Jw224 Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) I've been wondering recently; how does Axl feel about CD? Do you think he has regrets and its something that bothers him, spending so much of his life on the one album (a great one, imo, but still). Or do you think he looks back and is proud of what he did and is glad that he has been able to put something that was, in a way, his, out into the world? I thought this would be an interesting discussion. Edited July 4, 2017 by Jw224 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Sosso Posted July 4, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) Axl said in the China Exchange video that his favourite songs at concerts are from CD. Edited July 4, 2017 by Sosso 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RONIN Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) What is he supposed to say in an interview though? That Appetite is his favorite Guns album which is why the setlists are AFD loaded? I think he's proud of CD but I'm sure he has regrets about what it took from him to put it out there. He even seems to have regrets about UYI which are legendary albums. The guy changes his mind a lot. Edited July 4, 2017 by RONIN 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TupacShakur Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I think he regrets the vocals on the album he said in the china exchange interview that they didn't go over well with fans 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IncitingChaos Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 He loves CD, he spent a lot of time and energy on it. I think it bothered him that it wasn't as well received as he'd hope but I think he's well aware of the criticisms and gets why people like this over that, however this is what he released and he's proud of it 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeman5150 Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I would think he has some regrets about it. Seeing as how they are now getting pretty much universal praise from critics, he has to wonder if he would've put it out in 2004-2005 with slash and duff, how big it would've been. The general public was so hungry for a GNR reunion/album at that time. That's when Velvet revolver first hit, greatest hits was doing well, and behind the music was on vh1 like every other day. If the had gotten together as they are now, released CD with slash and duff, I think it would've huge. During this time people did still buy cds, in 2008, a lot had changed. Plus, I feel that a lot of people didn't have any interest in CD because slash wasn't on it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sosso Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 26 minutes ago, TupacShakur said: I think he regrets the vocals on the album he said in the china exchange interview that they didn't go over well with fans “For a while, like with Chinese, I was trying to get my voice a lot clearer. I feel like that maybe fans didn't… necessarily respond to that so much as well, sometimes, at shows and things but I think it was very good for me to be even better at what I am doing right now.“ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AlexC Posted July 4, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 4, 2017 His vocals on that album are incredible. Just listen to I.R.S. or There Was a Time. Immense performances. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jw224 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 1 minute ago, AlexC said: His vocals on that album are incredible. Just listen to I.R.S. or There Was a Time. Immense performances. Definitely agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Marie82 Posted July 4, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 4, 2017 I think he feels proud, as he should. It's a great album. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jw224 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 14 minutes ago, mikeman5150 said: I would think he has some regrets about it. Seeing as how they are now getting pretty much universal praise from critics, he has to wonder if he would've put it out in 2004-2005 with slash and duff, how big it would've been. The general public was so hungry for a GNR reunion/album at that time. That's when Velvet revolver first hit, greatest hits was doing well, and behind the music was on vh1 like every other day. If the had gotten together as they are now, released CD with slash and duff, I think it would've huge. During this time people did still buy cds, in 2008, a lot had changed. Plus, I feel that a lot of people didn't have any interest in CD because slash wasn't on it. I doubt at that time he had any intention of reuniting with Slash and Duff. Although I agree that had he released it even a few years earlier it could have done a bit better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeman5150 Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 2 minutes ago, Jw224 said: I doubt at that time he had any intention of reuniting with Slash and Duff. Although I agree that had he released it even a few years earlier it could have done a bit better. Yeah at the time he didn't want anything to do with those guys. I'm just saying that now since all the smoke has cleared and they seem to be getting along, it might be a regret he has, that he didn't call in 04' instead of 15' 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywood Gunner Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) i think he holds his pain insiiiiiiiide Edited July 4, 2017 by Hollywood Gunner 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jw224 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 1 minute ago, mikeman5150 said: Yeah at the time he didn't want anything to do with those guys. I'm just saying that now since all the smoke has cleared and they seem to be getting along, it might be a regret he has, that he didn't call in 04' instead of 15' Yes I see what you're saying, things would have been very different indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnfnrs1972 Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I really don't care how he feels about a 9 year old album. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RONIN Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 It would have been a blockbuster album between 1999-2003 when GnR was transitioning to legendary status. A release date between 2004-2006 would have ensured it was a solid hit. He just waited too long. No promo just killed even the little momentum that album had. Total wasted marketing opportunity. Even Waterworld made money just out of sheer curiosity from people wondering about why that movie was so expensive and all the crazy problems it had. They could have spun the bad press and just called it "the most expensive rock album ever made". Just a complete waste of Axl's effort and more importantly....his time. Time from his prime that he will never get back. Stuff like that eats away at anyone. I'm sure we'd all do stuff differently in retrospect. On a positive note, it's a good album. He should be proud of it despite everything. Atleast he didn't put out a bad album like Michael Jackson's final album. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-W.A.R- Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Believe it or not hes probably not satisfied with it because he feels he wasn't finished with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jw224 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 Yes I think when you're an artist you could sit and add things forever. There will always be something new to add or change. 