Did Axl have a song capable of being a late 90s/early 2000s comeback hit?

[Draguns]

I would have to say no. It really goes back to the business decision of Axl  keeping the GNR name. If he had released CD as a solo artist rather than under the GNR name then I can see a few songs becoming mild hits. I think CD, Better, IRS, and TWAT would have worked.  No matter what, though, people wanted to see Axl reunite with Slash even at that time.  I remember getting into discussions with people at that time.  Rob Zombie broke out of White Zombie at the time.  I just think Axl could have gone that route of Rob Zombie at the time and then reunite with Slash  and Duff sooner. 

[appetite4illusions]

It’s sad to say, but he never really did, and, all the executives who ever worked on this album must have more or less, known this.

Axl didn’t really aim to write commercial songs, it was just having people like Izzy and Slash, assembled the songs in such a way that they were palatable on a massive scale.

The GN’R formula, anyway you cut it, is anthems. Big choruses, big hooks, big riffs.

Outside of the title track, Chinese Democracy, Axl didn’t write any anthems. 
 

I don’t know if this was really deliberate, but I’m sure he was well aware of this limitation - he just didn’t care.

There were numerous times that the record label and it’s people, would make suggestions that Axl keep working on the album and material. I think they knew they were dead if they released the album and there wasn’t one song that lived up to GN’R’s place as a classic anthem.

 

 

[Lethalis]

No he didn't. But... even Aerosmith didn't write these comeback hits. They used songwriters. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing is written by Diane Warren for example.

And Santana's Smooth was written in a large part by Rob Thomas.

So we can't really expect Axl to write a "comeback" hit like that I guess.

Rob Thomas actually talked about this during a live concert... when he was younger he had all these heavy emotions and the songs just poured out of him if that makes any sense. As he got older, songwriting became a lot harder because he didn't feel like that anymore.

Axl might have the same "problem" (well, he might actually feel better / happier now because of it).

And yes, I have listened quite a bit to Matchbox Twenty. I know this is a GnR forum lol, but Rob Thomas is a great songwriter. Especially if you're going through a break up or something 

Just listen to something like "You won't be mine" or "Push" to hear what I mean.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Lethalis

[GnR Chris]

You have to also take into consideration the public's perception of what was (and more importantly, what was not) Guns N' Roses in that time period. Did Axl have a song capable of being a hit respective to that time period? Absolutely. But in the late '90s, was the public ready to accept a new-look GNR without Slash? I think there would have been a lot of pushback and a lot of "this isn't Guns N' Roses" type of talk. I mean, there always has been anyway.

Mainstream rock in the late '90s and early 2000s was trash. Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Kid Rock, and then a bunch of pop punk like blink-182, sum 41, etc. Yes, absolutely, a 40-year-old Axl Rose with Buckethead and Robin Finck could have set that world on fire. There was even a demand and excitement for them in 2002 at the MTV VMAs. What hurt GNR was the long absences. Periodt. By the time Chinese Democracy actually dropped, the idea of physical media was in rapid decline. Streaming wasn't quite what it is now with advent of Spotify, but people were still downloading singles (legally and illegally). And mainstream America moved away from rock music.

Axl chose the path of most resistance, as was his want and desire. He wanted to keep the "Guns N' Roses" brand alive and have an actual  band vs. releasing, say, a record simply called Axl Rose. The public would have been way more accommodating to a "solo"project featuring a guy with a KFC Bucket on his head and the "goth" looking other guitarist, Finck. You just wouldn't have had that same type of "no Slash, no GNR" attitude from folks, and they maybe would have given it an honest listen without the baggage.

Respect to Axl for wanting to keep the brand alive though. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by GnR Chris

[fiefer1]

Better, albeit the lyrics and vocal melody  in the chorus were a bit lazy. Perhaps is a song I enjoy, even if I think he needed some more work in the minimal lyrics and go up an octave on the bridge. 

