For a few bars more: A little rant about songwriting and guitars re the "new" songs

[AxlRoseCDII]

I have never understood the “copy and paste” criticism as it pertains to Hard Skool. It’s literally verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus (x2). That’s how songs are written. 

I agree with Perhaps it’s annoying. That was my biggest issue with it since the locker leaks. With Absurd and The General I agree more could’ve been done but at least there are bridges to shake things up, and to the formers credit, Absurd is supposed to be a mosh pit head banger song where I don’t think it needed diverse lyrics to be fun and serve it’s point.

Edited November 13, 2023 by AxlRoseCDII

[Bitchisback]

9 hours ago, Voodoochild said:

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and mine is that this line “Survivors don’t whine“ is disgusting. 

For real. What a truly awful and gross take.  

[Gibson87]

I wasn't a fan of the mix levels on Hard Skool but the mastering sounded fine. 

Perhaps was phenomenal aside from the little blip right at the start of Slash's solo. I thought his solo fit the song really well.

Absurd was a great song, production-wise. I think it could have been a little more fleshed out lyrically instead of repeating the same verse but I get what they were going for. 

[JimiRose]

I like the songs released but do feel there is a 'Lazy' aspect to them. Absurd has a 1 word chorus and the same verses repeated 3 times with 1 part 2 of a verse differing. repeating guitar licks. Hardskool, again is copied verse chorus. good song, but 24 years of it sitting there... perhaps, love the hook, think it's a great song, but the repeated first verse bridge and chorus twice... it's like axl wrote half a great song and didnt know how to finish it so just played it twice. the solo is ok, but i agree, double it and have a piano solo as well. the general. same as perhaps. I love the lyrical content and the orchestra. But where's the guitar solo? why is it just verse 1 bridge chorus repeated? Monsters sounds great, would love them to double the length of slash's solo, but there's way more going on, the oo oos, the change up between verse and chorus and then the big axl finale vocal. Sounds like axl put way more effort into make that one a fully fledged song. Atlas shrugged with a great slash solo (or keep the may one) i think is a great song too.

Goog songs, worthy of GnR, but they sound a lot like songs they wrote in a week in 1999, great starts great hooks and potential, then gave up on and decided actually these are good, lets just double everything and release them. which makes it baffling these werent just released in 99/2000. They have done nothing to change these songs by adding parts and lyrics. just tinkered with existing parts. Sums axl post 93 up tbh. 

[Towelie]

On 11/11/2023 at 3:27 PM, Its Tino said:

I truly understand everyone’s perspective. I don’t get hung up on it tho. I enjoy the tunes as they are and the more time goes by I appreciate them all more. 

Yeah, this is me, pretty much.

Enjoy it for what it is and don't obsess over what it's not.

[oneway23]

These songs have been through the hands of almost two dozen musicians over two decades.  They've been re-edited, re-chopped, and re-calibrated five-thousand times over, dubbed over countless times, all processed within an inch of their lives, and, that's just speaking about the handful of classics that made it out of this era, never mind the hundreds of CDs of half-written songs and half-baked ideas that are sitting on DAT tapes, Zip Drives, hard drives, and god knows whatever other medium that has existed since the mid-90s.  They're all Frankenstein's creations, even the best ones!

Edited November 13, 2023 by oneway23

[username]

Eh, since everybody is throwing in their two cents I'll add mine. 

ABSURD was a huge surprise for me. Like it's the ultimate trolljob to release what was probably the most hated and definitely the most devisive song from the entire CD era among fans. That said, this thing abolutely kicked ass. I hated Silkworms for years, but I'd already made a full 180 on the song based on the Village version. Now I have trouble deciding which I like more - Village Silkworms or ABSURD. Is it a ridiculous song? Yes. And I absolutely fucking love it. I was shocked by it. In a good way. Killer riff too. 

