Alan Antimatter Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 I just wondered if Axl ever did one of those 'Favourite albums of all time' lists... or has albums that he has singled out as his favourites in interviews over the years? I'm guessing there would be some early Queen, Some Elton John, Stones, NIN etc? I figured you guys would know, cheers! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lame ass security Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Well, I remember reading an old article where he said he had just spent like 1300 bucks on CDs. The two I remember him mentioning were George Michael and Soundgarden. In fact, he said Soundgarden's Louder Than Love would've been a desert island album for him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soon Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 The ones listed all check out. I believe the Singer of Nazareth was a big influence, so Id assume that library. Bon era AC/DC Pink Floyd, The Wall, Final Cut (iirc) Pearl Jam, Vitalogy-Yeild (at least) Ozzy, No More Tears ( I assume, since after that he tried to poach Zakk??) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Blackstar Posted September 4, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted September 4, 2020 (edited) From 1989: Quote I've always looked at things in a versatile sense because of Queen, ELO, Elton John, especially early Elton John, and groups like that. With Queen, I have my favorite: Queen II. Whenever their newest record would come out and have all these other kinds of music on it, at first I'd only like this song or that song. But after a period of time listening to it, it would open my mind up to so many different styles. I really appreciate them for that. That's something I've always wanted to be able to achieve. It's important to show people all forms of music, basically try to give people a broader point of view. [...] There's a rap group, N.W.A, hooray for tolerance!s With Attitude. I mean, they're proud of that word. More power to them. Guns n' Roses ain't bad . . . N.W.A. is baaad! [...] What kind of music and bands do you enjoy? That's always the hardest question. Lately I've been listening to Derek and the Dominos, the Bar-Kays. I really like the first Patti Smith. I'm just starting to discover the Cure. I keep trying to find things to open myself up to. I enjoy Soundgarden. The singer just buries me. The guy sings so great. On the club circuit, I like Saigon Saloon a lot. Today, my favorite record is Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything. I just got turned on to it. I've still got my favorites and things, like the Pistols, ELO and Queen. The two records I always buy if there's a cassette deck around and I don't have the tapes in my bag are Never Mind the Bollocks and Queen II. I think I'd be in a bind to figure out which one I'd want if I was stranded on a desert island. I might go with the Pistols, because maybe a boat would hear me if I played it. Also (mentioned by him or others in interviews or based on the t-shirts he wore etc.): Elvis, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones (Some Girls must be one of his favourites from them), The Beatles, The Who, AC/DC (especially Highway to Hell), Thin Lizzy (especially Black Rose), Billy Joel, The Doors, Eagles, George Michael, Depeche Mode, The Pet Shop Boys, LL Cool J, Jane's Addiction (the two albums before they broke up), Soundgarden, NIN, Prince's Purple Rain, David Bowie, Sweet, The Raspberries, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Bauhaus, Devo, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run,Led Zeppelin, Rose Tattoo, Nazareth, old blues (Bessie Smith, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters etc.), Janis Joplin, New York Dolls/Johnny Thunders, The Ramones, Lou Reed, Johnny Cash, Fiona Apple, The Black Keys' El Camino (said it was his favourite album of 2012), Philip Glass, movie soundtracks... Edited September 4, 2020 by Blackstar 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F*ck Fear Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 He's a fan of The Doors, as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rocknroll41 Posted September 4, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted September 4, 2020 (edited) He said in 1987 that he “could listen to anything from Bananarama to Metallica’s latest album” (which was Master of Puppets, at the time). He said in 1990 that he liked Public Enemy. He said in 1991 that he liked L7. He also said that year that he loved U2’s Achtung Baby album, and that he cried when he heard the song “One” from that album for the first time. He admitted in 1992 that he liked Nirvana’s Nevermind (despite the feud at the time). He said in 1999 that he liked White Zombie. Baz said in 2006 that Axl liked WASP... I assume Axl also likes Skid Row, but who really knows! Lol! He said in 2008 that he “loved” Kanye West (ew) and that he “liked” Metallica’s Death Magnetic album (also ew). EDIT: oh yeah in that same 2006 radio interview Axl also said he liked early Judas Priest, the first Iron Maiden album, and the Technical Ecstasy album from Black Sabbath. He also requested for the Motörhead song “Ace of Spades” to be played, so he probably likes that album as well. This is just a guess on my part, but I think Axl liked the album Mother’s Milk from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (cause he wore an RHCP shirt from that album era back in the day and hung out with them at that time and even had the album played before some GnR shows on the loudspeakers in 1991, iirc). He also probably likes their One Hot Minute album cause he went to go see them live on that tour. He probably also likes Tool, particularly the second album, cause he saw them live on that tour as well. He also saw Jack White live in 2012, so he probably likes his Blunderbuss album, if I had to guess. ...Fuck, I feel like a stalker now... Edited September 4, 2020 by rocknroll41 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwaystired Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 