Here Today... Gone To Hell!

From Blabbermouth

According to MelodicRock.com, HOLLYWOOD ROSE's "Hollywood Rose ? The Roots Of Guns N' Roses" CD, which contains original demos featuring Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin that pre-dated L.A. GUNS and GUNS N' ROSES, gets a more-value-added release in Japan. This version will also include a Japan-only DVD (Region 2) containing previously unseen footage. The limited edition is slated for release on October 20.

In June, Axl Rose tried unsuccessfully to block the album's release, filing a lawsuit against Los Angeles-based independent record label Cleopatra Records for trademark infringement, violation of rights in his name and likeness, and for unfair competition. United States District Court Judge Gary A. Fees eventually denied the motion for a preliminary injunction against Cleopatra, clearing the way for the album's release.

The five original tracks were purchased by Cleopatra from guitarist Chris Weber, who performed on the record and who paid for the recordings back in 1984. On June 22, 2004, Deadline Music, a label of Cleopatra Records, released the original five songs with added remixes by former GUNS N' ROSES axeman Gilby Clarke and CINDERELLA drummer Fred Coury

The DVD might contain the footage we've seen at the beginning of VH1's BTM...

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail.asp?sku=1815035

Yeah, I mentioned in the BTM thread that Cleopatra apprently own the footage since they are credited at the end for providing it, and was suprised it was wasn't released first time :rant:

Honestly ....fuck Japan


they get all the sweet bonus tracks/ dvd's

what the fuck.........screw record companies, this is bulllshit! they know damn well that there are more gnr fans in the US, but japan gets this, they get Coma, UYI  tour live IN JAPAN.... I cannot understand the logic behind this.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK Those dickheads!!!!!!!? :rant: I can't beleive this bullshit! I hope Axl sues again and the cd can go to japan but not the dvd! I fuckin'? hate japense fuckers! They get bonus tracks, special things like this dvd, video games before anyone else, it sucks big fuckin' balls! Know I don't have nothing against other countries but still, look at Germany, I have went to websites to buy cds and at the bottom almost always there is the cd with [German bonus tracks] in the fuckin' title! We get treated like shit in this fucked up country!

Fuck U.S.A,
AR, AC

Let's stop hatred/ racist messages like this. They get the bonus DVD. Big fuckin deal. It's not like you can't order it online. www.amazon.co.jp , www.hmv.co.jp , www.cdjapan.co.jp , etc.

Would that mean we would need an all-region DVD player? I'm not too skilled on DVD players...  :confused:

It has something to do with the fact that they'd just buy the American version under the table because its easier if they didn't have extras that entice them to buy.

Japanese music buyers tend to get all kinds of exclusive bonusses to encourage them to buy the home versions rather than (much cheaper) imported CD's, as well as in this case the later relese date. Record companies tried a similar tactic with 'Special edition' albums in the UK a couple of years ago to discourage us Brits from importing.

Yes you would.

Sorry. The people we should really be pissed at is Cleopatra and all other  record companies for doing this shit. I just think this is bullshit because the least they could do was make the dvd region free. That would make it a lot better for all other gnr fans in EVERY country.

Yeah,
The more calmed down AR, AC

You're right about that. Cleopatra should release a region free DVD and should set up an operation such as: Send us back your Hollywood Rose CD and we'll send you the new version which contains the DVD. But money is money, and this is a small record company, so they're not gonna do that.

Yes, you will need a region free DVD player. Check www.videohelp.com to know if you can "modify" your player into a region free player.

Guess I will be crusin' eBay for this one :P :)

me too EEBS!!!

Already pre-ordered... ;D

Well it's kinda the point that they always get the bonus shit. Also for peace of mind i'd like to be able to go to the shops and buy the fuckin thing instead of going on the net and waiting.

I paid 35 bucks for an interview DVD! ;D I don't have it yet but a japanese site was updated today. Here's what they say:

The DVD lasts 74 min. and mainly contains interviews by Tracii Guns and Chris Weber telling the story about Hollywood Rose. We can also see a video recording of the Hollywood Rose era (it seems like it's pretty brief compared to the interviews).

http://homepage2.nifty.com/ohmygod_axl/gnr/album/rg.html

Not as cool as I thought but it'll be interesting to see these interviews. :)

Well, it's still better than nothing from that era...

I was gonna order those limited editions of AFD and UYI's anyway, so I added this to the order.

what did i miss? limited editions of afd and illusions??? whats limited about them?

