Slash makes everything better.

[Voodoochild]

To sum it all up, Slash has a very distint style, and that style IS Guns N' Roses. He makes the old songs right and the CD era songs interesting for me. They were fine without him, but it is just cool to hear his solo on"This I Love" etc.

Slash does make Gn'R better. With Axl and Slash seemingly on great terms and getting on well... it is only positive things for the present and the future!

He does make GNR better. But not everything better, and that's the point I guess. The CD songs were not exactly made to replicate the old band style. I think he and Duff made a great effort in rearrange them to make it more like the old sound, but it doesnt mean it's better because of it. And to me the greatest example of not being there yet is This I Love solo. I thought it would be a no brainer for Slash, that he would come up with a solo of his own just like he did with Dust in the Wind back in the 90s. That didn't happen.

[Thorned Rose]

To sum it all up, Slash has a very distint style, and that style IS Guns N' Roses. He makes the old songs right and the CD era songs interesting for me. They were fine without him, but it is just cool to hear his solo on"This I Love" etc.

Slash does make Gn'R better. With Axl and Slash seemingly on great terms and getting on well... it is only positive things for the present and the future!

He does make GNR better. But not everything better, and that's the point I guess. The CD songs were not exactly made to replicate the old band style. I think he and Duff made a great effort in rearrange them to make it more like the old sound, but it doesnt mean it's better because of it. And to me the greatest example of not being there yet is This I Love solo. I thought it would be a no brainer for Slash, that he would come up with a solo of his own just like he did with Dust in the Wind back in the 90s. That didn't happen.

Ha!  Skid Row were a legit good band, the first 2 records were great. 

'Slave To The Grind' is still one of my favorite records ever.  It's a "desert island" album for me, even in 2016.

Ha!  I love that album...I think of Wasted Time as the last ballad, the final homage to the 80's before the tidal wave of grunge and flannel shirts took over.  IMO, a very underrated song.

Yeah that to me is the last great rock record along with the UYI albums. They were released like 2 months apart roughly and after that, Nevermind hit around that time, and things changed a lot. It's a great album. Sucks they couldn't get back together and do a Skid Row/GnR thing. WOuld of been epic.

On the Slash solo thing, yeah he did do his own thing on 'This I Love" it is cool, but not what I expected. I think he'll get something for it.

Pretty cool that you guys like Slave to the Grind. I consider it a top 10 "rock" album of the 90s for sure.

[GypsySoul]

You can't tell the difference between Slash and Ashba??

No. Honestly I can't.  To my ears, 70% of the time the guitar solos sound like someone having 'relations' with a cat and the cat is NOT enjoying it.

Isn't that being tone deaf ?

Yeah. Pretty much! 

But in my defense as I mentioned earlier, I can hear the difference between the piano playing styles of Axl vs Dizzy so I'm probably only 70% tone deaf. 

[Smoking Guns]

This is GNR to me... Axl singing his ass off with Slash playing some soulful tasty leads.

http://youtu.be/P-IttCPOOgQ

[Wooody]

To sum it all up, Slash has a very distint style, and that style IS Guns N' Roses. He makes the old songs right and the CD era songs interesting for me. They were fine without him, but it is just cool to hear his solo on"This I Love" etc.

Slash does make Gn'R better. With Axl and Slash seemingly on great terms and getting on well... it is only positive things for the present and the future!

He does make GNR better. But not everything better, and that's the point I guess. The CD songs were not exactly made to replicate the old band style. I think he and Duff made a great effort in rearrange them to make it more like the old sound, but it doesnt mean it's better because of it. And to me the greatest example of not being there yet is This I Love solo. I thought it would be a no brainer for Slash, that he would come up with a solo of his own just like he did with Dust in the Wind back in the 90s. That didn't happen.

Me too, especially because Its similar in style to Slash's?. maybe he wanted to come up with something totally different, and that's why we don't like it.
His work on Better is awesome though, really enjoy the new intro and the solos.

[GeorgeSteele]

I really like Slash's solo on TIL.  Not really just noodling to me, I think it has the effect of your soul being torn to pieces, which fits with the song's theme.  That said, I understand that Robin's solo is one of the guitar parts on CD that fans have gotten most attached to, if it's not the guitar highlight of the album. 

[jc_seven]

I really like Slash's solo on TIL.  Not really just noodling to me, I think it has the effect of your soul being torn to pieces, which fits with the song's theme.  That said, I understand that Robin's solo is one of the guitar parts on CD that fans have gotten most attached to, if it's not the guitar highlight of the album. 

Hear, hear!