I think what he likes and what he listens to might be very different things. In a Youth interview he mention that Axl was buying huge boxes of albums a week at one point- pretty much anything that was released. Given that you could probably draw a line between him and any music you choose! I"d probably look to the people we know he's been to see live as his favourites. I know Weezer are one of these as he asked them personally to support him at their 2001 London show a day or so before. They mentioned it on stage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Blackstar said: From 1989: Also (mentioned by him or others in interviews or based on the t-shirts he wore etc.): Elvis, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones (Some Girls must be one of his favourites from them), The Beatles, The Who, AC/DC (especially Highway to Hell), Thin Lizzy (especially Black Rose), Billy Joel, The Doors, Eagles, George Michael, Depeche Mode, The Pet Shop Boys, LL Cool J, Jane's Addiction (the two albums before they broke up), Soundgarden, NIN, Prince's Purple Rain, David Bowie, Sweet, The Raspberries, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Bauhaus, Devo, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run,Led Zeppelin, Rose Tattoo, Nazareth, old blues (Bessie Smith, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters etc.), Janis Joplin, New York Dolls/Johnny Thunders, The Ramones, Lou Reed, Johnny Cash, Fiona Apple, The Black Keys' El Camino (said it was his favourite album of 2012), Philip Glass, movie soundtracks... Thanks for this!! I also remember reading about Axl blasting Ride the Lightning in his new car showing off his stereo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussTCB Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 I know Axl and I must share at least one favorite albums because he tweeted some lyrics from Roger Waters' Amused To Death once. That's always been one of my absolute favorites and apparently it's one of his too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 21 minutes ago, Tom2112 said: Thanks for this!! I also remember reading about Axl blasting Ride the Lightning in his new car showing off his stereo. I don't remember reading about the album, but there's these about Metallica: Quote "I think I'm growing. I have more insight into things. I know when I listen to music, I really want something to be there. Like, I hated Metallica, but then everyone started talking about them so I bought their records. And the song that really caught me was 'Fade to Black.' I got addicted to that song. It was usually around dawn. It's a song about suicide, but I would put it on before I went to sleep and it would make me relax. For some reason it made me want to try harder. I'd think, 'Yeah, I can get up and face tomorrow.' The only thing that worries me about death is, I have this record to make and I'll be really pissed off if I die before I make it. After that I won't give a shit. That's when it's gonna get dangerous." http://www.a-4-d.com/t2899-1988-12-dd-musician-if-guns-n-roses-are-outlawed-only-outlaws-will-have-guns-n-roses Quote "I drive my friends crazy now because I change the [radio] stations all the time. I'll go from listening to a Frank Sinatra tune to a symphony thing to a Metallica song to the Carpenters. I like variety in music. I don't want us ever to hem ourselves in. I think you can go from writing a heavy metal song to writing a mellow song without selling out. The important thing is approaching the music with the same conviction." http://www.a-4-d.com/t2457-1988-12-25-interview-with-axl-in-los-angeles-times He was also blasting FNM in his car stereo: Quote During the photo shoot for this article, Rose reached into an inside pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a cassette from a recent Guns N’ Roses recording session. He inserted it into the deck and out blared a new song called "Civil War." Rose leaned his head down, listening intently. Afterward, he explained, "I hadn't listened to 'Civil War’ in the car yet and I wanted to hear that. Then he cranked up Faith No More's The Real Thing CD saying, "They're the only band I'm jealous of." https://www.a-4-d.com/t3848-1990-08-dd-car-audio-electronics-axl-rose-rocks-out-axl But I think he was wrong to be jealous of them And in 1992 he said he liked the Mr. Bungle album. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 (edited) He also liked Radiohead (I guess OK Computer mainly), as he was at a show in 1997 and mentioned them in the forum chats. Moby said Axl liked his album Animal Rights a lot, as well as the DJ Shadow album (Entroducing) and the Passengers album by U2 and Brian Eno. I read in the Memoir of a Roadie book that Axl told one of the writer's colleagues that he wanted to cover KOHD not because of Bob Dylan, but because of The Sisters of Mercy. This is interesting if true, and for the additional reason that Sisters of Mercy's version of KOHD was released only on bootlegs. Probably he had got it from their (mainly Izzy's his) friends Joseph Brooks and Henry Peck who owned the Vinyl Fetish record store in L.A. and imported records from the British scene of the time (and that was how Axl got into Bauhaus also). Edited September 5, 2020 by Blackstar 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Blackstar said: I don't remember reading about the album, but there's these about Metallica: He was also blasting FNM in his car stereo: But I think he was wrong to be jealous of them And in 1992 he said he liked the Mr. Bungle album. I don't know where I read it, I wish I had your memory for quote locations 😄Edit... possibly from the terrible Mick Wall WAR book. Yeah, FNM were never a band I totally got, but I love a couple of their songs. Maybe they are just one those bands that were better when you experienced it there and then, rather 20yrs after the fact. I remember liking 'We care a lot' and buying a greatest hits collection and the real thing. 