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Re: Better - Studio Version of 2016 Live Arrangement(fan mix)
Cramer wrote:That new riff is fucking awesome. Imagine a new song built of something like that...wow.
It's a dead-simple riff, but the build-up is awesome and it gets heavy as fuck.
Keep is simple = awesomeness.
- FlashFlood
- Rep: 55
Re: Better - Studio Version of 2016 Live Arrangement(fan mix)
Everyone knows this whole intro is just the bridge riff right?
Re: Better - Studio Version of 2016 Live Arrangement(fan mix)
FlashFlood wrote:Everyone knows this whole intro is just the bridge riff right?
You're spoiling the winning formula: Take new GNR stuff, dumb it down, and have Slash play it and it's "the greatest".
This x a million
I get people's love of the new Better intro, but even after seeing it live + the dueling vocals of Axl & Melissa on the song... it's cool. A new take.
But i'll take that aggressive, wanting to prove something, 2006 Guns N' Roses on Better with Robin Finck ANY DAY over the 2016 performance.
And I say that as someone who thinks Robin is overrated.
I say that as someone who thinks Slash & Duff & the 2016 lineup have improved all CD songs, except...
Better & TWAT
Better is Robin's song. Period. Without Robin, it's a cover. Just the way I feel. I just didn't feel the soul in the song I saw live in 2016 that I saw with Robin in 2006.
TWAT... TWAT needs work. Axl vocally nailed it when they played it, but Slash and the band was all over the place. Slash also dumbed down Bucket's amazing solo, and frankly Robin's guitar work too, into just random shredding.
TWAT is the best track we've heard of the CD-era imo, and Slash just kind of played it like a random, stock, modern rock-radio track and DID NOT give it the respect it deserves.
Other than that rant... Slash & Duff have fucking owned every other thing from that catalog. Considering how good that new Better intro is, I'D LOVE to hear a Slash & Duff take on Scraped. They could probably make Scraped their own with a little work. Same with I.R.S. & Madagascar.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Better - Studio Version of 2016 Live Arrangement(fan mix)
TWAT... TWAT needs work. Axl vocally nailed it when they played it, but Slash and the band was all over the place. Slash also dumbed down Bucket's amazing solo, and frankly Robin's guitar work too, into just random shredding.
TWAT is the best track we've heard of the CD-era imo, and Slash just kind of played it like a random, stock, modern rock-radio track and DID NOT give it the respect it deserves.
I didn't think Axl nailed TWAT to be honest. He didn't shame himself either. It was serviceable. But he needs to get the screams in the middle back up to the high pitch for me to give it that acclaim. In fairness to him - it's fucking near impossible to do - then again - he did it in 2009 - so I wouldn't rule it out.
As for Slash's parts. I noticed two things:
1. Slash did the same thing he did to Fink's parts on CD and Better. Which is add complexity to solos that were very simplistic. It works for the most part in the CD songs as frankly fink's solos lack the chops of the rest of the old catalogue and so bringing them up to speed guitar wise makes it sound more like classic GNR. Where I agree with you though is that TWAT may be the exception to the rule. Finks original solo here is so basic that it should be the first solo anyone learns on guitar now - right after smoke on the water. Strangely though that melody really fitted in with the song well - perhaps due to it's similarity to the vocals but who knows what came first there. Anyway it felt a bit odd with it gone. Although I also think if they played it regularly in the set the new part would evolve to fit that space better.
2. In the bucket solo Slash kept the major melodies of bucket but played it in his own rocker and blues-sloppy style. If anything though I think the problem here was too much respect for the original - basically it's slash covering the bucket solo - whereas what this song always screamed for all along was a Slash composed outro - and the bucket solo is the best solo on CD because it's kinda a big outro like Slash used to do. In short now we've had the song for 8 years or whatever he HAD to do it this way. But if anything I think the weakness in it is that the original composition is kinda average for a GNR outro solo when compared to DTJ, NR and others. Slash playing it himself showed that up.
Still I'd love them to add it to the setlist properly.
Re: Better - Studio Version of 2016 Live Arrangement(fan mix)
To be fair monkey, I hated the performance so much, I barely listened to it, but just once all the way through, then little snippets. What I heard... I did not like.
So as far as Slash goes, you might be spot on on the Bucket solo. I felt that was where Slash failed Catcher, and frankly Better as well. He was paying too much homage to songs that needed complete rebuilds from him. This I Love? He's finally got that fucker down to being November Rain 2016, like Axl always wanted it to be back in 1995. TIL sounds so good, I refuse to listen to anything that came before now. Seeing Slash do it live has ruined me, I about cummed during the performance of that song. It was everything the fanboy in me dreamed about for nearly a decade.
Catcher, whoever... EVER... made the decision to let Bumblefoot rape that song, pick up Slash's V guitar and do this...
Full Jason Takes Manhattan treatment. UGH, the fact that Slash decided to re-do Ron's stuff, rather than Brian May's... UGH... someone PLEASE slide Slash a copy of the Queen-ized 1999 demo, so the song can sound right again. Other than Brian himself, or possibly Paul Gilbert or Bucket, the ONLY guy that could right that ship would be the top-hatted one.
I wish someone would fucking BURY that studio version of Catcher. I hate it more now than in 2008, when I felt it was a downgrade.
So yeah, to whoever made that decision to keep it alive, watch above said video and keep repeating it as the guitar swings.
