Perhaps

Anyone got the lyrics for this? I am starting to warm more up to it.

I strongly believe the lead guitar and solo are both played by Robin Finck. Tommy on the bass is a given, and the drums sounds a lot like Josh Freese both in tone and style.

But I know this is not a confirmation, so I guess you can't assume this information on the song profile.

Do we have the lyrics for this song?

Now with a good recording having leaked of the version that is to be released I feel I can judge the song better.

I like it. I kind of liked the version from the Village leaks, too, but felt the chorus was a bit chaotic. It feels better now when one of the voices, the call, is deeper and with the other voice, the answer, being a more piercing scream. They don't step on each other to the same extent as before. The vocals throughout the song are also better, more finished.

Slash's guitar riff through the verses are a bit buried behind the vocals, unfortunately, but it is better than the Villa version, and I also don't mind his solo and like how it ends (I wasn't really attached to the original solo).

The bass and drums are good and pack a punch - it feels more rocking now than the other version which felt more middle-of-the-street bland.

All in all, good song.

If I recall, this was one of your favorites from the Village leaks, @Blackstar, are you happy about the "final product"?

It wasn't my absolute favourite from the Village leaks, but I thought it was okay. I loved the piano "riff" and liked the verses (although I would have done with less "heys" and I'd like the second verse to have different lyrics and not be just a repetition). I agree that the chorus was a bit "messy" and the solo not too memorable.

I definitely like what I heard on the recording of the final version more than the leak. I too think that the deeper vocals on the chorus are a big improvement and I like that the bass is prominent. I think the solo is fine (without being impressive), but there seems to be this transition in the beginning of it from what sounds like the old solo (or maybe it's Richard emulating the tone) that stands out in a strange way. I don't know if it was deliberate or it wasn't mixed well. We'll have to wait for the proper version for better judgement.

Listening to the transition from what I presume is Robin's first bend of the solo and then Slash's solo that comes in immediately after. It is hard to tell but it almost seems like Robin's solo is still there, underneath Slash's. It sound slike occasionally Slash hits notes that resonate with notes from Robin's solo. Maybe Robin's solo just fades out? It is an unusual trick but could be a nod to Robin from Axl (maybe Axl liked Robin's solo), and it can easily sound messy but it's been done before (I am thinking about the end solo of Demon Cleaner by Kyuss where you have basically two different solo takes being played at the same time, making somewhat of a mess before they at parts come together). Maybe it's also an artistic way for Axl to acknowledge the song's history or the changes of the lineups. I am just wildly speculating. Maybe it's just one solo and Slash decided to start off on the same note bend as Robin. I look forward to listening to this in mode detail when we have the high quality release.

I hope Axl will say a bit about the song from the stage when they start playing it, unless he decides to do an odd interview and actually talk about his music.

From Youtube:

I updated the OP with the official lyrics from Apple Music.

Official video:

Fun to see the band make so much effort on a music video. Very high production quality.

Review in Rolling Stone:

Axl Rose Empathizes, Apologizes in New Guns N’ Roses Song ‘Perhaps’
"My sense of rejection is no excuse for my behavior," Rose sings in the piano-driven track, which after being leaked to digital jukeboxes last week, officially arrives

BY JOSEPH HUDAK, AUGUST 18, 2023

SINCE AXL ROSE, Slash, and Duff McKagan reunited as Guns N’ Roses in 2016, fans of the band have been hoping for new studio music from the group. They’ve been rewarded here and there, with the electro-punk of “Absurd” (né “Silkworms”) in August 2021 and the more traditional rocker “Hard Skool” the next month. Now, two years later, and after a false start last week, GN’R have officially released a piano-driven song titled “Perhaps.”

So, is it any good? Yeah, it is. While technically a new song created with the input of the GN’R core trio of Rose, Slash, and McKagan, it has its roots in the sessions for Chinese Democracy, the legendarily delayed (and criminally under-appreciated) album that Rose recorded with a rotating cast of musicians and finally released in 2008. Opening with some piano chords and a few vocal signatures from Rose (you know the ones: the feline growls and half-swallowed “hey hey” refrains), “Perhaps” is mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Use Your Illusion’s more mellow “Yesterdays” or Chinese Democracy’s standout “Catcher in the Rye.”

