Guns 'N Roses

[Guest MrRant]

I am a huge GNR mark. Every album they did I have and love most if not all the songs. I wish more people had the chance to check out GNR Lies because I believe that to be their 2nd best album after the great Appetite for Destruction. I also think that Axl had one of the better voices in rock and Slash was an awesome guitar player (he may not have been a god, but he was great.) I think they wrote some great love/ballads in Sweet Child of Mine, November Rain, Don't Cry and Patience (which is my one of my favorites). One in a Million is also a great song that never got really any airplay because of the lyrics.

 

Your thoughts?

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

where to start.

 

Slash may have not been God...but he was certainly a lower deity.

 

No one sounded like Axl...that alone makes them stand out...but they could also write some hella good songs.

 

They came in at the end of hair metal...and some people still think that's what GNR was. Which is funny, since their popularity stemmed from being so much more talented than the light and meaningless hair metal of the day.

 

Appetite for Destruction is THE GREATEST debut album ever. No one can change my mind on this. THAT is a Rock album. I also think it is among the greatest albums ever made.

 

Lies is very good as well. The first half being "Live like a suicide" the music on that predates Appetite...and shows off how much talent these guys had when they just got up and played. The second half features the first true ballad (although a couple songs from Appetite like Think About You and Sweet Child O' Mine had ballady lyrics...they were played like Rock songs)...Patience. It also had their most controversial song...One in a Million.

 

Then came the Use Your Illusion albums.

 

By this time GNR was without argue the biggest band in the world.

 

Headlining concerts with Metalicca beneath them...Having Aerosmith be special guests on Their ppv. They were huge.

 

If Appetite showed what raw talented rock sounds like...Illusion showed what the excess of hype and of...well...everything else sounded like.

 

And they were still great.

 

So many hits...Don't Cry, You Could Be Mine, November Rain, Live and Let Die, Yesterdays.

 

They never even released some of my all time favorite songe like It's So Easy, Think About You, Rocket Queen, You're Crazy, Locomotive, Breakdown, Pretty Tied Up, Back of Bitch or Coma (Best. Song. Ever)

 

I think you can learn everything you need to know about GNR by watching 2 music videos.

 

Welcome to the Jungle and November Rain.

 

They show the two peaks of their career...and couldn't be more different in style, content or execution.

 

I consider them to be the last great rock and roll band.

[Guest MrRant]

For once we agree

 

I would put Back of Bitch up there as one of the all time I'm pissed at the world songs.

 

Appetite was the best debut and was solid top to bottom from Mr. Brownstone to Sweet Child O Mine.

 

Novemeber Rain is possibly the most beatiful song I have heard and is put together so well. I remember GNR and Elton John preforming the song.

 

I say if you have never heard One In a Million or Patience... hop on Kazza and download it NOW! Also look for some of mine and bps21's songs that we listed. Anything from Appetite is gold.

 

I will be 1st in line to check out the new album whenever it comes out.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

You know...I still drive around with my GNR cds blaring.

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm ten years too late for the prom.

 

But whatever...GNR STILL RULES.

[Guest DrEvil]

I remember hearing about how Axl took November Rain so personally he said he would quit the band if it wasn't done right.

 

One of my favourite unreleased was "So Fine" on UYI 1 (I believe). Another one of their great ballads. Patience is one of my all time favorite songs, and Welcome to the Jungle is one of the all time great rock songs. An incredible debut, too bad they couldn't stay together and build a lasting legacy.

 

 

The protests against One in a Million were one of the most hypocritical things I have ever heard of. So many of the people and artists who were complaining and saying that the song should be banned, the album should be called back and whatever else they were bitching about were the same ones who wrapped themselves around the first amendment of the constitution whenever the issue of censorship in rap music came up. The first amendment gives freedom of speech and expression to all people at all times. It's not something that applies to the things you like and does not apply to the things you hate.

[Guest IPCRivalSchools]

Quite franky Appetite 4 Destruction is a stunning piece of LA rock, that gives off a kickass 'last gang in town vibe (and the allegedly NIN style rerecording must be interesting) - particularly 'Welcome to The Jungle'

 

The rest of the stuff has hilights, but frankly the Use your Illusion double album is excessive - and frankly rude at times (Civil War) in its pompous indulgence. November Rain's good, but goes on for seemingly 3/4 minutes too long,and the video is way overthe top, and perfectly illusttates the ego probems that caused the band to implode, still the Axl & Friends gig (Its not GNR w/out the Axl/Slash dynamic - much like it wasn't really the Who after Keith Moon died) at Leeds ought to be fun.

