Ritz 1991 Blu-Ray Review

[SuperBlaine]

The full Ritz bluray has been uploaded on YouTube (for now) along with a pinned tracklist. Enjoy it while you can M'fkers!! 

I can tell I've had the GNR fever since YCBM was released from this set cause I can't take my eyes off the forums. The nostalgia and excitement from this release will never be seen again on these forums I'm pretty sure. It has hit us all, bringing out feelings we've buried deep for years over lack of any new content.

Lastly, I don't speak for anyone else but this is far more interesting to me than getting more oddball tracks that sound like they've spent years being cut & pasted, then bolted together hastily. Live Era, as we are all discovering was the tell tale sign of how we would get any new music post 1994, it would be piece mealed from multiple sessions so Axl could "George Lucas" the classic era of the band with endless studio tinkering 

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by SuperBlaine

[BucketEgg]

1 minute ago, SuperBlaine said:

The full Ritz bluray has been uploaded on YouTube (for now) along with a pinned tracklist. Enjoy it while you can M'fkers!! 

I can tell I've had the GNR fever since YCBM was released from this set cause I can't take my eyes off the forums. The nostalgia and excitement from this release will never be seen again on these forums I'm pretty sure. It has hit us all, bringing out feelings we've buried deep for years over lack of any new content.

Lastly, I don't speak for anyone else but this is far more interesting to me than getting more oddball tracks that sound like they've spent years being cut & pasted, then bolted together hastily. Live Era, as we are all discovering was the tell tale sign of how we would get any new music post 1994, it would be piece mealed from multiple sessions so Axl could "George Lucas" the classic era of the band with endless studio tinkering. 

 

 

oh my gosh quick edit remove the link to unofficial youtube video before you get banned!!! :O :O :O

Edited November 14, 2022 by BucketEgg

[James Bond]

45 minutes ago, Shacklermyrye said:

 

This gig shows a band exited to play new songs, not worn down by years of touring and playing the same set list every night. At point's it feels like it could fall apart a bit, like the unsure looks to each other near the end of You ain't the first which I read as "shit when does this tune finish again? it somehow still works. 

I think it works not because its a slick production of a show, but rather because it isn't. The rough edges are there and the gig is better for it. The chemistry is clear.

Maybe this show works better in retrospect in the sense that watching this gig now as apposed to VHS in 1991 we now have the burden of insight.  There are people on stage there who were estranged for years after this, bitter words hurled back and forth but maybe it's that knowledge that makes me feel happier to see them as they are in this show. Different people perhaps yet soldiers on the same side.

These are UYI songs without the bells and whistles, no backup singers and no brass band, and without all that extra stuff the songs still stand strong.

 

I agree with your first paragraph especially. It's cool to see them exchange looks all throughout the show between the jams and endings. Sometimes I swear Izzy is struggling to remember the arrangements of some of the newer songs but he just strums along being the badass that he is. Patience is a great example where for half the intro they are all off time with one another but exchange those looks and bring it all back together.

I absolutely love it. Raw rock and roll at its finest. The band at a very unique point in time.

[D4NNY]

18 hours ago, bojan said:

Anyone else noticed about 1:00:17 during YCBM bottom part of Axl's mikestand flying across the stage 🙂

 

Almost took Duff clean out!

#closecall !!!

Edited November 14, 2022 by DustNBones1990

[Tom-Ass]

52 minutes ago, SuperBlaine said:

Lastly, I don't speak for anyone else but this is far more interesting to me than getting more oddball tracks that sound like they've spent years being cut & pasted, then bolted together hastily. 

100%..  Absurd and Hardschool were pretty much the nails in the coffin for me as far as interest in the current band. Couldn't care less if they release another song. If they did, I have zero faith it would be any good.  I don't follow their setlists or their shows on youtube anymore.  They just go through the motions and Axl sounds terrible.. 

But I just dropped $370 bucks on this set, no problem. Keep shit like this coming!

[Italian girl]

Can I Say that I don't like estranged played and sung in that way?

[D4NNY]

6 minutes ago, Italian girl said:

Can I Say that I don't like estranged played and sung in that way?

How dare you! 😵🤣

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Italian girl said:

Can I Say that I don't like estranged played and sung in that way?

Mods???? This is a bannable offence right?

