Slash on possibility of new GN'R music: ' 'I Think Everybody Wants To Do It'

[Natalie]

New Slash quote on new GNR music in Classic Rock....

“I think we’re going to go well on into the future. I mean, Axl’s got a ton of shit that he recorded already, so we’re just going to get in there and just start getting into that thing, and then if we do a record and then do a tour, I could see that cycle going on endlessly.”

 

Oh, definitely the most positive statement for their future so far!    Thanks for posting! 

[sofine11]

Seems like Slash's expectation is to record with GNR before the next large-scale tour outing.  I like that. 

[sky dog]

Now we're talking. 

[PermissionToLand]

I cannot imagine Slash ever going back and rehashing old ideas that didn't make the cut in the first place. Just look at his work ethic; he can pump out new ideas like nobody's business.

1) Um.....bad example.  GnR have, since the very beginning, revisited old material that didn't make the cut.  You can see that in the AFD era demos.  November Rain? Don't Dry? You Could Be Mine? Now, we obviously don't know what the impetus was behind revising that material....maybe it wasn't, largely, Slash.  But you can't really argue with the results of revisiting the old material.  Those songs got MUCH stronger with time and ended up being pretty big hits for the band.

2) I have to admit.....I feel like Slash has, in the past, favored quantity over quality.  I'm not a big fan of most of what he's done, with some VR exceptions, outside of GnR.  I'm just not.  I've said it before: A lot of the material feels sort of "meh" to me. It's a lot of "good enough" material. He's incredibly talented, don't get me wrong.  But I think he does best when he has a "strong editing" presence behind him.  He had more of that with VR (especially the first VR album) and a lot less on his solo album and with MK.  So while it's true he's been more prolific...if they can kickstart the GNR creative fires, I think that material would be much more to my liking, at least, than his other creative output.

3) My worry in all this is that...we haven't really seen this incarnation of GnR's output without Izzy.  I've always felt he was sort of the unsung hero in the songwriting process.  It'll be interesting to see, if we ever see, what new GnR music sounds like without his participation.

Even as a big fan of Slash outside Guns, I do agree that he needs an editing presence, and tends to underthink things. Especially lately though. His riffs and instincts were good enough to get away with it in Snakepit and VR for Contraband, at least. He knocked it out of the park with the solo album, but I'm sure the different artists gave feedback, being on his level, whereas nobody in Conspirators really is, except Myles, who must just not really care, or is too much of a pushover (I suspect).

But a perfect example of what editing can do for Slash is the song No More Heroes from Apocalyptic Love. Supposedly the producer really pushed him to work on that song and it ended up resulting in some pretty major structural changes. I think it really shows because this song could have been a hit if they just released it as a f*cking single!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY9UQ6sWIvU

Frankly, I think Izzy is overrated. His songwriting outside Guns has absolutely nothing of value to it IMO, and even in Guns... 14 Years and Dust N Bones would be just as boring as his solo stuff without Slash and Axl on them. I think his role in Appetite may be overstated. I much prefer the songwriting of Gilby, and the playing of Fortus.

I think most gnr great songs were songs that sat down for a while until their best details were found/thought of. I'd hate it if November rain came out as the acoustic piano version, not that i don't like it, but the album version is so much more... I don't know how long it took to make estranged and coma (my favorite pre CD songs), but they've got so much wonderful details.
I must say, even though I wanted another album right after CD, I'm glad it had the luxury of being the only new GNR album in the last 10 years... It is a magnificent album that deserved the whole CD tour, and the time for everyone interested to absorb it and acknowledge it as a legit GnR album
The song I am eagerly awaiting for is Going Down by Thommy Stinson with Axl in the background vocals. Will that song ever be released and why not?

Slash wrote Coma basically in one shot in a dope delirium.

And I feel like CD was actually pretty under processed, especially for the amount of time it took. There are quite a few transitions that are awkward or jarring, and some awkward lyrical bits. I mean, if you look at the songs from 2001 Intentions, they are very largely structurally the same. He clearly wasn't spending that time radically re-writing the songs.

