Ultimate Guitar: Reunion with Axl, Slash, Duff, Richard, Frank

[DieselDaisy]

But I'm just curious how one could speculate that Slash and Fortus, who still have not played together to date, would sound better than Slash/Gilby which is effectively the guitar duo of 1992-3, playing such shows as the Paris PPV and the Chicago show, and sounding excellent in the act?

[11dayempire]

Not gonna lie: Axl/Slash/Duff/Fortus/Ferrer/Dizzy is pretty much my dream line-up (leaving aside the vanishingly small chance of Axl reuniting the 2002 roster). I could see Slash and Fortus working really well together; they seem to share similar musical sensibilities. Just imagine Fortus' KOHD licks with Slash soloing over them – it'd sound great. Izzy I could see dropping in for odd guest performances, maybe even contributing in the studio as he did with the early Velvet Revolver stuff.

As for Slash performing Chinese Democracy tracks? Everyone assumed that Duff would balk at the idea, until he actually went out there and happily rocked along to Better and the like. I'll admit, some of the tracks (Shackler's, Scraped) don't really seem like they're in Slash's wheelhouse, but I could easily see him belting out a solo to This I Love or Catcher in the Rye or Madagascar.

[Słash]

I wish it was Ashba instead of Fortus, it would have been fun to see Ashba fuck up stuff in front of Slash.

[11dayempire]

I wish it was Ashba instead of Fortus, it would have been fun to see Ashba fuck up stuff in front of Slash.

It would really show up his overblown rock-star posturing, yeah. I always thought of Ashba as the Myles Kennedy of guitar – where Axl's vocals and Slash's guitar are all about expressing feeling and emotion organically, Myles and Ashba hit the right notes, strike the poses... but feel like they're doing karaoke.

[Russel Nash]

But I'm just curious how one could speculate that Slash and Fortus, who still have not played together to date, would sound better than Slash/Gilby which is effectively the guitar duo of 1992-3, playing such shows as the Paris PPV and the Chicago show, and sounding excellent in the act?

Cos i consider Gilby the weakest link in that lineup. I´ve been to a 90's show and i've been to a fortus show. Fortus is a beast live and i got the feeling that he would sound awesome with Slash.

Plus you can't really put Slash/Gilby 92/93 to compare now, the same thing with Izzy, they where at their peaks.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Russel Nash

[DieselDaisy]

Whenever I watch those shows, I never see Gilby as a weak link. He seems to work very well with Slash.

[Słash]

Gilby does a fantastic job in terms with Rhythm, I really don't get why do some people want a Lead guitarist in front of another lead guitarist, like that call Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore or Brain May.

[Russel Nash]

Whenever I watch those shows, I never see Gilby as a weak link. He seems to work very well with Slash.

He did a great job, but it was more raw and dirty with Izzy, and a lot better to my ears. But I don't really want Slash/Izzy now cos i have my doubts on Izzy playing at the moment.

HOF performance. Solid, but nothing more.

4tus arrangements on classic songs on the other hand are very unique and beautiful. Like kohd. I hate gilby input on kohd live. See my point? It's just a preference, my taste.

[11dayempire]

Whenever I watch those shows, I never see Gilby as a weak link. He seems to work very well with Slash.

He did a great job, but it was more raw and dirty with Izzy, and a lot better to my ears. But I don't really want Slash/Izzy now cos i have my doubts on Izzy playing at the moment.

HOF performance. Solid, but nothing more.

4tus arrangements on classic songs on the other hand are very unique and beautiful. Like kohd. I hate gilby input on kohd live. See my point? It's just a preference, my taste.

What he said. I mean, imagine this:

being played over this:

[BreakDown2014]

Whenever I watch those shows, I never see Gilby as a weak link. He seems to work very well with Slash.

He did a great job, but it was more raw and dirty with Izzy, and a lot better to my ears. But I don't really want Slash/Izzy now cos i have my doubts on Izzy playing at the moment.

HOF performance. Solid, but nothing more.

4tus arrangements on classic songs on the other hand are very unique and beautiful. Like kohd. I hate gilby input on kohd live. See my point? It's just a preference, my taste.

