Fellow Gunners,
I was struck by Baz's reference to Axl calling him to enquire about his possible addition to the VR line up. As James has always rightly pointed out, Axl's obsession with Slash and the old crew may have driven him to spending 10 or more years trying to prove he can top anything musically he had created with their help but at the same time it has totally paralysed him and at this moment, has destroyed his legacy and maybe even his career.

He's like an obsessed ex, he doesn't want the old crew back but at the same time he cannot let anyone he deals with get involved with them either. Izzy is about the only one who seems to be able to commute between the two sides without getting hassled by Axl.

Axl '˜s deep involvement with therapies from all ends of the spectrum (medical to spiritual to downright off the wall) are well documented and spoken to by him at great lengths in the ninties. The titles of some of the songs rumoured to be on this flying saucer of an album CD indicate he's been reading lots  material and possibly travelling extensively in what appears to be an earnest attempt to better understand himself and the world around him (check the web for references to Atlas Shrugged , Chinese Democracy, Cather in the Rye etc).

So with all this soul searching and therapy,  I wonder has anyone who has worked on this guy for the last decade and a half pointed out to him that he needs to sit down with the old crew and make some sort of peace?  It's the only way he can move forward. Are even his shrinks yes men too?

I despair at the carry on over at HTGTH; NOTHING that may cause a ripple in Axl's mood is allowed to remain. What good is it to anybody to be indulged to that level? It keeps Axl stuck in his narcissistic hole. Does Jarmo etc not realise they are actually enabling their idol's downward slide?

Axl needs to realise that he had a major part to play in where he finds himself today, stop blaming and trying to control everybody around him and man the fuck up. I think Slash has acknowledged his role in the death of the original GNR  and has publically said so. Both he, Duff, Matt and Izzy have all dealt with their demons are all sober and working hard. Axl seems like the last one to get his big issue sorted out, get off the much mocked '˜rock star trip' he's stayed on for the last decade and get fucking real.

I am just amazed that with all the money etc that record companies made from these guys that nobody on this planet could ever be found in over  15 years that could pull these guys into a room, kick their asses and show them what their years of feuding have robbed them of.

So does therapy work? If so, what has all of this therapy gotten Axl??