Got the CD + DVD today. That's indeed an interview that lasts about 72 min., with Chris Weber and Tracii Guns. Big japanese subtitles (I couldn't get rid of them on my PC player). You can see a pretty long scene live (or in the studio?) from the HR era, unfortunately with no sound (you only hear the interview over the actual sound). I think it's a very interesting item. A few screenshots:

The menu:
http://gnr.mybesthost.com/hr01.jpg

Chris:
http://gnr.mybesthost.com/hr02.jpg

Tracii:
http://gnr.mybesthost.com/hr03.jpg

Live/ studio scene:
http://gnr.mybesthost.com/hr04.jpg
http://gnr.mybesthost.com/hr05.jpg
http://gnr.mybesthost.com/hr06.jpg
[blurry because they're moving all over the place! lol]

If you collect GN'R stuff or if you don't already have the US release, go for it!! :)

The other releases (AFD, UYI) are just re-releases as far as I know. Nothing special about them.

now this menu looks totally professional for an official release!!!? :yes:

I'd buy that for a dollar!? : ok:

EDIT: ALL PLAY!!  ;D

Guess I shouldn't have spent time making screenshots and uploading them then... ::)

Hey Will, thanks for the screenshots man.  :)

Thanks for the screencaps, Will! I never got around to getting to US version but I think I will get the Japanese release after seeing your screencaps.

brilliant shots, thanks for the review! a must have in my eyes! : ok:

You're welcome! :)

Btw, I forgot to mention it but this special edition contains also a bonus booklet with all the lyrics from the 5 demos (english + japanese)!!

Ok, now this plus the video is well worth it's money...

Wrong!!!!! These issues always come later and are intended to be exported to the mass American public - it is a ploy to get us to rebuy - hence 2 copies sold to the die hards - the Beatles strated this shit......issuing rare colored vinyls and shit - even if it is region 2 - they know it is easily recoded

Hi there.
I also wondered why Japan always gets either bonus tracks or, like here, a bonus DVD....
Here's what someone wrote about this:

"In Japan the price for printing CDs are more expensive than what it would cost for them to import finished products. Therefor the record companies in Japan, who want to release products instead of importing products, need 1) a bonus track and 2) a couple of weeks headstart on the rest of the world w the release date, otherwise it would be "financial suicide" to them. The CDs that the Japanese companies release are also more expensive for the Japanese fans (due to the higher pressing costs) than the imports.
Another market is f.ex. Korea, who also demands a bonus track, which is different than the European or the Japanese bonus tracks. Why? Well, because the imports in Korea also are cheaper than the ones printed there.
And so on and so on ... thus, we might end up with 4-5 different versions of ONE cd. Sometimes we can get past the point of providing bonus tracks, if we instead give them something different (such as a poster, a digipack or whatever), but usually it's the bonus track that decides if you get a deal in f.ex. Japan, and from the musicians point of view this is DAMN important, as the money to be made is huge over there."

So don't hate Japanese people for that. And remember something: I live here in Luxembourg (Europe). Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, things have changed, but I remember when I was younger, some friends of mine said "wow, look at those nice Nike shoes! They are so cheap in the USA but to get them here, we will have to wait 2 or 3 years!". I never gave a shit about brands but it is a fact that a lot of things are more accessible to you, living in the USA, than for us here. Another example is Ebay... Very often, I find a very good deal, but the seller clearly specifies: "Will ship to United States only".
take care...

Ok, here's a more complete review after I've seen the DVD in its entirety:

This exclusive Hollywood Rose DVD, which lasts 72 minutes contains Chris Weber and Tracii Guns interviews only. This could be a bad thing. But it's not, far from it. We actually learn a lot of extremely interesting things all along this DVD. Let me sum it up: I follow the band since 1991 and my eyes and ears couldn't leave the TV screen during the whole time of the interviews because I learned things after things about the band. The story Chris and Tracii are telling about Izzy, Axl, Steven, Slash and Duff first steps in L.A. is very interesting. It feels like you're back in the 80's again (1982-1985)...you can imagine the rock scene in Hollywood, the bars, etc. We learn about all the stuff we were missing to put the story of GN'R together. Really, really interesting. I really suggest you order that CD + DVD on http://www.hmv.co.jp/?LANG=en (careful, shipping costs are about 15 euros/ 20 bucks but delivery guaranteed all over the world within 24-48 hrs!).