[lostdream]

To me, as someone who has played the guitar for 16 years now, I can hear right away who's playing

Wouldn't you agree that 80% of the fans attending these shows are like me and don't play guitar and can't distinguish one guitar player's sound/style from the next? 

Obviously when we can see who it is playing on stage, we believe we can hear a difference.  But if you were to play a snippet of WTTJ for us 80%, most of us would be hard pressed to say if it's Slash or Richard or BH or Robin or BBF or Ashba.

NOT! Definitely not true 😂

[Thorned Rose]

I really like Slash's solo on TIL.  Not really just noodling to me, I think it has the effect of your soul being torn to pieces, which fits with the song's theme.  That said, I understand that Robin's solo is one of the guitar parts on CD that fans have gotten most attached to, if it's not the guitar highlight of the album. 

Hear, hear!

Yeah I really think that solo by Finck on TIL is the standout guitar piece. It just evokes so much feeling. Slash's take is very interesting, as it does kinda remind me of something shattered or splintered badly.

NIce take on that dude. Hadn't thought that much about it until now.

[Skunk]

It was during the 4/9 TIL solo that I fully realized just how much I had missed Slash.

His solo wasn't necessarily better than the album version, but it was GNR as hell. It had a classic feel that reframed the song. Like the solo in NR or Breakdown it was suitably emotional and moving, but, it also had attitude and bite. Everything he plays does.

To be sure Robin's original solo is incredibly emotional and fitting to the song (probably the most emotive GNR solo not by Slash)... but as soon as I heard Slash on the song I remembered back to when CD came out. TIL was one of my favorite tracks but it was also a surprise. I remember being surprised that this was the song I heard was written so long ago. For many fans the surprise was too much and it was their least favorite. The song is all emotion and sadness, no teeth. It is an undeniably beautiful piece of music, theatrical and deep, with a lyric you can't forget, but it's vulnerability is full on. No other GNR ballad is quite like this one.

When you hear Slash on it, you could say his solo doesn't flow with the song as seamlessly, but I thought that was a good thing. It stands out. It's powerful. This I Love drips with melancholy, but Slash's guitar also has a tone of defiance. The noodling was as if celebrating the music and moment of the song, and it built and built in such a way that it was triumphant. It didn't compliment the song but rather completed it, which is after all what we saw on all the classic songs. Listen to the lyrics and you'll hear Axl singing not about a hopelessly lost or uncertain love, but one that he knows is not yet gone. He knows about the little light she can't deny. He's obviously in the darkest and most heartbroken of places but Axl's lyrics have a defiance and confidence to them, and it turns out that's why, more than anything, I missed Slash in GNR. Because Slash's guitar always sounds like Axl's attitude.

The talk about the "look" or GNR misses the point. It's not about the look now because it wasn't about the look then. But Slash and Duff do come with a considerable amount of authentic swagger. All the talk right now of the past guitarists, including Bucket who is an unimaginable genius, is misplaced. Those guys deserve their credit for sure, but to see Slash on stage as GNR again is really really special.
It's not just about being a classic lineup guy and nostalgia but about his career his playing and his sound. Few people on the planet are more rock and roll than Slash. His guitar sound is recognizable to the casual fan and his skill is recognized even by those who aren't fans. If you asked people on the street to name the greatest guitarists of all time, imagine how many would list Slash top 5. Forget top ten, top 5. He's a big enough star that Axl's broken foot is pretty easy to ignore, and now we all get to be reminded why. I'm thrilled.

[OscarAxl22]

It was during the 4/9 TIL solo that I fully realized just how much I had missed Slash.

His solo wasn't necessarily better than the album version, but it was GNR as hell. It had a classic feel that reframed the song. Like the solo in NR or Breakdown it was suitably emotional and moving, but, it also had attitude and bite. Everything he plays does.

To be sure Robin's original solo is incredibly emotional and fitting to the song (probably the most emotive GNR solo not by Slash)... but as soon as I heard Slash on the song I remembered back to when CD came out. TIL was one of my favorite tracks but it was also a surprise. I remember being surprised that this was the song I heard was written so long ago. For many fans the surprise was too much and it was their least favorite. The song is all emotion and sadness, no teeth. It is an undeniably beautiful piece of music, theatrical and deep, with a lyric you can't forget, but it's vulnerability is full on. No other GNR ballad is quite like this one.

