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- Intercourse
- Rep: 212
Re: Duff on Gnr split
The resentment from Duff and Matt expressed towards Paul Huge always brought it home to me that Axl was the one shitting on people and it was not to do with Slash building kingdoms etc.
Nothing Paul contributed back in the day was that ground breaking. The 'Back off Bitch' riff is a tired and well used old rock progression that's piss easy to play. Again, Axl and Slash took it somewhere but ultimately the foundations are ordinary at best.
Paul maybe an ok player but it would seem that with Slash etc storming out of sessions because of Huge's sneering comments (referencd to by Matt when Slash left the band). Huge was an Axl sneak who was out for himself.
I cannot imagine how many hangers on these guys endured. It always appeared to me that after the UYI tours Slash, Duff and Matt wanted to cut it back down to the old core of the band and get back to who they were while Axl wanted to keep the travelling circus of part time players, contributors, employees, stylists etc all revolving around him.
Re: Duff on Gnr split
Other than Paul, Doug Goldstein, and the Lebeis family - probably not anymore than we already know. Axl was pretty reclusive even by then, and most of the time when he did show up to the studio, which was rare, it was late late at night when most of them had already been working all day and were ready to go home.
That shit is never conductive to making a record. Everyone has to be on the same page. Axl's never been on the same page with anyone he's ever recorded with.
I don't think Axl turned Guns into a traveling circus by 1994-95. I enjoyed the Stones-esque 1992 shows. I thought Guns N' Roses were pretty great even in that form.
But I think after public opinion had wained on Axl by 1993/94, with the euphoria of UYI wearing off, and the explosion of grunge, that everyone in the band felt a change in direction was needed.
I don't think Axl wanted a circus, but I do think he wanted mainstream success, appeal, and love. Like Slash wanting to do a club tour in 1993/94 to support TSI, but Axl felt they were 'bigger than clubs'. Axl then wanted to do MTV Unplugged circa 94/95, with Slash felt it was selling out.
Just that analogy alone clusterfucks the whole thing. It doesn't make any sense. And the reasons are either A) someone is lying, or B) they changed their wants by a whim.
MTV Unplugged is selling out - but cutting songs with Michael Jackson isn't.
GN'R are too big for club shows, yet Axl performs club shows today on occasion, and has said a few times 'whatever works for the band', and doesn't seem to really care. I saw the guy perform a 3500 person audience, and seemed to love it. He didn't seem hung up on himself at all.
Something doesn't add up and never did. I don't believe Slash about every single detail. But seeing how Slash, Izzy, Gilby, Duff, Steven, Matt, Teddy, and just about every producer they ever worked with said that Axl would make decisions without asking anyone - that was probably the biggest problem if not the main problem. The trust and respect was gone. If a husband goes out and keeps making financial decisions without asking his wife - the wife is eventually going to resent him.
*I also just want to say that I personally think a 1995 MTV Unplugged appearence by Guns N' Roses performing acoustic versions of their hits along with maybe a couple new grunge-blues songs written by Axl, Slash & Duff would have been legendary and on par with Nirvana & Alice In Chains appearences on the show*
My favorite songs on Chinese are co-written by Paul.....TWAT, Prostitute, and Catcher in the Rye
Those credits are highly suspect. Considering nobody actually talked about production all that much, and the fact Axl is credited on every single piece, something tells me those were credits simply for royalty purposes.
I have a real hard time believing Tobias wrote something like There Was A Time, possibly one of the greatest Guns N' Roses songs in the band's history.
Re: Duff on Gnr split
That kind of sounds like Paul denial, dude.
I don't think Axl would credit paul with song writing credits just for shits and giggles. They've written together before and it's pretty well known that Tommy, Dizzy, Robin, Chris and Paul all wrote together in Axl's guest house when they first got together.
- Intercourse
- Rep: 212
Re: Duff on Gnr split
also just want to say that I personally think a 1995 MTV Unplugged appearence by Guns N' Roses performing acoustic versions of their hits along with maybe a couple new grunge-blues songs written by Axl, Slash & Duff would have been legendary and on par with Nirvana & Alice In Chains appearences on the show*
If there is a heaven and I manage to get there, my local bar will have this line up on EVERY NIGHT.