Hard Stool (which I refuse to write with a k) was the exact opposite for me. It was a huge favorite for me from Village, but the final product was a huge letdown. The bass and riff are nice, but the cheesy schoolbell is just stupid and they replaced the absolute whirlwind of an ending with some of Slash's most generic and unmemorable work. The bridge already felt placeholder in the demo, but the released version was just flat out boring and builds to nothing. Complete lackluster song for me, especially given the awesome riptide of a finish it used to have. The stupid spelling in the name change was the final nail in it's coffin. 

Perhaps. Well hot dawg! Aside from the clusterfuck with the jukebox this proves that GnR is still able to make a half decent video and do a half decent release. Color me surprised! Aside from that, it's not like this thing transcends the demo for me. It's fine. It's nice. But it's not great. 

Then there's The General and Monster which I both love. I can get picky about the lyrics (mostly of The General) but I don't really want to. Oh, fun fact, GnR hasn't released these yet so they kinda don't count.  But the guitar work feels more well done and more integrated into the song rather than pasted on. Particularly in Hardschool but also in Perhaps some parts seem pasted-on. Which, of course, they are. Because after all they're reworking 20 to 25 year old material. But in The General and Monster I didn't get this feeling as much. Either because it was more well done, because for these songs I had no frame of reference based on leaked demos, or both. 

Then there's some key things that I dislike in everything they've released since the reunion entirely. Most of all production and mixing. Which is just poorly done. No other way to put it.

All in all I can't shake the feeling that these Hardschool and Perhaps just aren't as good as the demo's we already had. ABSURD is a different story because it's so wildly different that I can't compare them. At least it's a giant kick in the nuts, in a good way. And for the other two we just don't know and might never know. I really love ABSURD, Monster and The General. Perhaps was good to unobjectionable and Hardschool still makes me sad. But in the end, everything about this post-reunion feels at least somewhat lackluster because nothing has that huge guns blazing throwing everything at you including the kitchen sink comeback songs you'd want them to be. Axl doesn't seem too involved or even bothered at all, Slash his last truly memorable guitar work for me was Anastasia from 2012 (iirc). And in the end Slash and Duff are just adding bits to 25 year old songs to get *something* out and justify more touring. And then there's Team Failure just halfassing everything they do. Aside from maybe the Perhaps video, I liked that.

But just think how good this could've been with a little bit more passion and dedication. Releasing 8 of those songs as an EP in 2016/2017 could've been amazing. That would've sent a message. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by username

[oneway23]

3 minutes ago, username said:

But just think how good this could've been with a little bit more passion and dedication. Releasing 8 of those songs as an EP in 2016/2017 could've been amazing. That would've sent a message. 

This is pretty much where I'm at after SEVEN YEARS (???!!) after the core trio have re-united

[dave94]

Think some of these songs are a victim of being worked on, reworked and then worked on again to the point they’re long detached from the original vision.

Hard School is the best example, the demo sounded interesting at least even if you didn’t like it, but the final release just sounded like throwaway nondescript “dad rock”. The cheesy tacked on parts don’t help but really the song needs to work with the original sounds intended for the song.

I really liked the demo of perhaps but the final release was over-layered to the point no parts of the song really stood out anymore (apart from the poor guitar transition at the start of the solo). At least Absurd was a bit different and stood out, a shame the song itself is pure garbage (although I like Slash’s guitar work on it)

[Tom2112]

20 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I wonder how much of the copy/paste criticism is due to us knowing how these songs have been made before we hear them. We're kind of prepared and "programmed" to hear them as a product of copy and paste. Aside from the repetition of verses on Perhaps etc., would we be able to tell that the songs have a "copy and paste" sound if we heard them without knowing anything about them?

I think we'd criticise about the same if this brand new material freaky written and Axl was re-using verses the way he has on these tracks.

