebody please tell me what the 1996 album was? Like, was that just a few songs they toyed with or wrote, or did they really record an entire album only to scrap it later on?

1996 album was a half finished album that was blues based in sound yet mostly Axl's material. It was described as having a sound in between AFD and UYI, but with a groove, and Duff said there was to be 12 4-minute long rock songs (no ballads). Axl described it's sound as basically a modern day Aerosmith Rocks. According to Matt, the band had 7 songs done as of summer 1996 and were going to write 7 others. The album was set to be released in 1997 but Slash's exit led to the project being shelved. There was a ton of stuff written but who knows how far they got? Slash said in an August '96 interview to MTV that between himself, Duff, and Axl, the band had written around 80 new songs.

Fun fact: Dave Navarro was the first choice to replace Izzy, before Gilby. Axl desperately wanted him in GN'R, and he was asked to join, but never showed up to audition (he had a terrible heroin habit at the time), and so Gilby was a last minute compromise given his history with and similarity to Izzy.

Wow, so there are even more confirmed recordings out there.

I knew that thing about Dave, too. Would have been neat if Dave hadn't been too strung out to show up, I wonder if the direction would have changed any like his tenure in RHCP, or if the band history would've been altered by his presence. I mean, if Axl had someone he actually wanted, I don't think he'd replace them with his friend, now would he? I actually don't know, since Axl was quite an erratic person. Not saying that's bad, just... Well, unpredictable, haha.

[combos]

I don't know but his solo on Back and Forth was probably his second best solo ever. Seriously.

[Nosaj Thing]

Miser,

I think 'Snakepit I' could have been a Guns album if Axl would have worked in some of the songs. For example, I would have loved to hear the finished version of Back And Forth Again with Axl on vocals and arrangements.

[EvH]

Ain't Life Grand was GNR-Worthy.

[Yesterdays-Civil-War]

Neither Can I, I Hate Everybody But You, Be The Ball...

They all had a UYI sound, just with more blues. I would have loved it if it had been a Guns album with Axl.

[DieselDaisy]

It is a superior album than Chinese Democracy - even in its present form. I suggest Beggers, Neither Can I, Good to Be Alive and Be The Ball would have made great 'Guns N' Roses' songs (with a bit of fine-tuning by Axl).

[iftheworld]

Hahahahahahaha. This thread is cute. Slash writing a GNR album.

[D-GenerationX]

I think

neither can I

Baggers

Take it away

Serial killer

And landslide would have fit Axl.

Also

Set me free

The first time I heard 'Set Me Free', I thought it wasn't hard to envision Axl singing that one.

[Tom2112]

As is... no, with contributions from the rest of the band it could probably have been a decent record... probably wasn't the right record for the band at the time coming off the illusions albums... but it would have probably aged ok.

Simply swapping out the vocalist and putting Axl on that record would not make the snakepit records great Guns songs... they were just a little too average for me. I mean any song written by guns goes up (unfairly) against giant songs like Nightrain, Jungle, November rain, Don't cry, Estranged... you can't just throw out some run of the mill blues riffs and think "that's good enough" with a fan base that were growing with the band from appetite, lies and then to Illusions I & II it was clear people were expecting something more. There's 1 or 2 songs off the first album that could have been worked into pretty cool songs but overall it seems like it was rushed and probably did more damage to gnr than anything else.

[Yesterdays-Civil-War]

Hahahahahahaha. This thread is cute. Slash writing a GNR album.

I dislike Slash as much as the next guy...but that comment is a little strange. He did "write" GN'R albums, maybe not lyrically, but musically.

[dimitrisaxl]

As a whole no. But some songs definetely.

[rocknroll41]

A better scenario would've been some of the Snakepit songs (with Axl writing new lyrics and melodies, cuz the actual ones suck), some of the songs Duff and Izzy wrote in 1995 (like "Down By the Ocean"), some of Gilby's solo songs (particularly "Cure Me or Kill Me") and some Axl and Dizzy piano ballads that may have already been written by then (like "This I Love").

About 12 songs in total would've sufficed. Mind you, with Axl's sense of perfectionism, the record would've not come out in 1995, more like 1996 or 1997. But that would've been fine, honestly

[DieselDaisy]

In honestly democracy is a heap of cack. I love it how Axl fans like to make out that that record is some Floyd album or some, masterpiece, when your chap is now a chubby funster in Vegas playing the hits with strippers, whereas, Slash is producing such masterpieces as Anastasia.

[bacardimayne]

Good to Be Alive is among the worst things on my media player.

In honestly democracy is a heap of cack. I love it how Axl fans like to make out that that record is some Floyd album or some, masterpiece, when your chap is now a chubby funster in Vegas playing the hits with strippers, whereas, Slash is producing such masterpieces as Anastasia.

Anastasia is a good song. Not a fucking masterpiece.