Dear Mr Rose
I am probably one of the biggest Guns N' Roses fans going and have patiently been anticipating the release of the long awaited album The Chinese Democracy.
I have been a GnR fan for over half of my short but colourful life. I even stuck by you in the early 1990s when you dragged the band into a Spinal Tap nightmare and toured with a horn section, backing singers, and self indulgence. I was pleased to see however, that the concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl was stripped right back to basics even to the point of bringing Izzy Stradlin back. It was like seeing a totally different band than the previous year at Wembley.
Appetite For Destruction has stood the test of time as a classic, anthemic rock 'n roll record. The first time I heard it I was mesmerised and to this day it remains one of my favourites. The sleazy, greasy Sunset Strip lifestyle can be heard all over, you can taste the whisky and the stale cigarette smoke in the air, and smell the sweat and spunk you drizzled over a thousand groupies in every note.
(I have a vinyl copy of the album with the original artwork of the robot that got banned.)
Lies was a good filler record, but that was only a re-heated Live Like A Suicide EP with added live songs that weren't really live but used dubbed crowd noises.
Use Your Illusion was one good follow up album, spread thinly over two substandard albums. By this time your ego had started to spread over the creative output like the cancer it was to become in later years. Although I have to say that it still contains some classics; 'Don't Cry' (original lyrics) will be played at my funeral. 'November Rain' was the first dance at my wedding, although the less said about that the better. But the collection did have more stinkers than stonkers.
The Spaghetti Incident is another story altogether. You can tell by listening to it that none of the band were talking by this point, and the quality suffered. But I bought it, and there are moments in there that aren't totally shit. I didn't bother with the live collection as I own enough bootleg recordings on CD and cassette to warrant not buying it, if you show this little consideration for your fans then, as we say in this country, bollocks! The same goes for the greatest hits compilation.
Today, after a long wait, Chinese Democracy got its first radio play in this country. Is it a good song? Yes it is. Is it a Guns 'N' Roses song? No! I have a CD of songs that may or may not be the final album, and none of them match the quality of your earlier work. They are good in places but not a body of work to show for fifteen years worth of dicking around. If this is your idea of a worthy item for your remaining fans to spend their money on then you shouldn't use the GnR name because you are cheapening it. In fact you should have allowed Slash, Duff and Matt to use the name and carry on as they were willing to tour and record while you ponced about re-recording every last scrap of music over and over again.
Sorry Axl, but while its possible to download songs for free, legally or otherwise, you aren't getting another penny.
Steve
