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- Intercourse
- Rep: 212
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
I didn't even read the stuff about Great White as I always thought that 'W' was a misprint and and an 's' should have been in there instead.
I think Niven is pretty spot on about the whole GNR thing. He makes some pretty tough but fair calls on songwriting and personalities too. I rate him because Izzy stayed with him and I think Izzy was the only sane one from the original band for most of the 90's.
I also think it says a lot that a sober Duff asked him to manage VR. I think the guy is the real deal and should be commended for having the balls to call a spade a spade (as he sees it).
Azoff was too much of a ball swinger for cash to ever be honest about his intentions as was Merch.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
Dont know much about Great White really, I heard this song a few months ago on the radio late at night when I was driving home very tired:
[youtube]tLO9s77MEzc&feature=related[/youtube]
I'm guessing this is one of their big hits, I thought it sounded fantastic, it fitted my mood and the ambience of driving along the deserted motorway in the wee hours of the morning. It was actually one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had listening to the radio cause they refrained from playing the same "hits" from bands they play all through the day and played all these other album tracks, it made the journey much more interesting.
(The video is cheese though, kinda kills it for me 
)
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
Great White is a fine band. They are not fucking terrible.
It amazes me how people ignore how gay Bon Jovi were on a consistent basis. I do not get at all why Bon Jovi get a pass. Yet the Poison's are crapped on for being lame.
It's the same damn thing. You can't spell Bon Jovi without BJ.
With that being said, I like music from all three and music from that era. Music is music. You like it or you don't. GN'R is not anymore legit than Great White. Same with Bon Jovi. And Niven is right, any of those "hair" bands with the right promo, could've been Bon Jovi big. Bon Jovi just got lucky that they were the right band at the right time with the right people. The music isn't much different and the presentation wasn't much different. Bon Jovi just had the right people behind the scenes.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
Hadn't commented on this yet but I do like seeing Niven's take on the situation. Like Intercourse stated, Niven is one of the few sane people to walk through the revolving door and I actually wish he commented more on GNR than he does. The fact he was there from virtually the beginning is a huge A+ in my book. You have the Axl/Slash/Izzy/Duff/etc. versions of what went on and even though those opinions vary for obvious reasons they are crucial to the overall saga, but inside yet on the outside people like Niven bring more credibility to the issues.
On the subject of Great White, not a massive fan and haven't listened to them in years but they had a few killer tunes in the late 80s. House of Broken Love kicks ass.
pre Nov 1991-band.
June-July 91 version of the band was untouchable. Obviously all the credit in the world has gotta go to that AFD lineup as they started it all and made what is probably the best album in history, but as far as I'm concerned nothing can top that summer 91 lineup hitting the road playing that unbelievable set list. While it may not have been as "raw" as 87-88, it was pretty fucking close and the set list more than made up for it and I have never and probably will never see anyone own a stage like Axl did that LATE summer night in Mountain View, CA. Any time I think of that era I remember Izzy's arrogant yet truthful comment in 91...
We're the greatest band in the world, can blow anyone off the stage, and we know it...
Wish he had never left and just rode out that insane UYI tour. Dust N Bones and/or 14 Years would have probably been singles/videos had he just stuck around. They were permanent staples in the set until he bailed. Dust N Bones had single written all over it. Thought it when I heard it live and then really thought so when hearing it on the album. Hell, my mom even liked that song. 
Just wasn't meant to be.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
I am a big fan of Great White, and they still can write stuff that's catchy as hell. They are not changing the world, not trying to. But they are damn good. They gained popularity in the beginning based on their music. Their image was nothing. They are all, dare I say it, average-looking dudes. They didn't appeal to people because any of them were "hot."
Again, they are lumped in as a hair band, but they're like Tesla, a band caught up in that who doesn't deserve it.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
I dunno about this interview.
Izzy is definately great and all, and wrote some good stuff....but you can't tell me that Axl, Slash and Duff together wouldn't be magic.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
The song writing ability is SEVERLY hampered without Izzy. There's a reason Axl, Slash & Duff haven't gotten back to their output from 1991 back.
With that said, Izzy also needs them. He's good, but he's also missing something post-1991.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
I've just never understood what's so wrong with the term "hair band".
It's either good or it's not. Fuck what everyone else SAYS you should like.
The term "hairband" is from the massive amounts of bands that got signed in the 1980's, and for the most part is saying there were all the same. Same sound, same look, same "gimmicks" like the first song from your record is "pop rock" type song, followed by a ballad. Look at them all, Trickster, Firehouse, Faster Pussycat, Warrant, Winger, Europe, Nelson, Slaughter, White Lion, Steelheart, Saigon Kick, the list is endless, it was the same shit, just with a slight change here or there. Great White gets lumped in there and so does Tesla, but they weren't in most ways. That why most people dont want to called a Hairband. They were packaged, told what to do, how to look, and how to sound. Thats what makes GNR most definately NOT a hairband. I put them in a category similar to Aerosmith (not present sellout Aerosmith) blues rock n roll!
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
The song writing ability is SEVERLY hampered without Izzy. There's a reason Axl, Slash & Duff haven't gotten back to their output from 1991 back.
With that said, Izzy also needs them. He's good, but he's also missing something post-1991.
Does izzy actually need them? Seems to me he's quite happy doing his own thing. Makes you wander though - if he joined up with slash whether that would make axl rethink reunion.
