Song Opinions ~ 2006

[-Jack-]

Heres my 2 cents on the live stuff and how its changed from either, the demos, or the 02 live versions.
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The Blues isn't as cool without the old intro... but it's still somewhat growing on me. Only because I think I've come to the conclusion that we will likely never hear the 02 version again.. live or on the record. But I hope, Axl if your reading this, put the 02 version on for you fans. Most people seem to prefer it.

Chinese Democracy was one song I hated when they changed it in '06. They took out a lot of the cool industrial sounds.. they took out IMHO the better '02 intro... so at the beginning of the year when GN'R first started touring, you could say I was upset about one of my favorite tracks being changed. But over the tour they have made it MUCH better. Bumblefoot takes it to a new level with his fills and solo (much better than BH's old one); and although I miss Brain's drumming (Frank has changed it a bit)... and the old intro.. I think overall the 06 version is much better than the '02. I'm impressed.

Better sounds much better live than on the demo. The synths in the demo are too far back in the mix.

IRS is still boring to me. For some reason I still find myself listening to the old old IRS demo... the first one that leaked with the crappy quality. Even though it's the same as the newer leaked IRS I think because there was so much interference and crap that at least it didn't sound BORING! Heh. IRS '99 sounds great to me also. It's got a stoner sorta vibe.

TWAT sounds the same live at Madrid as it does one the demo. So we'll see.

Maddy.. uhh no comment really. Hasn't changed too much in my opinion. good song.

[nothingman]

-Not a big fan of 06 Blues, really miss the 02 version.

-Chinese Democracy has been improved but overall I am bored with this song now.

-Better rocks, instant classic. Usually catchy songs get boring but this one keeps getting better.

-Twat is just insane, love the intro. Truly a song worth waiting for.

-Madagascar is ok, getting a bit bored with this one as well.

-Catcher in the Rye, This is a huge song, Please play it live, [begging].

-Irs is another song that is getting boring but it sounds pretty cool live.

[Verse Chorus Verse]

My opinions of the new songs...

First, I'm discounting the leaks as we've really not had a whole hell of a lot to compare them to.

I will say this... I love the way that IRS has changed.  I love the new funky additions to it.

Better sounds just as cool as it did when I first heard it.  Also, after hearing the little bit from the Harley ad, I'm VERY interested in hearing a final, finished version.

There Was a Time just wasn't played live enough to gather any conclusive, formative opinion (in my opinion...)

Of the older new songs...

Madagascar is phenominally better -if for no other reason that I love Axl's new way of singing it compared to the 2001 and 2002 performances.  Yes, I did like Buckethead's solo, but I feel that Richard does a more than adequate job handling the guitar solo.

Chinese Democracy is, in my opinion, the most improved.  I love the new intro, I love the way that it actually FEELS like an opening track to an album now...

The Blues... GOD, I miss the old version.  Personally, in terms of musical quality and raw power, the performance from RIR3 tops all else.  The drumming is so much more vibrant, the guitars sound that much edgier... the current version... I just don't like how they've toned it down so substantially.  I will admit, however, the I really prefer Axl's vocals on the song now.

Again, just my opinions.

For me, you've hit the nail on the head.

[chineseroses]

My opinions of the new songs...

First, I'm discounting the leaks as we've really not had a whole hell of a lot to compare them to.

I will say this... I love the way that IRS has changed.  I love the new funky additions to it.

Better sounds just as cool as it did when I first heard it.  Also, after hearing the little bit from the Harley ad, I'm VERY interested in hearing a final, finished version.

There Was a Time just wasn't played live enough to gather any conclusive, formative opinion (in my opinion...)

Of the older new songs...

Madagascar is phenominally better -if for no other reason that I love Axl's new way of singing it compared to the 2001 and 2002 performances.  Yes, I did like Buckethead's solo, but I feel that Richard does a more than adequate job handling the guitar solo.

Chinese Democracy is, in my opinion, the most improved.  I love the new intro, I love the way that it actually FEELS like an opening track to an album now...

The Blues... GOD, I miss the old version.  Personally, in terms of musical quality and raw power, the performance from RIR3 tops all else.  The drumming is so much more vibrant, the guitars sound that much edgier... the current version... I just don't like how they've toned it down so substantially.  I will admit, however, the I really prefer Axl's vocals on the song now.

Again, just my opinions.

For me, you've hit the nail on the head.

yeah exactly my feelings, The Blues seems to have been drained of it energy, this song has disapointed me the most from 2006 when its compared to the 01 and 02 versions.

The only thing i would add is that i much prefer the new intro to TWAT as apposed to the crappy drum beats.

[Axl4Prez2004]

I've said it before, I'll say it again...There Was a Time is a masterpiece. ?The '06 intro that sounds like some sort of heavenly choir hits me square in the jaw...ina good way. ?

Better...how fucking cool is it when you see the progression of a song and of a band right before your eyes? ?I was there on May 12th the first time it was played live, and I just saw the Dec. 19th version. ?The band is so tight...the song is just killer. ?

The Blues...I love the longer piano intro. ?Great ballad. ?'02, '06 both great.