I think if Axl could’ve put down strong vocals on a simple rocker like Mustache, Zodiac and Tonto, you would’ve had a nice   set of rock radio hits. I personally like these instrumentals and they would’ve been very contemporary if not progressive in 1999-2001. 

[TheGeneral]

This post is a bit off-topic, but I personally love those comeback hits. "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" is one of my favorite songs of all-time. Aerosmith also had a huge hit with "Jaded" in 2001, so "Miss A Thing" wasn't even their final hit.

Elton John had one in the early 00s with "I Want Love" and of course now "Cold Heart" (which I don't acknowledge because he didn't re-record his vocals which ruins the entire song for me. This way it's just a lazy remix).

Rod Stewart came back in the 90s with "All for Love" and "Rhythm of my Heart" (also one of my favorite songs of all time) which were both Top 10 hits I believe.

I'd also consider AC/DC's "Rock or Bust" a comeback hit, it still gets played on the radio frequently where I live. More than any other song by them.

Ozzy's "Dreamer" is also one of his finest.

Hell, even Meat Loaf came back and topped the charts in some countries with his rendition of "It's All Coming Back To Me Now". Can you imagine Meat Loaf having a Top 10 song around the world in 2006? Well, it actually happened.

The Stones went No. 1 here in Germany last year for the first time ever with "Living in a Ghost Town".

Bon Jovi is like the Taylor Swift of rock. The songs are similar, but with every album there's a new trademark song. At least up until THINFS.

I actually feel GNR could really need a song like that. One that puts them back on the map. Not that they ever went off. It's not too late, but I doubt it'll happen and I doubt they care.

[Bailey15]

I always thought it was interesting that Axl  released 'Chinese Democracy' as the first single off of CD and then followed with 'Better'.

He was way too optimistic with that order. 

I remember the radio stations were pumped to play the new single for EVERYONE to hear and then 'Chinese Democracy', the song, scared everyone away. There was a huge build up to play their FIRST single.

 The obvious first single should have been 'Better'...people would have really enjoyed that one but but having it as single #2.... everyone had tuned out and the radio stations barely played it at all. I remember it as if it was yesterday.

Plus he did no promotion..'Better' needed to come with a kick ass video. The Dr. Pepper gimmick wasn't going to do it alone.

I would have had 'Better' the number one single and then followed it up with 'Madagascar'...but not the lazy version we go on the record.  I would have put more money into polishing that song. The concept and arrangement is great but the vocals ruin it for me.

I've hard it sung live in a much better singing voice than what we got on the finished product.

Start with the rocker and then the epic...that formula has worked well for GNR in the past.  That should have been the strategy.

They had the songs to have a very successful album but Axl blew his shot...he overestimated the modern audience's attention span.

By 2008 most were saying Guns N' Who?!?!

Edited June 2, 2022 by Bailey15

[ChineseDemocracy2004]

Shackler's Revenge with its four chord chorus.

[WhazUp]

I say this as someone who liked Chinese overall for it being its own thing and not beholden to what a stereotypical "hit" would be - I personally can't imagine any of the CD songs in any of the various mixed forms we have heard of the years becoming big huge radio hits

To me Better is the closest and even then... I dunno, I just personally feel like it is a great song but hits need a bit more meat on the bones of their hooks in order to become huge, especially in a rock setting

[El Guapo]

19 minutes ago, WhazUp said:

I say this as someone who liked Chinese overall for it being its own thing and not beholden to what a stereotypical "hit" would be - I personally can't imagine any of the CD songs in any of the various mixed forms we have heard of the years becoming big huge radio hits

To me Better is the closest and even then... I dunno, I just personally feel like it is a great song but hits need a bit more meat on the bones of their hooks in order to become huge, especially in a rock setting

Yes, the chorus is really weak.

[SOH]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:03 PM, sofine11 said:

I think Better or even IRS with Buckethead would have absolutely destroyed if they were released during the fall 2002 comeback, I’m sure of it. That moment was literally it, and hindsight has shown us that fucking that chapter up pretty much killed any hope a Slash-less GNR had of connecting with a mainstream audience.  
 

