SMKC new single out 22nd October

jimmythegent

I just can't get into this generic cock rock stuff he has hung his hat on. The solo album in 2010 with the myriad of different singers was the last time he sounded remotely inspired (bar Absurd and Hard Skool) - make's me wonder if there were a host of professional song writers in behind the scenes - it of course helps having A-list singers and producers on deck

elevendayempire

jimmythegent wrote:

I just can't get into this generic cock rock stuff he has hung his hat on. The solo album in 2010 with the myriad of different singers was the last time he sounded remotely inspired (bar Absurd and Hard Skool) - make's me wonder if there were a host of professional song writers in behind the scenes - it of course helps having A-list singers and producers on deck

To me it's just a reminder of what each of the OG members brought to the table, and why they all needed to be present to make the magic happen.

Slash: Cock rock, Aerosmith, bluesy rock licks.
Duff: Punk, Prince-style funk, plus nascent Seattle grunge scene energy.
Izzy: Rolling Stones.
Steven: Loosey-goosey Van Halen-esque "happy rock" feel.
Axl: Queen, Elton John.

You can just about get away with losing Steven because you've still got the Duff punk-funk energy and Izzy's Stones-style rhythm.

But with the departure of Izzy and Steven you can see Axl taking more of a lead, so the pendulum starts to swing towards Queen/Elton John style Big Piano Ballads on UYI. That reaches its apotheosis with Chinese Democracy, where it's like 90% piano-driven epics with overblown layers of production.

With the new stuff, you can hear Duff throwing in some slick, snaky bass licks with that Rocket Queen energy (1:55 in Absurd, the intro and 2:55 in Hard Skool). You've obviously got Slash throwing down his signature licks, which he could do in his sleep at this point. But it's missing Izzy's Keef-esque complementary rhythms. If you listen to the riffs at 1:23 in Ghost, off the first Slash solo album, you can see how Izzy's laying down a choppy counter-rhythm that fleshes out the sound of the song.

And that's missing on Hard Skool – the rhythm (Fortus? Huge? Who fucking knows at this point) is just playing essentially the same riff as Slash. So it just sort of chugs along. And that's leaving aside the chugging drums that everyone whinges about, which I'm assuming were Frank – Brain, at least, brought that Adler swing to the band.

So, yeah, I like Hard Skool, but you can see wasted potential in it.

Anyway, as you were, back to discussing the solo album.

metallex78

jimmythegent wrote:

I just can't get into this generic cock rock stuff he has hung his hat on. The solo album in 2010 with the myriad of different singers was the last time he sounded remotely inspired (bar Absurd and Hard Skool) - make's me wonder if there were a host of professional song writers in behind the scenes - it of course helps having A-list singers and producers on deck

I thought there were quite a few duds on that Slash album though. I doubt he used outside writers to end up with crap like I Hold On.

But I do like this new SMKC single. And it sounds more organic than the new (old) GN’R songs, even with the tempo changes.

jimmythegent

elevendayempire wrote:

jimmythegent wrote:
I just can't get into this generic cock rock stuff he has hung his hat on. The solo album in 2010 with the myriad of different singers was the last time he sounded remotely inspired (bar Absurd and Hard Skool) - make's me wonder if there were a host of professional song writers in behind the scenes - it of course helps having A-list singers and producers on deck
To me it's just a reminder of what each of the OG members brought to the table, and why they all needed to be present to make the magic happen.
Slash: Cock rock, Aerosmith, bluesy rock licks.
Duff: Punk, Prince-style funk, plus nascent Seattle grunge scene energy.
Izzy: Rolling Stones.
Steven: Loosey-goosey Van Halen-esque "happy rock" feel.
Axl: Queen, Elton John.
You can just about get away with losing Steven because you've still got the Duff punk-funk energy and Izzy's Stones-style rhythm.
But with the departure of Izzy and Steven you can see Axl taking more of a lead, so the pendulum starts to swing towards Queen/Elton John style Big Piano Ballads on UYI. That reaches its apotheosis with Chinese Democracy, where it's like 90% piano-driven epics with overblown layers of production.
With the new stuff, you can hear Duff throwing in some slick, snaky bass licks with that Rocket Queen energy (1:55 in Absurd, the intro and 2:55 in Hard Skool). You've obviously got Slash throwing down his signature licks, which he could do in his sleep at this point. But it's missing Izzy's Keef-esque complementary rhythms. If you listen to the riffs at 1:23 in Ghost, off the first Slash solo album, you can see how Izzy's laying down a choppy counter-rhythm that fleshes out the sound of the song.
And that's missing on Hard Skool – the rhythm (Fortus? Huge? Who fucking knows at this point) is just playing essentially the same riff as Slash. So it just sort of chugs along. And that's leaving aside the chugging drums that everyone whinges about, which I'm assuming were Frank – Brain, at least, brought that Adler swing to the band.
So, yeah, I like Hard Skool, but you can see wasted potential in it.
Anyway, as you were, back to discussing the solo album.

Couldn't agree more - great post and bang on, on every point

Smoking Guns

Smoking Guns

FlashFlood

Not sure your link is working SG.

Listened to the new song today. I’d rag on it but it’s what I’ve come to expect from this group. Slash comes up with a nifty rift then fill in the rest with generic rock music. At least on the last album, which I have done my fair share of bashing, songs like My Antidote and Mind Your Manners they were good songs to run to.

Smoking Guns

I love this new song. Myles sounds great

metallex78

Third single Call Off The Dogs is a fast rocker, similar to other SMKC fast rockers, and Myles isn’t overly annoying on it, though melody wise it just sounds like you’ve heard all before. Slash sounds great, there’s some very nice riffing going on under the first verse that reminded me a little of Double Talkin Jive, and the solo is nice short without getting too shreddy.

Listening to all three singles together, seems to make more sense than listening as standalone songs.

I think Fill My World is the best we’ve heard so far, and I don’t think any of these songs are particularly great, but I’m still interested enough to hear the rest of the album

Smoking Guns

Re: SMKC new single out 22nd October

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Re: SMKC new single out 22nd October

Re: SMKC new single out 22nd October

Re: SMKC new single out 22nd October

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Re: SMKC new single out 22nd October

Re: SMKC new single out 22nd October

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