This is to express my great regret that Slash of Guns N' Roses has left that hallowed institution. As I sit here writing this, I'm listening to Use Your Illusion I and II, and it breaks my heart to think that I may never hear Slash, Axl and Duff play together again. I really believe that the Gunners could have been the greatest band of all time, if it hadn't been for a couple of unfortunate incidents.
The first incident is the ascension of alternative music. Guns N' Roses was the last big 80s band; in fact, they were knocked out of the number 1 position by Nirvana's Nevermind, a true load of horse manure if I ever heard one. When alternative music came to prominence, guitar solos and rock epics went out of style. Notice how many 80s videos MTV plays, unless it's a special on the 80s. Not much. But the weird thing is, Guns can be blamed, in some ways, for the alternative "revolution." One, they jumpstarted the market for vintage guitars, thanks to Slash. Two, the band did hang out with "alternative" artists: Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon sang backup on a bunch of tracks from Illusion. Finally, the punk influences and grungy appearances of the guys made them look a bit "alternative," in a way.
The second incident was the firing of Izzy, the baddest rhythm guitarist in all the land. Some say that the end began with the firing of Steven Adler, their original drummer. But you know what? After he left, the band went and made the Use Your Illusion albums, which truly rock the house. I see the band as two different, but really awesome, bands separated by the firing of Steven Adler. The first band was a straight-up hard rock band, but heavy, fast, and loose, as shown on Appetite for Destruction. Also, there were a lot of punk influences in this first band, although these guys had talent. The second band was more melodic, and produced a different form of music with orchestration, and a lot of piano, which I always grooved to. This was the Illusions albums. After Izzy left, though, the band only recorded one album, the better-left-ignored Spaghetti Incident. And of course, there was Gilby. I never liked him, he was a geek, and more pop-influenced than the rest of the guys.
The final incident was Axl's change. This was first noticable on the last track from Illusion II, My World, which sounded like Nine Inch Nails. Also, he became more distanced from the other members of the band, eventually driving away Gilby (thank goodness) and Slash (I now hate Axl).
I am in mourning, but I will continue to listen to the classics. It's just such a shame that their last album together was such a travesty. And did you hear who Slash's replacement is? Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Now I'm really sad.