It's not awful, but I guess I expected more from Axl after hearing the Chinese album. I think it was mostly s good call not including this material on the 2008 album 

[ZoSoRose]

Absurd- Overall, a big improvement from the original. I do think it was very dumb to remove the "All I ask of you..." part in the chorus. That was the best part of the song, but it seems that was removed back in 2001. The recording sounds great with Duff and Slash. The problem is that the song is still fucking Silkworms  It is a forum meme. We have the "pussy full of maggots" verse repeated 3 freaking times. Not only are the lyrics disgusting, but they repeat! How about some actual song writing with actual lyrics? Man, if this song had completely different lyrics, a different and extended bridge with lyrics, an extended solo, etc, it could have been a kick ass rock track. Instead, it is still Silkworms. My favorite version is one of @evader's because he kept the cool prechorus in. If not for that, I'd take the final one. I'll never get over that this is the comeback single... ABSURD! I like it as a guilty pleasure when it is just me around 

Hard Skool- Everyone is crazy, this one rocks  Like everyone, I was STOKED when we got the full Checkmate/Jackie Chan in 2019. I remember jamming to the little snippet back in like 2007 or 2008... crazy! So, I actually remember hearing the entire track for the first time and being confused. The major- minor changes in the intro and bridge are kind of jarring and it was crazy that the only lyrics were 2 short verses and the 1 chorus (minimal lyrics is a pattern that is to be repeated, it seems). Anyways, it was still cool as hell to get the track. Then the final version came out and I like everything about it more than the demo except the drums. I can live with that. I was disappointed the song itself didn't have an additional vocal part, but what they did change I really dug. Lots of Slash on this one. I dig the slide solo. Hard Skool is an ideal reunion song imo. It is catchy, the chorus is classic- Axl, lots of Slash leads all over... I dig it for what it is and think it is a vast improvement over the 1999 version. It does make me wonder if there is a 2006 version or something that they mainly used as the template. Wonder what that sounds like, if so!

Perhaps- I am pretty indifferent over the demo compared to the final version. Everyone was gushing over Perhaps in 2019, and I've always liked the song, but I do think we overrated it. It was just exciting to hear another song with vocals and one with a yelling- Axl chorus and a more straight forward guitar solo. I always thought the Finck solo was cool, but super overrated. Like almost all these songs, the song suffers from being undercooked. What we do have is very basic- it repeats twice with the solo in the middle. There are some cool differences in the second half like that big drum fill, but it could have used another part, or at the very least, some different lyrics in the back- half. What we do have I quite like, though, and Perhaps is a nice little rock song! The final version sonically sounds pretty great. I agree there is a lot going on that you have to really pay attention to hear- but I think that is okay because not every part is meant to be at the front. The demo has a lot more going on, but when you listen to it compared to the final it is actually a little too busy imo. I like the lead guitar over the song, but I think the final version works better. Slash makes it sound more like old- GNR, of course. His solo is okay. It is not bad, but it would have been cool to get something a little more exciting. Oh well. Good little tune, overall. Glad to have it. 

The General- The big one... or so we thought. We are all dumb for hyping this song up so much, but that is also by design with how little Axl releases music. Sebastian Back said some things about the song once or twice, and Axl mentioned it once and then for some reason this one and Atlas Shrugged- pre 2019- became the poster songs for CD2. Well, we have it now. Obviously, this is the one song we can't compare to a demo or earlier version. Funny enough, this is the one that sounds the most like a NuGNR recording in its final form, to me. Not a bad thing, though. Also, like Absurd, Hard Skool, and Perhaps, it feels undercooked- verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge (which is just the verse with different lyrics), chorus (but with a solo). Basic, and of course, the verses are very minimal and repeat. It also all feels pretty copy/paste, almost demo- like with the sitar guitar and then the Slash leads coming in and then leaving as soon as they are all done. Did The General live up to the hype? No. Do I like it? You know what, I actually do. Once I kept listening to it (I sound like an abuse victim), it clicked somehow. Despite its simplicity, it is actually a very interesting song because the parts are not super conventional. The orchestra sounds weird and cool, and when the chorus hits, holy shit. That chorus is somehow the heaviest Guns N' Roses gets. It is just power chords, but they thicken the hell out of it, and Axl's screaming and melody with Brain's drums are just pure power. I love that shit! Slash (probably) ripping out a frantic shred- solo over the last chorus is also killer. It was cool getting to witness its live debut, too. Man, with some more cooking, this could have been more like an epic for sure. The bridge is the weakest part; it is just too similar to the verses (Slash's little line is cool, though). The "daddy" lyrics are also very uncomfortable, but that is the point, right? It does help that this was released with Monsters. No, they aren't one song, but they flow together really well. We may not have gotten one big epic song, but since we can listen to these back- to- back as companion songs, who the hell cares? Speaking of which,

Monsters- Fuck yeah! Like The General, we don't have much to go off of with a demo vs. final analysis. From what we can hear in the cell phone clip, it does sound like it was more sinister with NuGNR. The NuGNR guitar solo is very different than the final version. That being said, I fucking love what Slash brought to the table with Monsters! It is my favorite of his contributions to the Chinese takeout songs. He sounds more like old- Slash, with more saturated, "chain saw" like gain in parts, and some Snakepit- like playing (reminds me of Lower sometimes). This could have been a kick- ass GNR song in 1996 or whatever, for sure. The song itself rules. I dig Axl channeling Ozzy on the verses, the chorus is catchy (although the "Oh" still sounds a little off- pitch to me), and I love the low-pitched Monsters parts. The part where Slash does that little lick and then Axl goes into the screaming bridge. That with the orchestra in the back and guitars is easily the best piece of GNR music since Chinese Democracy. It is great. This song also suffers from some copying and pasting and repetition, but it is a lot more forgivable because there is more going on. This is my favorite of the Chinese takeout songs, and even though it is a leak, I am super glad we have it. We were all waiting for Atlas and The General when it was Soul Monster we needed, all along . I do think The General and Monsters are less sonically appealing compared to the other 3, but maybe the final versions will be more HQ and clear. I also guess it is possible the final versions of The General and Monsters will be different, but I have a feeling these are in fact the final versions. The live version of The General is exactly the same aside from Slash's solo, and I think that is more of him just not remembering what his original solo was. 

Overall, I am super happy we are getting all of these and eagerly await more. That being said, I also can see why these didn't make the cut on Chinese Democracy and why a successor didn't come out. It doesn't make these bad songs, it just feels like they are leftover songs from that era- which they are. Now that I think about it, some of the CD songs are sort of light on lyrics and parts- Shackler's, ITW, Riad, and Madagascar are sort of light on vocal parts but they have a ton of instrumental layers that make the songs sound interesting, imo. I feel like the new songs don't have as many layers as the CD songs which I am sure a lot of people like. That is probably for the best with Slash and Duff back. I like the album, and these leftovers as a separate thing. But yeah, Monsters rules. 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by ZoSoRose

[AxlRQ93]

2 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Absurd- Overall, a big improvement from the original. I do think it was very dumb to remove the "All I ask of you..." part in the chorus. That was the best part of the song, but it seems that was removed back in 2001. The recording sounds great with Duff and Slash. The problem is that the song is still fucking Silkworms  It is a forum meme. We have the "pussy full of maggots" verse repeated 3 freaking times. Not only are the lyrics disgusting, but they repeat! How about some actual song writing with actual lyrics? Man, if this song had completely different lyrics, a different and extended bridge with lyrics, an extended solo, etc, it could have been a kick ass rock track. Instead, it is still Silkworms. My favorite version is one of @evader's because he kept the cool prechorus in. If not for that, I'd take the final one. I'll never get over that this is the comeback single... ABSURD!

Hard Skool- Everyone is crazy, this one rocks  Like everyone, I was STOKED when we got the full Checkmate/Jackie Chan in 2019. I remember jamming to the little snippet back in like 2007 or 2008... crazy! So, I actually remember hearing the entire track for the first time and being confused. The major- minor changes in the intro and bridge are kind of jarring and it was crazy that the only lyrics were 2 short verses and the 1 chorus (minimal lyrics is a pattern that is to be repeated, it seems). Anyways, it was still cool as hell to get the track. Then the final version came out and I like everything about it more than the demo except the drums. I can live with that. I was disappointed the song itself didn't have an additional vocal part, but what they did change I really dug. Lots of Slash on this one. I dig the slide solo. Hard Skool is an ideal reunion song imo. It is catchy, the chorus is classic- Axl, lots of Slash leads all over... I dig it for what it is and think it is a vast improvement over the 1999 version. It does make me wonder if there is a 2006 version or something that they mainly used as the template. Wonder what that sounds like, if so!

Perhaps- I am pretty indifferent over the demo compared to the final version. Everyone was gushing over Perhaps in 2019, and I've always liked the song, but I do think we overrated it. It was just exciting to hear another song with vocals and one with a yelling- Axl chorus and a more straight forward guitar solo. I always thought the Finck solo was cool, but super overrated. Like almost all these songs, the song suffers from being undercooked. What we do have is very basic- it repeats twice with the solo in the middle. There are some cool differences in the second half like that big drum fill, but it could have used another part, or at the very least, some different lyrics in the back- half. What we do have I quite like, though, and Perhaps is a nice little rock song! The final version sonically sounds pretty great. I agree there is a lot going on that you have to really pay attention to hear- but I think that is okay because not every part is meant to be at the front. The demo has a lot more going on, but when you listen to it compared to the final it is actually a little too busy imo. I like the lead guitar over the song, but I think the final version works better. Slash makes it sound more like old- GNR, of course. His solo is okay. It is not bad, but it would have been cool to get something a little more exciting. Oh well. Good little tune, overall. Glad to have it. 

The General- The big one... or so we thought. We are all dumb for hyping this song up so much, but that is also by design with how little Axl releases music. Sebastian Back said some things about the song once or twice, and Axl mentioned it once and then for some reason this one and Atlas Shrugged- pre 2019- became the poster songs for CD2. Well, we have it now. Obviously, this is the one song we can't compare to a demo or earlier version. Funny enough, this is the one that sounds the most like a NuGNR recording in its final form, to me. Not a bad thing, though. Also, like Absurd, Hard Skool, and Perhaps, it feels undercooked- verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge (which is just the verse with different lyrics), chorus (but with a solo). Basic, and of course, the verses are very minimal and repeat. It also all feels pretty copy/paste, almost demo like with the sitar guitar and then the Slash leads coming in and then leaving as soon as they are all done. Did The General live up to the hype? No. Do I like it? You know what, I actually do. Once I kept listening to it (I sound like an abuse victim), it clicked somehow. The orchestra sounds weird and cool, and when the chorus hits, holy shit. That chorus is somehow the heaviest Guns N' Roses gets. It is just powerchords, but they thicken the hell out of it, and Axl's screaming and melody with Brain's drums are just pure power. I love that shit! Slash (probably) ripping out a frantic shred- solo over the last chorus is also killer. It was cool getting to witness its live debut, too. Man, with some more cooking, this could have been more like an epic for sure. The bridge is the weakest part. I like what Slash does, but it is just too similar to the verses. The "daddy" lyrics are also very uncomfortable, but that is the point, right? It does help that this was released with Monsters. No, they aren't one song, but they flow together really well. We may not have gotten one big epic song, but since we can listen to these back- to- back as companion songs, who the hell cares? Speaking of which,