30 minutes ago, RONIN said: It would have been a blockbuster album between 1999-2003 when GnR was transitioning to legendary status. A release date between 2004-2006 would have ensured it was a solid hit. He just waited too long. No promo just killed even the little momentum that album had. Total wasted marketing opportunity. Even Waterworld made money just out of sheer curiosity from people wondering about why that movie was so expensive and all the crazy problems it had. They could have spun the bad press and just called it "the most expensive rock album ever made". Just a complete waste of Axl's effort and more importantly....his time. Time from his prime that he will never get back. Stuff like that eats away at anyone. I'm sure we'd all do stuff differently in retrospect. On a positive note, it's a good album. He should be proud of it despite everything. Atleast he didn't put out a bad album like Michael Jackson's final album. I definitely think that he took too long, although I do sometimes wonder what the album would have been like had it released earlier. Some of the leaked versions are better than the final, definitely, although some also sound worse imo. Depending on how early it would release some songs would need to be omitted as well, which I'm not sure I'd be okay with. I guess I'm happy it came out when it did as I love how the album was at that time. If it had came out earlier or later it would've most likely sounded different again. I agree he probably has regrets about how he spent those years. The funny thing about that is that pretty much all the outtakes from that album are great. It's as if he picked the most shitty ones and made an album out of it haha. Anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RONIN Posted July 5, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) 49 minutes ago, Wagszilla said: Tommy said he thought Axl wasn't fully happy with it. No artist feels differently. Projects are never finished, you just have a certain amount of time before you have to deliver the souffle. This is an inherent problem because a lot of times Artists have a way of diluting their art with more revisions. I don't know why this is but I think the album/film/painting, etc is a snapshot into their mind at that particular moment in time. You know you've waited too long when your feelings artistically begin to change and your head is somewhere else - which leads to the art "evolving" as your feelings continue to change. Eventually, the evolution is so great, the original piece has been given a total facelift and transformation that is neither here nor there. I've always felt like that's what happened with Chinese. Axl started the project feeling one way - and then revised it so much - that he felt alienated from the material since it had strayed so far from it's original conception. My conjecture obviously. I've rarely seen a revised director's cut of a film turning out better than the original cut. By that, I mean a director coming back to a film years later and reinterpreting their vision through a different cut of the film. The director of "Heat", Michael Mann, does this with his films, and his original cut is always superior to the revised version. Art is a snapshot in time imho. It evolves into a product the more you fuss over it and craft it beyond the incubation stage. There is a great fucking album buried in Chinese Democracy. Even without Duff, Slash and Izzy, that album could have been great with a little judicious overseeing of the extravagance. And yet...Guns N' Roses is all about extravagance and Chinese is authentically a result of that. It's a catch 22. He stayed true to himself and his process - his art suffered - but perhaps it turned out the only way it could have. I don't agree with it, but I can't fault Axl for it either. It is what it is. Edited July 5, 2017 by RONIN 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RONIN Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 26 minutes ago, Jw224 said: Yes I think when you're an artist you could sit and add things forever. There will always be something new to add or change. I definitely think that he took too long, although I do sometimes wonder what the album would have been like had it released earlier. Some of the leaked versions are better than the final, definitely, although some also sound worse imo. Depending on how early it would release some songs would need to be omitted as well, which I'm not sure I'd be okay with. I guess I'm happy it came out when it did as I love how the album was at that time. If it had came out earlier or later it would've most likely sounded different again. I agree he probably has regrets about how he spent those years. The funny thing about that is that pretty much all the outtakes from that album are great. It's as if he picked the most shitty ones and made an album out of it haha. Anyway. It would have sounded more raw, stripped down, and meaner like "Oh My God". But that style of production is not Axl's style. He's a grandiose guy. The "raw" Beavan sessions were never really going to work considering his clashes with Slash on Illusions about going bigger. No way was he going to downsize for Chinese Democracy and give it a stark production. It unfolded the only way it could - I've started to accept that the more I think of the Chinese saga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jw224 Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 10 minutes ago, RONIN said: It would have sounded more raw, stripped down, and meaner like "Oh My God". But that style of production is not Axl's style. He's a grandiose guy. The "raw" Beavan sessions were never really going to work considering his clashes with Slash on Illusions about going bigger. No way was he going to downsize for Chinese Democracy and give it a stark production. It unfolded the only way it could - I've started to accept that the more I think of the Chinese saga. That's interesting, I wonder how much it actually changed from its initial conception. I would love to hear the earliest makings of the album and find out if it was so drastically different to how it eventually became. I can't really imagine any of those songs sounding anything like Oh My God haha. Although I did enjoy that song personally. It was an interesting step for Axl, anyway. I agree it happened the only way it could've. It seems Axl was determined to release something he was totally satisfied with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 No idea other than I'm sure he wishes it were a Guns album (Slash, Duff and Matt and <Gilby or Fortus>) as they (esp Slash) woulda made it 1000X better. That and a little less "produced". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soon Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) I hope he's proud of the album. I think its a terrific album. Maybe not so much proud about the time it took? But the fact that it did take that much time seems to indicate that there was some madness going on so maybe he should be proud for sticking with it. Madness and business pressures and manipulations. Impressive to come out the other side, imo. I hate to say controversial things and dont wanna get into it with anyone, but Ill say this. I love VR Contraband, but I think the reason there is so much CD played and no Slither is because Sorry stands up more then Slither. I think the time and attention does indeed elevate the songs above and beyond 'kick ass rock' hit single to something more timeless. And Axls China Exchange comments seem to indicate that he thinks well of those CD songs too. He sent Brain a platinum plaque like years later, so to me thats an indication he's proud of it. Edited July 5, 2017 by soon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killuridols Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 2 hours ago, RONIN said: Just a complete waste of Axl's effort and more importantly....his time. Time from his prime that he will never get back. I don't think he regrets making the album and he's proud of the songs BUT what you said there is just.... so true for the life of anyone in this world, no matter how much money, fame or whatever you have. TIME is of the essence. Youth is too precious for our western society that loves putting so many eggs on that part of one's life. I'm sure his regrets (if any) are directly related to realizing that time is gone and that not even CD was worth the wait so long. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RussTCB Posted July 5, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 5, 2017 It's my personal favorite Guns N Roses album, so I hope Axl happens to be happy with it too. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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