Original 1992 Version of Ain't Life Grand, "Burnout"

[StrangerInThisTown]

I can't reply in the thread beneath cause it's too old, but does anyone have any idea if we'll ever get to hear this? As far as we know, Slash has the rights to this song, not a label. It was written during the UYI sessions but apparently Steven was too fucked up to play it, so Slash ended up recording it for a 1992 Les Paul tribute album that never came out, with Izzy and Lenny Kravitz singing.

I'm thinking maybe someone who is responsible for the UYI boxset should see this, and maybe put it on there? I don't know if we'll ever get to hear this otherwise, I think Slash probably forgot this even exists.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by StrangerInThisTown

[SoulMonster]

The song on the Les Paul tribute album, which was indeed based on Burnout, ended up being called Vocalise. Ain't Life Grand, off Slash's second Snakepit album, is also said to have been based off Burnout. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by SoulMonster

[StrangerInThisTown]

10 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

The song on the Les Paul, which was indeed based on Burnout, ended up being called Vocalise. Ain't Life Grand, off Slash's second Snakepit album, is also said to have been based off Burnout.

I find it unlikely the 2005 song Vocalise has anything to do with the 1992 song and is probably a completely newly written song Slash made for that album after he turned Burnout into Aint Life Grand just 5 years prior in 2000. Why would he revisit that song 5 years later, again?

Edited June 27, 2021 by StrangerInThisTown

[Blackstar]

It was Iggy Pop singing on the Les Paul tribute album, not Izzy. Slash talks about it in this interview from 2000:

-------

Lindquist: I’ve read that originally the title track Ain’t Life Grand was maybe targeted for a different project?

Slash: No. I see you’ve heard something about that?

Lindquist: Yeah.

Slash: That’s interesting. A few years back, when I wrote the music, it was supposed to be for a Les Paul tribute.

Lindquist: Yeah, that’s what I heard. Les Paul, yeah.

Slash: And what happened was, they got all these guitar players together to do this record, so I did that particular song for my track with Iggy Pop, and Lenny Kravitz, and Duff from Guns N’ Roses, and Kenny Aronoff. It was called Burnout back then, and it was killer, it was [bleep] great. So I gave it to Warner Brothers and they sat on it for, like, years. And Les was really sick and nothing was happening with the record, and I thought maybe that they were trying to, like, wait for something to happen so that they would put out the record later. You know, because it happened to, like, Chet Atkins, myself, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and Les Paul himself – all these different guitar players on it. Anyway, so after nearly a couple of years, I was like, you know, something’s fishy is this whole project. So I bought the material back and when Snakepit started I just kept remembering how cool a group that was, because this band is so good. We rerecorded the music, and then me and Rod sat down and just wrote all new lyrics, because I wasn’t gonna use Iggy’s.  

https://www.a-4-d.com/t4611-2000-08-25-indianapolis-star-guns-free-zone-slash

[SoulMonster]

6 minutes ago, StrangerInThisTown said:

I find it unlikely the 2005 song Vocalise has anything to do with the 1992 song and is probably a completely newly written song Slash made for that album after he turned Burnout into Aint Life Grand just 5 years prior in 2000.

You are right, the Vocalise song wasn't based off Burnout after all. It's a "take on a classical piece":

Slash: I actually was working with the guys who played the rhythm section for that particular song, Abe Laboriel Jr. and Abe Laboriel Sr. Are you familiar with those guys? [...] It's a take on a classical piece. I can't remember the composer. It's sort of an, almost improv, but based on that feel. It was picked out by Bob Cutarella who is basically the producer on the record. We got together and he showed me some different bits of what he had going on and chose that one. It sort of just took on a life of its own. So, one evening and we're jamming [Modern Guitar Magazine, October 6, 2008].

Maybe the song he made with Iggy on vocals never got released?

