"Next Album" rumor / speculation thread *UPDATE AUG 22/2023*

[jarmo]

Haha!


They already released two albums on one day, so why not release three? There's no excuse!

  




/jarmo

[carmiedisco12]

That would  be amazing and there really is no excuse for GNR not to have 2 albums in the can ready to go by the time touring is available again.

Why only two? Aim higher. Come on, all this time you've been asking for one album, now it's two just so you can feel let down if only one is released.

LOL.

Feels like deja vu.....




/jarmo

Two is very possible.  Twins run in the family.  Yes, it does feels like deja vu. 

Funny how Kelly Anne Conway above thinks 20 years of tinkering and touring, multiple albums worth of recorded music, an additional few years of the old band being back together and then an additional 6-8 months of downtime with nothing to do still shouldn't realistically be sufficient time to have 2 albums good to go. Talk about low expectations. I'm baffled at the lack of belief in the talent and drive some have that think they are only capable of one album with all that time, money and now additional down time.

Happy with one for sure.....more than happy, astounded. But still clearly if motivated it's hard to fathom how 2 albums is not possible.

[jarmo]

I'm pretty sure they are capable of creating more music than that. But I don't dictate what they need to do with their music. What, how and/or when.

That's their choice.

Whatever they decide is fine with me. I respect their choices.
There's no excuse to change that opinion.



Edited to add: With the information we have available, there's no excuse to assume there'll be old fashioned albums to begin with. We don't even know how the music will be released....




/jarmo

[C0ma]

Edited to add: With the information we have available, there's no excuse to assume there'll be old fashioned albums to begin with. We don't even know how the music will be released....

/jarmo

I like the idea of them taking advantage of the tech available and focusing on just getting material out vs. trying to labor over an album and everything that goes with it. At this point though I'm very interested to see what they are going to do with the UYI 30th. I'd love to see Crash Diet get love like Shadow did.

[jarmo]

I like the idea of them taking advantage of the tech available and focusing on just getting material out vs. trying to labor over an album and everything that goes with it.

It's one of those things where it's not just "release an album" anymore. There's options, if that's your thing.

Remember when CDs used to be the same everywhere, except maybe the Japanese edition would have a bonus track? Then it kinda evolved into different editions (deluxe edition, tour edition, limited edition etc etc). Then a little later the bonus tracks started popping up here and there (iTunes bonus tracks, Best Buy edition exclusive tracks etc etc)..... Things have changed.

Nowadays it's worth taking into consideration whether or not the concept of the album is the way to go.




/jarmo

[rizzo160]

I will be happy if we get one new album and GNR plays 4 of their songs on tour.  Do you think the Latin American tour will happen this year?

[carmiedisco12]

I will be happy if we get one new album and GNR plays 4 of their songs on tour.  Do you think the Latin American tour will happen this year?

Spectacularly happy.
Must be said the confines of huge venues would preclude doing too many songs from a new album but it would be nice if they would play the odd smaller venue for hardcore fans and play 8-9 songs from a new album every now n again

[cineater]

Haha!


They already released two albums on one day, so why not release three? There's no excuse!

  




/jarmo

I was thinking triplets as a big surprise.  The material is there.

Just my opinion but it's not a matter of excuses from GNR.  It's a matter of what the label will let them get away with.  The fans are going to buy the first release from the reunion.  Might as well push it and go for the double.  If a single release sucks, sales for a second release may not be worth the gamble for the label.  Go ahead and go for the money on a double.  The triple, that's tricky.  I don't know if the label would go for that.  Maybe if the band says that's all we plan on doing.  And there's the release after death issues.  I don't know, a lot to consider on the third but, I'd jump on the twins if I was the label.

[allwaystired]

Whoah there!

Let's get ONE album before we worry about 2 or 3!

[jarmo]

I was just joking about three.... Don't worry.




/jarmo

[jarmo]

The fans are going to buy the first release from the reunion.  Might as well push it and go for the double. 

Double albums are more expensive though.




/jarmo

[jarmo]

Must be said the confines of huge venues would preclude doing too many songs from a new album but it would be nice if they would play the odd smaller venue for hardcore fans and play 8-9 songs from a new album every now n again

What exactly defines a hardcore fan and how would you get only them into a venue?

For example, there's hardcore fans who travel all over the world to see GN'R, but don't take part in online fan forums. So that alone makes them different from those of us who do.


Anyway, my point is that it's difficult to make a show only for a select group of people if tickets are on sale for the general public. We had some shows in more intimate venues and there were plenty of casual fans there who just wanted to see GN'R in a smaller venue....

But the idea itself is cool..... I wonder if a show that was billed as something different, filled with so called deep cuts would keep certain ticket buyers away?



/jarmo

[allwaystired]

I was just joking about three.... Don't worry.




/jarmo

I'm not sure everyone is though!

[jarmo]

True.

But my main point was that there's no guarantee, since we know very little about the plans, that they will release an old fashioned album, or multiple albums. And that's not something negative.

I don't have doubts that they can create multiple albums worth of material, that's not what I was saying. I'm saying that it's 2020, so there's more possibilities on how to release music now than a few years ago. It's not all about being on MTV and having a record available at the record store anymore... MTV stopped being music oriented, record shopping, or record stores, aren't what they used to be....





/jarmo

[allwaystired]

Must be said the confines of huge venues would preclude doing too many songs from a new album but it would be nice if they would play the odd smaller venue for hardcore fans and play 8-9 songs from a new album every now n again

What exactly defines a hardcore fan and how would you get only them into a venue?

