During a recent appearance on the Shout It Out Loudcast, Tracii Guns explained why Axl Rose matters most in Guns N’ Roses.
The rocker praised the GNR frontman with the following words:
“It’s interesting because, when I look at Guns N’ Roses post-me, they’re just a great classic rock band. That’s always been my opinion. The songs, and then there’s Axl, right? You kind of have the Aerosmith setup, and then you have Axl. The singer’s always going to sell the band. You could have the best band in the world, but without the guy up front, the currency isn’t very high.”
He further talked about Rose’s fronting and singing abilities:
“And so, the way Axl thinks, he doesn’t care so much about what he’s singing too, because he’s going to bring it, right? If he’s singing [to] electronic music, rock ‘n’ roll, or if he’s singing in church, he’s going to bring it.”
Tracii Thinks Rose Was A Perfect Fit For GNR
This isn’t the first time Guns expressed admiration for Axl. Last month, Rock History asked on X if Slash is in their followers’ top 3 favorite guitarists. A user said:
“He is a better guitarist than Guns N’ Roses is a band. If only he could have had a better singer. Either way, one of the greatest.”
Tracii saw this tweet and responded:
“Like who? And what level of success would it have brought him? I think most people would say Axl, Scott, and Myles are kinda top of TheShockNews of what has been available to him. I’m curious why you said this. Is it because you don’t care for his singers or you think fans don’t?”
In 2022, Tracii told Metal Edge about the first time he heard Axl Rose sing. He met Axl in L.A. and was impressed by his powerful vocals during a show with L.A. Guns, Hollywood Rose, and Poison.
You can listen to his whole podcast below.