When you hear Slash on it, you could say his solo doesn't flow with the song as seamlessly, but I thought that was a good thing. It stands out. It's powerful. This I Love drips with melancholy, but Slash's guitar also has a tone of defiance. The noodling was as if celebrating the music and moment of the song, and it built and built in such a way that it was triumphant. It didn't compliment the song but rather completed it, which is after all what we saw on all the classic songs. Listen to the lyrics and you'll hear Axl singing not about a hopelessly lost or uncertain love, but one that he knows is not yet gone. He knows about the little light she can't deny. He's obviously in the darkest and most heartbroken of places but Axl's lyrics have a defiance and confidence to them, and it turns out that's why, more than anything, I missed Slash in GNR. Because Slash's guitar always sounds like Axl's attitude.

The talk about the "look" or GNR misses the point. It's not about the look now because it wasn't about the look then. But Slash and Duff do come with a considerable amount of authentic swagger. All the talk right now of the past guitarists, including Bucket who is an unimaginable genius, is misplaced. Those guys deserve their credit for sure, but to see Slash on stage as GNR again is really really special.
It's not just about being a classic lineup guy and nostalgia but about his career his playing and his sound. Few people on the planet are more rock and roll than Slash. His guitar sound is recognizable to the casual fan and his skill is recognized even by those who aren't fans. If you asked people on the street to name the greatest guitarists of all time, imagine how many would list Slash top 5. Forget top ten, top 5. He's a big enough star that Axl's broken foot is pretty easy to ignore, and now we all get to be reminded why. I'm thrilled.

well said mate. 

[GNFNR-UK]

The most important question regarding Slash's return still hasn't been answered though...

Is he ever gonna sit on Axl's piano to play the outro to November Rain again?!

[GNR1977]

I hope to see him standing on the piano again 

[Voodoochild]

When you hear Slash on it, you could say his solo doesn't flow with the song as seamlessly, but I thought that was a good thing. It stands out. It's powerful. This I Love drips with melancholy, but Slash's guitar also has a tone of defiance. The noodling was as if celebrating the music and moment of the song, and it built and built in such a way that it was triumphant. It didn't compliment the song but rather completed it, which is after all what we saw on all the classic songs. Listen to the lyrics and you'll hear Axl singing not about a hopelessly lost or uncertain love, but one that he knows is not yet gone. He knows about the little light she can't deny. He's obviously in the darkest and most heartbroken of places but Axl's lyrics have a defiance and confidence to them, and it turns out that's why, more than anything, I missed Slash in GNR. Because Slash's guitar always sounds like Axl's attitude.

Whoa. Maybe you thought too much about it. 

Of course you can relate anything to the lyrics that way. If Slash just went through feedback noise, you could say it's because the pain is so deep that makes us uncomfortable.

The point to me is that there's so much you can do in a song to make it everything work together. The way I feel is that Slash just got the beginning and the rest he made up on the fly, jamming with the band. He sure is entitled to improvise and do what he wants to do, of course. I just wish this song should get a more streamlined and well thought solo.

The talk about the "look" or GNR misses the point. It's not about the look now because it wasn't about the look then. But Slash and Duff do come with a considerable amount of authentic swagger. All the talk right now of the past guitarists, including Bucket who is an unimaginable genius, is misplaced. Those guys deserve their credit for sure, but to see Slash on stage as GNR again is really really special.

It was always about the look AND the sound. You can't say a guy in a top hat isn't also about the look.

[Wooody]

The most important question regarding Slash's return still hasn't been answered though...

Is he ever gonna sit on Axl's piano to play the outro to November Rain again?!

 
I thought he was going to do it on some of those videos. But he just went near the drums higher up.

It'be great if he did it in Coachella.

[Butch Français]

this forum is like stepping back into the 90s....in ALL ways.

[PermissionToLand]

I think the solo is a work in progress. Which is a good thing because Slash hates spending time writing, just look at World on Fire. Some great riffs but the writing could have been much better, including solos. So if he just wrote something in rehearsal and stuck with it, well it would be what we saw in the first show. By the end of the tour I think he'll have worked out a wonderful solo. Even by the second show it was a huge improvement.

[GNFNR-UK]

I'm still hearing what sounds like improvised wankery, which is a shame because I really used to look forward to the solo in TIL, even when Ashba was playing it but I suppose he stayed true to the original... I just wish Slash would've done something similar, just put his own spin on it. I'm still obviously glad he's back and he's NAILING the old stuff, I'd just rather not listen to his take on this particular solo anymore so I kinda just skip watching that song now.

[jc_seven]

It seemed like in Vegas he was trying to work something out.  This Coachella version seemed to me like he was just soloing at the part for the solo.  Oh well.  He will find a groove in time, I am sure.

[Guitar1281]

The Coachella version did seem to fit more. While not the original TIL solo, it did seemed more natural than the Vegas versions.