Going back to GNR - the NITL crowds I stood in, in the majority, couldn't care less about anything that wasn't one of the 'big songs'. I think we're kidding ourselves that these people want new material in reality. I know many people who when attending concerts will say "it was rubbish, they played new stuff"- that's the way the music scene is now. There is little desire for new, and massive desire for old. A look at the album charts tell you that. It's sad, and I find it depressing, but that is the way music has gone. Everyone wants to live in the past - even people who don't remember that past.

For established acts, releasing new material has become a luxury, something they do because they're bored, rather than any sort of necessity or thing of importance. Provided of course their back catalogue is big enough.

Well, remember that this is a reunion tour of some guys that haven't played together in decades. Of course the large majority of the crowds will be there for the classics. Once they move on to a new album, I think most of those people will have moved on and what's left will be mostly people genuinely interested in the band and who are interested in new stuff, although they may not all like what the result is, of course.

[Vezara]

Going back to GNR - the NITL crowds I stood in, in the majority, couldn't care less about anything that wasn't one of the 'big songs'. I think we're kidding ourselves that these people want new material in reality. I know many people who when attending concerts will say "it was rubbish, they played new stuff"- that's the way the music scene is now. There is little desire for new, and massive desire for old. A look at the album charts tell you that. It's sad, and I find it depressing, but that is the way music has gone. Everyone wants to live in the past - even people who don't remember that past.

Pretty much. 

I made it a point at both of my NITL shows to scan the crowd during the CD songs.  You could immediately pick out who endured that whole misadventure of an odyssey versus the people that hadn't really listened to GNR outside a radio in 20 years.

But part of that was the crowd too.  50,000 people at my show.  That's a lot of casuals.  And at least 45,000 looking at each other once 'Sorry' started up saying "what the fuck is this"?

Personally, I think the only reason for GNR to do anything new is if that is the only way to keep Slash in the fold.  He seemed to have fun on this tour.  But there was also that "first time back" aspect of all this for him.  How excited is he going to be to play 'Double Talkin' Jive' again in 4 years?  Will it have that came appeal?  Maybe he will need at least some pass at something new and different in the form of a few new tunes in the set.

Off topic. You reminded me...
'Double Talking' Jive' sounded amazing on the Poland show. I think the intro went on repeat (live) and lasted for about 5 minutes because Axl wasn't ready to start singing (he was messing around with something...) It sounded as a cool remix. That and Witchita were really awsome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPbskC7pj9E

[DeN]

“I think we’re going to go well on into the future. I mean, Axl’s got a ton of shit that he
recorded already, so we’re just going to get in there and just start getting into that thing,
and then if we do a record and then do a tour, I could see that cycle going on endlessly.”

that's awesome to read 

[allwaystired]

“I think we’re going to go well on into the future. I mean, Axl’s got a ton of shit that he
recorded already, so we’re just going to get in there and just start getting into that thing,
and then if we do a record and then do a tour, I could see that cycle going on endlessly.”

that's awesome to read 

Album, tour, album,  tour.....yeah that's a cycle I get behind! Ideal scenario really for a fan of any band!

[DeN]

I don't see much than one last album, but that's what I wished since 2008 so it's all good for me.

bring Izzy back for songwriting efforts and it will be ace

[allwaystired]

I don't see much than one last album, but that's what I wished since 2008 so it's all good for me.

bring Izzy back for songwriting efforts and it will be ace

I'd be much more interested in hearing some of the CD 2 stuff, with Slash's take on them. I think the days of Izzy have obviously long gone, and I'm not sure his style of songwriting would even work with the setup now, even in the incredibly unlikely scenario that he did become involved.

I'm still of the view that a covers album would be a good idea right now: get things rolling in a studio scenario with a lot of the hassle removed.

[D-GenerationX]

I don't see much than one last album, but that's what I wished since 2008 so it's all good for me.

