Hard Skool Officially Released at Midnight - Sept 24

[jimisbatman]

8 hours ago, DTJ80 said:

Jeezo man - how can you possibly know he hasn’t touched any of the instrumentals?

I personally really like Perhaps and Atlas….all about opinions.

love Atlas, drums up version personal favorite

[jimisbatman]

error

Edited September 26, 2021 by jimisbatman

[MarHin22]

On 9/24/2021 at 7:28 PM, ChrisMaciel said:

Fortus mentioned, before Reunion, that some of the Chinese tracks whey were working had initial ideias by old members. Maybe this one of them.

Hard Skool was called Jackie Chan when it leaked.  It had that name because it was supposed to be for a Jackie Chan movie.

There is a video (link below) of a '96 interview of Duff and he talks there about them (him, Slash, and Axl) getting back together to work on songs and ALSO this song for a Jackie Chan movie.  So they have worked on Hard Skool back at that time.

By the way, when the guys play Absurd live, they play with so much energy! They are completely enjoying playing that song.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1776500235915125/permalink/3166789533552848/

 

Better link here for those not in the group above. The relevant part starts at 7:20 and goes through 8:40.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by MarHin22

[SoulMonster]

7 minutes ago, MarHin22 said:

Hard Skool was called Jackie Chan when it leaked.  It had that name because it was supposed to be for a Jackie Chan movie.

There is a video (link below) of a '96 interview of Duff and he talks there about them (him, Slash, and Axl) getting back together to work on songs and ALSO this song for a Jackie Chan movie.  So they have worked on Hard Skool back at that time.

I was recently told that Hard Skool in an early form was never intended for a JC movie, but got that working title because Axl was watching a JC movie at the time. 

It is possible Duff misunderstood, or that he is talking about another song. 

[jamillos]

12 hours ago, Pele said:

 

'Atlas' is dreadful.

 

 

That is blasphemy. 

[J Dog]

After all this time waiting for a new song, I put it off for almost 2 days so it could get my full attention   thats some Axl shit right there.

I have to say I’m loving it. It’s very…sneaky catchy? And had a nice groove.

A little bit of bass and high volume sounds really good.

[Pskihq92]

3 hours ago, MarHin22 said:

 

It wouldn't surprise me if Absurd was also from that time and that's why these are being released. When the guys play Absurd live, they play with so much energy! They are completely enjoying playing that 

Axl said before silkworms in 2001 it was put together by Chris pitman and dizzy reed

[allwaystired]

Has Pitman surfaced anywhere and given any views on all this? 

I'm sure he has some opinions! 

Edited September 26, 2021 by allwaystired

[liers]

15 hours ago, DTJ80 said:

Jeezo man - how can you possibly know he hasn’t touched any of the instrumentals?

I personally really like Perhaps and Atlas….all about opinions.

We know me and my Elvis/soul monster has vocals because Axl’a said he recorded them on Christmas Eve and described them as something along the lines of the heaviest vocals he’s recorded (I forget the exact quote).

Also how many Chinese democracy songs weren’t included in the leaks or didn’t have vocals? He obviously finished those. The leaks are from 22 years ago you really think all hasn’t laid down vocals in that long??

[ShadowOfTheWave]

9 minutes ago, liers said:

We know me and my Elvis/soul monster has vocals because Axl’a said he recorded them on Christmas Eve and described them as something along the lines of the heaviest vocals he’s recorded (I forget the exact quote).

Also how many Chinese democracy songs weren’t included in the leaks or didn’t have vocals? He obviously finished those. The leaks are from 22 years ago you really think all hasn’t laid down vocals in that long??

This guy is a bad faith troll that's been spamming the board for weeks now. As I've said in a previous post, it would be one thing to argue Axl didn't finish the song, to say that Axl literally lied about singing the Soul Monster bridge is just ludicrous trolling. If we hadn't gotten the cell phone recording of The General he'd be saying that doesn't have vocals either.

[Tom-Ass]

3 hours ago, J Dog said:

After all this time waiting for a new song, I put it off for almost 2 days so it could get my full attention  

How dare you!?!?! lol

[Gackt]

The more I listen to it, the less I'm into it; the production is terrible to say the least, there's way more negative additions/revisions than positive ones, and the execution for releasing the song is as bad as anyone could expect.

Should sound great live though! 

[Axl S]

16 hours ago, Walapino said:

I like Hard Skool, im happy it has been oficially released. Listening to Slash in a new GNR tune is awesome! I have no beef with Axl releasing the best songs from the CD era with Slash and Duff as they bring the GNR sound I love.  I would like to forget the 2001-2014 period really, it mostly sucked! I hope they release CD tracks live with Slash and Duff (Sorry, Madagascar, TWAT, CD, Better). After this a proper new record would be awesome but im not sure it will happen. Oh and Absurd is ok, I was baffled as to why they released it first but whatever.  Keep the tracks coming with 99 Axl vocals or not! 

The communication and trickles of information during that 97-08 period were more substantial than what happens now.

