"First and last good album GnR had was "Appetite for Destruction", circa 1987"
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I agree...this was probably GnR's best recording. But I was also one of maybe 2 or 3 people who liked Use Your Illusion I and II. The purists, I know, hated the addition of symphony orchestra and what not. In my opinion, a band should from time to time mix it up -- experiment -- so they don't go stale. Often the experiments go awry, but it's better than listening to the same old, same old all the time.
The trouble with Axl was that he was not just experimenting -- he was I think taking the band to places far removed from its hard rock roots and not even thinking about bringing it back to those roots at some point. Presumably, that was what contributed to the breakup of the original lineup. It is that edgy hard rock that Slash and his crew are serving up with Velvet Revolver. Axl I think shot himself in the foot by not trying to hold on to his original lineup. That is why he can't match the success he had previously...or the success VR has enjoyed.
Traci eventually left and he was replaced with Slash.
. It is that edgy hard rock that Slash and his crew are serving up with Velvet Revolver.
I've only hear a little bit of "VR" on the radio and it sounds decent, but I haven't heard enough of it to make a good opinion of them.
I have heard some samples of Axl's new band and I don't like it all. IMO, it sounds like crap.