For example, there's hardcore fans who travel all over the world to see GN'R, but don't take part in online fan forums. So that alone makes them different from those of us who do.


Anyway, my point is that it's difficult to make a show only for a select group of people if tickets are on sale for the general public. We had some shows in more intimate venues and there were plenty of casual fans there who just wanted to see GN'R in a smaller venue....

But the idea itself is cool..... I wonder if a show that was billed as something different, filled with so called deep cuts would keep certain ticket buyers away?



/jarmo

I think that would have an effect for sure.

The other way of doing it would be via forums - offering some sorts of code to regular posters to get access to tickets. That would be cool. It's one of my regrets that I've never been able to see GNR in an 'intimate' setting (see my previous grumbling about trying and failing to get a ticket for the Hammersmith show!)

Nothing is perfect though - as you say I'm sure there are hardcore fans who don't post on forums all the time.

[allwaystired]

True.

But my main point was that there's no guarantee, since we know very little about the plans, that they will release an old fashioned album, or multiple albums. And that's not something negative.

I don't have doubts that they can create multiple albums worth of material, that's not what I was saying. I'm saying that it's 2020, so there's more possibilities on how to release music now than a few years ago. It's not all about being on MTV and having a record available at the record store anymore... MTV stopped being music oriented, record shopping, or record stores, aren't what they used to be....





/jarmo

I agree, but I still think all routes lead back, ultimately, to an album. There are of course many ways now of promoting that, connecting people with that, etc etc, but I can't think of many musicians who don't ultimately end up with an album release.

I also feel that it's what the vast majority of GNR fans would want - an album they can hold in their hands. I know it's certainly what I want. If they want to build up with that by dropping songs occasionally on streaming services. streams, whatever - cool.

But at the end of the day I think people would like a record/cd or even a cassette (as seemingly everyone seems to be doing the days! Lady Gaga just released her new album on four different varieties of cassette!)

[jarmo]

I don't know how you behave when you get a new album. Do you listen to it all the way through in one go? Or just listen to a few tracks?


But ever since iTunes started selling individual songs, it seems like the conventional record, in the album format, has lost some of its magic.

You don't need to pay for 12 songs if you only want one, for example.


The music videos and singles were released to keep up interest in an album. So even months or a year after its release, new people would discover it because a single was released that became a hit.
 
Is that way of thinking still valid?


The albums I got this year all had singles released before the album. One song, sometimes two or three before the full album. Then, once the album was out, no more singles...


So what if you just release singles? Same amount of tracks you'd get on an album, but spread the release over a longer time frame? Obviously these singles could have bonus tracks on them that wouldn't be considered for an album.

Or even EPs with more tracks on them....

There's all kinds of hypothetical scenarios that one can dream up....



/jarmo

[allwaystired]

I don't know how you behave when you get a new album. Do you listen to it all the way through in one go? Or just listen to a few tracks?


But ever since iTunes started selling individual songs, it seems like the conventional record, in the album format, has lost some of its magic.

You don't need to pay for 12 songs if you only want one, for example.


The music videos and singles were released to keep up interest in an album. So even months or a year after its release, new people would discover it because a single was released that became a hit.
 
Is that way of thinking still valid?


The albums I got this year all had singles released before the album. One song, sometimes two or three before the full album. Then, once the album was out, no more singles...


So what if you just release singles? Same amount of tracks you'd get on an album, but spread the release over a longer time frame? Obviously these singles could have bonus tracks on them that wouldn't be considered for an album.

Or even EPs with more tracks on them....

There's all kinds of hypothetical scenarios that one can dream up....



/jarmo

Yeah, personally I do. I like to play an album beginning to end, all the way through. Today for example, I've played four from my collection from beginning to end. For me, that's how I want to consume music. I don't like the flicking about from one band to another, the fact a computer algorithm may have chosen what I'm to listen to etc. etc. It just doesn't sit well with me, as I think albums are like a statements - a piece of art that reflects where a musician was at that time, and that thought and effort has gone into making complete. To chop that up seems absurd to me; a lot of albums flow perfectly. I feel that every single GNR album is a classic example of this- they absolutely should be considered as individual entities, to be enjoyed end to end.

On the other hand of course, if an artists vision is to release singles only, then great too. I'm sure I mentioned this before somewhere here, but a band I like very much, Ash, released a single every fortnight for a year, digitally. That was their focus and intention. They later compiled them into two album length compilations for people to buy, so that was great. I got to enjoy the concept for a year.....then pick up two compilations of all the tracks to keep in my collection.

So yeah, GNR taking that sort of approach would be great!

[Guitar1281]

It's not going to happen but, I think it would be cool if they did a tour in which they cycle through the new material before it is recorded and released. This way, they can see what hits, what misses, what tempos work, etc. When the album gets recorded and released, deluxe editions/box sets could be formed including the various live versions from the tour, allowing the hardcore fans to have a "scrapbook" of how they songs grew.

With a band the size of GNR, this approach would be tough to do as stadiums filled with people are expecting the well known material. If they could somehow do a series of secret club shows it may make it easier, especially if they could prohibit cell phone recordings.

I believe that the recorded versions would have a better feel if they demoed the songs this way. Think about how many songs from Appetite were played at shows before it was recorded.

[Wooody]

I don't know how you behave when you get a new album. Do you listen to it all the way through in one go? Or just listen to a few tracks?


But ever since iTunes started selling individual songs, it seems like the conventional record, in the album format, has lost some of its magic.

oh, it happened way before that with Napster. However I still think the magic is still there if you buy the physical CD or Vinyl.
I still buy cds I have never bought an mp3. I do listen to youtube streams though...