Earlier this month, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne played their final show at “Back to the Beginning.” Among the many bands and artists who took the stage at Villa Park in Birmingham, England to honor Sabbath and Ozzy’s legendary careers was Guns N’ Roses.
While “Back to the Beginning” was largely critically acclaimed, Guns N’ Roses’ former manager Alan Niven wasn’t all that impressed by Axl Roses’ contribution to the event.
“I did my very best to avoid watching the whole thing. But there was such incredible coverage, it was unavoidable,” he told Ultimate Guitar when asked if he had seen Guns N’ Roses’ “Back to the Beginning” set.
“And it was interesting to me that one of the things that was very easy to see initially was Axl at the piano. And my first question is, ‘Can someone please explain to me what happened to his hair?’ And the second thing I thought was, ‘It’s not the strongest performance I’ve ever seen.'”
Niven then went on to clarify that he thinks it is hard to give a good performance during these kinds of events.
“But the whole thing is such an incredible cluster, I figured out that something like two-thirds of the acts got 15 minutes, and the rest got 25. And they’re pulling people on and off stage at an amazing rate,” he said.
“And let me tell you, that is not the optimum way to sound great or to get into a groove or to be ready… Those things are not the perfect environment to assess somebody’s contemporary performance condition. Not even close. That anybody sounds good in that circumstance is an achievement.”
Niven continued, admitting that in general he has a hard time watching clips of Guns N’ Roses performances:
“I just saw a bit of that and clicked out fairly quickly. I very rarely watch contemporary Guns N’ Roses. It’s usually under duress if I do, because it’s complicated for me emotionally, obviously, even after all these years.
“And on the other hand, I’m a little bit fuddled because to have a 60-year-old running across the stage, complaining that they’re ‘out to get me,’ and then he gets back into his limo and drives up to his Malibu mansion. I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to be comprehending from that performance or that circumstance.
“It’s like, ‘Axl, no one was ever out to get you once you started being productive.’ They were out to get him when I first came into their orbit. But from there on, he was protected.”