What he said. I mean, imagine this:

being played over this:

I'm with you guys. Richard is imo the best rythm guitarist GN'R has ever had when it comes to live shows... just a tasty spot on player

[wasted]

It makes sense for Axl in terms of not caving on CD era, Slash and Duff legitimize Fortus and Frank. But it could easily be the OG 5. But the Hybrid is more stable and gives Axl flexibility to release CD 2. In someways it's very smart, very Axl. He found a way to do a reunion without doing a reunion.

[Słash]

It makes sense for Axl in terms of not caving on CD era, Slash and Duff legitimize Fortus and Frank. But it could easily be the OG 5. But the Hybrid is more stable and gives Axl flexibility to release CD 2. In someways it's very smart, very Axl. He found a way to do a reunion without doing a reunion.

How is it called Flexbility if CD 2 will be 80% Robin and 20% or less of Fortus? CD 2 has got nothing to do with any kind of reunion or its members.

[11dayempire]

It makes sense for Axl in terms of not caving on CD era, Slash and Duff legitimize Fortus and Frank. But it could easily be the OG 5. But the Hybrid is more stable and gives Axl flexibility to release CD 2. In someways it's very smart, very Axl. He found a way to do a reunion without doing a reunion.

How is it called Flexbility if CD 2 will be 80% Robin and 20% or less of Fortus? CD 2 has got nothing to do with any kind of reunion or its members.

Where'd you get those figures from? Every indication has been that the majority of the Fortus-written tracks were held back for CDII, and that he's a significant contributor to the album.

[Słash]

It makes sense for Axl in terms of not caving on CD era, Slash and Duff legitimize Fortus and Frank. But it could easily be the OG 5. But the Hybrid is more stable and gives Axl flexibility to release CD 2. In someways it's very smart, very Axl. He found a way to do a reunion without doing a reunion.

How is it called Flexbility if CD 2 will be 80% Robin and 20% or less of Fortus? CD 2 has got nothing to do with any kind of reunion or its members.

Where'd you get those figures from? Every indication has been that the majority of the Fortus-written tracks were held back for CDII, and that he's a significant contributor to the album.

IF it ever releases, there will be way more of Robin and Bucket than Fortus. Axl saw something in Bumble who joined in 2006 and told him to make his own solos for Shacklers and Catcher, Fortus who is in the band since 2002 only had a 5 second piece in one song.

[DieselDaisy]

Gilby does a fantastic job in terms with Rhythm, I really don't get why do some people want a Lead guitarist in front of another lead guitarist, like that call Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore or Brain May.

I do not quite understand this 'alleged' superiority Fortus has over Gilby. They both play lead but we are not discussing a lead guitarist's position but a rhythm guitarist's position which renders their lead abilities strictly academic. I just do not understand where it comes from? Where is this evidence that Fortus is somehow better than Gilby? I have the Dead Daisies album and it was alright but nothing special. If we are discussing songwriting, at least with GIlby you can cite his debut which is a monster of an album, with massive riffs like 'Cure Me, Kill Me'. Stage presence? Fortus is a bit livelier and bangs his strings a lot; Gilby does a decent Wood imitation, but they are both about on par.

[Russel Nash]

Gilby does a fantastic job in terms with Rhythm, I really don't get why do some people want a Lead guitarist in front of another lead guitarist, like that call Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore or Brain May.

I do not quite understand this 'alleged' superiority Fortus has over Gilby. They both play lead but we are not discussing a lead guitarist's position but a rhythm guitarist's position which renders their lead abilities strictly academic. I just do not understand where it comes from? Where is this evidence that Fortus is somehow better than Gilby? I have the Dead Daisies album and it was alright but nothing special. If we are discussing songwriting, at least with GIlby you can cite his debut which is a monster of an album, with massive riffs like 'Cure Me, Kill Me'. Stage presence? Fortus is a bit livelier and bangs his strings a lot; Gilby does a decent Wood imitation, but they are both about on par.

I already told you that. You seem to have a hard time accepting ppl preferences or tastes if are not the same as yours?