I don't think Axl wanted a circus, but I do think he wanted mainstream success, appeal, and love.
Its a fair point and probably a more measured and balanced take on Axl's state of mind at the time. However, if you look back at early VR interviews and even the one out this week, Duff constantly goes back to talking about the 'yes men' and 'hangers on' being the destroyers of old GNR. I only trust what Duff has to say about the band really, he sees the best of them all by a country mile.
I don't think Axl turned Guns into a traveling circus by 1994-95.
Maybe not Guns themseves but I think Axl had fully embraced his new lawyer/manager heavy life style and had become totally at odds with the others.
I don't think Axl would credit paul with song writing credits just for shits and giggles.
The thing is, I think he would. His 'all or nothing' kind of take on life would indicate to me that he could be like that.
Plus, having your name on a song now means nothing. Its a well known industry practice for people like Avril Levine etc to be allowed claim credits on songs to keep their song writer credibility up.
If we could see a percentage payment allocaion against Paul then we could know for sure.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Duff on Gnr split
My perception of how GNR worked was that Axl writes the piano based songs - like November Rain - and that other tracks begin with someone else - like Slash's brings a riff, or izzy has a song and Axl builds on and adds to those ideas.
I think after izzy left songwriting wise they had a problem. They still have slash riffs and Axl ballads...but the middle ground is all gone.
If you think about the CD era and post the illusion tour, i think that's the difference, Axl was still writing his own songs, but the basis of new ideas that Axl was enjoying tinkering with swapped from starting with Izzy/Slash to mostly flowing from paul's song ideas.
In sympathy for the devil - Paul was brought in by axl to add some touches to the solo. Now aside from the fact that with slash in a band you wouldn't tend to outsource a solo...it's also not like he got in a shred guru like bucket to add some touches. So the decision to add to the solo wasn't based on guitar technique...it was clearly a creative idea...it says to me at the time paul was the guy axl was interested in working with, and who's ideas he trusted and his current creative partner.
To me axl's "There would be no GNR without Paul" comments say that he found solace in paul, and that paul motivated him to continue the band at the stage where his relationship with Slash had broken down - and Izzy was of course long Awol. So it was the desire to work those songs that made him recruit robin - and then bucket - and the modern band emerged...if he's not had someone around like paul that he was comftorable working with alone...then it wouldn't have happened.
It's my opinion therefore that paul is kinda the key to the Chinese Sessions...but that said....when you consider the song writing - i'm sure a number of the songs started with him - but no disrespect to him - it's the genius of the other players that elevated the song.
For example twat - maybe paul brings in the chords and some simple melodies - but it's Axl that adds that passion, the lyrcis, the intense "I would do anything" parts, i'd guess a lot more melody...then robin and bucket add solos that really work for the piece, pitman/axl work up the score for it....end of the day paul deserves his due...but I know that a song like TWAT as a paul solo song wouldn't touch what's on CD.
So i'm sure he's a key songwriter and plays a very valid role as the person who's songs Axl is interested in developing, but I think we all know the tallent overload in terms of the development is inside Axl.
I like the idea of new songs from DJ/Axl in this way too. If they really inspire each other it could be amazing.
Re: Duff on Gnr split
To me axl's "There would be no GNR without Paul" comments say that he found solace in paul, and that paul motivated him to continue the band at the stage where his relationship with Slash had broken down - and Izzy was of course long Awol. So it was the desire to work those songs that made him recruit robin - and then bucket - and the modern band emerged...if he's not had someone around like paul that he was comftorable working with alone...then it wouldn't have happened
So much inspiration that Izzy basically said Axl tried to get him back on throughout the 90's, and even in 2001 and 2006.
That "Paul was the inspiration" thing just has always been a hard, HARD sell to me, 'cause i've got so many other former GN'R insiders and band members saying the exact opposite, including Izzy himself.
I agree though - after Sixx:AM's latest album, an Axl/DJ album with maybe some Tommy old school Guns shit, could return GN'R to form. Axl just might have a roster now that not only could inspire him, but bring GN'R back to it's old swagger musically.
