Who was the most important member in Guns besides Axl?

[TheMole]

Izzy was certainly important. He had a big part in writing the songs we all love. Slash also had his hand in those very same songs. Slash however also was singlehandedly responsible for comming up with all those amazing riffs and hooks that made Appetite that album that it now is. Think about the songs that defined GNR in the earlier stages: WTTJ, PC, SCOM, ... they all thrive on those riffs. Without those, the music wouldn't have had half the impact they've had now. Take "Don't Cry", a signature Izzy song, for instance: take away Slash's parts and Axl's singing and your left with a mediocre run of the mill "Three Doors Down"-style pop/rock ballad. A lot of GNR's music is structurally very straight forward, nothing fancy at all. Textbook chords changes and extremely straight-forward arpeggios, that's what Izzy brought to the table. What made GNR's sound specials were Axl's voice and Slash's guitar playing.

Put Mick Mars where Slash was, and GNR wouldve been nothing. GNR became what they once were in the late 80's, early 90's because of Slash's riffs interlaced with Axl's vocals and a solid base of decent songwriting, nothing more, nothing less. GNR had 2 genuises in their ranks back then, 2 geniuses who aren't half the men they used to be now that they've gone their own way. Neither VR, nor nu-GNR can claim to be more than a shadow of what once was rocks greatest triumph. And they both know it.

[NicoRourke]

Its a ridiculous debate.. whose more important .. Izzy or slash... Compare Izzys solo stuff to slashs... Nuff said!!!

Well that's what I've done, and I go for Izzy. Because of the lyrics, either solo or for GN'R.

Like I said before, the intro to SCOM is more recognizable amongst the general music audience than Axl's voice

I don't think so ... I'm sure people can immitate Slash's playing, so that people would have a hard time telling the differences, but try to mimic Axl's voice ...

[Big Gun]

Slash without a doubt. izzy never wanted GNR when they became a huge act. izzys songs needed the tuch of axl n slash to become what they are and not vice versa. if you watched GNR live you cant take your eyes of Axl n Slash, Izzy on the other hand...well he looked like he was married to the same spot.   

[supaplex]

there's no such thing as the most important person in gnr. they wrote the songs together. if one of them was missing we wouldn't have these songs now.
and their solo work proves that only together they wrote the greatest songs. not to say they don't write good stuff solo but none of those albums had the success gnr had.

[tomass74]

Axl, Izzy and Slash in my opinion were equally important. 

[FernandoR]

Axl, Izzy and Slash in my opinion were equally important.?

yes. I think the same

[Adler_Sorum_Brain]

I say

1 . AXL....GREAT SINGER....The best singer ever...But if antoher singer had been around from the start we would had been honoring his voice instead..BUT..Axl wrote the best lyrics and that?s way he is the absolute best...Nobody but Axl...No Axl - No GNR

2. Izzy - He can write riffs and lyrics..Slash can?t...

3. Slash - He was bored on the Illusion - sessions..Axl was naggin on him to be apart of his songs..Slash came by..And wrote The Estranged riff..just like that....ETC (!!!) That?s a true guitar - hero..And then it?s sweet child of mine...

4. Duff - It?s so easy, Paradies city, so fine...Up the Duff !

5. Steven - There is always alot of copies..but only ONE original...Sure he didn?t write..Any lyrics..Exept I used to love her..and i think if he was sober he had been apart of a couple of songs..Or maybe not..But to quote Izzy " Stevens drumming was the thing who gave thoose songs their feel, afterwards, nothing worked "

Now i?m flippin coins..

6. Dizzy
7. Matt
8. Gilby

[makane]

Roberta Freeman or Tracey Amos.
I really loved Fred Coury too 

[Gargh!]

Axl, Izzy and Slash equally.  No doubt.

[CheapJon]

Izzy easily



and TheMole pitman has never left, that guy is just joking

[Mr Rage]

i like to the think the orignal band was the best, take away any of the orignal band, they would have never got to were they got to.