'From out of nowhere' sounds like what VR sculpted their sound from. Not surprised he liked Mr Bungle 🤣 Edited September 5, 2020 by Tom2112 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillionsOfSpiders Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 6 hours ago, Tom2112 said: I don't know where I read it, I wish I had your memory for quote locations 😄Edit... possibly from the terrible Mick Wall WAR book. I’ve also read that about him blasting Ride the Lightning from his BMW, it was in Mick Walls first book WAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 He loved Original Soundtracks by Passengers (U2/Eno) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUnderScott Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 I’ve asked Del before how heavy Axl likes it, as like me, Del likes the heavy stuff like Slayer, Death, Morbid Angel, Kreator etc..., but Del said that Axl doesn’t really get into the heavier stuff. Makes sense I guess considering his first bands he loved included ELO, Elton John and the like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axlr0s37 Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 He is also a massive fan of Tom Petty. Seem to remember reading an interview with Petty and he couldn't believe Axl knew the words to Free Falling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papashaun Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 You all forgot....the Major Influence of Rose Tattoo's debut album: Rose Tattoo and Surprisingly no one mentioned DJ Shadow's album: Endtroducing ++I read once that Axl would play the Endtroducing album non-stop at one point. Remember though, that album was released in 1996, and about 99% of the album is composed of samples from vinyl records, and was pretty much made using a MPC60 sampler. I'm guessing this album had some influence in forming Chinese Democracy and leading to speaking with Moby as a possible producer as well in the late 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwaystired Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 50 minutes ago, Axlr0s37 said: He is also a massive fan of Tom Petty. Seem to remember reading an interview with Petty and he couldn't believe Axl knew the words to Free Falling. To be fair, I know all the words to that, and I couldn't name one Tom Petty album, let alone claim to be a "massive fan"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 21 minutes ago, papashaun said: You all forgot....the Major Influence of Rose Tattoo's debut album: Rose Tattoo and Surprisingly no one mentioned DJ Shadow's album: Endtroducing ++I read once that Axl would play the Endtroducing album non-stop at one point. Remember though, that album was released in 1996, and about 99% of the album is composed of samples from vinyl records, and was pretty much made using a MPC60 sampler. I'm guessing this album had some influence in forming Chinese Democracy and leading to speaking with Moby as a possible producer as well in the late 90s. I did mention both 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live Like a Suicide Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 We can throw in Rose Tattoo and The Angels as some of his favoured bands as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holographic Universe Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 5 hours ago, Axlr0s37 said: He is also a massive fan of Tom Petty. Seem to remember reading an interview with Petty and he couldn't believe Axl knew the words to Free Falling. Tom Petty once stated Axl Rose was the most driven man he ever met. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 (edited) Great answers here. A lot has been mentioned. In regards to the shows he's been to, I think Kiss is on that list too. Axl's the reason I got into Sweet and Nazareth. I remember reading that Sweet was his first favorite band and Nazareth his current. I was just starting to get into music so suggestions were always welome. Coming from the man himself meant so much more. I love the 70's glam era, Cooper, Glitter (I know, I know, but his music still rocks), Bowie, Slade, T.Rex, Sweet. There was a time I was telling people Nazareth should be as big as Zeppelin. Obviously Zeppelin are a class above and I prefer them to Nazareth by a decent margin but I definitely share Axl's affection to Nazareth. Great songs, great voice. Edited September 5, 2020 by Sisyphus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holographic Universe Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 42 minutes ago, Sisyphus said: Great answers here. A lot has been mentioned. In regards to the shows he's been to, I think Kiss is on that list too. Axl's the reason I got into Sweet and Nazareth. I remember reading that Sweet was his first favorite band and Nazareth his current. I was just starting to get into music so suggestions were always welome. Coming from the man himself meant so much more. I love the 70's glam era, Cooper, Glitter (I know, I know, but his music still rocks), Bowie, Slade, T.Rex, Sweet. There was a time I was telling people Nazareth should be as big as Zeppelin. Obviously Zeppelin are a class above and I prefer them to Nazareth by a decent margin but I definitely share Axl's affection to Nazareth. Great songs, great voice. Axl turned me onto Zeppelin. It took awhile though. I thought I was going to hear D’Yer Maker and be blown away. I was not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lame ass security Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Sounds like it would be easier to list the stuff he doesn't like. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 There is a picture of Axl with the singer of the band The Pursuit Of Happiness. That was a new band then (in 1988-89) from Canada and Axl apparently liked them. They had a great song, I'm An Adult Now, and the rest of that album was pretty good also. The Pretenders is another one (and Chrissie Hynde as a singer). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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