bojan Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 (edited) First time making a thread so go easy I'm wondering what's your take on similarities between SCOM and the mentioned track that was published 2 years prior to SCOM, also on Geffen, IIRC. Guns is my favorite band since '91, the reason I play the guitar and all that stuff, but listening to this track leaves a bitter taste, even if I don't want it to and still defend GN'R. Sorry if it was discussed earlier, couldn't find it. Peace and rock on! P.S. Didn't want to link the track from YouTube, just in case. Edited July 8, 2023 by bojan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacdaniel Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 There's some similarities for sure but it's quite a common chord progression. Even if Guns had heard that song and based Sweet Child on it, I don't really see an issue with taking a basic idea and making something a million times better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6lake sa66ath Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 Nah mate, the Crawl are a legendary band though, James Reyne an Aussie icon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxford Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 Some strong similarities but nothing to feel down about. It is a common progression and these similarities happen when we are looking at variations of just seven notes. If it was reversed and SCOM came out first, then I don’t think anyone would be complaining about Australian Crawl ripping off GNR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted July 8, 2023 Author Share Posted July 8, 2023 I got you, I agree, but it isn't just the verse part D-C-G, it's also the chorus, melody behind it and short solos after the chorus. Just sayin'... People got sued for less (Verve comes to mind, Ed Sheeran also). I think I'm a hardcore GN'R fan, taking shit from time to time defending my band, but I also got ears. Thanks for the input guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drlaban Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 Listen to Jennifer Rush - 25 Lovers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulMonster Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 15 hours ago, bojan said: I got you, I agree, but it isn't just the verse part D-C-G, it's also the chorus, melody behind it and short solos after the chorus. Just sayin'... People got sued for less (Verve comes to mind, Ed Sheeran also). I think I'm a hardcore GN'R fan, taking shit from time to time defending my band, but I also got ears. Thanks for the input guys! I agree, and it is also a lot of similarities in the vocal melodies, both in the verses and especially the drawn-out vocals at the start of the chorus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doakes Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 Wow. Fairly similar but of course there are only so many chords and combinations of progressions. What are the odds that the band heard either one of the above mentioned songs? I've never heard either one of those, nor of the artists themselves. Nothing to do with Sweet Child O' Mine but Rock 'n' Roll Doctor by Black Sabbath is very similar to Bad Obsession. Axl's named that Technical Ecstasy album as one of his favorites on the Trunk interview. Didn't Slash mention somewhere that the chugging Zero the Hero riff by Black Sabbath inspired Paradise City? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 10 hours ago, drlaban said: Listen to Jennifer Rush - 25 Lovers Yeah man, pretty similar melody, although the second chord in the verse progression is not the same (some minor chord if I'm not mistaken) and the chorus is different. Good catch however! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) 11 minutes ago, doakes said: What are the odds that the band heard either one of the above mentioned songs? Australian Crawl were on Geffen. The plot thickens 😬 On the other hand, writing a song that doesn't remind you on someone else's is a pain in the ass, especially consciously trying to avoid it when you already have a part that fits right in. God knows all my solos have Slash written all over them. Edited July 9, 2023 by bojan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacdaniel Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 With so much music now available it is actually hard to create something without even accidentally copying something else. The Hollies once threatened to sue Radiohead as Creep uses the same chord progression as The Air that I breathe. Eventually they settled outside of court with the Hollies getting credits on Creep. Years later and Radiohead sued Lana Del Rey as her song Get Free sounds like Creep. Which of course sounds like The Air that I Breathe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulMonster Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 1 hour ago, doakes said: Wow. Fairly similar but of course there are only so many chords and combinations of progressions. What are the odds that the band heard either one of the above mentioned songs? Apparently, Australian Crawl was signed to Geffen before Appetite was released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggers Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 22 hours ago, 6lake sa66ath said: Nah mate, the Crawl are a legendary band though, James Reyne an Aussie icon lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 Simon Binks, a guitarist and singer-songwriter for Australian Crawl defended GN'R under YouTube comments pretty fiercely. Then someone of course answered him and said that Simon knows it's a ripoff and is covering the whole thing up 'cause he probably got good money to be shush about it. They presume it's not Axl, Slash or Izzy's idea but Geffen executives etc... Anyway, sorry, didn't mean to stir shit up, we have enough drama with the band as is, but lately they did some cool stuff with setlist/approach so kudos for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BucketEgg Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) Yeah, I can definitely hear some sort of similarity in the song. Reminds me of the time George Harrison got sued because his song "My Sweet Lord" resembled "He's So Fine" too much, and Harrison lost. He didn't intentionally copy it, but things happened that way. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=bright+tunes+v.+harrisongs&hl=en&as_sdt=400006&case=7721050309378220492&scilh=0 " Seeking the wellsprings of musical composition —why a composer chooses the succession of notes and the harmonies he does—whether it be George Harrison or Richard Wagner—is a fascinating inquiry. It is apparent from the extensive colloquy between the Court and Harrison covering forty pages in the transcript that neither Harrison nor Preston were conscious of the fact that they were utilizing the He's So Fine theme. ... What happened? I conclude that the composer, in seeking musical materials to clothe his thoughts, was working with various possibilities. As he tried this possibility and that, there came to the surface of his mind a particular combination that pleased him as being one he felt would be appealing to a prospective listener; in other words, that this combination of sounds would work. Why? Because his subconscious knew it already had worked in a song his conscious mind did not remember. Having arrived at this pleasing combination of sounds, the recording was made, the lead sheet prepared for copyright and the song became an enormous success. Did Harrison deliberately use the music of He's So Fine? I do not believe he did so deliberately. " George Harrison talking a bit about it: youtube with video id watch?v=1klQUpgGP8o or the title, George Harrison on the 'My Sweet Lord' Lawsuit, uploaded by aus200200 The experience also annoyed Harrison enough for him to write a song about it. Unconscious undeliberate plagiarism? A lot of coincidence due to working with similar notes that sound pleasing? I don't know enough about the history of Sweet Child O' Mine to know, and I don't think it resembles Unpublished Critics so closely that a potential lawsuit would win, but it was nice hearing Unpublished Critics. Edited July 9, 2023 by BucketEgg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangerInThisTown Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) There's not only this, but also Slash flat out came out and said that the backing solo section was "inspired" by some 1970s song solo and when I listened to it I was like woah yeah, they clearly took it from that it has that same feel to it, the whole drum part etc is very similar. I don't remember the name of it though lol this was ages ago, all I remember is it has the word "street" somewhere in the title. Edited July 9, 2023 by StrangerInThisTown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k12 Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 I really think if Unpublished Critics was never written SCOM would have never been created, maybe it was an unconscious thing and they heard the song and it got in their head, maybe it was a deliberate thing, but the fact it is so similar and Australian Crawl were a very popular band in Australia and that song was released on Geffen records a few years before GNR was signed I do not think it is a coincidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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