Rolling Stone Article: Duff Solo Album Set for 2019 Release

[WhazUp]

Duff releasing a solo album doesn't mean there can't be work on new GNR material.  Not that I think GNR would next year anyways, but just that this news doesn't neccesarily make it even less so

[DieselDaisy]

12 minutes ago, WhazUp said:

Duff releasing a solo album doesn't mean there can't be work on new GNR material.  Not that I think GNR would next year anyways, but just that this news doesn't neccesarily make it even less so

It rather does though if you labour under the idea that the very greatest of musical ideas should be automatically designated ''Guns N' Roses'' and given absolute priority. Unless McKagan, being utterly prolific, is merely designating a bunch of turds for his solo album and maintaining the good stuff for Guns? That scenario doesn't seem probable somehow, more that Duff and Slash have come face to face with Rose's ''we're going to start looking very seriously at what we're doing in that regard'' mode and planned accordingly.  

[Len Cnut]

6 hours ago, CAFC Nick said:

Someone please reassure me this doesn’t affect any potential (really optimistic...) GNR recording 

it won't cuz they don't exist.  At least not in the way you're thinking of.  The delay with them isn't the process, the delay with them is more closely related to mental illness.

[Ericstacey]

4 hours ago, PopcornAdler said:

They are all releasing more stuff to (ride the money wave) just increase the demand of a the original 5 crushing an album and insane tour.  Keep Steven sober a bit longer to prove himself and lock his mouth up and its 100% a green light.

But Duff "believe in me" was the closet thing to GnR we have had so this is pretty friggen exciting too.

I like Duff, but outside of Guns fans, no one is really going to buy it. He's not doing this "for the money".

[IncitingChaos]

I’m sure Axl likes that Slash and Duff do their own thing. It keeps pressure off him so he can continue to work in private plotting their 2032 album of all new creative material from 2000

[DeadSlash]

2 hours ago, WhazUp said:

Duff releasing a solo album doesn't mean there can't be work on new GNR material.  Not that I think GNR would next year anyways, but just that this news doesn't neccesarily make it even less so

This.  Wasn't the majority of his first album recorded while GnR was on tour?

[DeadSlash]

2 hours ago, DieselDaisy said:

''Hope'' is the best Guns N' Roses song (it also features Slash) released since Guns N' Roses folded in 1993. 

Really?  "Hope" is a good tune, but I don't hear it and think "GnR."  At all.

[Live Like a Suicide]

6 hours ago, OmarBradley said:

Of course it does. Slash and Duff are writing/recording new music because Axl can't be bothered to. Slash and Duff love writing/recording, there's no good reason GNR can't write music as a band. There is a bad reason though: Axl.

Yes, because it's totally Axl's fault that Guns N' Roses, as a AAA brand and band, is an entirely different entity to small-time solo projects. People like to blame Axl for 'not writing music', but neglect to consider the differences in dynamics.

[DieselDaisy]

9 minutes ago, DeadSlash said:

Really?  "Hope" is a good tune, but I don't hear it and think "GnR."  At all.

I don't see why not. On Illusion Duff had his vocal songs (''So Fine'' and to a lesser extent ''Get in the Ring''). Slash's leads are simply glorious on it. I can perfectly envision ''Hope'' as the Duff vocal song among a 10-12 song GN'R album.

[Live Like a Suicide]

2 hours ago, DieselDaisy said:

It rather does though if you labour under the idea that the very greatest of musical ideas should be automatically designated ''Guns N' Roses'' and given absolute priority. Unless McKagan, being utterly prolific, is merely designating a bunch of turds for his solo album and maintaining the good stuff for Guns? That scenario doesn't seem probable somehow, more that Duff and Slash have come face to face with Rose's ''we're going to start looking very seriously at what we're doing in that regard'' mode and planned accordingly.  

I don't subscribe to this. It is entirely possible that Duff would come up with ideas which are and aren't suitable for GNR. With regards to this project, it is inspired by his journey during the NITL tour, and really, it sounds like a personal thing more attributable to a solo project than a band one.

[tonsco]

Is anyone able to provide a link to Duff's regular article that was referred to in the Rolling Stone story?

Edited December 6, 2018 by tonsco

[Tom-Ass]

22 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

I don't see why not. On Illusion Duff had his vocal songs (''So Fine'' and to a lesser extent ''Get in the Ring''). Slash's leads are simply glorious on it. I can perfectly envision ''Hope'' as the Duff vocal song among a 10-12 song GN'R album.

I don't know if it does or not but it is a pretty cool fucking song.. I am not sure I ever heard it before. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[DeadSlash]

24 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

I don't see why not. On Illusion Duff had his vocal songs (''So Fine'' and to a lesser extent ''Get in the Ring''). Slash's leads are simply glorious on it. I can perfectly envision ''Hope'' as the Duff vocal song among a 10-12 song GN'R album.

It's definitely a really good song, I just don't hear it and think "GnR" like I did with like half of the first Snakepit album.  I'm not saying anything negative about the song, just that it doesn't have a GnR sound to me.