I don't like the Dead Daisies that much and i can't compare it to Cure me or kill me. The reason is pretty damn obvious, the same as ppl talking about 4tus songs that they never heard on CD2.

Cure me is a great album with sloppy everything on it and perhaps is the best thing about it.

Wood ? I prefer Mick Taylor. See?

[DieselDaisy]

Gilby does a fantastic job in terms with Rhythm, I really don't get why do some people want a Lead guitarist in front of another lead guitarist, like that call Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore or Brain May.

I do not quite understand this 'alleged' superiority Fortus has over Gilby. They both play lead but we are not discussing a lead guitarist's position but a rhythm guitarist's position which renders their lead abilities strictly academic. I just do not understand where it comes from? Where is this evidence that Fortus is somehow better than Gilby? I have the Dead Daisies album and it was alright but nothing special. If we are discussing songwriting, at least with GIlby you can cite his debut which is a monster of an album, with massive riffs like 'Cure Me, Kill Me'. Stage presence? Fortus is a bit livelier and bangs his strings a lot; Gilby does a decent Wood imitation, but they are both about on par.

I already told you that. You seem to have a hard time accepting ppl preferences or tastes if are not the same as yours?

I don't like the Dead Daisies that much and i can't compare it to Cure me or kill me. The reason is pretty damn obvious, the same as ppl talking about 4tus songs that they never heard on CD2.

Cure me is a great album with sloppy everything on it and perhaps is the best thing about it.

Wood ? I prefer Mick Taylor. See?

I'm just asking for evidence of Fortus's superiority over Gilby (which seems to be taken as a given here), that is all?

The guy played with Britney and the Backstreet Boys for crying out loud. He was a session musician-for-hire. He bangs his strings and plays more lead than Izzy or Gilby. There is nothing else to the guy.

Oh, and he looks like Izzy haha.

[Słash]

Fortus is a great player, but he over does it, see the AFD line up or the UYI line or even see Slash's solo band, the way the play the GNR songs, its nice and simple, they don't over do things like Fortus with effects and shit.

Hear Rocket Queen from the Vegas DVD and any performance of UYI tour or Slash's solo show. You will know the difference.

Its ok to add your own touch, but the touch Fortus adds, it messes up the song. I guess the only person who added his unique style was bucket head, that guy was amazing man.

[Russel Nash]

Gilby does a fantastic job in terms with Rhythm, I really don't get why do some people want a Lead guitarist in front of another lead guitarist, like that call Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore or Brain May.

I do not quite understand this 'alleged' superiority Fortus has over Gilby. They both play lead but we are not discussing a lead guitarist's position but a rhythm guitarist's position which renders their lead abilities strictly academic. I just do not understand where it comes from? Where is this evidence that Fortus is somehow better than Gilby? I have the Dead Daisies album and it was alright but nothing special. If we are discussing songwriting, at least with GIlby you can cite his debut which is a monster of an album, with massive riffs like 'Cure Me, Kill Me'. Stage presence? Fortus is a bit livelier and bangs his strings a lot; Gilby does a decent Wood imitation, but they are both about on par.

I already told you that. You seem to have a hard time accepting ppl preferences or tastes if are not the same as yours?

I don't like the Dead Daisies that much and i can't compare it to Cure me or kill me. The reason is pretty damn obvious, the same as ppl talking about 4tus songs that they never heard on CD2.

Cure me is a great album with sloppy everything on it and perhaps is the best thing about it.

Wood ? I prefer Mick Taylor. See?

I'm just asking for evidence of Fortus's superiority over Gilby (which seems to be taken as a given here), that is all?

The guy played with Britney and the Backstreet Boys for crying out loud. He was a session musician-for-hire. He bangs his strings and plays more lead than Izzy or Gilby. There is nothing else to the guy.

Oh, and he looks like Izzy haha.

Yeah he was, but that doesn't make it more or less guitar player the same way Marta Sanchez doesn't affect Slash.

I remember Brian May and Roger Taylor back in 2006 being really impressed by the new band, especially in 4tus and his arrangements, that's some compliment right there.

