Legendador Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) Is "Ain't Life Grand" the ultimate GNR album? "It's 5 O' Clock Somewhere" mixed with "Believe in Me" and one good Axl ballad, such as This I Love would be a superb album! Maybe a post-GNR-Grunge-Generation album. I really don't think VR's songs were as near as good as anything GNR has ever done (they are cool, but "Libertad" is watered down); CD is better if compared to them. But "Ain't Life Grand" with Axl on vocals would be - IMO - stronger than UYI 1/21. Edited September 12, 2022 by Legendador 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sausagebrain Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) Sorry, I disagree. I found the songwriting on Ain't Life Grand to be weak, and the tunes clichéd. Axl's vocals would not have saved it. Chinese Democracy may have been bizarre in places, but at least Axl was trying to do something new. Edited September 12, 2022 by Sausagebrain 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendador Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 2 hours ago, Sausagebrain said: Sorry, I disagree. I found the songwriting on Ain't Life Grand to be weak, and the tunes clichéd. Axl's vocals would not have saved it. Chinese Democracy may have been bizarre in places, but at least Axl was trying to do something new. Interesting you say that, in most of non-english sponken countries, people tend to evaluate songs for a more melodic point of view, never though about it lyricwise. I know IFOCSW has some weak lyrics like "be the ball", but I think sonically ALG yes so tight and mean and GNResque. I really can't stand CD, I don't know why, but to me the record didn't aged well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Bird Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Legendador said: Interesting you say that, in most of non-english sponken countries, people tend to evaluate songs for a more melodic point of view, never though about it lyricwise. I know IFOCSW has some weak lyrics like "be the ball", but I think sonically ALG yes so tight and mean and GNResque. I really can't stand CD, I don't know why, but to me the record didn't aged well. To me both Snakepit records as they are are better than Chinese without a doubt. But I see the potential how great they could have been. I mean, all you've got from the GNR mixture is Slash and they're still awesome, but add Axl's and Izzy's input to them and I'm sure these records would sound totally different but were even better than they are. Better lyrics, stronger songwriting for both, vocal wise and instrumentally... with songs, even more well structured but still with all of Slash’s cool stuff like the riffing, the solos, and cool breakdowns. Mixed with dome Axl ballads and some cool Izzy stuff. To me these records are one of the best records of their decade but they could have been one the best ever even in the general public. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendador Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 10 hours ago, Free Bird said: To me both Snakepit records as they are are better than Chinese without a doubt. But I see the potential how great they could have been. I mean, all you've got from the GNR mixture is Slash and they're still awesome, but add Axl's and Izzy's input to them and I'm sure these records would sound totally different but were even better than they are. Better lyrics, stronger songwriting for both, vocal wise and instrumentally... with songs, even more well structured but still with all of Slash’s cool stuff like the riffing, the solos, and cool breakdowns. Mixed with dome Axl ballads and some cool Izzy stuff. To me these records are one of the best records of their decade but they could have been one the best ever even in the general public. That's what I'm talking about! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardNixon Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 I really liked It's 5 O' Clock Somewhere. I liked ALJ, but Jackson kind of ruins it for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilfacelessturtle Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 On 9/13/2022 at 12:11 AM, Free Bird said: To me both Snakepit records as they are are better than Chinese without a doubt. But I see the potential how great they could have been. I mean, all you've got from the GNR mixture is Slash and they're still awesome, but add Axl's and Izzy's input to them and I'm sure these records would sound totally different but were even better than they are. Better lyrics, stronger songwriting for both, vocal wise and instrumentally... with songs, even more well structured but still with all of Slash’s cool stuff like the riffing, the solos, and cool breakdowns. Mixed with dome Axl ballads and some cool Izzy stuff. To me these records are one of the best records of their decade but they could have been one the best ever even in the general public. Hit the nail on the head. It's so crazy to me that people try to say Izzy was the secret to GNR's songs. Slash has the brilliant riffs that no one else on earth could write. Axl is the 2nd biggest contributor IMO with his lyrics, vocal melodies and piano riffs that rival Slash's riffs in quality, but sadly not quantity. After that is a steep drop off. Izzy's solo work is completely unremarkable in terms of songwriting. Just basic chord structures that have been done a million times. He's got credit on a few good GNR songs, but that's it. And so do a lot of people, like West Arkeen. Where are the "tRuE fAnS" saying West Arkeen is the secret backbone of GNR and they would have been failures without him? Anyway, I digress. They're already excellent albums. With Guns, they could have been world-beaters. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Bird Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 (edited) 10 hours ago, evilfacelessturtle said: Hit the nail on the head. It's so crazy to me that people try to say Izzy was the secret to GNR's songs. Slash has the brilliant riffs that no one else on earth could write. Axl is the 2nd biggest contributor IMO with his lyrics, vocal melodies and piano riffs that rival Slash's riffs in quality, but sadly not quantity. After that is a steep drop off. Izzy's solo work is completely unremarkable in terms of songwriting. Just basic chord structures that have been done a million times. He's got credit on a few good GNR songs, but that's it. And so do a lot of people, like West Arkeen. Where are the "tRuE fAnS" saying West Arkeen is the secret backbone of GNR and they would have been failures without him? Anyway, I digress. They're already excellent albums. With Guns, they could have been world-beaters. I think it's exactly that mix between those three. It's pretty obvious when listening to SMKC. Just imagine some Izzy chord structure underneath the songs. Even if they are basics they elevate the songs and they give them the missing depth. With Axl on top