"The General" is officially delayed... but "The General" AND "Monsters" is (unofficially) out of the bag

[Rovim]

7 minutes ago, gunsnchalupas said:

I never said 60 year old men are deaf. I said these are 60 year old whose ears have been exposed to loud noises on a fairly regular basis. 

You can find numerous references to the mastering process of CD by googling some variation of Bob Ludwig Chinese Democracy Mastering dynamics. The original source might be gone from the internet, but there are numerous discussion topics quoting it and discussing it.

Whether Axl would have chosen the more dynamic version, even had Ludwig preferred a louder version of the master, we don't know. The point I am making is that we know a big reason why CD was so dynamic may have been that Bob Ludwig preferred that version of the master, and made that known to Axl and co. 

I said "too deaf" meaning I think a lot of 60 year old musicians still got the ears to hear the details. My question about Ludwig was pretty straight forward: do we know for a fact that he tried in any way to convince Axl to choose his favorite version of the mastered Chinese Democracy, but maybe you don't know, which is fine. I was just curious.

[Sausagebrain]

9 minutes ago, gunsnchalupas said:

I never said 60 year old men are deaf. I said these are 60 year old whose ears have been exposed to loud noises on a fairly regular basis. 

Yes. And they probably took a very cavalier approach to protecting their ears in their younger days. 

 

Indeed - some people who were lucky enough to be at their early gigs in LA reported that they were - literally - painfully loud. 

[Barlog]

I've got a dream that The General is in fact 7 minutes long DJ Ashba solo.

[Blackstar]

15 minutes ago, gunsnchalupas said:

I never said 60 year old men are deaf. I said these are 60 year old whose ears have been exposed to loud noises on a fairly regular basis. 

You can find numerous references to the mastering process of CD by googling some variation of Bob Ludwig Chinese Democracy Mastering dynamics. The original source might be gone from the internet, but there are numerous discussion topics quoting it and discussing it.

Whether Axl would have chosen the more dynamic version, even had Ludwig preferred a louder version of the master, we don't know. The point I am making is that we know a big reason why CD was so dynamic may have been that Bob Ludwig preferred that version of the master, and made that known to Axl and co. 

Here is the Bob Ludwig article on CD:

https://www.a-4-d.com/t5893-2008-11-25-gateway-mastering-guns-n-roses-dynamics-and-quality-win-the-loudness-wars

[General2112]

Has anyone heard any more news from radio stations or was that just a rumor. 

[Rovim]

5 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Here is the Bob Ludwig article on CD:

https://www.a-4-d.com/t5893-2008-11-25-gateway-mastering-guns-n-roses-dynamics-and-quality-win-the-loudness-wars

I remember this article. It seems that Ludwig left it for Axl to decide and didn't try to make him choose the version he thought was the best sounding one.

[Ratam]

24 minutes ago, Barlog said:

I've got a dream that The General is in fact 7 minutes long DJ Ashba solo.

Dream or nightmare?

[Appetitefordiscussion]

2 hours ago, CAFC Nick said:

Absolutely.

Would love to understand the rationale of the final products for HS/Absurd. By the leak from the March 2020 Mexico show soundcheck, we know the arrangement for HS had been completed and likely recorded prior, meaning they had 18 months before it eventually was released to do a decent job on it but it turned out pretty abhorrent, mix wise at least. Perhaps sounded 10x better.

Yes, very odd they sat with those mixes for that long and still went with it. I guess we don’t know all the circumstances around the production and release of those songs (we ARE talking about GNR).  Honestly, perhaps sparked a new interest in an album for me. Imagine an album with every song clipping like HS. It would be their worst album to date sonically speaking.  
 

So that begs the question, if there is an album: would Absurd and Hardskool even be on it??? If so, I really hope they’re brought up to par. 

[BucketEgg]

one month until the General starts getting shipped out!

my mind is wiggling and jiggling in anticipation

[Sweersa]

2 hours ago, LA_0013 said:

Best thing they can do with Abrusb is get the verse lyrics back in synch with the music! I actually really like the Prodigy / punk vibe of the track and the mix but the delay really grates my ears

I didn’t notice that as much. For me, I wish what they left of Bucket was higher in the mix, like his kill switch intro and I feel the drums are too low, and guitars too high. I do actually like Slash and Richard’s leads on that song. Would have been cool if they kept one of Bucket’s mini solos but I get it…

[colonizedmind]

2 hours ago, Barlog said:

I've got a dream that The General is in fact 7 minutes long DJ Ashba solo.

So it's BOD and MA joined together then? Ahhhhh

[evilfacelessturtle]

18 hours ago, Free Bird said:

Well, when you say he lost his melodic sensibility since 2014, do you mean before or after he recorded and released WOF?

Regardless, because whoever describes Living The Dream as a shredding wankfest hasn't listen to it. It's an opinion to say you don't like the songs but to claim the solos have no melodic sense is simply not true. Most of them are well structured and can not be considered shredding at all.

Well, it's really been a slow decline since around the time he got sober. Libertad was a step down from Contraband and Snakepit. The solo album, he actually wrote a lot of in 2001-2002 before VR formed so that was a step back up. Then, from AL onward, it's been another decline. WOF was the first album with some real stinkers although it had some good stuff, too. Everything after that hasn't even been worth listening to twice. And I say that as a guitarist whose number one inspiration to play is Slash. His tone is too clean, he's stopped caring about melody in his solos and now even his songwriting seems uninspired.

"shredding wanker" is a bit hyperbolic of course, but we know for a fact that he no longer writes his solos. Around WOF he openly said that he was just winging them now in an interview. To the extent that he does any long bends, they're usually part of the same licks he's been increasingly recycling. And even on record, they still sound rushed. It would probably be easier to talk about a specific song if you have one in mind. I listened to LTD and 4 about once or twice and was incredibly disappointed.