[SoulMonster]

And Slash said he bought back the song with Iggy on vocals from Warner Brothers (since it was never included on a Les Paul tribute record) and remade it into a song off Ain't Life Grand:

Slash:  A few years back, when I wrote the music, it was supposed to be for a Les Paul tribute. And what happened was, they got all these guitar players together to do this record, so I did that particular song for my track with Iggy Pop, and Lenny Kravitz, and Duff from Guns N’ Roses, and Kenny Aronoff. It was called Burnout back then, and it was killer, it was [bleep] great. So I gave it to Warner Brothers and they sat on it for, like, years. And Les was really sick and nothing was happening with the record, and I thought maybe that they were trying to, like, wait for something to happen so that they would put out the record later. You know, because it happened to, like, Chet Atkins, myself, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and Les Paul himself – all these different guitar players on it. Anyway, so after nearly a couple of years, I was like, you know, something’s fishy is this whole project. So I bought the material back and when Snakepit started I just kept remembering how cool a group that was, because this band is so good. We rerecorded the music, and then me and Rod sat down and just wrote all new lyrics, because I wasn’t gonna use Iggy’s [Dave's Old Interview Tapes, July 26, 2017; from telephone conversation with Slash in 2000].

A little bit more info here: (29) 12. JANUARY-JULY 1991: TOURING MAYHEM (a-4-d.com)

Edited June 27, 2021 by SoulMonster

[StrangerInThisTown]

13 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

It was Iggy Pop singing on the Les Paul tribute album, not Izzy. Slash talks about it in this interview from 2000:

-------

Lindquist: I’ve read that originally the title track Ain’t Life Grand was maybe targeted for a different project?

Slash: No. I see you’ve heard something about that?

Lindquist: Yeah.

Slash: That’s interesting. A few years back, when I wrote the music, it was supposed to be for a Les Paul tribute.

Lindquist: Yeah, that’s what I heard. Les Paul, yeah.

Slash: And what happened was, they got all these guitar players together to do this record, so I did that particular song for my track with Iggy Pop, and Lenny Kravitz, and Duff from Guns N’ Roses, and Kenny Aronoff. It was called Burnout back then, and it was killer, it was [bleep] great. So I gave it to Warner Brothers and they sat on it for, like, years. And Les was really sick and nothing was happening with the record, and I thought maybe that they were trying to, like, wait for something to happen so that they would put out the record later. You know, because it happened to, like, Chet Atkins, myself, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and Les Paul himself – all these different guitar players on it. Anyway, so after nearly a couple of years, I was like, you know, something’s fishy is this whole project. So I bought the material back and when Snakepit started I just kept remembering how cool a group that was, because this band is so good. We rerecorded the music, and then me and Rod sat down and just wrote all new lyrics, because I wasn’t gonna use Iggy’s.  

https://www.a-4-d.com/t4611-2000-08-25-indianapolis-star-guns-free-zone-slash

Sorry I meant to type Iggy not Izzy, just brain error. I thought I was a hardcore fan but you always have more amazing info on even the deepest of GNR topics, thanks for posting this, I would have never found this.

9 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

You are right, the Vocalise song wasn't based off Burnout after all. It's a "take on a classical piece":

Slash: I actually was working with the guys who played the rhythm section for that particular song, Abe Laboriel Jr. and Abe Laboriel Sr. Are you familiar with those guys? [...] It's a take on a classical piece. I can't remember the composer. It's sort of an, almost improv, but based on that feel. It was picked out by Bob Cutarella who is basically the producer on the record. We got together and he showed me some different bits of what he had going on and chose that one. It sort of just took on a life of its own. So, one evening and we're jamming [Modern Guitar Magazine, October 6, 2008].

Maybe the song he made with Iggy on vocals never got released?

I guess so Iggy sang on it, and that is the original version that never came out, and then Slash bought back the rights to it and rerecorded and re-released it in 2000 with new lyrics with Snakepit.

Edited June 27, 2021 by StrangerInThisTown

[SoulMonster]

Just now, StrangerInThisTown said:

I guess so Iggy sang on it, and that is the original version that never came out, and then Slash bought back the rights to it and rerecorded and re-released it in 2000 with new lyrics with Snakepit.

Yes, this seems to be the story.