Chinese Democracy...without a doubt the most improved. ?OMG! ?If you haven't seen it live, you just don't understand. ?It's turned into a kick-ass rock song and we still haven't even heard the studio yet! ?

Madagascar...'02 and '06, love it. ?I think part of the difficulty for us die-hards absorbing the changes with The Blues and Madagascar involves us hearing them for so long at the higher pitch of '02's performances. ?There is one show in particular, Budapest, where Axl hits this awesome note toward the end of the song near the outro. that I fucking love! ? ?Hopefully for me it makes the final version.

IRS...it's almost a completely different song to me. ?I hope we get 2 versions in the coming years a-la You're Crazy off of Lies and off of AFD.

2007. ?Oh what a year it will be! ?

[DoubleTalkingJive]

The Blues always stood out to me as a great ballad and it's what I always liked best from the new songs, until I heard TWAT, I took to that song instantly.  Most were saying they didn't like it when they first heard it but I am seeing that peoples feelings have changed towards this song now.

Better is definitely the next on my list, the heaviest and most enjoyable to rock out to, especially live  , followed by IRS, followed by CITR.   

I like Maddy and CD for sure, be it they are good songs, the others rank a bit higher... just my opinion

[Robman?]

The Blues always stood out to me as a great ballad and it's what I always liked best from the new songs, until I heard TWAT, I took to that song instantly.  Most were saying they didn't like it when they first heard it but I am seeing that peoples feelings have changed towards this song now.

Better is definitely the next on my list, the heaviest and most enjoyable to rock out to, especially live  , followed by IRS, followed by CITR.   

I like Maddy and CD for sure, be it they are good songs, the others rank a bit higher... just my opinion

Yeah, i think CD, though better now, and maddy are not as good as the other songs. But we still have yet to hear studio versions of these songs, so my opinion may change.

[DoubleTalkingJive]

The Blues always stood out to me as a great ballad and it's what I always liked best from the new songs, until I heard TWAT, I took to that song instantly.? Most were saying they didn't like it when they first heard it but I am seeing that peoples feelings have changed towards this song now.

Better is definitely the next on my list, the heaviest and most enjoyable to rock out to, especially live? , followed by IRS, followed by CITR.? ?

I like Maddy and CD for sure, be it they are good songs, the others rank a bit higher... just my opinion

Yeah, i think CD, though better now, and maddy are not as good as the other songs. But we still have yet to hear studio versions of these songs, so my opinion may change.

Agreed, until we hear the finished versions, we could change our rankings for sure. 

[chinesedemocracy05]

Good

The Blues - After seeing them nail this song twice in the last year, I think its my favorite guns song past/present the lyrics are incredible, and the ooooo part at the end is magical. Robins solo is also nice.

Out ta get me - One of the best old songs they do. So much energy, everything about it is awesome.

IRS - To me when leaked was good but the weakest of the demos but seeing it live is really awesome and i think robin really gets into this one, and richard keeps the chords driving in the background. The rock in rio bootleg is like a wall of sound with pittmans keyboard.

Pretty much everything live was good except....

Bad

Better - The demo is sooooooo much  better. Like the energy from the band was great but axls voice hasnt been really stunning on this track live. The first time Robins solo made it one of the best songs of the night for me. But the second time it was just meh. I love this song though and i hope the band can maybe work the arrangement tighter, although that would be difficult since there is just so much going on.

[Billo]

Nice Thread Cheif..
For me..When i first heard Maddy Blues and CD i really loved them and thought they were awesome...I miss the cool solo from Maddy in Rio 3 but love the way he sings it higher now.. LOve the new Into for CD...Still Love the blues..
I love Rhaid and ive allways said i need to hear a strudio version..
The new songs this year..LOVE BeTTeR Really love IRS..and Twat..is a monster....CITR i think is really good but might be a bit too layered for me..maybe its because its a demo..not sure.
Really the new ones i listen to are Better IRS and TWAT..i dont really listed to the others but im sure once i hear Studio Final versions ill get right back into them big time..

[The Legend]

Good

Better - the song grew on me. Originally, I wasn't sure what to make of the leaked demo, but as I heard it live more and more, I realized the song kicked ass. It's one of the best of the new stuff we've heard so far!

I.R.S. - when I heard the full leaked demo of this, I knew it was going to be a kick ass song. The live performances only proved my point.

Chinese Democracy - easily the most shocking and drastic improvement of them all. This thing is a kick ass rocker now, in the same line with Out Ta Get Me, Right Next Door To Hell or Perfect Crime!

Welcome To The Jungle - back to the old days. That raw, powerful & street feel is back in the song. 2002, it lost something.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - this song was tweaked a bit & extended to sound a bit like the UYI days of the song, which is a good thing. However, I think it's time for this one to be retired.

You Could Be Mine - a huge improvement of 2002. The sound is like the UYI days again, and the pyro, this is one of the greatest songs of each night!

My Michelle - huge huge improvement. The 2006 performances were the best EVER of this song! Baz brings out the best in Axl and vice versa.

Out Ta Get Me - huge improvement. Until I saw a show, I thought this one needed to be retired. You just can't get the full effect of OTGM until you see a show. The 2006 performances were the best ever.