 

Saying that though, Spaghett Incident waas good fun, and the mans voice was quite well suited to some of the stuff - Raw Poer, Black Leather and Human Being in particular.

 

Ian

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Thats what I was talking about, IPC...

 

GNR showed everything about rock and roll from the raw talent to the absolute excess in pretty much 7 years.

 

But at the end of the day...the music was damn good

[Guest Shaved Bear]

Appetite for Destruction is THE GREATEST debut album ever. No one can change my mind on this. THAT is a Rock album. I also think it is among the greatest albums ever made.

 

Ahem. Kill 'Em All is better, but Appetite is good too

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

thats personal preferance.

 

I like every track on Appetite...

[Guest areacode212]

One of my favourite unreleased was "So Fine" on UYI 1 (I believe). Another one of their great ballads.

It's nice to see another fan of "So Fine". Everyone else seemed to hate it because of Duff's singing, but it had a good melody & basswork and he put a lot of feeling into his vocals.

 

My GNR markdom flared up when the Live Era CDs came out a couple of years ago, and I started listening to those albums again. It's amazing how well those songs have aged, especially the songs on the Illusion albums that were considered "filler" at the time.

 

What did you guys think of "Oh My God"?

[Guest Shaved Bear]

its funny, people would probably put GNR on 80s Metallica level if Axl wasnt such an asshole

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

I pretty much agree with everything IPC had to say. Except the 'excessive' aspect of thier career (the Illusions) turned me off. I never liked November Rain. It is easily one of the most bloated songs and videos ever. If the video came on, I'd change it without thought.

 

That said. They were great. A true Rock and Roll band in every sense of the word. Like Ozzy said, they could've been the next Rolling Stones.

 

I, however, don't care if they ever release another record again. If Axl can call up Slash or Izzy, then I'm there. He won't, so I'm not.

[Guest areacode212]

its funny, people would probably put GNR on 80s Metallica level if Axl wasnt such an asshole

That reminds me of a quote, supposedly from "Behind the Music", that kinda pissed me off. "History has erased Guns 'N Roses while Metallica is still going strong".

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

That reminds me of a quote, supposedly from "Behind the Music", that kinda pissed me off. "History has erased Guns 'N Roses while Metallica is still going strong".

I'm gonna get pissed on, but it's kinda true. I think Axl over estimated the band's impact and staying power. After 1992, they were pretty much irrelevant.

[Guest Shaved Bear]

ahh gotta love people who thing they are transcendent, but they turn into nothing more than a trivia question

coughPuffDaddycough

[Guest MrRant]

What did you guys think of "Oh My God"?

I enjoyed it... I thought it was different. I don't like it as much as the other stuff but it was great to hear Axl again.

[Guest Flyboy]

I never liked November Rain. It is easily one of the most bloated songs and videos ever. If the video came on, I'd change it without thought.

....

 

Dude... November Rain... is like everything to me. Tsk, tsk, tsk!

 

Anywho... I didn't know that many peeps like GNR on the board. I thought I was the only GNR mark on here...

 

I think they were/are an awesome rock band that don't really get their props. Me and family members always get into "GNR Vs. Metallica" battles. I have a CD with all (well, all that could fit) of the great GNR songs on it that I PERSONALLY made. It goes...

 

1) Live An' Let Die (great cover)

2) Back Off Bitch (Not a "great" GNR song, but my ex had broken up with me)

3) You're Crazy (A great song to say "Fuck you, bitch" for hurting me ... also it's the one off of Lies which is much better than one on Appetite, IMHO)

4) Welcome To The Jungle (Any questions? Didn't think so)

5) Since I Don't Have You (another good cover... see track 2 for more info )

6) Rocket Queen (Damned good song, especially the ending)

7) Paradise City (See Track 4 for more)

8) Patience (See Track 4 for more)

9) Sweet Child O' Mine (see Track 4 for more)

10) Don't Cry [Original] (a great song that doesn't get enough credit, IMHO)

11) Estranged (What a fucking song... see Track 4 for more)

12 Don't Cry [Alt. Lyrics] (it tops the original... don't know HOW they did that. I simply love the song to death... hence why it's the second to last song)

13. And finally........... November Rain. (my FAVORITE song/video EVER)

 

 

... I'm done.