Then one question is, will we ever get to hear the version with Iggy? And how far did GN'R get with it before Slash decided to use it elsewhere? As for the last question, I doubt Axl was ever involved and it was probably a song Slash, Duff and Steven jammed on a bit before Slash decided Steven couldn't add the drums Slash wanted.

[StrangerInThisTown]

9 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Yes, this seems to be the story.

Then one question is, will we ever get to hear the version with Iggy? And how far did GN'R get with it before Slash decided to use it elsewhere? As for the last question, I doubt Axl was ever involved and it was probably a song Slash, Duff and Steven jammed on a bit before Slash decided Steven couldn't add the drums Slash wanted.

There's definitely a song with 1992 Slash (and Duff) in their prime in a vault somewhere, I think it would make sense to have it be on a UYI boxset, it has nowhere else to be released. As you can see in the other thread there's footage of Slash playing the ALG riff in 1991 live during a GNR show, but I also don't think it was recorded in the studio with Guns. Maybe there's rehearsals of it, but nothing more.

Someone needs to remind Slash he has the rights to this song, he loves Iggy and probably would want for people to hear it.

Edited June 27, 2021 by StrangerInThisTown

[Blackstar]

By the way, there's another song on ALG (Speed Parade), which was written before AFD and it seems that it was briefly considered for being included in UYI (it was then called Night Crawler):

Slash (asked about song titles on UYI):  Let's see, there’s "Ain’t Goin’ Down," "Don't Cry,” “You Could Be Mine,” "Perfect Crime,” another one called “Night Crawler" and one called “Back Off Bitch.” I have a song, too, that I wrote. It’s really personal, about how estranged I felt from everybody else in the band—and from society, friends and stuff—during the bad period. It’s about how cold and materialistic people really are. It was just one of those sitting on the edge of the bed, being a little depressed and playing a slow song things. Most of the lyrics will be written by Axl, but they’ll reflect the thoughts, pain and feelings of the individuals in the band, 'cause we all go through it together. [RIP, February 1990]

https://www.a-4-d.com/t4188-1990-02-dd-rip-magazine-slash-under-the-black-hat

Q. Has your interest in the music you want to play remained pretty much the same? I ask that because a song like Speed Parade on Ain't Life Grand almost sounds like a pre-Appetite for Destruction song.

Slash: Actually, that’s a good call. In its rawest form, Speed Parade was written before Appetite.. . . There’s not too much old material on the new record, but that’s one that is. It’s very urgent material, and when Guns started to move away from that - which is what I’ve been trying to perfect since I was 15 years old - I got interested in doing something else. [The Akron Beakon Journal, June 26, 2001]

https://www.a-4-d.com/t4765-2001-06-21-the-akron-beacon-journal-slash-and-chuck-go-one-on-one

Marc Canter: nightcrawler ended up on the second Snakepit record but with a new name speed parade

http://www.mygnrforum.com/topic/191799-nightcrawler/?do=findComment&comment=3192304

*

In 1990, Axl mentioned that there had been two Slash songs he had put lyrics on which didn't make the GNR albums:

Axl: ... And so that ends up with Slash bringing in eight songs [for the Illusions]. It’s never been done before, Slash bringing in a song first and me writing words to it. I’ve done it twice with him before and we didn’t use either of those songs. Out of Slash’s choice. Now he’s got eight of them that I gotta write words to and they’re bad-assed songs!  [Interview with Mick Wall, January 1990]

https://www.a-4-d.com/t536-1990-04-21-28-kerrang-stick-to-your-guns-axl#12456

 

[SoulMonster]

Speed Parade was also included on one of Slash's pin ball machines:

Slash: 'Speed Parade' is the oldest song in the album. I wanted to do with Gn'R, but the relation between members was terrible. It was too far to finish up the song. I didn't have a chance to do that song on the other project. That's alright. I finally made it as I imagined. That song is in my pin ball machine [Young Guitar, 1999].

[StrangerInThisTown]

I shot Lenny Kravitz a DM on Instagram, maybe he will read it who knows, it's worth a shot lol.