And — dare we say — it also seems to be an apology. “My sense of rejection is no excuse for my behavior,” Rose sings at one point, bowing to someone he once misinterpreted and who ultimately pushed him away. Later, he empathizes: “How would I know how it feels or what it is to be you? I’ve been so upset harboring this hate for days/What a weight upon your shoulders that you don’t need.”

An empathetic Rose may be hard to imagine for cursory fans. After all, this is the same guy who leapt into a crowd in 1991 to stop an audience member from taking photos (“I’ll take it goddammit!”), sparking one of the most infamous riots in rock & roll history. But this is also the kinder, gentler Axl, the one who buried the hatchet with Slash to reform a new version of GN’R, arrives onstage on time, and even duets with Carrie Underwood. Seven years later, the band is, somehow, still on tour without nary an altercation or delayed gig.

But that’s not to say there’s no piss and vinegar in Guns’ new song. In the guitar breakdown, Rose can’t resist engaging in a little schadenfreude. “Got a lot more than I bargained for,” he howls, “You’re all alone now.” You can almost hear the grin on his face.

Guns N’ Roses resume their tour on Friday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/guns-n-roses-perhaps-axl-rose-1234808408/

After having had the chance to listen to the songs a few times now, and especially with the real lyrics, I have to say I like this self-reflective lyrics from Axl. I think it is clear he is talking about himself, at least partly, of feeling alone after the end of a relationship (past girlfriend or his former band mates) and taking responsibility for that and admitting fault. It is mature and fits nice into the lyrical canon of Axl. I approve.

I like the contrast of the two different moods, in the verse (feeling self-reflective, taking the blame) and the chorus (being angry and blaming someone else).

Blackstar wrote:I like the contrast of the two different moods, in the verse (feeling self-reflective, taking the blame) and the chorus (being angry and blaming someone else).

I have ended up concluding that the chorus is someone else chastising Axl.

Soulmonster wrote:

Blackstar wrote:I like the contrast of the two different moods, in the verse (feeling self-reflective, taking the blame) and the chorus (being angry and blaming someone else).

I have ended up concluding that the chorus is someone else chastising Axl.

Maybe... But it seems to me that the verse and the chorus combine two or three different themes.

Blackstar wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:

Blackstar wrote:I like the contrast of the two different moods, in the verse (feeling self-reflective, taking the blame) and the chorus (being angry and blaming someone else).

I have ended up concluding that the chorus is someone else chastising Axl.

Maybe... But it seems to me that the verse and the chorus combine two or three different themes.

It is vague and open for different interpretations. Like all good art.

Introducing it for the first time:

axl and these guys can get away with anything these days

ludurigan wrote:axl and these guys can get away with anything these days

You don't like the song?

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:axl and these guys can get away with anything these days

You don't like the song?

I don't like anything

I don't like the song

It has a nice piano "riff" as @blackstar noted here on a-4-d. It has a nice first verse, with Axl singing with his great low voice. It begins in a promising way. It goes nowhere from there. Same as pretty much all the Axl songs from the CD era. Actually worse. Some Axl songs from that era can hold you for more than 20 seconds before going nowhere. Sing has got no hook, no nothing.

I don't like Axl voice.

Low? Great. Falsetto? Doesn't Axl have a REAL friend to tell him that his falsetto voice is terrible? Where is Slash? Where is the "Not Today, Satan" punk guy to tell Axl how his so called "mickey" voice is terrible? Is it possible that all W. Axl Rose friends and associates in 2023 are yes-men and yes-women?

I don't like that Axl says "when we wrote this song"

I could be wrong but as far as I can tell Axl Rose didn't write this song with Slash. Or Duff. Or ANYONE of the employees that are on stage with him on August 18, 2023. Right? So why would Axl say "WE WROTE" this song etc when all the people he wrote this song with are no longer in his band? Remembering the words on Bad Obsession, "so who you're fooling", Axl?

I don't like that Axl, Slash and Duff took seven years to release this song

This song is like 20 years old, right? We humans are lucky when we get to spend 80 years on this planet, right? So Axl took 1/4 of a human lifetime to release this? This song should have been released 20 years ago. No luck? Ok, then it should have been released one minute after Slash and Duff re-recorded it. Slash and Duff apparently have re-recorded it YEARS ago; This songs is on the can for YEARS. For what? Were Axl, Slash and Duff were too busy not giving interviews, not releasing anything, and playing those same 15 songs for the umpteenth time?