Nowadays it's just silence - they barely speak at all and they clearly run a tighter ship because no one goes flapping their gums about what they're up to.

[uzi your illusion]

I've loved the demo since I first heard it. I do miss the drums a lot, but that's exactly why the artists beg you not to seek out unreleased demos. So if I never heard it, I'd never know what I'm missing. And the drums now are totally serviceable.

 

I love what Slash and Duff have done with it. I could do without the school bell lol, but I can tell you my 3 year old [Aiden Axl] goes crazy for it and lights up huge when he hears it. That and the build up before the final choruses has him rocking out in his car seat!

 

Really amazing feeling to have something this good out and readily available.

[Joraz]

Im gonna add my two cents here and add that while it can be seen as Lazy on Axl’s behalf to reuse vox in my eyes i dont see why not, if be recorded vocals that were good and ready to be used then why not use them instead of recording new vox that could quite honestly not do the song justice. Trust me i see all your views and welcome them but to me i think the decision was smart, believe me i wanna know how Axl sounds in the studio nowadays too but id rather wait for a brand new song to hear them such things as opposed to possibly downing an old song that was ready.

[Sosso]

I have no idea why so many members of this forum doesnt like the old intro. I just thought about it in a live situation. Robin (or Slash) playing the first few chords and the crowds gets more and more excited. 

[Pskihq92]

1 minute ago, Sosso said:

I have no idea why so many members of this forum doesnt like the old intro. I just thought about it in a live situation. Robin (or Slash) playing the first few chords and the crowds gets more and more excited. 

New intro is better imo. Demo intro was too drawn out. I listened to it for the first time this morning since hearing Hard Skool like 250 times and besides the drums and the loudness in the mix of the bit 4tus does at the end, I much prefer Hard Skool.  

[Gackt]

5 minutes ago, Sosso said:

I have no idea why so many members of this forum doesnt like the old intro. I just thought about it in a live situation. Robin (or Slash) playing the first few chords and the crowds gets more and more excited. 

Classic intro has a much better and more satisfying build until the first verse hits, in my opinion; new intro is kinda awkward with the fake-out intro and schoolbell, but I dig the riff going into the verse.  New version could work better for shows, but the original packs more punch.

[marksam91]

I've listened to it quite a few times over the last days and it is a solid track. Like a few people said, the production is weird; the track sounds pretty bad on my speakers but it is much better through headphones. 

While the track has overall improved with each new listen, the breakdown/slow section has done the opposite. Everytime I listen to Hard Skol, my mind keeps on expecting a long solo to kick in and then the song just stops for about 30 seconds. Really hurts its momentum and, IMO, doesn't fit the lyrics or the rest of the track. To be honest, the breakdown reminds me of those parts in concerts when a song is stopped flat so the singer can give a shout out to the different band members.

 

[DTJ80]

Unfortunately doesn’t seem to be getting any airplay on Planet Rock - looking at the playlists it’s only been played once. 🤦‍♂️

Miles Kennedy getting loads though?!

[Tom-Ass]

Just listened to it twice.. It is ok for what it is... Obviously better than Absurd.  I still can't get jacked up about Frankensteining NuGnR demos to make songs.. Just a huge turn off for me.. I can't imagine I will ever feel the need to intentionally listen to it again..

[Flayer]

Well, we finally got that sloppy done in a few hours instead of done in a few years mix people were always asking for. Can’t say I’m thrilled with the results, on either of the new tracks. Prefer the demo versions of both despite enjoying many of the Slash and Duff additions.

As with the final production on CD, the bass is too muted and the songs lose some of their punch as a result. Unlike CD, much of which could be described as intricate, these songs sound jumbled, despite having less going on in them than most of those CD tracks.

If Caram is the one responsible for this, I’d be happy to see him replaced. On the other hand, at least stuff is coming out now. And given the choice between getting songs with subpar mixing now or some polished masterpiece in ten years, well, I don’t think there’s a single person here who wouldn’t take the immediate option.

Edited September 26, 2021 by Flayer

[TrixAreForKids]

1 hour ago, marksam91 said:

I've listened to it quite a few times over the last days and it is a solid track. Like a few people said, the production is weird; the track sounds pretty bad on my speakers but it is much better through headphones. 

While the track has overall improved with each new listen, the breakdown/slow section has done the opposite. Everytime I listen to Hard Skol, my mind keeps on expecting a long solo to kick in and then the song just stops for about 30 seconds. Really hurts its momentum and, IMO, doesn't fit the lyrics or the rest of the track. To be honest, the breakdown reminds me of those parts in concerts when a song is stopped flat so the singer can give a shout out to the different band members.

 

Couldn’t agree more on that horrendous 30 second drop. Not sure why they didn’t put in a kick ass Slash solo there. 

[Modano09]

It wouldn't be a practical use of time or money but hearing what Slash and Duff bring to these songs makes me want to hear their take on Chinese Democracy. 

[MarHin22]

5 hours ago, Pskihq92 said:

Axl said before silkworms in 2001 it was put together by Chris pitman and dizzy reed

You right! Now I remember that.