[StrangerInThisTown]

17 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Speed Parade was also included on one of Slash's pin ball machines:

Slash: 'Speed Parade' is the oldest song in the album. I wanted to do with Gn'R, but the relation between members was terrible. It was too far to finish up the song. I didn't have a chance to do that song on the other project. That's alright. I finally made it as I imagined. That song is in my pin ball machine [Young Guitar, 1999].

Now I'm wondering if Nightcrawler was just the working title or the title Axl gave it when he wrote words to it? Definitley interesting, maybe there's a demo of it too. There's so much more to the UYI era than what we're probably gonna get in the boxset, we're probably gonna get Aint Going Down and that's it for "new" stuff.

Edited June 27, 2021 by StrangerInThisTown

[MaskingApathy]

3 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I have a song, too, that I wrote. It’s really personal, about how estranged I felt from everybody else in the band—and from society, friends and stuff—during the bad period. It’s about how cold and materialistic people really are. It was just one of those sitting on the edge of the bed, being a little depressed and playing a slow song things.

What song is that?

Also Always On The Run was another song that was scrapped for GnR because Steven couldn't play it.

[Dean]

17 minutes ago, MaskingApathy said:

Also Always On The Run was another song that was scrapped for GnR because Steven couldn't play it.

Crazy that eh? Such a great fucking riff.

[SoulMonster]

1 hour ago, MaskingApathy said:

What song is that?

I have also wondered about that. Probably used later for another project/band.

[SoulMonster]

4 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

You are right, the Vocalise song wasn't based off Burnout after all. It's a "take on a classical piece":

Slash: I actually was working with the guys who played the rhythm section for that particular song, Abe Laboriel Jr. and Abe Laboriel Sr. Are you familiar with those guys? [...] It's a take on a classical piece. I can't remember the composer. It's sort of an, almost improv, but based on that feel. It was picked out by Bob Cutarella who is basically the producer on the record. We got together and he showed me some different bits of what he had going on and chose that one. It sort of just took on a life of its own. So, one evening and we're jamming [Modern Guitar Magazine, October 6, 2008].

Maybe the song he made with Iggy on vocals never got released?

Just to follow up on this: The classical music mentioned above was Sergei Rachmaninoff's Vocalise.

[Blackstar]

3 hours ago, MaskingApathy said:

What song is that?

Not sure.  Maybe Coma.

[DTJ80]

6 hours ago, MaskingApathy said:

What song is that?

Also Always On The Run was another song that was scrapped for GnR because Steven couldn't play it.

 

5 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

I have also wondered about that. Probably used later for another project/band.

 

3 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Not sure.  Maybe Coma.

That’s what I wondered too - Coma fits the bill.

[Free Bird]

7 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Not sure.  Maybe Coma.

Maybe Civil War?

[Blackstar]

4 minutes ago, Free Bird said:

Maybe Civil War?

I don't know, Civil War doesn't fit the description much.

[Voodoochild]

 

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

I don't know, Civil War doesn't fit the description much.

But Slash hinted that it was a slow song. Maybe it was already Fall To Pieces?

[Blackstar]

21 minutes ago, Voodoochild said:

But Slash hinted that it was a slow song. Maybe it was already Fall To Pieces?

Well, that would be something

But Civil War doesn't match at all. From what they've said, they wrote it in late 1988 during the tour in Japan and Australia/New Zealand, and Axl wrote lyrics to it soon afterwards. So it was fully written before the period the song described by Slash reflected.

Maybe he meant the slow/hypnotic/psychedelic part of Coma?

[Blackstar]

^^^

Or could be Back And Forth Again, and the acoustic version of it with Axl's humming that is heard in the Making of Estranged originated from the pre-Illusions sessions?

[MaskingApathy]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

^^^

Or could be Back And Forth Again, and the acoustic version of it with Axl's humming that is heard in the Making of Estranged originated from the pre-Illusions sessions?

Maybe, I think it could be either of those. Was Back and Forth again fully written by then?