I can tell you what i saw in fortus to say he is superior to Gilbly, GNR speaking. But then again it's a personal taste, Gilby is not a disaster, at the end of the day he got the job done, but for me it didn't put anything fresh on the table. Just filling a the Izzy void.

[Apollo]

Imagine this scenario.

When you are 8-years-old your parents get divorced. You love your dad, but end up living with your mom.

For your 9th birthday party, your mom says "Billy, big surprise!!! Your daddy is going to come for your birthday party."

You count down the days, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see your dad. You are super excited.

The day of your party comes, you rush down stairs to see your dad............and standing there at the table, beside your birthday cake is your mom's new boyfriend.

Your mom sees the tears build up in your eyes and says "Billy, don't cry. Leroy is your new daddy. He's been living with mom for the last three months - so can't you just call him daddy too?"

Leroy might be a cool dude. But he isn't as awesome as your real dad.

[Iron MikeyJ]

The way i see it is if it ain't Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff (drummer bits interchangeable but only cuz he's a mad crackhead) then sod it, don't do it. I mean look, the idea is wanting a reunion of the band right? Quite frankly the notion that just Slash and Axl are Guns n Roses is as bullshit as the idea that certain NuGnR fans used to kick around that just Axl was Guns n Roses. Izzy to me is a major major major part of it, in terms of the sound and the creative aspect of songwriting and...just in all ways. The only reason I'm willing to forgo Adler is because firstly he's a mad fucker and secondly, across the history of GnR Sorum is a pretty fundamental aspect. Gilby, God bless him, was just someone who stood in Izzy shoes, not having a go at him, I'm sure he's a great guitar player and all that but in terms of tangible contribution all he did was go out on tour with em for a couple of years, he didn't write nothing I'm pretty sure.

Why is it GnR fans are always so readily prepared to accept second best? Oh it's close enough, we'll just squint up at the stage and imagine!

Izzy was always the coolest, simply because he was so effortless about it. Axl is way too pedantic and talks too much to be proper cool, in the Steve McQueen sense of the word, Slash loses points due to his penchant for Metal...Izzy was just brilliant, black waist coat over the shirt with rolled up sleeves, the body language of a bag of dirty laundry, a loose rhythm playing tunester that looked like something between Johnny Thunders and Keith Richards.

I agree with this, whole heartily. Izzy is/was the man. But having said that, his "I don't give a Shit" attitude is clearly not fake, he literally does not give a Shit. I really don't think he can honestly commit to such a massive tour, or the media, etc. He just isn't interested in such thing imo. I do think he wants to get up there and play every now and then, and I do think he WILL play certain shows that appeal to him. So I think that begs the question that an Izzy alternative needs to be ready to go. So then the question becomes who would you prefer Gilby or Fortus?

Clearly the fan base is divided on who they would prefer. I'm a Fortus supporter, I think he clearly is the better guitarist of the two of them, and I do give him more credit for playing on a NUgnr album as opposed to Gilby that only played on TSI. Hell Gilby didn't even play on Sympathy for the devil, can anyone honestly say they missed him? In not knocking Gilby, but out of all gnr guitarists he really only ranks higher (based on contributions) than DJ. So the question becomes would you rather NOT have a Slash, Axl, and Duff reunion because Izzy can't commit? Or would you rather have an Axl, Slash, and Duff reunion with Fortus or Gibly as the main rhythm player with Izzy showing up here and there? I'm all for the second option myself.

As for the drummer, I would prefer Adler or even Sorum over Frank. But at the end of the day I don't really give a Shit. Every band has its "least important member" in guns it's always been the drummer.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Iron MikeyJ

[Chuzeville]

I can't say I missed Gilby in the nuGnR line up, but based on Pawn Shop Guitar I think kicking him out was a missed opportunity for GnR.

