Chinese era is finally ending?

[Blackstar]

3 hours ago, jamillos said:

There’s no PR, as they have no people for it, and apparently neither any intentions in this regard. 

They have PR. There is a PR company (two actually, one for social media and one for the press), but of course they have to be given something to work with.

[felixGNR]

1 hour ago, SoulMonster said:

Slash had created absolutely top-notch solos to other songs he hasn't written, so I don't think it is unfair to expect more from him. But it might be unfair to expect that from him now in 2023.

You can't  ( i mean the general  public) expect Slash to write top notch solos for every  song he records ,no other guitar legend has done that (impossible) ,  and its funny that the ones that criticize  him the most, are the ones that like R.Finck ( a guy with 3/ 4 good at most ok guitar solos in 20+ year career)

[SoulMonster]

3 minutes ago, felixGNR said:

You can't  ( i mean the general  public) expect Slash to write top notch solos for every  song he records

I don't expect him to make any topnotch solos anymore, but back when he was great he would probably make one for every 3-4 solos he created. Doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

[bumcheecksmcghee]

On 9/7/2023 at 5:04 AM, jacdaniel said:

He really doesn't. He did a great job to volunteer to learn almost the whole album for the fans considering it's not really his style. 

No... he really does.... least bucket could play the old stuff, and improve it at times ie. Nightrain 2002... if it's not his style fine, let 4tus play lead on Chinese stuff then if he cbf learning it ? 

[jacdaniel]

1 hour ago, bumcheecksmcghee said:

No... he really does.... least bucket could play the old stuff, and improve it at times ie. Nightrain 2002... if it's not his style fine, let 4tus play lead on Chinese stuff then if he cbf learning it ? 

Bucket could play the old stuff... it just didn't sound like Guns at all. That Nightrain solo is horrible. 

A song all about feel should never be turned into flawlessly playing through scales.

Edited September 8, 2023 by jacdaniel

[DoMw94]

1 hour ago, bumcheecksmcghee said:

let 4tus play lead on Chinese stuff then if he cbf learning it ? 

Richard already plays a few leads on Chinese stuff, but not all of them.

Slash has learnt it! I'll never understand why this forum can't see that. He's not butchering it, he's not phoning it in, he's not failing to learn, he's just playing it in his own way, putting his own slant on it – as we'd expect him to. You want Slash to sound unmistakably like Slash.

Had Slash never left and these same songs were worked on, they'd likely sound similar to how they're played today.

I see a lot of people shitting on Slash, not just for the Chinese stuff, but in general, saying he's "not interested" or "phoning it in". It's all nonsense. If he wasn't interested, he'd play note for note and get out of there, not go with what he's feeling in the moment.

Listen to Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Joe Perry etc. None of them are playing note-for-note like the record live and nobody bats an eyelid. If Slash alters a single note, people pile on him. It's ridiculous. And if he copied Robin/Bucket, you'd all complain about that anyway, wishing he'd play more like Slash. He can't win!

If I want to hear records, I'll put them on. If I go to a live show, I want to hear people playing live.

Edited September 8, 2023 by DoMw94

[jacdaniel]

2 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

I don't expect him to make any topnotch solos anymore, but back when he was great he would probably make one for every 3-4 solos he created. Doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Every album he has made has some good solo's. 

If you're talking about really legendary... well most guitarists only manage 1 or 2 in their whole career. 

Slash has several. 

[jacdaniel]

3 minutes ago, DoMw94 said:

Richard already plays a few leads on Chinese stuff, but not all of them.

Slash has learnt it! I'll never understand why this forum can't see that. He's not butchering it, he's not phoning it in, he's not failing to learn, he's just playing it in his own way, putting his own slant on it – as we'd expect him to. You want Slash to sound unmistakably like Slash.

Had Slash never left and these same songs were worked on, they'd likely sound similar to how they're played today.

I see a lot of people shitting on Slash, not just for the Chinese stuff, but in general, saying he's "not interested" or "phoning it in". It's all nonsense. If he wasn't interested, he'd play note for note and get out of there, not go with what he's feeling in the moment.

Listen to Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Joe Perry etc. None of them are playing note-for-note like the record live and nobody bats an eyelid. If Slash alters a single note, people pile on him. It's ridiculous.

If I want to hear records, I'll put them on. If I go to a live show, I want to hear people playing live

The Slash hate on the forum has gotten way out of hand. 

Every single thread seems to turn into "Slash is going to ruin the General" or "Slash doesn't play This I love" note for note. 

 

I'm kind of glad the guy is focusing on his own stuff next year. Maybe he'd be better off sticking to that and let Richard play lead for Guns in theatre's.

[El Nono Pololo]

1 hour ago, DoMw94 said:

It's all nonsense. If he wasn't interested, he'd play note for note and get out of there, not go with what he's feeling in the moment.

To be fair, it IS way easier for Slash to just noodle over a song off the cuff than to learn a solo note for note. Anyone who plays an instrument can attest to that, I think.

