The other guitarist possibility, of course, is that Dave Navarro might've joined up and stuck around if Slash had been in the band. I could see a Slash/Navarro line-up working; Navarro doesn't seem to threaten Slash's ego in the same way that Wylde and Huge did (he seems happy to take a back seat and play rhythm in Camp Freddy, while Slash hogs the limelight, for instance). Plus he has the widdly shred skills that Slash lacks, and the experimental vibe that'd suit Axl - actually, didn't GN'R try to recruit him as a replacement for Izzy?

...Though having said that, it's easy to look at something that didn't happen and claim that it would've been better than what we got. For instance, if you look at Queen's The Miracle, Innuendo and Made In Heaven, and the Brian May solo album, there's a killer Queen album in there somewhere. But, of course, you're cherry-picking the best tracks.

The trouble is, Axl is fighting against an ingrained perception. The general public looks at a band, sees two "key members" and considers them to be the heart of the band. Most often, it's the frontman and the lead guitarist; Page and Plant, Brian and Freddie... Axl and Slash (though sometimes, as with the Chilis, it's different members - Kiedis and Flea, in their case).

You can change up the band as much as you like as long as you keep those two guys - witness Oasis, where Liam and Noel are the only members remaining from the original line-up. No-one misses the bassist or the drummer. But witness how Queen have struggled to convince anyone that they're Queen, without Freddie Mercury present.

If 2002 had worked out and Chinese Democracy had dropped then, with Axl on his 2006 form, he would've had a chance; MTV seemed to respond to Buckethead's iconic image, and Axl might've been able to make him supplant Slash as, if not "the GN'R guitarist", then at least one half of a similarly iconic pairing.

I guarantee, though, that Axl could take Fortus, Ferrer, Dizzy and Tommy out on tour, and if Slash was there, people would call it a GN'R reunion - even if Duff and Izzy weren't there. Likewise, Axl could take Duff, Izzy and Matt out on tour, and if the lead guitarist was Dave Navarro or Bumblefoot or whoever, the wider public wouldn't call it GN'R.

People are shallow.

The thing is... if Ashba can be in the band for three months and not meet Axl once, why can't they bring Slash and the guys back? It's not as if Axl would actually have to interact with them apart from a couple of hours on stage. Let 'em stand at opposite ends of the stage glowering at each other - I couldn't give a fuck, as long as they're playing SCOM.