[tsinindy]

8 hours ago, SuperBlaine said:

The full Ritz bluray has been uploaded on YouTube (for now) along with a pinned tracklist. Enjoy it while you can M'fkers!! 

I can tell I've had the GNR fever since YCBM was released from this set cause I can't take my eyes off the forums. The nostalgia and excitement from this release will never be seen again on these forums I'm pretty sure. It has hit us all, bringing out feelings we've buried deep for years over lack of any new content.

Lastly, I don't speak for anyone else but this is far more interesting to me than getting more oddball tracks that sound like they've spent years being cut & pasted, then bolted together hastily. Live Era, as we are all discovering was the tell tale sign of how we would get any new music post 1994, it would be piece mealed from multiple sessions so Axl could "George Lucas" the classic era of the band with endless studio tinkering 

 

You should have been around in 2016....this is nothing compared to then.

[darkside259]

37 minutes ago, tsinindy said:

You should have been around in 2016....this is nothing compared to then.

i remember the HYPE when the reunion rumors start to rise

[GnR Chris]

I haven’t even watched the Ritz show yet, but I gotta say, listening to the live audio from this and the Vegas gig, I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I did not give a flying fuck about this box set, and then I found myself wide awake at 2 a.m. listening to both concerts in full, plus the Paris and Wembley tracks. And to think how much cooler this box set could have been with more video footage that we know they have.

[GoForJMark]

17 hours ago, Ant000 said:

dude he wahs it up

he's wahing on Brownstone, YCBM, Estranged

it's wah city... Kirk Hammett levels 

 

 

is this the only show where he uses a pedal at all?

 

EDIT: nope, rewatched performances of YCBM from St. Louis and Estranged from Rock in Rio  '91. He was liberally using the wah pedal haha

Edited November 15, 2022 by GoForJMark

[Ant000]

14 minutes ago, GoForJMark said:

is this the only show where he uses a pedal at all?

 

I'm not sure, tbh. But it seems to be making waves. lol. 

It could just be the general lack of high quality material released, and even less with Izzy, that it's been hard to isolate his playing as a fan until now.

Listening to the Izzy rhythm guitar track from the Ritz 5.1 mix -- it just makes me smile! He's like Keith Richards' little brother. Might just be interesting to guitar players, but I love it. 

Even the stuff he does on a song like Live and Let Die... which has always been buried under Slash, Axl and the huge production... Izzy is chopping it up!

Edited November 15, 2022 by Ant000

[Walapino]

I finally saw Ritz 91, amazing show!!! 

[D4NNY]

8 hours ago, tsinindy said:

You should have been around in 2016....this is nothing compared to then.

And the only thing that tops that was CD release in late ‘08 and the tour kickoff in late ‘09, forum was crazy! 

[WillBailey]

10 hours ago, darkside259 said:

i remember the HYPE when the reunion rumors start to rise

And then the letdown? 😁 I mean its cool and all, but no real new song, after the 1546th show on this never ending tour its like, okay whatever.

That Blu-ray, on the other hand...

[ZoSo]

Brilliant, raw gig, full of mistakes, monitors getting booted of the stage and lots of amusing anecdotes such as:

"While we're jamming on... woah, I guess we're done with it now! Nevermind, that's the end of that tune." - Slash, You Ain't the First

Love it. Best GN'R thing I've seen or heard in a long long time.

Edited November 15, 2022 by ZoSo
Saw something else!

[Billy Cundy]

I agree, as a 27 year old, it’s a fascinating watch. We’ve been starved of HD GNR footage. Ritz 88 and Tokyo are good but the quality of the footage plants it firmly in the past. This does make it feel like it could be happening in-front of you. 

must be weird for Axl, Slash, Izzy and Duff to watch. Looking back to a time when their history wasn’t written yet. They were still pure potential at that point. In hindsight, they lost a big part of their sound when Adler left, but at the time, it must’ve been really energising to play with a monster like matt. Nothing boosts your confidence more than playing with a powerhouse professional like Matt onstage. Knowing he was going to nail every fill, tempo and arrangement… probably pretty exciting after years of playing with ropey ol’ Steven. 
 

Perhaps this is them at their true peak. Appetite had cemented their reputation at this point. Izzy still in the fold. Confident and emboldened by Matt’s unshakeable reliability. UYI just on the horizon. Yet to be dethroned by Alt Rock and Grunge. 

All downhill from this, really; wasn’t it? 