[Guest M Nyland]

<---- is a GNR mark....

[Guest thefrenchargel]

Slash could rip shit. Most talented dude in the band, by far. I don't get the comparison to old metallica though, Axl was a better vocalist and lyricist, the only thing Sellouticca had over GNR was Cliff. Cliff could wail. i don't understand how they thought Newstead was a suitable replacement.

[Guest areacode212]

If you guys can find it on Kazaa or whatever filesharing program you use, I highly recommend listening to the live version of "Civil War" from the 1990 Farm Aid. It's a slower and MUCH better rendition of the song than the one on the album. I even had it on videotape, but it's on a Betamax tape, and my Beta VCR died soon after

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

# 1 band of all time. That's all there is to it, there is not even a contest. I personally am dying to hear their new cd. Anyone else heard their new stuff? If not, I highly recommend downloading "The Blues", "Madagascar", "Chinese Democracy", "Silk Worms" from either the Rock In Rio 3 concert or their Vegas concert.

And now, my top ten GNR songs

 

1. Coma

2. Estranged

3. Rocket Queen

4. Patience

5. One In A Million

6. The Blues

7. Breakdown

8. Locomotive

9. Yesterdays

10. Reckless Life

 

thats how I feel at the moment anyways

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

YES!!!

 

Coma is #1!!!!!

 

Anyway...there are a few ways to take GNR and their place in history.

 

They were the biggest band in the world at one point in time.

 

The whole Metallica vs. GNR thing reminds me of Babe Ruth vs. Ty Cobb argument.

 

Ask most people today and they'll tell you that Ruth was the best.

 

Ask anyone who lived through it and Cobb is the accross the board best player...even Ruth's managers and teammates agreed.

 

GNR was the bigger band...but then they left.

 

The best way to sum that up is with an article I remember reading in Spin (I think)

 

It had a great cover pic of Axl and the title was "What the world needs now is Axl Rose".

 

Anyway...part of the article was about how GNR was so huge...then disapeared.

 

You can look at guys like Hendrix, Cobain, Morisson...and they left at the top...but you'll always wonder what else they could have done.

 

The thing that's different about Axl (and I use him instead of the band...because he's the only one of them still in the actual band) is that he could show up at any time and improve upon, continue or destroy his own place in music history.

 

I know he wants to take the band in a different direction with the next album "Chinese Democracy" but is so paranoid about everything that as the years go by you have to start wondering if the damn thing will ever come out.

 

I hope it does...as Axl has never done wrong by me with his music.

 

But then part of me wants to see the Axl, Slash and Duff just become like the Who are today...touring around making everyone remember what rock and roll feels like.

 

Slash still rules...

[Guest TheSmarkzone]

Whoever called G N' R the "last great rock n' roll band" is right on the money.

 

<= G N' R mark 4 life

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Appetite for Destruction was damn good and it deserves most of its praise for being one of the best debut albums of all time.

 

But past that, I don't really think the Guns did anything to merit "best band of rock n' roll" status.

 

The immense popularity that came from their debut was mostly petty theft - the hair band scene was slowly starting to be lampooned and hip-hop was stumbling through one of its most embarrassing periods. It's no wonder that Guns 'n Roses merchandise swept the whole nation - not only were they one of the hottest rock bands since Motley Crue, they also held one of the most infamous "bad boy" lead singers of all time in Axl Rose.

 

But it didn't last long - their Illusions-era stuff was atrocious, with an hilarious run of bad covers and only one song ("November Rain") that was a worthwhile dividend from Axl Rose's disastrous quasi-fascination with becoming the next Elton John. They scored a lucky hit by latching onto the national phenomenon that was Terminator 2, but for the rest of the way, they had to carry on almost by name recognition alone.

 

However, once 1992 rolled around and people came to the realization that most of Use Your Illusion was pretentious drek, they waited for real proof that Guns n' Roses were worthy of their rock hype...and they never got any. While Axl was fine-tuning his skills as a egotistical prima donna, Nirvana and alt-rock burned onto the scene and totally changed the rules.

 

Guns n' Roses faded into near-obscurity and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy than Axl Rose. In reality, I don't even think the music scene figured out that they were gone until 1999, when benevolent pundits like Ricky Martin drew a blank face and started wondering where they hell those guys went. The renewed wonder about Axl wasn't a legacy - it was a total mystery, a music culture novelty as people were wondering how such a ridiculous asshole could totally fade from the industry without being murdered or drawing jail time.