Sway - great Stones cover. Needs to join the full time set. It could be the Dead Flowers of the 2006-07 era.

Paradise City - huge improvement over 2002 imo. The song has it's edge back. Sounds like the AFD-era again!

Bad

The Blues - aged for me. Although the song is a great soft tune, I think gradually it's fallen in my rankings since 2002. I don't really view it any different than a So Fine now. Then again, So Fine wasn't that bad of a song to begin with.

Madagascar - although this is still a good & powerful song, I think the studio version will easily surpass the live version. I don't know if it's a situation that I got accustomed to the '2002 sound' of it or what, but for some reason the 'rasp' just didn't sound right on the 2006 performances to me.

T.W.A.T. - the need to keep trying at this one. It's a toughy live, like Estranged was, and don't think they've quite found their groove live with this one. But then again, it was only performed twice this entire year.

It's So Easy - although this song works in the 3-swing punch that is GNR's opening set, I think it's time for it to be retired.

Sweet Child O' Mine - it's just me with this one. The audience still loves it, but i'm kind of bored with it now.

Patience - past it's prime imo. Time to be retired.

[-Jack-]

Patience - past it's prime imo. Time to be retired.

Yeah definitely. Patience is a bore in my opinion. Play another song instead of it... and only play it when Izzy comes around, gives it kind of a special place in the setlist.. then they can drop "Think About You"... please.

[CheapJon]

Patience - past it's prime imo. Time to be retired.

Yeah definitely. Patience is a bore in my opinion. Play another song instead of it... and only play it when Izzy comes around, gives it kind of a special place in the setlist.. then they can drop "Think About You"... please.

actually i was about to say that about patice too, play it when izzy is around otherwise replace it with new song, patience is IMO the most (maybe only) boring song on the setlist ok it's a sing along and that's always fun but to be honest all the other are also sing alongs 'cuz we know the lyrics but yeah you get the pic

about TAY that's one gr8 song, if i had to chose beteween TAY and LALD i would have chosen TAY in a hearbeat,

[gnr1967]

I would probably say that Better was one of the best demos, but was a letdown for me when it was played live.  Don't get me wrong - it wasn't bad at all, but I just felt it wasn't one of those songs that sounds as good live as a studio version would.

Regarding the Blues, if you combined Axl's 2006 vocals with the guitar/sound effects of 2002, it would be a masterpiece.    

I am also dying to hear CITR played live - I think that song has a lot of potential. 


 

[-Jack-]

I would probably say that Better was one of the best demos, but was a letdown for me when it was played live.  Don't get me wrong - it wasn't bad at all, but I just felt it wasn't one of those songs that sounds as good live as a studio version would.

Regarding the Blues, if you combined Axl's 2006 vocals with the guitar/sound effects of 2002, it would be a masterpiece.    

I am also dying to hear CITR played live - I think that song has a lot of potential. 


 

When did you hear it? Better has only gotten "Better" as they've played it during the tours. So if you heard it early during the year it probably wasn't as good. It didn't do anything for me at Inland Invasion, but it was great at the 3 LA shows.

[Kujo]

IRS has become a favorite after the live performances recently.

Chinese Democracy became the song I anticipated the most after hearing the new intro the first night at the Hammerstein.

Nightrain also became a song I looked forward to them playing.

[gnr1967]

When did you hear it? Better has only gotten "Better" as they've played it during the tours. So if you heard it early during the year it probably wasn't as good. It didn't do anything for me at Inland Invasion, but it was great at the 3 LA shows.

I heard it in Cleveland, and it was good, but I'd like to hear the LA shows to compare how it has improved. 

[bazgnr]

IRS has become a favorite after the live performances recently.

Chinese Democracy became the song I anticipated the most after hearing the new intro the first night at the Hammerstein.

The new intro makes a huge difference...it makes the song tighter and stronger overall.  A defininte improvement.  I still want the old version of The Blues back, though...

[The Legend]

Patience - past it's prime imo. Time to be retired.

Yeah definitely. Patience is a bore in my opinion. Play another song instead of it... and only play it when Izzy comes around, gives it kind of a special place in the setlist.. then they can drop "Think About You"... please.

actually i was about to say that about patice too, play it when izzy is around otherwise replace it with new song, patience is IMO the most (maybe only) boring song on the setlist ok it's a sing along and that's always fun but to be honest all the other are also sing alongs 'cuz we know the lyrics but yeah you get the pic

about TAY that's one gr8 song, if i had to chose beteween TAY and LALD i would have chosen TAY in a hearbeat,

Yeah, I didn't list TAY because it wasn't played at the shows I attended, and there isn't enough great quality boots of it to really get a good idea of where it's at. LALD is a great live song, but I certaintly don't think it'd hurt them to loose it either.

TAY should stay an Izzy-exclusive song.

As for The Blues, I prefered the new opening this year. I like the straight piano open, sounds like more traditional-Guns.

[Orgasmatron]

They've all gotten better, exept for maybe The Blues.. Axl needs to play this at a faster tempo, like RIR3 and give it heavier rasp!