AFD 25th Anniversary topic and possible re-release?

[Ali]

Just want to sort of chime in on something:

EVERY noteable band with a decent sized back catalog plays stuff off their old albums.  Green day is still playing stuff off Dookie, Metallica is still playing stuff off of Metallica (aka The black album) AND Ride the Lightning, Aerosmith (when they tour) is still playing stuff off Toys in the Attic (and Permanent Vactation), Bon Jovi is still playing stuff off of Slippery When Wet, and Def Leppard is still doing material off of Pyromania.  These are all bands that have released a pretty decent amount of material AFTER those albums were released...but, live, they're still doing material off those albums. If you want more modern examples, take Nickelback (PLEASE!), The Black Keys, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Shinedown....they all play plenty of stuff from their back catalogs at live shows.

Why? Because that material still resonates, and is popular, with their fans.

The disconnect here seems to be that some people want to split "old" GnR from "new" Gnr.  That's not right.  GnR is GnR is GnR.  They're playing off their back catalog, no matter who happened to be band members at the time of the creation of that material. 

Personally, I don't see the problem with it.  And, quite frankly, I don't get why GnR should be held to a different standard than any other band who's had significant, long lasting, success.  I  certainly don't think membership turnover is justification to do it.

Yeah, the truth is no matter who was in the band, there would be a demand to hear songs from the back catalog.  Simply put, the average audience member going to a GN'R show will want to hear WTTJ, SCOM, PC, NR, etc. irrespective of who is in the band.

Ali

[bicycle handgrenade]

I think it's great that GNR plays a good mix of songs from all three of their main eras. Plenty of songs from Appetite, plenty from Illusions and plenty from Chinese. Sure there are some fans who are primarily interested in older material, but I think the band has found a good balance.

Part of how they've managed to do so though is by making the show LONGER. They've added Chinese and Illusions songs in recent years without removing many Appetite songs, if any. I don't see how anybody could complain about this.

The bottom line is that there are some former fans who will complain no matter what GNR does unless their favorite ex-members rejoin. The whining about various absurd topics is just a charade. These people are not fans anymore and want to drag the band down.

[faldor]

I think it's great that GNR plays a good mix of songs from all three of their main eras. Plenty of songs from Appetite, plenty from Illusions and plenty from Chinese. Sure there are some fans who are primarily interested in older material, but I think the band has found a good balance.

Part of how they've managed to do so though is by making the show LONGER. They've added Chinese and Illusions songs in recent years without removing many Appetite songs, if any. I don't see how anybody could complain about this.

The bottom line is that there are some former fans who will complain no matter what GNR does unless their favorite ex-members rejoin. The whining about various absurd topics is just a charade. These people are not fans anymore and want to drag the band down.

Those people you described certainly exist, but I think the main argument that was posed here was more about the lack of new material from the new era.

Although people would certainly find something to complain about even if they had released 2 more albums by now, but I think that would soften the blow a little bit.  I agree they shouldn't eliminate the AFD songs and I love how they've added some Illusions songs.  But I'm with everyone else who would love to hear something new from this lineup.  They seem to be firing on all cylinders in a live setting.  I'd love to see how that would translate into the studio.

[raindogs70]

What's the problem Dok? Just pointing out that your assumption that no one did was wrong.


Now, if the person meant something else, there's always ways to clarify.

Maybe what I meant was that even if playing Old material doesn't promote the old band, I'm not sure it's the best way to promote the fact that GNR is still an active band (other than a nostalgic touring act

Well you can always say that.

GN'R could release multiple studio albums and not play anything pre-Chinese, and some would be upset.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was be a shit storm about how Axl is disrespecting the band's history by not playing the old songs, or acting like the past never existed.


Also, playing live is a great way to promote the band. In an age where music videos and radio has lost their meaning, playing live is an experience that can't be copied and experienced at your computer.




Anyway, there's no re-release in sight... The record company has kept re-releasing the album for years now in various formats.




/jarmo

I don't see any sort of re-release happening until Axl has master tape ownership and can put it out on his own, and can pick what company to distribute it through. If Axl is still trying to figure out what to do with the backlog of songs he has, I don't see AFD as a priority for him, something he might do when he either can't sing or wants to have the story told of that period in his life. If he feels the songs sound fine the way they are, the only remaster project I could see happening is if it had to do with bands putting songs out on Blu Ray audio, and put it out as a box set of concert videos, TV appearances, interviews and music videos from that time.

I think he's done with Geffen anyway. Why make them money when he can wait a few years and have ownership of the tapes? He's in the same boat as Prince, his management's kept in-house, and they don't have to spend tons of cash on concert announcements. That's what social media's for and the forums.