[ZoSoRose]

8 minutes ago, Tom-Ass said:

I don't know if it does or not but it is a pretty cool fucking song.. I am not sure I ever heard it before. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

5 minutes ago, DeadSlash said:

It's definitely a really good song, I just don't hear it and think "GnR" like I did with like half of the first Snakepit album.  I'm not saying anything negative about the song, just that it doesn't have a GnR sound to me.

I didn't know it either. Very cool song

[OmarBradley]

34 minutes ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

Yes, because it's totally Axl's fault that Guns N' Roses, as a AAA brand and band, is an entirely different entity to small-time solo projects. People like to blame Axl for 'not writing music', but neglect to consider the differences in dynamics.

That's a poor argument. Plenty of other AAA rock brands/bands wrote and released new music in the latter stages of their careers: Rush, AC/DC, Kiss, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, even Van Halen released an album that roughly coincided with their reunion.

There is no good excuse for GNR's lack of musical productivity. 

Edited December 6, 2018 by OmarBradley

[ZoSoRose]

Just now, OmarBradley said:

That's a poor argument. Plenty of other AAA rock brands/bands write and release new music in the latter stages of their careers: Rush, Kiss, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, even Van Halen released an album.

There is no good excuse for GNR's lack of musical productivity. 

Those bands also had WAY more output from their classic lineups (especially Rush!)

[DieselDaisy]

29 minutes ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

I don't subscribe to this. It is entirely possible that Duff would come up with ideas which are and aren't suitable for GNR. With regards to this project, it is inspired by his journey during the NITL tour, and really, it sounds like a personal thing more attributable to a solo project than a band one.

Just how much musical variation does Duff have? He is hardly McCartney is he, writing classical and techno music (and regarding the latter, sticking it out under a pseudonym). Broadly, and I'm employing a bit of guess work here, this album will fit into the exact same musical categories as the music he contributed to Guns between 1986 and 1991 belonged to, punk, hard-rock, power ballad - maybe veering more to outright punk but certainly music containing the basic building blocks of ''Guns N' Roses music''. 

[Live Like a Suicide]

7 minutes ago, OmarBradley said:

That's a poor argument. Plenty of other AAA rock brands/bands wrote and released new music in the latter stages of their careers: Rush, AC/DC, Kiss, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, even Van Halen released an album that roughly coincided with their reunion.

There is no good excuse for GNR's lack of musical productivity. 

My point is that you were blaming Axl's alleged unwillingness for the lack of productivity, when the reality is that he, including Slash, Duff etc, are in one of the biggest bands in the world with many moving parts. It would be more complicated to get the ball rolling on a Guns project than a small solo project.

8 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Just how much musical variation does Duff have? He is hardly McCartney is he, writing classical and techno music (and regarding the latter, sticking it out under a pseudonym). Broadly, and I'm employing a bit of guess work here, this album will fit into the exact same musical categories as the music he contributed to Guns between 1986 and 1991 belonged to, punk, hard-rock, power ballad - maybe veering more to outright punk but certainly music containing the basic building blocks of ''Guns N' Roses music''. 

Ideas don't have to constitute variation in music genres. The rest of my comment sums up nicely what i meant by saying that Duff could have separate ideas. Do you think songs about Duff's personal journey during the NITL tour is suitable for Guns N' Roses over his solo project?

[DieselDaisy]

4 minutes ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

My point is that you were blaming Axl's alleged unwillingness for the lack of productivity, when the reality is that he, including Slash, Duff etc, are in one of the biggest bands in the world with many moving parts. It would be more complicated to get the ball rolling on a Guns project than a small solo project.

Ideas don't have to constitute variation in music genres. The rest of my comment sums up nicely what i meant by saying that Duff could have separate ideas. Do you think songs about Duff's personal journey during the NITL tour is suitable for Guns N' Roses over his solo project?

I don't know if he came up with the lyrics first.

I see your point, and it is a good one to make, but there has to be a bit of friction, a bit of push and pull, when writing for multiple vehicles. You write a riff; it is a great one you believe; does Duff then designate this riff for his solo album or Guns knowing full well, pertaining to the latter, that Rose is ''going to start looking very seriously at what we're doing in that regard'' which basically entails taking that riff and shoving it in a vault for thirty years.

[downzy]

7 hours ago, Gunner55 said:

I loved the last Loaded album. Hell, happy to have a new Duff album but maaaannnnn is that just slightly frustrating. Duff can bang out an album, Slash can get 5 guys together and bang out an album (albiet a good portion could have been in works since before the reunion, but still.), why can't those 2 and Axl get something together? Just my 2 cents. 

I think Axl only wants to release what he thinks is great.  Releasing music for the sake of releasing music isn't his thing.  

[downzy]

30 minutes ago, OmarBradley said:

That's a poor argument. Plenty of other AAA rock brands/bands wrote and released new music in the latter stages of their careers: Rush, AC/DC, Kiss, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, even Van Halen released an album that roughly coincided with their reunion.