[James Bond]

40 minutes ago, Billy Cundy said:

must be weird for Axl, Slash, Izzy and Duff to watch. Looking back to a time when their history wasn’t written yet. They were still pure potential at that point. In hindsight, they lost a big part of their sound when Adler left, but at the time, it must’ve been really energising to play with a monster like matt. Nothing boosts your confidence more than playing with a powerhouse professional like Matt onstage. Knowing he was going to nail every fill, tempo and arrangement… probably pretty exciting after years of playing with ropey ol’ Steven. 

This release as a whole has just given me so much more appreciation for Matt. I know his personality is off putting to some, but in terms of sheer musicality you're absolutely right that he's the kind of drummer you want behind you.

I think his playing comes across as a little stiff on the albums themselves, but these live performances (especially the Ritz) highlight what an asset he was to holding it all together. His sense of timing is impeccable and he just has such a natural vibe with Slash and Duff. The jams always flow well and end right when they need to.

I actually like Frank, but listening to these performances really makes me miss Matt. He just makes everything sound so much more cohesive.

[darkside259]

8 minutes ago, James Bond said:

This release as a whole has just given me so much more appreciation for Matt. I know his personality is off putting to some, but in terms of sheer musicality you're absolutely right that he's the kind of drummer you want behind you.

I think his playing comes across as a little stiff on the albums themselves, but these live performances (especially the Ritz) highlight what an asset he was to holding it all together. His sense of timing is impeccable and he just has such a natural vibe with Slash and Duff. The jams always flow well and end right when they need to.

I actually like Frank, but listening to these performances really makes me miss Matt. He just makes everything sound so much more cohesive.

frank is a nice person and i like him but in terms of sound matt was better, for example on you could be mine frank can t get the sound right 

[Billy Cundy]

6 minutes ago, James Bond said:

This release as a whole has just given me so much more appreciation for Matt. I know his personality is off putting to some, but in terms of sheer musicality you're absolutely right that he's the kind of drummer you want behind you.

I think his playing comes across as a little stiff on the albums themselves, but these live performances (especially the Ritz) highlight what an asset he was to holding it all together. His sense of timing is impeccable and he just has such a natural vibe with Slash and Duff. The jams always flow well and end right when they need to.

I actually like Frank, but listening to these performances really makes me miss Matt. He just makes everything sound so much more cohesive.

It’s almost as if being the consummate professional made him quite the odd one out in this band 🫢🫣

[Judezki]

Great review! I had to post here after a long break because I've been quite mesmerized by this Ritz release. It's great to watch how laid back everybody is on the stage here. They must have realized how legendary this gig is in the band's history so they definitely did justice to the material. The quality is amazing, I'm so glad that they finally released this. Just makes me wonder what other great shows with pristine quality they still have in the vault.

[StrangerInThisTown]

1 hour ago, Judezki said:

Great review! I had to post here after a long break because I've been quite mesmerized by this Ritz release. It's great to watch how laid back everybody is on the stage here. They must have realized how legendary this gig is in the band's history so they definitely did justice to the material. The quality is amazing, I'm so glad that they finally released this. Just makes me wonder what other great shows with pristine quality they still have in the vault.

It's been investigated a bit in other threads, and there's like atleast a handful of other shows, 4-5, ranging from 88-93 that have been shot on film like the Ritz. This is the first release we've gotten and it's been over 30 years, so there's a lot more to look forward to, it just depends on what GNRs management/label wants to do. I just hope it's not another 15 years until it all comes out because it's the most important stuff GNR could ever put out, because THIS is the stuff that people are going to be watching in the future when they want to know what GNR is about.

Edited November 15, 2022 by StrangerInThisTown

[megaguns1982]

13 hours ago, DustNBones1990 said:

And the only thing that tops that was CD release in late ‘08 and the tour kickoff in late ‘09, forum was crazy! 

I remember the best times were when the snippets of Better leaked and everyday for like a week we got leaks of irs, twat, and cd. The forum was insane… that would have been around 2006

[D4NNY]

1 minute ago, megaguns1982 said:

I remember the best times were when the snippets of Better leaked and everyday for like a week we got leaks of irs, twat, and cd. The forum was insane… that would have been around 2006

Don’t think I was around that early, I think I stumbled across the forum in “08 leading up to the release of cd and have such great memories of just pure fanboy excitement 🥲

 

“It’s been 14 years…” 😎