[DieselDaisy]

The way i see it is if it ain't Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff (drummer bits interchangeable but only cuz he's a mad crackhead) then sod it, don't do it. I mean look, the idea is wanting a reunion of the band right? Quite frankly the notion that just Slash and Axl are Guns n Roses is as bullshit as the idea that certain NuGnR fans used to kick around that just Axl was Guns n Roses. Izzy to me is a major major major part of it, in terms of the sound and the creative aspect of songwriting and...just in all ways. The only reason I'm willing to forgo Adler is because firstly he's a mad fucker and secondly, across the history of GnR Sorum is a pretty fundamental aspect. Gilby, God bless him, was just someone who stood in Izzy shoes, not having a go at him, I'm sure he's a great guitar player and all that but in terms of tangible contribution all he did was go out on tour with em for a couple of years, he didn't write nothing I'm pretty sure.

Why is it GnR fans are always so readily prepared to accept second best? Oh it's close enough, we'll just squint up at the stage and imagine!

Izzy was always the coolest, simply because he was so effortless about it. Axl is way too pedantic and talks too much to be proper cool, in the Steve McQueen sense of the word, Slash loses points due to his penchant for Metal...Izzy was just brilliant, black waist coat over the shirt with rolled up sleeves, the body language of a bag of dirty laundry, a loose rhythm playing tunester that looked like something between Johnny Thunders and Keith Richards.

I agree with this, whole heartily. Izzy is/was the man. But having said that, his "I don't give a Shit" attitude is clearly not fake, he literally does not give a Shit. I really don't think he can honestly commit to such a massive tour, or the media, etc. He just isn't interested in such thing imo. I do think he wants to get up there and play every now and then, and I do think he WILL play certain shows that appeal to him. So I think that begs the question that an Izzy alternative needs to be ready to go. So then the question becomes who would you prefer Gilby or Fortus?

Clearly the fan base is divided on who they would prefer. I'm a Fortus supporter, I think he clearly is the better guitarist of the two of them, and I do give him more credit for playing on a NUgnr album as opposed to Gilby that only played on TSI. Hell Gilby didn't even play on Sympathy for the devil, can anyone honestly say they missed him? In not knocking Gilby, but out of all gnr guitarists he really only ranks higher (based on contributions) than DJ. So the question becomes would you rather NOT have a Slash, Axl, and Duff reunion because Izzy can't commit? Or would you rather have an Axl, Slash, and Duff reunion with Fortus or Gibly as the main rhythm player with Izzy showing up here and there? I'm all for the second option myself.

As for the drummer, I would prefer Adler or even Sorum over Frank. But at the end of the day I don't really give a Shit. Every band has its "least important member" in guns it's always been the drummer.

I see your point but the fact Sorum played on Illusion, a double album of original old band material, instantly elevates him to the sixth most important member (after then Appetite members), and there is no reason on earth why he should not be included. With Izzy and Adler, you can see reasons. Stick Sorum in there and Izzy guesting and you have 'Guns N' Roses'.

You see we are discussing 'hybrids' and everything concerning gnr has been a hybrid: nugnr, VR, Kings of Chaos, Hall of Fame - all hybrids, all ambiguous compromise solutions, half way houses, watered down beer, tool kits with a spanner or a screwdriver missing.

Dispense with these confusing hybrids and reform something which actually existed before, something with clarity and logical sense for a change.

Edited November 20, 2015 by DieselDaisy

[Iron MikeyJ]

While I don't completely disagree with your assertion that all hybrid line ups have been unsatisfying, this MAY be the one exception. That's what I think you are selling short here. We don't know what this hybrid line up is capable of, so it's too early to say this one will disappoint also, especially on the nights Izzy does indeed show up.

What separates this potential hybrid from all the others you mentioned is they were missing either Slash or Axl. Those two have always been the extra special component to gnr. Izzy, Duff, Adler or Sorum also made important contributions that can't be denied. But without Slash and Axl, the rest of those guys (except for sorum) may never have even made it big. But given the talent that Slash and Axl had, they were destined to make it big in some fashion. So when comparing other hybrid line ups to this potential one, you can't sell short how important having Axl and Slash in the same band again truly is.

[RussTCB]

You'll get to see GNR alum from different eras who are great at playing GNR songs. On top of that, you'll get to see Axl & Slash share the stage again.

I truly don't anything to bitch about.