There is no good excuse for GNR's lack of musical productivity. 

Though most of those albums are met with barely a flicker of notice from fans and the general public (with exceptions, of course).  Axl strikes me as the kind of guy that doesn't want to release something unless it's 100 percent genuine.  A lot of new albums from nostalgia acts don't measure up to their previous works.  I think Axl wants to avoid that kind of operation.  

[OmarBradley]

27 minutes ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

My point is that you were blaming Axl's alleged unwillingness for the lack of productivity, when the reality is that he, including Slash, Duff etc, are in one of the biggest bands in the world with many moving parts. It would be more complicated to get the ball rolling on a Guns project than a small solo project.

That's only slightly different than what you original said. It's still an excuse you are exclusively attributing to GNR. Why is GNR so exceptional that it takes them longer than other famous artists to announce/write/record an album? Other than Axl being notoriously anti-releasing music throughout the past 20 years and TB's instigation of his artistic laziness, I can't think of anything. Like I said before: no good reasons. There are logistical, legal, and business aspects to doing an album on a major label/distributor, but those hurdles are crossable if all parties want to go in the same direction.

I could see them being nervous about it. They have a massively well-reputed legacy in AFD, Lies, and UYI. CD is barely talked about outside of GNR forums and I don't recall it selling too well. Another dud from GNR (this time with Slash!) could damage their fairly well-respected musical legacy. We know Axl didn't like playing the hard rock music GNR did as time went on in the classic days, and that's why CD sounds like it does. Slash and Duff still want to play rock/metal/punk, but does Axl? I can see there being an artistic divide. There's also the possibility they did "jam" some ideas and it just didn't sound or feel that great - which is what I was getting at with the possibility they're afraid to jump into a full album of new music. Testing the waters with a 30 year old song was their move at investigating this, it seems like.

Of course, this is all supposition based on trends we've seen over time, because GNR doesn't really talk to the fans. 

6 minutes ago, downzy said:

Though most of those albums are met with barely a flicker of notice from fans and the general public (with exceptions, of course).  Axl strikes me as the kind of guy that doesn't want to release something unless it's 100 percent genuine.  A lot of new albums from nostalgia acts don't measure up to their previous works.  I think Axl wants to avoid that kind of operation.  

Yup, just posted that's a possibility too. I definitely could understand that. What I don't like though, are GNR apologists whose excuses imply there's some sort of GNR exceptionalism or that "Axl would do it if x, y, and z happened."

EDIT: To expand a bit further actually... a lot of new albums from "nostalgia acts" do get good reviews. Rush's Snakes and Arrows and most recent album were pretty well received, certainly not as well as 2112 or Moving Pictures, but good enough. AC/DC's albums have been solid, nothing amazing like Back In Black, but good enough that they don't tarnish the legacy.

Edited December 6, 2018 by OmarBradley

[WhazUp]

3 hours ago, DieselDaisy said:

It rather does though if you labour under the idea that the very greatest of musical ideas should be automatically designated ''Guns N' Roses'' and given absolute priority. Unless McKagan, being utterly prolific, is merely designating a bunch of turds for his solo album and maintaining the good stuff for Guns? That scenario doesn't seem probable somehow, more that Duff and Slash have come face to face with Rose's ''we're going to start looking very seriously at what we're doing in that regard'' mode and planned accordingly.  

Or another way to look at would be if Duff simply is writing or putting the "Duff" songs and not "GNR" songs on his album- because after all it hasn't impacted Slash when he wrote, recorded and played shows for his new solo album and playing with GNR

 

It in that case it wouldn't be about "saving" the goods or "designating turds on the solo album" because material written for different projects are apples and oranges.  So to me it still wouldn't matter one way or another, when it comes to a new GNR album we are in the same situation as we were before we knew about this Duff album

Edited December 6, 2018 by WhazUp

[downzy]

2 minutes ago, OmarBradley said:

Yup, just posted that's a possibility too. I definitely could understand that. What I don't like though, are GNR apologists whose excuses imply there's some sort of GNR exceptionalism or that "Axl would do it if x, y, and z happened."

Agreed.

I think Axl has a very high standard for what gets released under the GNR name.  The band has arguably never released a bad album.  Too many artists nowadays release music out of routine, resulting in less than inspired drivel that few outside of the hardest of the hardcore fan base give a shit about.  Much like MJ was constantly try to one-up Thriller, I think Axl thinks similarly with his past discography.  Not to suggest that others don't have standards, but Axl expects greatness from everything he releases.  Other artists, not so much.  

[ZoSoRose]

I personally think there are plenty of worthy "nostalgia" albums. For example, I'm not like a diehard Van Halen fan, but I really enjoyed ADKOT. I bet their major fans are mainly very happy to have it. Same goes for a lot of older bands. Some even release genuinely creative and really solid albums like Rush, and when they aren't that great, at least they tried. The old albums don't get worse because the new album is bad. Axl has released some garbage songs too. They just doesn't stick out as much because he is only on like 4 original full studio albums, a double EP, and a covers album.