(http://www.gnrfrance.net/GNR/Digital/hr/01.jpg)? ?(http://www.gnrfrance.net/GNR/Digital/hr/02.jpg)

Tracii is the one who talks the most during the interview, he tells us everything about everything, like how him and Axl and Izzy were best buddies between '82 and '85. It's also kinda funny to remember that originally Slash was not even in GN'R! According to Tracii, Slash even attended the first official GN'R show in front of them, right in the front row (it was the Appetite lineup with Tracii instead of Slash on lead guitar)...Slash replaced him a few weeks later, the story on the DVD stops right there, just when the known story of GN'R begins...This DVD is really interesting for anyone who wants to know more about the links between Hollywood Rose, L.A. Guns, Guns N' Roses, Axl, Izzy, Tracii Guns, Chris Weber, etc.

Talking about Chris, he actually talks about the video from that era that we can see for a few short minutes (no sound because it was originally filmed for a video), where you can see Axl moving all over the place, very energetic (like Chris said, at the beginning Axl had so energy running through him that he was shaking...). This DVD is really an EXCELLENT surprise. I thought it was kinda lame at first but it is not at all. And to top everything: the japanese version contains an exclusive booklet with all lyrics from the five demos!!

(http://www.gnrfrance.net/GNR/Digital/hr/03.jpg)

Obviously it's got its flaws: we would have preferred a superior production with pictures and live videos from that era, a better DVD authoring (good video bitrate and LPCM audio, nonetheless), the possibility to remove the japanese subtitles, etc. But really, according to me, it would be very picky about something that's already very good. I hope I made you want that DVD thanks to that review because that's really a piece of collection that every GN'R fan should own! ;)

HAHA...."ALL PLAY"? :rofl:
all play golf or what ? is that a hidden video feature ?? japan rules! ;D

about the dvd:
its no secret they try to make as much cash as possible from the die hard fans with those HR releases. and this quote
"...the video from that era that we can see for a few short minutes (no sound because it was originally filmed for a video)..."

come on, they just didnt want to include it on the dvd. every single video has an intern mic which is recording audio, bah! maybe it will come on the 4th korean special 2dvd set with all HR related interviews from uncles and grandmas ?

japanese subtitles....no comment

I live in Brazil
HOW CAN I GET THIS DVD !?!?!?
 :-\

Thanks for your great comments that really bring something to the table!  : ok:

RnT, they deliver worldwide so you can order it from Brazil as well! ;)

yeah, Will....."no sound because it was originally filmed for a video..."...this does bring the shit to the table, right ?

What are you talking about? What shit does it bring? Your comments certainly don't bring anything to the discussion, that's for sure. There is no sound during that short video clip, Chris is talking over it, that's all. He's explaining they were lip-synching to their demo so the actual sound has gotta be the cassette they were using. He's saying himself it was not live. I don't see what the big fuckin deal is. I just assumed they didn't put the sound because they were filming a video clip and the actual audio track was their demo tape. BFD.

ok, lets get it straight: the die hard fans hoped for that complete videoclip with original audio live/tape/demo...(whatever) without any comments/subtitles. you cant lip-synch without sound, every to be synched videoclip is filmed with some audio. so on the original HR video there is the wanted part which just aint include on the dvd most likely by purpose. saying there is no sound during that clip cant be true.

thats basically my part of "this discussion" what i was referring to, sometimes people need to read between the lines?a little : ok:
and there also is a general opinion about quality/standards when buying official media...seeing that menu and the subtitles all over...its just disappointing.

peace out? :peace:

I certainly didn't think they would release such material. But I was surprised that the whole thing was an interview as well. But I was not disappointed.



I precised what I meant just above. I should have said it better, I made a mistake, BFD. I don't like how you always comment on the mistakes and never say something positive. I try to bring something to the table and provide lots of stuff/ info. I can make mistakes, I'm human. I think it's too bad some people focus only on that.



You can be disappointed, but I don't think the sarcasm is necessary. As for the subtitles, you get used to it and it's a special release for the japanese market. That's why they included the subtitles (but should also have included the possibility to remove them, as I said in my review). I mention the flaws in my review, but the only thing you pointed out was my mistake. You may think the most important part of the DVD is the two minute clip of the band, I actually think the interviews are more interesting. Different point of view, that's all. And I don't think one is necessarily the right one...to each his own... :)

hey man, can u please post the lyrics to Anything Goes? its hard for me to understand most of it

bump  :smoking: