downzy Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 2 hours ago, AxlRoseCDII said: I really think if you released the same exact album and just said Slash played on it, it would’ve done 10x better. There would be many casuals and possibly fans who would’ve then felt they had the right to appreciate the music and wouldn’t feel like they automatically hated it. It’s a great album with many highlights that never got the love it deserved. CD certainly would have done better if Slash was on it, but it would still have needed the right launch. Chinese Democracy serving as the first single (with no video) - with or without Slash - was always going to be an underwhelming opening salvo. This I Love and Better are in the top 25 listened to songs of all time; not bad for two song that got next to no promotion. They have been listened to more than You're Crazy, Double Talking Jive, Coma, Dead Horse, The Garden, Locomotive, and other songs that are held in high regard by GNR fans. Axl was already handicapping himself by calling the band Guns N' Roses without Slash. But I think people were still curious what he had been working on all those years. Re-introducing the band with the title track killed all the interest in new music. Personally, I know when I band I generally like releases a new album with a bad first single it kills a lot of enthusiasm I have. I've got to imagine that most people felt that way the first (and likely only) time they heard Chinese Democracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janrichmond Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 4 hours ago, downzy said: CD certainly would have done better if Slash was on it, but it would still have needed the right launch. If Slash were on it I would have heard of CD before I joined MyGnr in 2015 If I hadn't joined here I think I would still be oblivious to CD. Thanks, guys 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRoses23 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 On 1/26/2024 at 3:47 PM, downzy said: CD certainly would have done better if Slash was on it, but it would still have needed the right launch. Chinese Democracy serving as the first single (with no video) - with or without Slash - was always going to be an underwhelming opening salvo. This I Love and Better are in the top 25 listened to songs of all time; not bad for two song that got next to no promotion. They have been listened to more than You're Crazy, Double Talking Jive, Coma, Dead Horse, The Garden, Locomotive, and other songs that are held in high regard by GNR fans. Axl was already handicapping himself by calling the band Guns N' Roses without Slash. But I think people were still curious what he had been working on all those years. Re-introducing the band with the title track killed all the interest in new music. Personally, I know when I band I generally like releases a new album with a bad first single it kills a lot of enthusiasm I have. I've got to imagine that most people felt that way the first (and likely only) time they heard Chinese Democracy. You know what I think hurt the first impressions? The extra long intro on CD. If they had kept the same intro as from the locker leaks I think it would have done worlds better. A minute long intro on the radio was rough for people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downzy Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 2 hours ago, MJRoses23 said: You know what I think hurt the first impressions? The extra long intro on CD. If they had kept the same intro as from the locker leaks I think it would have done worlds better. A minute long intro on the radio was rough for people. I'm fairly certain that version was only played once by most stations. My local stations played the longer intro as part of its promotion, but shortly there after played the shorter version. So not sure if that really made a difference. It's not a great lead off track. The guitar riff sounds like it could replace the intro to the show 90210. The chorus is just kind of meh to me. It's not a bad song. But not the right song to reintroduce a band that has been completely upended. Guns needed to hit it out of the park. Better would have been a much better choice. I don't think it would have changed the overall perception. But from personal experience, the only reason why most of my friends gave it a chance is because I made them listen to songs like Better and TWAT. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRoses23 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 11 minutes ago, downzy said: I'm fairly certain that version was only played once by most stations. My local stations played the longer intro as part of its promotion, but shortly there after played the shorter version. So not sure if that really made a difference. It's not a great lead off track. The guitar riff sounds like it could replace the intro to the show 90210. The chorus is just kind of meh to me. It's not a bad song. But not the right song to reintroduce a band that has been completely upended. Guns needed to hit it out of the park. Better would have been a much better choice. I don't think it would have changed the overall perception. But from personal experience, the only reason why most of my friends gave it a chance is because I made them listen to songs like Better and TWAT. 100% agree that Better was the choice. No idea why they abandoned that idea. It was clearly going to be. The leaked Harley ad from 06 seems to confirm that. The people I played the leak to immediately said this is a radio song. Maybe it was just my area that continued the long intro way after the fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downzy Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 11 minutes ago, MJRoses23 said: Maybe it was just my area that continued the long intro way after the fact. Yeah, maybe it was a station to station decision. Even as a Guns fan, listening to the extended intro was a chore. Maybe the DJs for your station really enjoyed the extra minute for their washroom break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSTK Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Who really cares about streaming numbers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post downzy Posted February 3 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 3 On 1/31/2024 at 4:22 AM, DSTK said: Who really cares about streaming numbers? The topic has been viewed 1300 times, so somebody cares or finds the numbers interesting. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadcaplaughs Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 On 1/31/2024 at 4:22 AM, DSTK said: Who really cares about streaming numbers? I imagine the band does as it earns them some income: probably not enough to live off of, but a band at their level might actually make some notable income from streaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSoRose Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 I like the title track a lot. I didn't think it was a bad first single choice. Cool riff, tons of guitar solos, Axl scream at the start, and it is short and to- the- point. My biggest issue was keeping that intro for the single. What were they thinking?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadcaplaughs Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 ...and yeah, I remember the local rock station in Atlanta at the time played the title track every hour the first day it got released. After that, I only recall hearing it a handful of times, but they kept the intro each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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