And I don't even know I see that.  But I agree, one more was all I ever saw even from the island of misfit toys line-up as well.

[allwaystired]

I don't see much than one last album, but that's what I wished since 2008 so it's all good for me.

And I don't even know I see that.  But I agree, one more was all I ever saw even from the island of misfit toys line-up as well.

How come? I think the only limitations they face is that the style of past material doesn't really lend itself to aging: it's going to be increasingly difficult to do the kind of shows they have been doing, and their music so far is particularly 'youthful', but that need not be the case if new material saw a more 'relaxed' style. If things are put in place, and new material was to become a serious concern, it's possible they could adapt to age well. 

[ice cream sand pig]

Awesome news about the studio in vancouver!

[DeN]

I don't see much than one last album, but that's what I wished since 2008 so it's all good for me.

bring Izzy back for songwriting efforts and it will be ace

I'd be much more interested in hearing some of the CD 2 stuff, with Slash's take on them. I think the days of Izzy have obviously long gone, and I'm not sure his style of songwriting would even work with the setup now, even in the incredibly unlikely scenario that he did become involved.

I'm still of the view that a covers album would be a good idea right now: get things rolling in a studio scenario with a lot of the hassle removed.

in any case you'll have both. best of CD2 stuff, with new songs written by Axl Slash Duff etc.
I don't see Slash & Duff just playing guitar parts on old stuff and be happy with it.

so why not Izzy on this part of the job, if everyone involved welcome the idea?

[DeN]

I don't see much than one last album, but that's what I wished since 2008 so it's all good for me.

And I don't even know I see that.  But I agree, one more was all I ever saw even from the island of misfit toys line-up as well.

there's plenty of material and finished songs, they all want to do a new record, the tour was/is successful, the record company
will put a good load of money to promote it, so I suppose for the moment all is good.

"until someone fucked up the whole thing" was very true years ago, bur I'm confident seeing how professional they all became
(even if I prefered the raw, unprofesionnal, loaded, unpredictable Guns N'F% Roses but you live that once, not twice with that
level of success fame and money)

[(t)]

so why not Izzy on this part of the job, if everyone involved welcome the idea?

If he hasn't been involved so far, it just seems unlikely they'll bring him in to record.

[PermissionToLand]

Awesome news about the studio in vancouver!

What?

[jarmo]

Awesome news about the studio in vancouver!

What?

I think he got confused about the AC/DC in Vancouver and these GN'R rumors.






/jarmo

[DeN]

so why not Izzy on this part of the job, if everyone involved welcome the idea?

If he hasn't been involved so far, it just seems unlikely they'll bring him in to record.

sure it would be a surprise. but well, who knows with Guns.

Slash just confirmed he has material too (I wonder if he kept writing GNR songs over the years, you know, in case...)

[Executioner]

I cannot imagine Slash ever going back and rehashing old ideas that didn't make the cut in the first place. Just look at his work ethic; he can pump out new ideas like nobody's business.

1) Um.....bad example.  GnR have, since the very beginning, revisited old material that didn't make the cut.  You can see that in the AFD era demos.  November Rain? Don't Dry? You Could Be Mine? Now, we obviously don't know what the impetus was behind revising that material....maybe it wasn't, largely, Slash.  But you can't really argue with the results of revisiting the old material.  Those songs got MUCH stronger with time and ended up being pretty big hits for the band.

2) I have to admit.....I feel like Slash has, in the past, favored quantity over quality.  I'm not a big fan of most of what he's done, with some VR exceptions, outside of GnR.  I'm just not.  I've said it before: A lot of the material feels sort of "meh" to me. It's a lot of "good enough" material. He's incredibly talented, don't get me wrong.  But I think he does best when he has a "strong editing" presence behind him.  He had more of that with VR (especially the first VR album) and a lot less on his solo album and with MK.  So while it's true he's been more prolific...if they can kickstart the GNR creative fires, I think that material would be much more to my liking, at least, than his other creative output.

