http://music.ign.com/articles/914/914787p1.html

Axl Needs To Go Solo
It's high time that Mr. Rose dumped the GN'R mantle.
by Spence D.

September 30, 2008 - Axl Rose needs to let go of the past. He needs to drop the Guns N' Roses moniker because the name carries way too much baggage. In short, Axl Rose needs to go solo.

Yeah, you heard me right, I said: "Axl Rose needs to go solo."

You know it and I know it and I'd be willing to bet that way down deep in his heart Axl knows it, too. Let's face it, whatever current band configuration Rose is working with at the moment is not Guns N' Roses.

To hardcore fans (and rock 'n roll historians) GN'R was the sum of all of its first stable parts: Axl, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin, and Steven Adler. Furthermore, GN'R's prime songwriting combo consisted of Rose, Slash (Saul Hudson), and Duff (Michael) McKagan. This was the "holy trio" who shared publishing rights on all of the GN'R material. But this is merely a legal definition of what Guns N' Roses was.

Granted the band began to morph considerably when Adler was fired in 1990 and replaced by Matt Sorum, plus the addition of keyboardist Dizzy Reed at the same time. GN'R continued to shift further with the departure of Stradlin in 1991, who was replaced by Gilby Clarke. Regardless of the myriad changes over the years, the fact remains that the core of Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, and Adler (as well as Sorum, who sat in on the UYI sessions after Adler's departure) recorded the bulk of the band's material: Appetite for Destruction, G N' R Lies, Use Your Illusion I, Use Your Illusion II.

Since the departure of Slash, Duff, and Sorum, Axl has switched members so many times that it's damn near impossible for all but the truly hardcore fans to figure out exactly who is and who isn't in Guns N' Roses at any given moment. But that's besides the point. Once the original members exited the band it should have ceased to be.

Look at it from this perspective: Hypothetically speaking, if Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood left The Rolling Stones, leaving behind only Mick Jagger, the subsequent outfit Jagger formed would not be the Rolling Stones. Sure, it would make sense for Jagger to capitalize on the name, but the end result would be a band that wasn't the Rolling Stones. Moreover, Jagger (and company) have such name recognition that they wouldn't need to use the revered RS moniker anyway.

The same applies to Rose. Everybody in the free world knows who Axl Rose is. He has name recognition. As such he really doesn't need the Guns N' Roses moniker to sell his music. If anything, using GN'R adds undue tension in the form of microscopic attention to any of his musical proceedings. By labeling his music as being Guns N' Roses music Rose opens himself to all kinds of comparisons to the band's seminal material (namely Appetite For Destruction).

Granted, by virtue of his name alone, if Axl were to go solo, his output would still be held up to his previous work, but less so. Guns N' Roses has a distinct sound; the band carried on the traditions of such rebel outfits as the aforementioned Stones, Aerosmith, and other blues influenced, debauchery focused rock outfits. Axl Rose, however, would have more leeway by recording under his own name. Look at the average solo career of any high profile frontman in comparison.

For example, Chris Cornell shied away from his "standard" sound (i.e. that of either Soundgarden or Audioslave) on his solo albums. Why? Because he realized that each of those outfits had a distinct sound and he wanted to distinguish himself apart from them. The same can be said of Scott Weiland, whose solo material has been vastly different than the work he did with either Stone Temple Pilots or Velvet Revolver. If "Shacklers Revenge", as well as the various leaked tracks from Chinese Democracy, are any indication, Axl's slant these days is far removed from the quintessential GN'R sound.

Additionally, the simple fact that Axl hasn't maintained the same band for the past 14 years, instead constantly rotating drummers and guitarists, makes the music on the forthcoming Chinese Democracy appear like more of a solo venture than a true GN'R effort. There's nothing wrong with that other than the fact that Axl persists in calling himself Guns N' Roses, when in reality it's Axl backed by some high profile hired guns.

Axl, if you're listening, please consider dropping the Guns N' Roses name. It's confusing to fans, it's confusing to lay people, heck, and it's just pointless. We know who you are and it's high time you let go of the past and moved forward into the future. Let Guns N' Roses die a respectable death and let your solo career flourish from the ashes.

I gotta admit I have mixed feelings about the "Best Buy exclusive" deal. I fear it will hurt sales of the album because times are tough and visiting Best Buy is pretty low on most people's priorities (shit, many folks probably can't afford the gas it takes to get there).  But BB does have a great online site (equal to Amazon) so fans can always order it through the web. 

The upside to this whole exclusive deal is that Best Buy usually issues limited edition versions of their discs.  The Who first released "Endless Wire" thru BB and included 3 bonus songs & a DVD.  And when The Eagles made their latest album a "Wal Mart only" release they put out an expanded 2 disc version 6 months after the original dropped. 

So I think it is a good way for GnR to get their new music out to the public.  Plus we'll probably end up hearing more songs than we would with a traditional release.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  Since the deal hasn't been announced yet and we still don't have a release date.

But in the dream scenerio, will get 75 minute plus CD on November 25th with a bonus DVD featuring live performances.    And then in six months or so a 2CD set with a bunch of bonus songs.  Dare to dream.  But if Axl really does have 32 songs to release, BB is a good way to go about getting them out to the public.