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GN'R Survivor: West Arkeen 1985 Demos - RESULTS


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I listened to these again recently and I thought that even in demo form The Garden and Yesterdays were the best of the bunch (so I agree with the results, although I would have preferred The Garden to win).

I can't say the same for Bad Obsession  (compared to the album version), though - I voted for it in almost all rounds until it got eliminated. Supposedly it's Izzy singing on the demo, but I'm not so sure.

I kinda like Bring It Back/Down Home. I think it had potential.

Crash Diet is great until that speed metal guitar starts. That totally ruins it for me.

Sentimental Movie was not as bad as I remembered it to be. I guess it was the first one that was voted out mostly because Duff sings on it.

Too Much Too Soon/Fast was just a fun little song, but nothing to write home about.

Just Another Sunday is nothing much either, but it's interesting as the most poppy and "un-GN'R" one and, at the same time, the only one (besides the three that made UYI) that was mentioned in interviews as being considered for UYI (so there is a chance that a later GN'R demo of it exists). Fun fact: Chuck Klosterman heard it in 2000 (apparently through Napster) and thought it was from the CD sessions (I guess he wasn't the only one to think that), so he wrote a little review about it: https://www.a-4-d.com/t4639-2000-12-14-the-akron-beacon-journal-roses-are-forever

 

 

Edited by Blackstar
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I'm thinking of starting a survivor poll for music videos. Apart from the obvious, should I also include...

1) The unreleased videos (It's So Easy original edit, Mr. Brownstone, My Michelle, I Don't Care About You, Better)? I think they can be included, since most people have seen them (and I see that they can be found on youtube except It's So Easy original).

2) The recent lyric videos (Shadow Of Your Love tour edition and Hard Skool lyric video)? I guess if these are included the first two rounds will be totally predictable :lol:

3) The different versions of SCOM and Garden Of Eden separately?

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10 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I listened to these again recently and I thought that even in demo form The Garden and Yesterdays were the best of the bunch (so I agree with the results, although I would have preferred The Garden to win).

I can't say the same for Bad Obsession  (compared to the album version), though - I voted for it in almost all rounds until it got eliminated. Supposedly it's Izzy singing on the demo, but I'm not so sure.

I kinda like Bring It Back/Down Home. I think it had potential.

Crash Diet is great until that speed metal guitar starts. That totally ruins it for me.

Sentimental Movie was not as bad as I remembered it to be. I guess it was the first one that was voted out mostly because Duff sings on it.

Too Much Too Soon/Fast was just a fun little song, but nothing to write home about.

Just Another Sunday is nothing much either, but it's interesting as the most poppy and "un-GN'R" one and, at the same time, the only one (besides the three that made UYI) that was mentioned in interviews as being considered for UYI (so there is a chance that a later GN'R demo of it exists). Fun fact: Chuck Klosterman heard it in 2000 (apparently through Napster) and thought it was from the CD sessions (I guess he wasn't the only one to think that), so he wrote a little review about it: https://www.a-4-d.com/t4639-2000-12-14-the-akron-beacon-journal-roses-are-forever

 

 

 

Agreed with most of this post. Before I started this poll I listened to all the demos again for the first time in a few years and couldn't tell if Bad Obsession was Izzy or West :lol:

I also thought The Garden should win, but I'm not too surprised that Yesterdays won. At least Crash Diet didn't make it to the finals.

Too Much Too Soon and Just Another Sunday are fun, and it's interesting to hear Axl on poppy songs like those. Interesting that Just Another Sunday was mentioned among other UYI stuff.

 

I wouldn’t include lyric videos since they're not real music videos and they'd be eliminated first. There's only small differences in the alt videos for SCOM and Garden Of Eden, right? It's been years since I've seen them.

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11 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I can't say the same for Bad Obsession  (compared to the album version), though - I voted for it in almost all rounds until it got eliminated. Supposedly it's Izzy singing on the demo, but I'm not so sure.

I’m almost positive it’s Izzy singing, but I wouldn’t put any money on it as it doesn’t sound completely different from West 

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24 minutes ago, DTV88 said:

 

I’m almost positive it’s Izzy singing, but I wouldn’t put any money on it as it doesn’t sound completely different from West 

I think it's likely it's West singing, because the song was inspired by an OD he had experienced.

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52 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

There's only small differences in the alt videos for SCOM and Garden Of Eden, right? It's been years since I've seen them.

The two versions of SCOM have different shots (different angles and scenes with the girlfriends etc.), and the "alternate" version has more colour, whereas the other is all black and white except for a few seconds at the very end. The "alternate" is the one I remember from MTV back in the day, I guess the other one was in Welcome To The Videos?

There are three versions of Garden Of Eden with small differences: one has paper flying around, another has the lyrics at the bottom of the screen and a ball bouncing, and another that has none of the above (only the latter is on GN'R's youtube channel.

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I think I'll include both versions of SCOM but only one option for Garden Of Eden (since the differences between the three versions are insignificant and it's basically the same video).

So the list will be:

Welcome To The Jungle

Sweet Child O' Mine (Black & White Version)

Sweet Child O' Mine (Alternate Version)

Paradise City

Patience

You Could Be Mine

Don't Cry

Live And Let Die

November Rain

Yesterdays

Garden Of Eden

The Garden

Dead Horse

Bad Apples

Estranged

Since I Don't Have You

It's So Easy Live Era Version

Welcome To The Jungle Live Era Version

It's So Easy (Locked & Loaded box set)

It's So Easy Original Edit (1989) (unreleased)

Mr. Brownstone (1991) (unreleased)

My Michelle (1991) (unreleased)

I Don't Care About You (1994) (unreleased)

Better (2009) (unreleased)

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