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Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
My guess is whatever album was originally gonna be CD II, gets a Slash treatment, whether a re-arrangement of pre-written material, or just a complete re-writing from the ground up with Axl's original vocals layered over the new mixes as a finished cuts.
Axl came across in the interview like those songs were complete and that he had 'tons' or 'lots' of them. Not just an album's worth.
Slash & Duff also have to be anxious at this point in their careers to get a piece of a new 'reunited' GN'R album release. Despite the decline in album sales, surely a GN'R album with Axl, Slash & Duff will sell much better than a Slash & Co. record, or Loaded, or New GN'R record.
Money talks...
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
LIke we touched on in the other thread, the label killed the project, his desire for it, and I don't even blame him at all anymore for the drawn out saga. They weren't giving it a chance and I wish he had just handed them the 2001 album in 2008 when Azoff got in the mix because at that point, they were unloading it no matter what was actually on the disc.
I do believe the label will be willing to play ball now. The whole world is watching and if they want to cash in on anything besides the old albums, they will be on their knees begging for Chinese stew.
Echo of Miles scenario would be perfect but god only knows how he wants to approach what is left in the vault. No songs are likely to stand out in a box set release. Its just a way to unload a chunk of your vault and hope hardcores eat it up. Echo had the mythical Kristi to get hardcores attention......GNR has several songs like Atlas, Berlin, or Jackie Chan to push a box set.
If we get it as a comeback album, a more mainstream approach can be taken and singles released from it. They could market it as this lineup's album and 99.9% of the public wont know or care that it contains 15 year old vocal takes or that Slash and Duff are layered over Bucket, Finck, Stinson,etc.
In the future I am hoping for a Chinese Democracy....naked at some point. Yes....CD I. We still have not heard Chinese Democracy as it was originally intended. The 2001 version of the album is the project at its purest.
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
Actually James, my theory is do a reverse Soundgarden.
Have GN'R put out their version of Telephantasm, with either a lost gun or a new track, so good, it can take on a "Black Rain" or "Live To Rise" status and be instantly accessible.
Yes that hot single status to push the Best of set.
While riding that wave, the following year or whenever. Drop GNR's "Echo of Chinese" release. People won't give a shit, they'll be riding the wave.
THEN do your King Animal comeback.
I think it could work, because people will be so on top of the Slash stuff, I don't think most would pay any attention to a Slash-less release the following year.
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
Axl's original vocals layered over the new mixes as a finished cuts.
I hope he does what Cornell did with Black Rain....added some new vocals to the old track where he felt it needed some sprucing up but fans couldn't even tell the difference.
I also hope whatever we get is mixed properly. I am one of those who complained incessantly about the cut and paste nature of the album. Cut and paste doesn't bother me(see Cornell-Black Rain) but mix the damn thing so the listener cant pick up on every little fragment being pieced together.
I have no problem with them removing layers(even if its Bucket) to make the tracks more cohesive. Just make sure they sound like songs and not 3 second snippets turned into songs.
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
I also noticed Axl touched on the vocal issues at one point, referring to his Chinese-era voice as "clean vocal". Axl claimed he intentionally sang that way in order to change his vocal and challenge himself. He also admitted it wasn't as warmly received as he thought it'd be, people obviously missing his old voice.
His reasoning imo though is bullshit. I don't think the rasp has always been there, he just chooses not to use it. I think Axl gets vocally lazy, and even in the interview he admitted he has a vocal coach on tour with him with AC/DC for the first time in 20 years. I think Axl's quitting of chain smoking had a HUGE affect on the decline of his rasp since 1993. imho
The guy just keeps cracking me up. How can a big rock star who's voice is his living not have a vocal coach?
Not sure I believe him when he says it was purely an intentional choice. Seems more logical he would try a new voice if he struggled to maintain the old. His AC/DC stint does prove he still has the ability though, so maybe.
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
Actually James, my theory is do a reverse Soundgarden.
Have GN'R put out their version of Telephantasm, with either a lost gun or a new track, so good, it can take on a "Black Rain" or "Live To Rise" status and be instantly accessible.
Yes that hot single status to push the Best of set.
While riding that wave, the following year or whenever. Drop GNR's "Echo of Chinese" release. People won't give a shit, they'll be riding the wave.
THEN do your King Animal comeback.
I think it could work, because people will be so on top of the Slash stuff, I don't think most would pay any attention to a Slash-less release the following year.
In hindsight I am surprised that they didn't do this Slash-less release under the reunion radar of late 2015. He could've got the monkey off his back and the label could've made a nice chunk of change at the same time.
Sorta like KISS and their label did with COS in the late 90s.
It reinforces the point how little the label cared about the CD era GNR.