Even if they had managed to release the album in late 2006 while still on tour I don’t think it would have made much of a splash, though it still would have been preferable to the 2008 shitshow.

2002 was really it.

2002 was it, yes. The response to the Hammerstein shows was pretty big, though. Axl presenting that VMA Award and everything else going on showed they were being taken seriously again. Anything involving Axl at the VMAs between 2002 and that moment probably would've been some mocking attempt at comedy, piling on to all the mainstream backlash they received for their appearance and lack of Slash.

[mystery]

On 5/29/2022 at 9:46 AM, We love Axl Rose said:

This I Love 

Would've been really interesting if it came out in 1998 like it was supposed to with What Dreams May Come.

[AxlRQ93]

Atlas, Shacklers, Village CD

Edited June 6, 2022 by Percabi

[drlaban]

5 hours ago, mystery said:

Would've been really interesting if it came out in 1998 like it was supposed to with What Dreams May Come.

It was supposed to what?

[Rovim]

14 minutes ago, drlaban said:

It was supposed to what?

iirc the song was supposed to appear in the movie in some capacity but one of the people who made the movie didn't think it was a good fit (at least that's the rumor)

[Arnuld]

Chinese Democracy should have been released in 2000. All of the village session rough mixes were dated 1999-2000. To answer your question there are no mainstream radio super hits on that album but The Blues, Hard Skool, Atlas, CD, and IRS all could have been singles that could have gotten significant air play in 2000. Better doesn’t count because it was finished much later. Anything after 2002 was really too late for CD and it’s potential impact on mainstream culture. 

[ruttu69]

Atlas, Better & Madagascar (if done right)

[Gnrcane]

On 6/1/2022 at 11:09 AM, Lethalis said:

No he didn't. But... even Aerosmith didn't write these comeback hits. They used songwriters. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing is written by Diane Warren for example.

And Santana's Smooth was written in a large part by Rob Thomas.

So we can't really expect Axl to write a "comeback" hit like that I guess.

Rob Thomas actually talked about this during a live concert... when he was younger he had all these heavy emotions and the songs just poured out of him if that makes any sense. As he got older, songwriting became a lot harder because he didn't feel like that anymore.

Axl might have the same "problem" (well, he might actually feel better / happier now because of it).

And yes, I have listened quite a bit to Matchbox Twenty. I know this is a GnR forum lol, but Rob Thomas is a great songwriter. Especially if you're going through a break up or something 

Just listen to something like "You won't be mine" or "Push" to hear what I mean.

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing wasn't Aerosmith's comeback. Their comeback was the Run DMC cover of their song and then a lot of co-writing with song writers for Permanent Vacation and Get a Grip. IDWMAT was their only hit completely written by an outside writer. It sucked because then they had to play it live at every show and it's boring as hell. A 15 minute drum solo by Frank with backing bongos by Dizzy would be more exciting!

[rudolf1978]

Yes. I think Axl cant sing in a concert,but in a studio,and he knows how to do it,could do it for sure. But dont expect a decent live version LOL

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

“Better”, “I.R.S., “TIL”, and “Hard Skool” would have had best shots IMHO. Wouldn’t have landed w/all of them- but I think at least 1-2 of them would have connected enough for people to concede Axl had, had a post-Classic Era hit.

[IncitingChaos]

Catcher is a song I feel has aged really well. I still have yet to hear a song quite like it. A lot of the stuff on Chinese isn’t easily duplicated (maybe there’s not much to take from it for other artist) but it’s a unique sound and I think Catcher actually would have been a hit with some grittier vocals. The musical arrangement on CD is great! I just feel like for a comeback album for Axl he could have had a less dramatic vocal change to make casual fans of GNR get more into the music. The clean vocals don’t hit all that well on some parts of the album.