3) My worry in all this is that...we haven't really seen this incarnation of GnR's output without Izzy.  I've always felt he was sort of the unsung hero in the songwriting process.  It'll be interesting to see, if we ever see, what new GnR music sounds like without his participation.

Even as a big fan of Slash outside Guns, I do agree that he needs an editing presence, and tends to underthink things. Especially lately though. His riffs and instincts were good enough to get away with it in Snakepit and VR for Contraband, at least. He knocked it out of the park with the solo album, but I'm sure the different artists gave feedback, being on his level, whereas nobody in Conspirators really is, except Myles, who must just not really care, or is too much of a pushover (I suspect).

But a perfect example of what editing can do for Slash is the song No More Heroes from Apocalyptic Love. Supposedly the producer really pushed him to work on that song and it ended up resulting in some pretty major structural changes. I think it really shows because this song could have been a hit if they just released it as a f*cking single!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY9UQ6sWIvU

Frankly, I think Izzy is overrated. His songwriting outside Guns has absolutely nothing of value to it IMO, and even in Guns... 14 Years and Dust N Bones would be just as boring as his solo stuff without Slash and Axl on them. I think his role in Appetite may be overstated. I much prefer the songwriting of Gilby, and the playing of Fortus.

I think most gnr great songs were songs that sat down for a while until their best details were found/thought of. I'd hate it if November rain came out as the acoustic piano version, not that i don't like it, but the album version is so much more... I don't know how long it took to make estranged and coma (my favorite pre CD songs), but they've got so much wonderful details.
I must say, even though I wanted another album right after CD, I'm glad it had the luxury of being the only new GNR album in the last 10 years... It is a magnificent album that deserved the whole CD tour, and the time for everyone interested to absorb it and acknowledge it as a legit GnR album
The song I am eagerly awaiting for is Going Down by Thommy Stinson with Axl in the background vocals. Will that song ever be released and why not?

Slash wrote Coma basically in one shot in a dope delirium.

And I feel like CD was actually pretty under processed, especially for the amount of time it took. There are quite a few transitions that are awkward or jarring, and some awkward lyrical bits. I mean, if you look at the songs from 2001 Intentions, they are very largely structurally the same. He clearly wasn't spending that time radically re-writing the songs.

Going back to GNR - the NITL crowds I stood in, in the majority, couldn't care less about anything that wasn't one of the 'big songs'. I think we're kidding ourselves that these people want new material in reality. I know many people who when attending concerts will say "it was rubbish, they played new stuff"- that's the way the music scene is now. There is little desire for new, and massive desire for old. A look at the album charts tell you that. It's sad, and I find it depressing, but that is the way music has gone. Everyone wants to live in the past - even people who don't remember that past.

For established acts, releasing new material has become a luxury, something they do because they're bored, rather than any sort of necessity or thing of importance. Provided of course their back catalogue is big enough.

Well, remember that this is a reunion tour of some guys that haven't played together in decades. Of course the large majority of the crowds will be there for the classics. Once they move on to a new album, I think most of those people will have moved on and what's left will be mostly people genuinely interested in the band and who are interested in new stuff, although they may not all like what the result is, of course.

Izzy Overrated???He was the key member in that band they fell apart when he left he wrote so many of their best songs Patience,You could be mine,Don't Cry ,Double Talkin,Think about you,etc him and Axl were close and could related to each other and Slash admitted he could not deal with Axl when Izzy left and the band quickly fell apart.If Axl could get Slash and Duff back then I've no doubt he could get Izzy back in not that they couldn't put out a decent album without him but it would be a lot better if he was involved.

[jarmo]

Slash just confirmed he has material too (I wonder if he kept writing GNR songs over the years, you know, in case...)

Didn't he say that he usually writes with whatever band he's in at the moment? So that in the last year or two, he wrote with GN'R in mind....

But not before the tour started....

I think he mentioned something like that in one of the interviews? 



/jarmo