I cant wait to finally hear some of this other Chinese material to see what he was holding back. I am still in shock that they didn't have a monster single on CD. Did the sessions lack one entirely or did Axl just hold it back and let CD be essentially a leaks album + bonuses and let the chips fall where they may?
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
Do you mean "original" as in track listing or band performance?
I'm speculating but I think CD was what the 2001-2002 tour was. Very electronica driven. Half new sound of hard rock, electrofunk, and hip hop beats like "Silkworms", "Shackler's Revenge", and "Oh My God" and half classic GN'R blues driven "IRS", "TWAT", and "Catcher". Bait the hook with nostalgia and lead the fish towards uncharted waters.
I mean in every interview in those early days he / the journalists mentioned the same songs.
I cant wait to finally hear some of this other Chinese material to see what he was holding back. I am still in shock that they didn't have a monster single on CD. Did the sessions lack one entirely or did Axl just hold it back and let CD be essentially a leaks album + bonuses and let the chips fall where they may?
IIRC both "Madagascar" and "CITR" were both mentioned as lead singles early on. So....
I do think "Better" is a really strong single and "IRS" is a good B-side. The former even had some good buzz around it from bloggers who hated GNR. The leaks did fuck them into a wall.
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
Axlin16 wrote:I also noticed Axl touched on the vocal issues at one point, referring to his Chinese-era voice as "clean vocal". Axl claimed he intentionally sang that way in order to change his vocal and challenge himself. He also admitted it wasn't as warmly received as he thought it'd be, people obviously missing his old voice.
His reasoning imo though is bullshit. I don't think the rasp has always been there, he just chooses not to use it. I think Axl gets vocally lazy, and even in the interview he admitted he has a vocal coach on tour with him with AC/DC for the first time in 20 years. I think Axl's quitting of chain smoking had a HUGE affect on the decline of his rasp since 1993. imho
The guy just keeps cracking me up. How can a big rock star who's voice is his living not have a vocal coach?
Not sure I believe him when he says it was purely an intentional choice. Seems more logical he would try a new voice if he struggled to maintain the old. His AC/DC stint does prove he still has the ability though, so maybe.
I agree. It was the one spot in the entire interview I felt he was full of shit.
Axl quit smoking could be a cause, not really singing live for 6-7 years could be a cause, age, etc.
But saying he intentionally did it to mark a vocal change to challenge himself on Chinese is a bit of a stretch. Not having a vocal coach for 20 years would explain why he's been so vocally off the mark from 2001-present. Sebastian Bach claimed in 2006 that Axl was working with HIS vocal coach at the time, and that would explain why Axl was pretty good in 2006 with rasp mixed with clean to a nice balance, much like 2016 has been. This whole year has been very reminiscent of 2006 for Axl vocally. Which is a good thing, and probably the way he'll sing for the rest of his life.
The 2010 full rasp stuff is long gone. And to me that drastic change from 2009 to 2010 then falling off the cliff in 2011-14 shows that Axl A) wasn't training properly, B) wasn't prepping properly, and C) didn't give a shit.
Thus the DISASTER of the Rio 2011 performance. It amazes me there's actually apologists on MyGNR now that actually think that show is good because they are so far up Axl's ass. Amazing. That show, and the 2012 Bridge School were the lowest points of Axl's career. Imo, Bridge School could be blamed on strep throat and a charity event and it just ended in disaster.
But Rio 2011?
That was all Axl just half-assing the whole thing and it blew up in his face imo. I stand by it.
Now all of the sudden in 2016, Axl suddenly gives a shit for, not just the first time since 1993, but seemingly the first time since 1991 when Axl actually was rehearsing for the Rio II performances, and getting ready for a headlining stadium tour.
Suddenly Axl's good again.
Axl may be Axl fucking Rose, but I think the guy has a lazy streak in him. It's not inherent Mozart-level genius. Nope nope nope.
Re: Axl at the Chinese Exchange
Do you mean "original" as in track listing or band performance?
I mean as in whatever album he had ready to go with that 2000-01 lineup before the project got sent to purgatory and years of needless layering added. I realize the track list would be almost identical to what we wound up getting but the songs would have a different sound. Ron dominates Shackler. Imagine this track 2000-04. Imagine the alt version of TIL which Patti Hood claimed had a different solo when she worked on it. Imagine CITR with either May, Bucket, or Finck. Imagine that 2001-02 version of The Blues. Several people who heard that version of the album said it was much better than what was released seven years later.
Listen to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbb6m-YDS1k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9qTtiH8uA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC93cTRQnPA
Then listen to the album.
The leaks did fuck them into a wall.
Indeed but without the leaks all we'd have is the actual album and IMO the leaks stomp all over the finished album.
