Be Excellent To Each Other

Rockin'

(and no, this doesn't go in the metul thread).

W-wait... it actually exists??? *Looks around for the Four Horsemen (Apocalypse, not wrestling)*

It exists. And halfway in, I like it rather a lot. Apparently it tails off though. Nonetheless, I'm off down the shops Monday.

/edit much caterwauling, good stuff

Hasn't this been in the offing for about ten years? I remember reading about it in Kerrang in probably around about 2000. Not that I'm interested in GnR at all, mind.

Colour me excited! I know I could probably get a version to hear now but I'm waiting till I get the proper release on Monday and then I'm giving it all the time it needs to sink in and sound good!

Any band that can release Appetite for Destruction has got to be ok in my books!

Fuck me! That must mean the CPC version of Street Fighter 2 must also be out!

*Waits for 'Duke Nukem Forever released in time for Christmas!' shocker!*

Fourteen years.

The advert during the football tonight was making light of it... which caused me to check usenet.

I can see how people are going to miss what the other 'originals' brought to the band, but as a first crack at going it 'alone' Rose has done a decent job here. Looking forward to Monday and a read of the booklet.

My money's on 'Ash's horror masterpiece Slashed to be released in cinemas by Christmas!' myself.

I'll be really suprised if this isn't banal shite. Hope it isn't, though. Are these actually ten year old performances, or did they re-record them? Was there any reason not to release it other than it being humdrum cobblers?

The other question is should it really be called Guns n Roses and not Axel Rose's solo band? It's kind of a bit like Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi. Then again, not even Slash was an original member (unless my memory is faulty) so it's not like there was an original definitive line up like Sabbath.

Ten year old performances apparently. Sixteen different studios used over the years, six(?) guitarists credited on one track type of deal.

You're right, Tracii Guns was their first guitarist. Hence, 'Guns and Roses', after him and Axl Rose. He later went on to form LA Guns.

Reviews I think are fair. Whichever way you look at it, Chinese Democracy is a valid and worthwhile album for this band.

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/c ... an_reviews

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/alb ... _democracy

But is this band still valid and worthwhile? Or even a band?

I doubt that I'll be asked to play anything from this should I still be doing my rock type DJing in 10 years time (and I severely hope to be).

Jon, I shall make it my personal mission to come find you in 10 years and 1 days time and ask you to play the title track off Chinese Democracy... watch that I do!!

Oh, for pity's sake. Always the 'not a real band' argument. Are New Model Army just Justin Sullivan now, are Napalm Death no longer Napalm without Mick, Bill, Lee and the rest? Are the Wildehearts, Almighty, Sisters, Wonderstuff or Nine Inch Nails (or Marilyn Manson) any different in their incarnations over the years? There's people who've clocked up more time in G n' R than Adler or Sorum, now. Dizzy Reed being the longest serving member beyond Axl.

They are still a band, they tour and release (an) album(s). Looking at the other big bands from classic G n' R's final year or two, you've got U2, Metallica and the Chillis, bands like that. All of whom have steadily released more and more fucking shit as the years have drawn on. Axl spent the time making sure he released one record that rocks.

It'll sell tonnes and millions will still like them and all will be well.

BUT IS IT ANY FUCKING GOOD?

Well it's Guns N Roses, so no it isn't. Hate them and always have done. Especially the slithery shrieking child that squawks into the can.

I'm puzzled as to why this seems to be the only recent (er, I'm assuming it's recent, anyway) photograph of Axl Rose. Every time I see the album mentioned on a website, it comes with this pic.

Anyone that thinks "Appetite.." isn't one of the best albums ever needs their head examining.

Because he has a weird messed up face from plastic surgery causing significant Crasterisation.

Blimey. Mother?

No, that's not what I meant. Hell, I can't get enough Sisters of Mercy and Siouxsie and the Banshees so original line-ups don't really mean much to me at all if I like the music.

What I meant (but did not fully explain) was that if the point about the six (?) guitarists on one track was correct or even some way to being correct then they're not a real band, they're Axel Rose and a bunch of session musicians who it seems he is rather unimpressed with. As I wasn't sure it was accurate, I phrased it as a question.

For the record, I actually do think of the Sisters as Andrew Eldritch's ego machine + session musicians rather than a band. But I don't care.

You do sound a rather big G n' R fan, so I hope you do enjoy the album because you've had rather a long wait. But I still think that in ten years time people will remember "Appetite for Destruction" more than "Chinese Democracy".

People will remember Appetite in a thousand years, never mind ten. (Nevermind, Ten.. see what I inadvertantly did, there?). I rather suspect that Rose's timescale did not and would not suit many players in the context of this album, hence the turnover, and one or two had issues they needed to sort out, as I recall. Didn't a couple quit because they didn't want to go touring?

I'm fairly convinced that were Rose to have 'hurried' the album, you'd have had one or two 'main' new band members apparent, and each would have had the Slash/Duff/Izzy comparisons, which for anyone with the balls to join G n' R in the first place would be a cruel inevitability they could well thrive without. Now Rose has created a buffer zone and any one of the multitude of musicians on this new album could make their spot firm and get away with it in the public eye. Rose has manned up here and taken the entireity of the pressure. Fair play for that, those playing on this album are doing just that, playing on an album, which is all G n' R were doing with Appetite, after all.

And we can all play fantasy G n' R 3.0 in the meantime. I want to see Slash and Izzy repacements in the form of Geordie White and Ginger Wildheart respectively.

And get Bach or Josh Todd in for Velvet Revolver, who can still contribute if they are sensible.

Am I a bad person for really liking some of the songs on Chinese Democracy?

Not at all.

Yay!

I don't think it's a problem that new people are in the band - this is a good healthy thing and in Jazz is considered a good thing. It's only in rock people don't like it because of stupid hero-worship bollocks, which becomes difficult if it's different people in the band all the time.

What I am concerned with is that this situation may not really be a band at all - just session musicians on a pay roll, which isn't the same thing and is, in fact, the Axle Rose band. Which would make it much less interesting, imo. No idea if it is though, but that's what I suspect.

but i guess everyone here knows that Guns n' Roses was about 70% Axl before Izzy left and 100% afterward. Altough i have to agree that Slash and Duff's stage presence is certainly going to me missed in gigs. They played here in 2006 and i didn't go (53€ for the ticket), but if it was the classic line up i would pay more than that.

Slash's tone was certainly significant, I'd say almost as important as the song writing. Didn't he write anything?

i don't think so, besides the ocassional lead and solo. But mighty solos they were, i have to add.

Blabbermouth gave it 6.5/10.

Nonsense! He reckons Sorry sounds like Metallica, when in fact it precisely rips off Gilmour era Floyd. That said, I'm not about to spend my time giving a bad review a bad review.

I give this post a 7/10.

Sorry obviously sounds like a repressed Ronnie Corbett.

Yeah? Well you smell like penises.

That's because of my love of penises.