[TheMole]

and TheMole pitman has never left, that guy is just joking

Hehehe, I know, I was just playin' along...

[The Legend]

Izzy was certainly important. He had a big part in writing the songs we all love. Slash also had his hand in those very same songs. Slash however also was singlehandedly responsible for comming up with all those amazing riffs and hooks that made Appetite that album that it now is. Think about the songs that defined GNR in the earlier stages: WTTJ, PC, SCOM, ... they all thrive on those riffs. Without those, the music wouldn't have had half the impact they've had now. Take "Don't Cry", a signature Izzy song, for instance: take away Slash's parts and Axl's singing and your left with a mediocre run of the mill "Three Doors Down"-style pop/rock ballad. A lot of GNR's music is structurally very straight forward, nothing fancy at all. Textbook chords changes and extremely straight-forward arpeggios, that's what Izzy brought to the table. What made GNR's sound specials were Axl's voice and Slash's guitar playing.

Put Mick Mars where Slash was, and GNR wouldve been nothing. GNR became what they once were in the late 80's, early 90's because of Slash's riffs interlaced with Axl's vocals and a solid base of decent songwriting, nothing more, nothing less. GNR had 2 genuises in their ranks back then, 2 geniuses who aren't half the men they used to be now that they've gone their own way. Neither VR, nor nu-GNR can claim to be more than a shadow of what once was rocks greatest triumph. And they both know it.

I disagree. Sure Slash deserves credit for some things, but most everything instrumentally, was also the brainchild of Axl. He just used his idea for the sound, and incorporated it by getting Slash to get it to where they both liked it.

Slash gets so much credit for the solos in NR & Estranged, yet it was Axl that came up with the sound, and Slash simply played them. He practically had to put a gun to his head to get him to do it. He hated those songs.

[TheMole]

I disagree. Sure Slash deserves credit for some things, but most everything instrumentally, was also the brainchild of Axl. He just used his idea for the sound, and incorporated it by getting Slash to get it to where they both liked it.

Slash gets so much credit for the solos in NR & Estranged, yet it was Axl that came up with the sound, and Slash simply played them. He practically had to put a gun to his head to get him to do it. He hated those songs.

Well, I wasn't really talking about NR & Estranged, since these are obviously Axl-branded power ballads, and we all know a typical Slash ballad is less bombastic then these (thinking about Beggers and Hangers On, Fall To Pieces, Back And Forth Again). I'm talking about like 90% of Appetite, where you can obviously see classic Slash influence in most of the songs. I mean, it's a widely known fact that WTTJ's riff was first heard by Axl when Slash played it for him in it's entirety and Axl had a melody and lyrics to go with it. The SCOM story is so old I'm not even gonna regurgitate that here. These are prime and known examples, but if you think about the fact that the only two songs where Slash did not have a hand in writing are "Think About You (Izzy: music and lyrics)" and "Anything Goes (Izzy & Weber: music, Izzy & Axl: lyrics)", and these are commonly regarded as the album's only filler material (you don't have to agree), I think you will put things into perspective.

Don't diminish Slash's input, he was more important than most people even realise.

[estrangedpaul]

Its a ridiculous debate.. whose more important .. Izzy or slash... Slash single handled invented 90% of the solos and riffs which defined GnR. Jeez, people only say Izzy is better than slash to try and sound cool.. like they know something we all dont.

Compare Izzys solo stuff to slashs... Nuff said!!!

its not a rediculous debate. If you look at the songwriting credits on HTGTH, you'll see Izzy wrote more songs than anybody else, including many more than Slash.

[Albert S Miller]

They all played a part in this, it is all of their talents that made up this awesome band, it was each of their individual styles and abilities that were put together to make them GNR, We as individuals just may be drawn to one for his talents more so than another, I myself love them all!!!!