But I do disagree about his supposed lack of interest in Guns material. If that were the case, he would still be playing legendary, NR-level solos on his recent solo records, and that's not happening either. For good or for bad, he's just on a different place nowadays than he was thirty or even twenty years ago.

[jacdaniel]

36 minutes ago, El Nono Pololo said:

To be fair, it IS way easier for Slash to just noodle over a song off the cuff than to learn a solo note for note. Anyone who plays an instrument can attest to that, I think.

But I do disagree about his supposed lack of interest in Guns material. If that were the case, he would still be playing legendary, NR-level solos on his recent solo records, and that's not happening either. For good or for bad, he's just on a different place nowadays than he was thirty or even twenty years ago.

Can you name a single musician in the history of music that has actually created legendary solos for over 30 years? 

It simply has never happened. 

Most successful bands have a purple patch in their career where they make good music. The right personnel in the right place at the right time etc. Guns had that 87 - 93.

It's hard to reach those heights again. Yet Slash still has with songs like Slither, Fall to Pieces, Anastasia, Serial Killer. 

 

If Guns write a legendary song then I'm sure you'll get a great solo. Absurd, Hardskool and Perhaps are not really songs that would even get a legendary solo. And that's ok, not every song is legendary.

I think people complain about Slash for the sake of it these days.

[Slugworth]

20 hours ago, Tom-Ass said:

They have been back together for almost 8 years now.. Slash and Duff could have pasted their tracks over CD demos in two weeks, released them all and been done with it.. But here we are... 

It's been obvious for years that the reasons for the reunion had nothing to do with new music.

 

They didn't start releasing singles until ticket sales started to decline.

If every ticket was sold in 2021-23, we probably don't even get Absurd, Hard School, Perhaps, and The General.

 

19 hours ago, Its Tino said:

I’m already worried a CD boxset would be underwhelming. I want too much out of it: 
 

CD 99

CD 01

CD 04

CD 06

CD Remixes 

CDII

Various pro-shots from each CD era

CD with commentary 

And last but not least, and not to be a total asshole, but I’d love to hear the official CD release without all of the Pitman sub-bass, clicks, beeps and other various noises. 
 

Unrelated to a box set: imagine a 6-8 episode limited series of the CD years??

The chances of a CD box set are slim and if we do get one, it'll probably just be the 2008 album with a couple 2009-14 shows.

[Slugworth]

7 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

I don't expect him to make any topnotch solos anymore, but back when he was great he would probably make one for every 3-4 solos he created. Doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Give him something worthy of an epic solo and maybe he'll deliver one.

 

Absurd, Hard School, and Perhaps aren't begging for epic solos to be pasted in. They're begging to be run of the mill deep cuts on an album, or B sides.

[Nintari]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:41 PM, AlterL said:

Nahh he does, he might play them out of respect for Axl or to keep the peace within the band, but his solos on Chinese material are usually quite the downgrade on most cases.

I don't think they're a downgrade. I just think they're in a different style that you don't like. It's neither here, nor there.

I personally prefer the original solos.

8 minutes ago, Slugworth said:

Give him something worthy of an epic solo and maybe he'll deliver one.

 

Absurd, Hard School, and Perhaps aren't begging for epic solos to be pasted in. They're begging to be run of the mill deep cuts on an album, or B sides.

Well, if you believe Axl, Back and Forth Again was a rejected B-cut, and Slash absolutely dominated on that one.

[DoMw94]

18 minutes ago, Slugworth said:

They didn't start releasing singles until ticket sales started to decline.

If every ticket was sold in 2021-23, we probably don't even get Absurd, Hard School, Perhaps, and The General.

Nobody on planet earth was ever expecting those singles to impact ticket sales one bit 😂

People go to those shows to hear Sweet Child O' Mine or Paradise City.

Declining sales are down to market saturation and the cost of living crisis – people don't have spare income to spend on a bamd they already saw for a lower price two years ago.

Us diehards are a tiny percentage of the ticket buyers, and we shoypd really recognise it. The band obviously does. New songs, whether it's one or 12, is not changing ticket says one way or another whatsoever. The only thing that will right now is a break and big promotion.

[Slugworth]

6 minutes ago, DoMw94 said:

Nobody on planet earth was ever expecting those singles to impact ticket sales one bit 😂

People go to those shows to hear Sweet Child O' Mine or Paradise City.

Declining sales are down to market saturation and the cost of living crisis – people don't have spare income to spend on a bamd they already saw for a lower price two years ago.

Us diehards are a tiny percentage of the ticket buyers, and we shoypd really recognise it. The band obviously does. New songs, whether it's one or 12, is not changing ticket says one way or another whatsoever. The only thing that will right now is a break and big promotion.

I never said releasing the singles would be a game changer or planet Earth isn't going to hear the hits.

 

I said why they released them. They were released to promote the tour. If the tour wasn't in need of promotion, the songs don't get released.

 

Look how much coverage the tour gets before and after the singles.

[Martin Riggs]

7 hours ago, bumcheecksmcghee said:

No... he really does.... least bucket could play the old stuff, and improve it at times ie. Nightrain 2002... if it's not his style fine, let 4tus play lead on Chinese stuff then if he cbf learning it ? 