I don't like the lyrics

It seems to have a "mature" lyric as you mentioned here on a-4-d. I agree with that. That is nice. But mature can be boring. You kinda need to be Leonard Cohen or Mick Jagger etc to be mature and smart and exciting at the same time. Axl hasn't got there yet -- at least not in my eyes. Hopefully he can do it in the future.

I don't like many other things but I am out of stamina to go on for now

The line "Axl and these guys can get away with anything these days" was a reference to Axl "figuring out how to sing the song live" during the first live performance of the song. Someone should let Axl know that human beings have created one thing called "rehearsal" where human beings practice stuff before presenting it to other human beings

Seriously man, this is so hysterical

ludurigan wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:axl and these guys can get away with anything these days

You don't like the song?

I don't like anything

I don't like the song

It has a nice piano "riff" as @blackstar noted here on a-4-d. It has a nice first verse, with Axl singing with his great low voice. It begins in a promising way. It goes nowhere from there. Same as pretty much all the Axl songs from the CD era. Actually worse. Some Axl songs from that era can hold you for more than 20 seconds before going nowhere. Sing has got no hook, no nothing.

I don't like Axl voice.

Low? Great. Falsetto? Doesn't Axl have a REAL friend to tell him that his falsetto voice is terrible? Where is Slash? Where is the "Not Today, Satan" punk guy to tell Axl how his so called "mickey" voice is terrible? Is it possible that all W. Axl Rose friends and associates in 2023 are yes-men and yes-women?

I don't like that Axl says "when we wrote this song"

I could be wrong but as far as I can tell Axl Rose didn't write this song with Slash. Or Duff. Or ANYONE of the employees that are on stage with him on August 18, 2023. Right? So why would Axl say "WE WROTE" this song etc when all the people he wrote this song with are no longer in his band? Remembering the words on Bad Obsession, "so who you're fooling", Axl?

I don't like that Axl, Slash and Duff took seven years to release this song

This song is like 20 years old, right? We humans are lucky when we get to spend 80 years on this planet, right? So Axl took 1/4 of a human lifetime to release this? This song should have been released 20 years ago. No luck? Ok, then it should have been released one minute after Slash and Duff re-recorded it. Slash and Duff apparently have re-recorded it YEARS ago; This songs is on the can for YEARS. For what? Were Axl, Slash and Duff were too busy not giving interviews, not releasing anything, and playing those same 15 songs for the umpteenth time?

I don't like the lyrics

It seems to have a "mature" lyric as you mentioned here on a-4-d. I agree with that. That is nice. But mature can be boring. You kinda need to be Leonard Cohen or Mick Jagger etc to be mature and smart and exciting at the same time. Axl hasn't got there yet -- at least not in my eyes. Hopefully he can do it in the future.

I don't like many other things but I am out of stamina to go on for now

The line "Axl and these guys can get away with anything these days" was a reference to Axl "figuring out how to sing the song live" during the first live performance of the song. Someone should let Axl know that human beings have created one thing called "rehearsal" where human beings practice stuff before presenting it to other human beings

Seriously man, this is so hysterical

I think the "we wrote this song [...] this year" sentence has been removed now. I wouldn't be surprised if Dizzy helped write the song, you know, he's been in the band since 1990. And I think Axl was kind of joking when he said that, although I don't think they have rehearsed much together

is there any info on who wrote the song?

I remember @Blackstar posted some very detailed info on who had credits for GN'R songs here on a-4-d

On the rehearsal subject, I am 100% sure that Slash and Duff have rehearsed this song a lot with Dizzy and the Axl employees -- they are pĺaying the song very well

Axl is clearly the one who didn't rehearse it

It is fun that by all accounts Axl never rehearsed with the band -- not even in the GN'R era.

On the first night of Rock in Rio 1991 he says that the gig is like a rehearsal for him

How good was he back then that he would sing so good like he did in Rio 1991 -- apparently without rehearsing?

back to the subject of who wrote the song, I haven't read any official info by the band but it looks to me that they are TRYING to make the (clueless) press to believe that this is the first song written by Axl, Slash and Duff after the "reunion" (hysterical laughter)

I wonder if they have sent a press-release implying that this song was written by Axl, Slash and Duff?

The wording has been changed, as far as I understand. But yeah, how it was written was historical revision in that not only did it seem like Slash and Duff were part in writing the song, but also that it was written this year.

Soulmonster wrote:The wording has been changed, as far as I understand. But yeah, how it was written was historical revision in that not only did it seem like Slash and Duff were part in writing the song, but also that it was written this year.