[The Legend]

I disagree. Sure Slash deserves credit for some things, but most everything instrumentally, was also the brainchild of Axl. He just used his idea for the sound, and incorporated it by getting Slash to get it to where they both liked it.

Slash gets so much credit for the solos in NR & Estranged, yet it was Axl that came up with the sound, and Slash simply played them. He practically had to put a gun to his head to get him to do it. He hated those songs.

Well, I wasn't really talking about NR & Estranged, since these are obviously Axl-branded power ballads, and we all know a typical Slash ballad is less bombastic then these (thinking about Beggers and Hangers On, Fall To Pieces, Back And Forth Again). I'm talking about like 90% of Appetite, where you can obviously see classic Slash influence in most of the songs. I mean, it's a widely known fact that WTTJ's riff was first heard by Axl when Slash played it for him in it's entirety and Axl had a melody and lyrics to go with it. The SCOM story is so old I'm not even gonna regurgitate that here. These are prime and known examples, but if you think about the fact that the only two songs where Slash did not have a hand in writing are "Think About You (Izzy: music and lyrics)" and "Anything Goes (Izzy & Weber: music, Izzy & Axl: lyrics)", and these are commonly regarded as the album's only filler material (you don't have to agree), I think you will put things into perspective.

Don't diminish Slash's input, he was more important than most people even realise.

Actually he was less important than most people realize.

Your statement is very well grounded, indeed.

It just depends on what side of the glass you're looking on to interpret how it went down.

But to say he was more important than most realize, is false in was it represents. Anybody that knows anything about the legacy of this band in the 21st century, knows that's the biggest thing on the new guy's shoulders is trying to get that Slash weight off of their backs, because he was so definitive, he was so recognizable, and he was so liked. He represented Guns N' Roses in their prime, just as much as Axl as far as the spotlight goes.

As far as image goes, and image only, it truely is like trying to do the Stones without Keith, or Zeppelin without Jimmy, or Queen without Brian.

But that's the problem for the current incarnation of GNR now. Too many think Slash's input was the reason they were good, which is not the case at all. If anything, the comment should be reversed....

[Genesis]

I don't understand this "more" important crap. They were all equally important. If any one of the AFD era GN'R members weren't in the original line up, AFD would not have sounded the same. This is the same kind of BS attitude that fucked up the band. Instead of dividing money equally among themselves, they tried to base it on a dumb percentage calculation. GN'R should have taken a cue from bands like Aerosmith. Split the money five ways.

[TheMole]

This is the same kind of BS attitude that fucked up the band. Instead of dividing money equally among themselves, they tried to base it on a dumb percentage calculation. GN'R should have taken a cue from bands like Aerosmith. Split the money five ways.

Now that I agree with.

Actually he was less important than most people realize.

Your statement is very well grounded, indeed.

It just depends on what side of the glass you're looking on to interpret how it went down.

But to say he was more important than most realize, is false in was it represents. Anybody that knows anything about the legacy of this band in the 21st century, knows that's the biggest thing on the new guy's shoulders is trying to get that Slash weight off of their backs, because he was so definitive, he was so recognizable, and he was so liked. He represented Guns N' Roses in their prime, just as much as Axl as far as the spotlight goes.

As far as image goes, and image only, it truely is like trying to do the Stones without Keith, or Zeppelin without Jimmy, or Queen without Brian.

But that's the problem for the current incarnation of GNR now. Too many think Slash's input was the reason they were good, which is not the case at all. If anything, the comment should be reversed....

I can see we aren't going to agree on this any time soon . There's just one thing I'ld like to know before we let this rest... In which way do you think Slash is overrated, what made you form that image of him. I mean, is it a knee-jerk reaction to his popularity, do you dislike his sound, do you think his image is wrong? I'm just curious, as I have yet to meet in person a hard rock 'n roll lover who thinks Slash is overrated by his peers, so I'm eager to learn you reasons.

[Mr. Dick Purple]

Izzy hands down. I think he was the support that axl needed at the time.