2. In fact, where’s anyone else at all?
Exactly who is in Guns N’ Roses at any given moment has long been a tiring joke, given how readily people have come and gone in the past two decades. And the reunion makes things no clearer. Buried deep in the announcement, issued to media across the world, was the interesting description of the reunion as that of the ‘iconic’ line-up. Not the ‘original’ line-up, not the ‘Appetite’ line-up, not the ‘Illusion’ line-up… So, who exactly is in this reunion? Outside of Axl, keyboardist Dizzy Reed has been the band’s sole constant since joining the ranks in 1990, so you can likely count him in. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess, especially when it comes to the face behind the drum kit – with neither Appetite drummer Steven Adler nor Illusion drummer Matt Sorum giving any indication as to their involvement.
Steven has long campaigned for the reunion, stating last September that if he wasn’t involved, “I would probably feel like I would wanna kill myself.” Yet his recent addiction problems (Steven, nearly two years sober, has also claimed his former bandmates don’t believe he is free of his former vices) and the relative inactivity of his band Adler count against him, should the reunion turn into a physically demanding world tour, while many would question his ability to play to the level of Matt Sorum, who replaced the sticksman in 1990 and would certainly be considered the safer pair of hands.