New tricks from old dogs

[Rudy Tamasz]

I heard the latest album from Guns N'Roses and was positively suprised. The band (in fact, Axel Rose alone) did not try to self-plagiarise what they were doing in late 1980s - early 1990s but came up with a set of new songs that sound distinct and fresh.

Yet there's a lot of whining from old fans who want it to be like in the old days. I think this is not reasonable. An artist always has to reinvent his/herself and search for something new.

Do you guys enjoy hearing new stuff from you favorite artists or do you stick to the old hits?

[edv]

I pretty much always enjoy artists experimenting with different genres. Sometimes it fails, but other times there can be some gems. Even though I am somewhat nostalgic about older music, I cannot imagine artists like Neil Young or Elvis Costello maintaining their success using their original formula.

[ShiftingGears]

I heard the latest album from Guns N'Roses and was positively suprised. The band (in fact, Axel Rose alone) did not try to self-plagiarise what they were doing in late 1980s - early 1990s but came up with a set of new songs that sound distinct and fresh.

Yet there's a lot of whining from old fans who want it to be like in the old days. I think this is not reasonable. An artist always has to reinvent his/herself and search for something new.

Do you guys enjoy hearing new stuff from you favorite artists or do you stick to the old hits?

If it is just one member of a band still clinging onto the bandname - as is the case with Guns'n'Roses - I would prefer it if he just let it be. Record new music, by all means - but don't call it something it isn't.

[Jag_Warrior]

I pretty much enjoy "old" music more than the more recent stuff, even from the same artist. I like some of the Stones newer stuff, but when I hear something from Exile on Main Street or Beggar's Banquet, in my mind, I go back to the days when I first heard those albums (and others from that period). In other words, I go to my "happy place". mokin:

I havn't heard the new Guns album. Before the band imploded, they made some good music... real rock & roll. The last time I saw Axel on TV, he was still a mess though. What are the best songs on the album that one might check out?

[Rudy Tamasz]

Good post. When I listen to virtually anything from the seventies and the eighties I feel like I am going to happy place, too. I start recalling everything that happened to me in those days and I have quite a lot of fond memories. But then I only have so much time for nostalgia and after a while I need to switch to music that reflects my current emotions. That's why I really liked it when Jeff Beck started playing his guitar over heavy techno/industrial rhythms. He really did crank it up! I also liked it when Ritchie Blackmore reinvented himself with the fusion of New Age and Renaissance music. You can't play Smoke on the Water all the time. There's always time for something new.

Speaking of the latest Gunners' effort, try "Better", "Street of Dreams", "If the World" and "I.R.S.". There is a nice balance between bombast and sensitivity in those songs.