I wasn't aware of the "written this year" bit

did they really have the balls to say that this song was written this year?

seriously man, this is getting better by the hour!

ludurigan wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:The wording has been changed, as far as I understand. But yeah, how it was written was historical revision in that not only did it seem like Slash and Duff were part in writing the song, but also that it was written this year.

I wasn't aware of the "written this year" bit

did they really have the balls to say that this song was written this year?

seriously man, this is getting better by the hour!

Someone sent that out. It might have been the label, I don't know. It doesn't matter, it was quickly deleted, so obviously someone corrected the mistake. And it has been getting better by the hours, first we realize that a new single is being dropped, then we get Perhaps, then we learn that The General is coming in October, and then we get an awesome music video, too. It's been a blast these last hours or days.

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:The wording has been changed, as far as I understand. But yeah, how it was written was historical revision in that not only did it seem like Slash and Duff were part in writing the song, but also that it was written this year.

I wasn't aware of the "written this year" bit

did they really have the balls to say that this song was written this year?

seriously man, this is getting better by the hour!

Someone sent that out. It might have been the label, I don't know. It doesn't matter, it was quickly deleted, so obviously someone corrected the mistake. And it has been getting better by the hours, first we realize that a new single is being dropped, then we get Perhaps, then we learn that The General is coming in October, and then we get an awesome music video, too. It's been a blast these last hours or days.

WOW, that's hysterical funny!

Do you guys have a register, print or whatever record of this note that was sent?

I can understand the excitement, it is always better to have songs being dropped than years and years and years of nothing

Review in Billboard, by Gil Kaufman:

Guns N’ Roses Released Florid Piano Rocker ‘Perhaps’ a Week After it Leaked to Digital Jukeboxes
The apologetic track is believed to be a leftover from the sessions for the group's 14-years-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy" album.

It’s been 15 years since Guns N’ Roses dropped their last album, so at this point the band’s fans are psyched to hear any new music from the hard-touring Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. And in typical Guns fashion, their new single, “Perhaps,” is actually pretty old, and it’s journey to our ears was circuitous, at best.

The good news is that “Perhaps” has all the elements you want from a GNR song: it opens with a piano-pounding riff and singer Axl Rose’s signature howl and features a menacing, bluesy guitar underpinning a twisty, turgid ballad bisected by one of Slash’s classic hurricane solos.

It’s the first new song we’ve heard since Rose — who had been touring with an expansive cast of side players as GNR for years after the band’s slow-motion implosion in 1996 when Slash quit — reunited with Slash and bassist Duff McKagan in 2016. And, in a pointed about-face from the often pugnacious, no-apologies lyrical attack of the band’s classic catalog, the now-61-year-old Rose sounds downright contrite and apologetic at points in the song.

“Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t see you/ Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t believe you,” he sings in the opening lines. “Hey, my sense of rejection/ Hey, hey, is no excuse for my behavior/ You pulled the gun/ That shot and crucified my savior,” he continues on the track that reportedly was first recorded during the sessions for the band’s most recent album, 2008’s Chinese Democracy.

The latter was the first new music from GNR since the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident? Democracy album took nearly 14 years to complete and featured more than a dozen contributors, with keyboardist Dizzy Reed representing the only link to the band’s classic lineup.

After poor-quality bootlegs of “Perhaps” began circulating when the band played it during soundcheck before a June 2023 Tel Aviv show — an unfinished demo version had been floating around the internet for years — Guns fans were surprised last week when “Perhaps” reportedly leaked via TouchTunes digital jukeboxes according to Blabbermouth.

Though there have been whispers of the revamped GNR recording new music, to date “Perhaps” falls in line with two other “new” songs the band has released recently, two other leftovers that dropped in 2021, “Absurd (aka Silkworms),” and “Hard Skool,” which are also both reportedly from the Chinese Democracy era.

The band also released an official video for the song that features footage of the three iconic members on stage playing to packed stadiums all around the world. Check it out below.

Source: https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/guns-n-roses-release-perhaps-ballad-leak-digital-jukeboxes-1235395010/

"What’s Everyone F***ing Moaning About?!"

Finally, after 30 years, we have a new Guns N Roses song! It's called Perhaps and I'm going to have a listen. There's been some mixed responses by fans and people in general...but what is it they're moaning about?! What do you think?

The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins reacts to Perhaps