of it, it could be a completely different animal (an Axl who has something to say at least). Edited January 6 by Free Bird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxlRQ93 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 22 hours ago, evilfacelessturtle said: Hit the nail on the head. It's so crazy to me that people try to say Izzy was the secret to GNR's songs. Slash has the brilliant riffs that no one else on earth could write. Axl is the 2nd biggest contributor IMO with his lyrics, vocal melodies and piano riffs that rival Slash's riffs in quality, but sadly not quantity. After that is a steep drop off. Izzy's solo work is completely unremarkable in terms of songwriting. Just basic chord structures that have been done a million times. He's got credit on a few good GNR songs, but that's it. And so do a lot of people, like West Arkeen. Where are the "tRuE fAnS" saying West Arkeen is the secret backbone of GNR and they would have been failures without him? Anyway, I digress. They're already excellent albums. With Guns, they could have been world-beaters. amen. I never found Izzy’s solo stuff to sound like GNR either 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 4 hours ago, AxlRQ93 said: amen. I never found Izzy’s solo stuff to sound like GNR either it's in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom-Ass Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 My farts are better than Chinese Democracy.... I prefer 5 o'clock over ALG... Not a big Rod Jackson guy... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Bird Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 9 minutes ago, Tom-Ass said: My farts are better than Chinese Democracy.... I prefer 5 o'clock over ALG... Not a big Rod Jackson guy... This sums it up perfectly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankfurt93 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Better? Naaaahhhh...MILLION LIGHT YEARS BETTER! It is hard to find anything that is worse than Chinese. On the same page with Billy Corgan's shit project Zwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F*ck Fear Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 I'd go the other way and say there is nothing on either Snakepit record better than Chinese Democracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K00b4 Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Personally, Ain't Life Grand is a non-skip album. Probably got some of the best songs to jam along to, too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rindmelon Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Best work he has done outside of GNR, with at least 2 songs that started life as songs intended for gnr, as an album I prefer Chinese, but Chinese could have benefited a lot from Life's Sweet Drug or Landslide. Speed Parade & Ain't Life Grand were the one's meant for GNR originally though. Also like the Japanese bonus tracks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 (edited) both Snakepit albums don't work for me at all as full albums. Slash's playing is great in both, I just don't feel a connection with the music for some reason. I think it's the singers, the lyrics, and the vibe I get listening to it like it's just an excuse for Slash for playing. the songs seems to be an afterthought. I do believe that some of it had a lot of potential but it just feels too musturbatory for me to enjoy it. Chinese on the other hand, feels like it has a rigid direction, like the song is always king, without much space for the material to breath. Slash can come up with great riffs and full instrumental compositions by himself. Axl knows how to put shit together in a unique way that give the material weight, but he needs other people to come up with the shit a lot of the time, especially if its guitar oriented. Edited March 5 by Rovim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitchisback Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Lol no. There are a lot of songs I love on that album but fuck if it isn't super cheesy. The intro to mean bone, the race car noises in speed parade, the lyrics to alien. What a fucking corny album. It sounded dated when it released and it sounds even more dated now lol Love he title track and serial killer though. Two of slashes best works. I prefer rod Jackson over Dover. And I think all and all it's a good album. But I don't think it holds up super well. I went to a record shop in Philadelphia when I was young and they were giving away this giant promo cardboard stand for the album. It was seriously as tall as me and as wide as my arms could reach but I took it anyway and hung it on my wall. I had an hour train ride with that thing lol. It's just the album cover and the release date, which was actually my 17th birthday! What a terrible cover too. I can't remember who is between rod and slash but I just remember his face was super wide and mushed together. It looked like slash and rod were fish waiting for food lmao 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sploit Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Okay so Snakepit (both albums) are my favourite work from Slash outside of his GN'R output. That being said some of the songs on Chinese Democracy are amongst my absolute favourite from GN'R as a whole. So for me I wouldn't rank them above GN'R material - but after GN'R stuff they do rank very highly for me. Tbh I'd love to see a Snakepite reunion. That would be so high on my 'to see' list. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowOfTheWave Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I love the album, but wouldn't consider it on par with CD quality wise. Rod Jackson is a great songwriter with a unique voice. While I agree that 5 O Clock has better riffs, I will never understand people preferring Dover. Fucking awful singer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I wouldn't say better than Chinese but certainly not far behind it. What a record Ain't Life Grand is! Far superior to It's Five O'Clock Somewhere for me. I go back and forth whether Contraband or Ain't Life Grand is the best Slash's post GN'R album. I'd lean towards Contraband bacause I absolutely love Scott Weiland but man Rod Jackson was the shit. I wish they had done more together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknroll41 Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 On 3/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, Sisyphus said: I wouldn't say better than Chinese but certainly not far behind it. What a record Ain't Life Grand is! Far superior to It's Five O'Clock Somewhere for me. I go back and forth whether Contraband or Ain't Life Grand is the best Slash's post GN'R album. I'd lean towards Contraband bacause I absolutely love Scott Weiland but man Rod Jackson was the shit. I wish they had done more together. Supposedly jackson was difficult to work with, according to slash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.