Monsters- Fuck yeah! Like The General, we don't have much to go off of with a demo vs. final analysis. From what we can hear in the cell phone clip, it does sound like it was more sinister with NuGNR. The NuGNR guitar solo is very different than the final version. That being said, I fucking love what Slash brought to the table with Monsters! It is my favorite of his contributions to the Chinese takeout songs. He sounds more like old- Slash, with more saturated, "chain saw" like gain in parts, and some Snakepit- like playing (reminds me of Lower sometimes). This could have been a kick- ass GNR song in 1996 or whatever, for sure. The song itself rules. I dig Axl channeling Ozzy on the verses, the chorus is catchy (although the "Oh" still sounds a little off- pitch to me), and I love the low-pitched Monsters parts. The part where Slash does that little lick and then Axl goes into the screaming bridge. That with the orchestra in the back and guitars is easily the best piece of GNR music since Chinese Democracy. It is great. This song also suffers from some copying and pasting and repetition, but it is a lot more forgivable because there is more going on. This is my favorite of the Chinese takeout songs, and even though it is a leak, I am super glad we have it. We were all waiting for Atlas and The General when it was Soul Monster we needed, all along . I do think The General and Monsters are less sonically appealing compared to the other 3, but maybe the final versions will be more HQ and clear. I also guess it is possible the final versions of The General and Monsters will be different, but I have a feeling these are in fact the final versions. The live version of The General is exactly the same aside from Slash's solo, and I think that is more of him just not remembering what his original solo was. 

Overall, I am super happy we are getting all of these and eagerly await more. That being said, I also can see why these didn't make the cut on Chinese Democracy and why a successor didn't come out. It doesn't make these bad songs, it just feels like they are leftover songs from that era- which they are. Now that I think about it, some of the CD songs are sort of light on lyrics and parts- Shackler's, ITW, Riad, and Madagascar are sort of light on vocal parts but they have a ton of instrumental layers that make the songs sound interesting, imo. I feel like the new songs don't have as many layers as the CD songs which I am sure a lot of people like. That is probably for the best with Slash and Duff back. I like the album, and these leftovers as a separate thing. But yeah, Monsters rules. 

the general was the most underwhelming. It’s musically interesting but it comes off like a looped song since the first section literally repeats. And the end/bridge section “don’t know what to tell you now” doesn’t fit with the rest of it. 

perhaps had better lead guitar in the demo I think 

Agree with your takes overall tho 👍🏼

[Blackstar]

20 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

I think we'd criticise about the same if this brand new material freaky written and Axl was re-using verses the way he has on these tracks.

It's not awful, but I guess I expected more from Axl after hearing the Chinese album. I think it was mostly s good call not including this material on the 2008 album 

There are tracks on CD though that are, if not (lyrically) repetitive, poorer than this (Riad, Scraped, If The World).

[ZoSoRose]

6 minutes ago, AxlRQ93 said:

the general was the most underwhelming. It’s musically interesting but it comes off like a looped song since the first section literally repeats. And the end/bridge section “don’t know what to tell you now” doesn’t fit with the rest of it. 

perhaps had better lead guitar in the demo I think 

Agree with your takes overall tho 👍🏼

I like the song, but I still agree with what you are saying regarding The General! Needed more time (which is the most ironic thing in the world to say). It is clear that for some of these songs, they were probably written very quickly and did not change all that much. If they sat down with The General and really built it out, it could have been monstrous (no pun intended). I will take what I can get, though. For me the chorus is what makes the song. 

It is interesting, Hard Skool, Perhaps, The General, and Monsters all have really great and catchy choruses in my opinion. I think big "Axl-y" choruses were kind of missing on the record, but it was not really a that kind of album if that makes sense. Shackler's is really the only anthemic one or catchy one. Not that the others all needed catchy choruses to serve the songs. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by ZoSoRose

[axl666]

I have a sense that the 'albums mean nothing anymore' moment has actually passed.

I like these new singles of the ones I've heard but their general impact has been low I guess. Whereas if they were released together as an album, even if it didn't sell much, it would still attract a lot more attention.

I don't know why but I have a feeling that Taylor swift has changed my perspective on this.

[evilfacelessturtle]

On 11/10/2023 at 3:49 PM, adamsapple said:

Stop contemplating your fucking „gear“ and „tone“ and get to the actual matter of things.

Actually, Slash needs to contemplate his tone a little more. Why he's going so clean these days is beyond comprehension.