15 hours ago, Dean said:

I did initially think that Slash may have influenced the decision for the mastering of the first two singles, however, upon revisiting Appetite for Democracy, the audio from that is exactly the same so it makes sense that it would have been an Axl call for both the live material and the singles. 

I doubt Slash has any strong opinions about mixing or mastering. He's just not that kind of guy. If he did, his discography outside Guns wouldn't be so all over the place in terms of mixing/mastering.

[Silence]

4 hours ago, evilfacelessturtle said:

Well, it's really been a slow decline since around the time he got sober. Libertad was a step down from Contraband and Snakepit. The solo album, he actually wrote a lot of in 2001-2002 before VR formed so that was a step back up. Then, from AL onward, it's been another decline. WOF was the first album with some real stinkers although it had some good stuff, too. Everything after that hasn't even been worth listening to twice. And I say that as a guitarist whose number one inspiration to play is Slash. His tone is too clean, he's stopped caring about melody in his solos and now even his songwriting seems uninspired.

"shredding wanker" is a bit hyperbolic of course, but we know for a fact that he no longer writes his solos. Around WOF he openly said that he was just winging them now in an interview. To the extent that he does any long bends, they're usually part of the same licks he's been increasingly recycling. And even on record, they still sound rushed. It would probably be easier to talk about a specific song if you have one in mind. I listened to LTD and 4 about once or twice and was incredibly disappointed.

I doubt Slash has any strong opinions about mixing or mastering. He's just not that kind of guy. If he did, his discography outside Guns wouldn't be so all over the place in terms of mixing/mastering.

I enjoyed your analysis, but its kinda depressing how accurate you are. 

[Free Bird]

5 hours ago, evilfacelessturtle said:

Well, it's really been a slow decline since around the time he got sober. Libertad was a step down from Contraband and Snakepit. The solo album, he actually wrote a lot of in 2001-2002 before VR formed so that was a step back up. Then, from AL onward, it's been another decline. WOF was the first album with some real stinkers although it had some good stuff, too. Everything after that hasn't even been worth listening to twice. And I say that as a guitarist whose number one inspiration to play is Slash. His tone is too clean, he's stopped caring about melody in his solos and now even his songwriting seems uninspired.

"shredding wanker" is a bit hyperbolic of course, but we know for a fact that he no longer writes his solos. Around WOF he openly said that he was just winging them now in an interview. To the extent that he does any long bends, they're usually part of the same licks he's been increasingly recycling. And even on record, they still sound rushed. It would probably be easier to talk about a specific song if you have one in mind. I listened to LTD and 4 about once or twice and was incredibly disappointed.

I doubt Slash has any strong opinions about mixing or mastering. He's just not that kind of guy. If he did, his discography outside Guns wouldn't be so all over the place in terms of mixing/mastering.

I think everything he put out after VR is still better than Libertad but my point wasn't about the quality of the songs. I reacted to the statement about his solos and I have to disagree. Neither am I a guitarist nor do I know anything about music theory. But that doesn't mean that I'm not able to he make out a melodic solo... 4 is basically unfinished and its solos could have been more thought out but the whole record was an attempt of making a spontaneous live album so it suffered from that idea.

The solos on Living The Dream instead... The One You Loved Is Gone, Lost Inside The Girl, The Great Pretender... even the faster solos like Serve You Right, Read Between The Lines, Slow Grind and Boulevard Of Broken Hearts are well structured and indeed melodic.

[betterman]

the General not showing GNR in spotify anymore (Norway) - may be a bad sign for an imminent digital release

 

[rebeldhipi]

The solo of American Man is still top tier.

[allwaystired]

I thought Libertad was just as good as Contraband personally. 

[Free Bird]

Best song on Libertad is Gravedancer imo...

For the record. I don't think that Libertad is a bad record. I just don't rank it as high as the rest.

[bumblerose]

3 hours ago, betterman said:

the General not showing GNR in spotify anymore (Norway) - may be a bad sign for an imminent digital release

 

Showing up still in australia

[ThePreacher]

It's not this friday and nothing has been said on the radio, trust me!

[F*ck Fear]

I can't wait to NOT be able to hear this right away due to me not owning a record player 

And just like the shitty cell phone recording, I will refuse to listen to a vinyl rip that sounds like ass.

[bmus1]

I have a lossless ripping setup in case of emergency.

edit: and a 7" pre-order

Edited September 27, 2023 by bmus1

[colonizedmind]

"I saw her, yeah I saw her with her hands tied back
And her rags were burning
Crawling out from a landfilled life
Scrawlin her name upon the ceiling
Throw a coin in a fountain of dust
White noise, her ears are ringing
Got a ticket for a midnight hanging
Throw a bullet from a freight train leaving
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
She doesn't even know what's wrong
And I know I'm gonna make her die
Take her where her soul belongs
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
Nothing that I would not try"

[Cosmo]

9 hours ago, Free Bird said:

Best song on Libertad is Gravedancer imo...

For the record. I don't think that Libertad is a bad record. I just don't rank it as high as the rest.

Gravedancer is top tier.

[Its Tino]

56 minutes ago, colonizedmind said:

"I saw her, yeah I saw her with her hands tied back
And her rags were burning
Crawling out from a landfilled life
Scrawlin her name upon the ceiling
Throw a coin in a fountain of dust
White noise, her ears are ringing
Got a ticket for a midnight hanging
Throw a bullet from a freight train leaving
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
She doesn't even know what's wrong
And I know I'm gonna make her die
Take her where her soul belongs
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
Nothing that I would not try"

How is this relevant?