Isn’t bucket basically having garage sales to pay bills? Kinda sad for someone so apparently talented. 

[Cosmo]

33 minutes ago, Martin Riggs said:

Isn’t bucket basically having garage sales to pay bills? Kinda sad for someone so apparently talented. 

I heard somewhere he was. Normal for an artist who doesn't do art for the masses or for money. In no way, shape or form does talent play a role in his money problems. He chose his path and stuck to it - I think it's admirable and shows he's a one of a kind artist who does it for the art regardless of anything.

[jacdaniel]

8 minutes ago, Cosmo said:

I heard somewhere he was. Normal for an artist who doesn't do art for the masses or for money. In no way, shape or form does talent play a role in his money problems. He chose his path and stuck to it - I think it's admirable and shows he's a one of a kind artist who does it for the art regardless of anything

I think it shows that his stuff doesn't sell because people don't enjoy it. 

 

[El Guapo]

14 minutes ago, Cosmo said:

I heard somewhere he was. Normal for an artist who doesn't do art for the masses or for money. In no way, shape or form does talent play a role in his money problems. He chose his path and stuck to it - I think it's admirable and shows he's a one of a kind artist who does it for the art regardless of anything.

Bucket is a true artist through and through, gotta respect that. But I can't deal with his approach, the whole Pikes thing, I never listen to any of that.

Axl getting Bucket as the new lead player for GnR  paired with Finck was such a genius and cool, over the top approach...too bad it couldn't last.

[Cosmo]

10 minutes ago, jacdaniel said:

I think it shows that his stuff doesn't sell because people don't enjoy it. 

 

It's not made for everyone. And it's not meant to. He does what he enjoys doing, regardless.  More people enjoy Taylor Swift than GnR - and she certainly gets more money than GnR - and that doesn't mean Taylor makes better music, or is more talented than GnR. It just means she makes accessible music for the masses even more than GnR does.

[DoMw94]

1 hour ago, Slugworth said:

They were released to promote the tour. If the tour wasn't in need of promotion, the songs don't get released.

 

Look how much coverage the tour gets before and after the singles.

But they weren't! None of them moved the needle. And the biggest promotion the current tour got was Glastonbury, way before Perhaps was released

[jacdaniel]

5 minutes ago, Cosmo said:

It's not made for everyone. And it's not meant to. He does what he enjoys doing, regardless.  More people enjoy Taylor Swift than GnR - and she certainly gets more money than GnR - and that doesn't mean Taylor makes better music, or is more talented than GnR. It just means she makes accessible music for the masses even more than GnR does.

He's technically a great guitarist. Probably spent half his life locked in a room learning scales and techniques. Hopefully he's happy. 

But the real legendary guitarists are the ones that learned how to write a riff and great songs. 

[Rovim]

7 minutes ago, jacdaniel said:

He's technically a great guitarist. Probably spent half his life locked in a room learning scales and techniques. Hopefully he's happy. 

But the real legendary guitarists are the ones that learned how to write a riff and great songs. 

Bucket is a niche guitar player. He can spit out a cool riff in a few seconds and he has a ton of feel to his playing. Every guitar player prefers to play in a different way according to their taste. Bucket is not for everyone and never achieved the level of success Slash was able to enjoy, but it's two different things talent and commercial appeal. I think Bucket stint in Gn'R and his work on Chinese shows he could have found more success if doing his thing in his own way wasn't what he seems to prefer to do. I find that admirable and even Slash couldn't deny how good Bucket is as a guitar player and many other musicians respect him as a guitarist.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Rovim

[Cosmo]

Just now, jacdaniel said:

He's technically a great guitarist. Probably spent half his life locked in a room learning scales and techniques. Hopefully he's happy. 

But the real legendary guitarists are the ones that learned how to write a riff and great songs. 

I, myself, am not a big fan of mega technical guitarists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, etc... but I don't think that's Buckethead's appeal to most of his fans. I personally love Buckethead not because he plays 9388387983273 notes per second, but because he plays with his heart and it shows on many of his songs, especially the more melodic and slow paced ones. I don't think he likes making what most people consider to be great riffs and great songs - he likes doing his own thing. If he were in it for the fame, he wouldn't be a masked musician no one knows the identity of - and would've tried to stay far longer in GnR, for example. And if here were in it for the money, he sure as hell wouldn't release more than 100 albums per year on Bandcamp for like $2 each.

[Martin Riggs]

8 minutes ago, Rovim said:

Bucket is a niche guitar player. He can spit out a cool riff in a few seconds and he has a ton of feel to his playing. Every guitar player prefers to play in a different way according to their taste. Bucket is not for everyone and never achieved the level of success Slash was able to enjoy, but it's two different things talent and commercial appeal. I think Bucket stint in Gn'R and his work on Chinese shows he could have found more success if doing his thing in his own way wasn't what he seems to prefer to do. I find that admirable and even Slash couldn't deny how good Bucket is as a guitar player and many other musicians respect him as a guitarist.

His gimmick and constant costume is antithetical to being taken serious imo. He’s a sideshow.