I will say, I get why they aren't changing any vocals, but I don't see why they can't add bars in the solo section for Slash. Who knows, maybe that's really all he wanted to do with the song; just a simple, November Rain kinda solo.

 

On 11/12/2023 at 7:31 PM, denin said:

The usual complaints, the bridge ending with a defiant "I've got nothing else to do!" Man needs to have priorities.

LOL, this guy hears "who ever thought I'd be around to shed a light on you" and says "Get a job!"

[evilfacelessturtle]

On 11/13/2023 at 6:59 AM, oneway23 said:

These songs have been through the hands of almost two dozen musicians over two decades.  They've been re-edited, re-chopped, and re-calibrated five-thousand times over, dubbed over countless times, all processed within an inch of their lives, and, that's just speaking about the handful of classics that made it out of this era, never mind the hundreds of CDs of half-written songs and half-baked ideas that are sitting on DAT tapes, Zip Drives, hard drives, and god knows whatever other medium that has existed since the mid-90s.  They're all Frankenstein's creations, even the best ones!

Not necessarily, they have all the original raw tracks for everything. You really think they just kept adding on to the same version all along? I was quite surprised at the quality of Perhaps in its ultimate form.

 

On 11/13/2023 at 6:59 AM, username said:

Then there's some key things that I dislike in everything they've released since the reunion entirely. Most of all production and mixing. Which is just poorly done. No other way to put it.

What don't you like about it?

 

On 11/13/2023 at 5:51 PM, ZoSoRose said:

I dig Axl channeling Ozzy on the verses, the chorus is catchy (although the "Oh" still sounds a little off- pitch to me)

I'm surprised more people haven't pointed that out. It reminds me of the off-key choruses in Oh My God. "Nobody wanted to knoooowwww"

[gnfnr2k]

On 11/13/2023 at 2:10 AM, Gibson87 said:

I wasn't a fan of the mix levels on Hard Skool but the mastering sounded fine. 

Perhaps was phenomenal aside from the little blip right at the start of Slash's solo. I thought his solo fit the song really well.

Absurd was a great song, production-wise. I think it could have been a little more fleshed out lyrically instead of repeating the same verse but I get what they were going for. 

 

That little blip is part of robins solo lol 

[adamsapple]

On 11/13/2023 at 11:57 PM, Blackstar said:

There are tracks on CD though that are, if not (lyrically) repetitive, poorer than this (Riad, Scraped, If The World).

Add IRS to that and you got 4 songs I never understood how they ended up on the album. Hard Skool alone is better than all of these combined.

[evilfacelessturtle]

Hard Skewl better than IRS? I don't want what you're smoking.

IRS is the most classic Guns sounding song on that album. It's wild that they haven't done it with Slash.

[adamsapple]

5 hours ago, evilfacelessturtle said:

Hard Skewl better than IRS? I don't want what you're smoking.

IRS is the most classic Guns sounding song on that album. It's wild that they haven't done it with Slash.

Only thing I like about IRS is the vocals, that moment where he holds that note for eternity is awesome. But the lyrics just don't do much for me. HS is a better song to me overall, better lyrics, catchy chorus and I like the montage/credits rolling vibe (in lack of a better word) of it. They should have pitched HS to a movie production, it's cinematic, good stuff.

[eggers]

This might be the dumbest post I have ever read.

[Jw224]

The General and Monsters (and maybe Perhaps) are the only ones from the reworked tracks that actually sound like Slash belongs on them and isn't just pasted on. 

[THELINESMAN]

10 hours ago, evilfacelessturtle said:

Hard Skewl better than IRS? I don't want what you're smoking.

IRS is the most classic Guns sounding song on that album. It's wild that they haven't done it with Slash.

I agree with this 100%. The raspy aggression and punchy guitars on this could easily have fit with the UYI era.

[El Guapo]

They should really start writing new stuff with the current members since there clearly aren't any "big guns" left in Axl's vault.

At this point he's just feeding his ego by releasing these tracks with Slash and Duff overdubs. In a painfully slow manner.