 

In the meantime, it seems like Axl has swallowed a little bit of his pride - after "Oh My God", he certainly needed to - and now Guns 'n Roses are supposedly rocking again with a live set that is either revered or reviled.

 

For the span of one album, Guns 'n Roses absolutely owned rock and roll and mainstream music culture.

 

But they weren't the best rock band ever.

They aren't even the last good rock band.

 

Now they're just a five minute segment on VH1.

 

And unless Chinese Democracy is closer to Appetite than Illusion, Guns n' Roses are still going to remain one of the most romanticized and overrated bands in the last twenty years.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

As I recall...

 

GNR had back to back best song of the year on MTV with the Use your illusion albums.

 

The first year had You Could be mine #1, and Don't Cry #3 (Losing my religion by REM was #2)

 

And the next year was obviously November Rain all the way.

 

That being said...The Use Your Illusion albums are fantastic.

 

Coma is my favorite GNR song ever...

 

Right Next Door To Hell, Locomotive, Bad Obsession, Back Off Bitch, Dust N' Bones, 14 Years, Shotgun Blues, Breakdown, Pretty Tied Up, Estranged, So Fine...

 

God...Man In Blak is crazy.

[Guest Shaved Bear]

Appetite for Destruction was damn good and it deserves most of its praise for being one of the best debut albums of all time.

 

But past that, I don't really think the Guns did anything to merit "best band of rock n' roll" status.

 

The immense popularity that came from their debut was mostly petty theft - the hair band scene was slowly starting to be lampooned and hip-hop was stumbling through one of its most embarrassing periods. It's no wonder that Guns 'n Roses merchandise swept the whole nation - not only were they one of the hottest rock bands since Motley Crue, they also held one of the most infamous "bad boy" lead singers of all time in Axl Rose.

 

But it didn't last long - their Illusions-era stuff was atrocious, with an hilarious run of bad covers and only one song ("November Rain") that was a worthwhile dividend from Axl Rose's disastrous quasi-fascination with becoming the next Elton John. They scored a lucky hit by latching onto the national phenomenon that was Terminator 2, but for the rest of the way, they had to carry on almost by name recognition alone.

 

However, once 1992 rolled around and people came to the realization that most of Use Your Illusion was pretentious drek, they waited for real proof that Guns n' Roses were worthy of their rock hype...and they never got any. While Axl was fine-tuning his skills as a egotistical prima donna, Nirvana and alt-rock burned onto the scene and totally changed the rules.

 

Guns n' Roses faded into near-obscurity and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy than Axl Rose. In reality, I don't even think the music scene figured out that they were gone until 1999, when benevolent pundits like Ricky Martin drew a blank face and started wondering where they hell those guys went. The renewed wonder about Axl wasn't a legacy - it was a total mystery, a music culture novelty as people were wondering how such a ridiculous asshole could totally fade from the industry without being murdered or drawing jail time.

 

In the meantime, it seems like Axl has swallowed a little bit of his pride - after "Oh My God", he certainly needed to - and now Guns 'n Roses are supposedly rocking again with a live set that is either revered or reviled.

 

For the span of one album, Guns 'n Roses absolutely owned rock and roll and mainstream music culture.

 

But they weren't the best rock band ever.

They aren't even the last good rock band.

 

Now they're just a five minute segment on VH1.

 

And unless Chinese Democracy is closer to Appetite than Illusion, Guns n' Roses are still going to remain one of the most romanticized and overrated bands in the last twenty years.

perectly said

[Guest Flyboy]

God...Man In Blak is crazy.

That what I was thinking...

 

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

But, I still--to this day listen to all the great GNR songs. Good times.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

GNR had back to back best song of the year on MTV with the Use your illusion albums.

 

And lord knows that if music is on top of MTV's list, then it's just gotta be quality music.

 

Coma is my favorite GNR song ever...

 

You cut Coma's running time in half and make it a concise rock song, it's all right. As is, it's a ten-minute cure for insomnia. But whatever floats your boat.

 

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

Yeah, I guess you're right there. But since Ricky Martin champions the cause of Guns 'n Roses, then I really MUST be crazy.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Ricky Martin has better taste than some people in blak that shall remain nameless...

 

and he probably gets laid all the time...

 

by what sex is up for debate...but still...

[Guest The Man in Blak]

*clutches heart and walks, no, RUNS to buy a Guns 'n Roses poster in an attempt to get laid*