Guns N' Roses

/ SOLO PROJECTS

Un-Official Site

My first love in the world of hard rock, back in the high school days. I remember some crazy nights spent by the boombox with "Use Your Illusion I." In the early 90s, when radio waves and laMeTV were flooded with grunge / alternative, there were only two metal bands left on the popular scene: G'n'R and Metallica. "Appetite For Destruction" (1987), one of the biggest-selling debut albums of all time, didn't prevent the glam metal's death, but postponed it for the whole five years. Unique voice of Axl Rose and the unbelievable guitar-playing and the whole "cylinder n' cigarette" image of Slash (who just about redefined "cool" at that time) will be remembered for a long time. It started as a quinted, later became a six-men-unit, with members being: vocalist W. Axl Rose (real name --William Bailey), guitarist Slash (Saul Hudson), drummer Matt Sorum, guitarist / songwriter Izzy Stradlin (Jeff Isabelle), bassist Duff "Rose" McKagan (Michael McKagan), and keyboarder Dizzy Reed. With the simultaneous release of "Use Your Illusion I" and "II" (1991) on the same day, the band's popularity peaked. The band took full advantage of video making, and all of its videos are considered among the best in metal. However, the primadonna behavior of Rose destroyed this supergroup at the crest of its glory. Izzy, a major part of the songwriting in the band, left G'n'R in 1991 to form Ju Ju Hounds, and was replaced by Gilby Clarke. G'n'R then released an album of punk covers, "Spaghetti Incident," which hardly attracted any new fans and disappointed many old ones. With Axl refusing to work on another album, both Slash and Duff engaged into their own solo projects. Soon after the band disintegrated and kept resurfacing only in various courts, as the band members were suing each other (as Axl won the rights to the band's name). In 2002 Axl almost got his act together, hired a bunch of LA musicians (the only other GnR member was Dizzy Reed) and still occasionasly tours under the original moniker, but no studio album ever ensued. In 2004 Slash, Matt, and Duff, however, made an attempt at comeback of sorts, enlisting the vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland, and forming Velvet Revolver (reviewed below).

APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION (1987)

RATING: ****1/2

BEST SONGS: "Welcome To The Jungle," "Nighttrain," "My Michelle"

A one of a kind album indeed. I can see how in 1987 it exploded in the Hollywood hard rock scene like a bomb. This album is thrashy, nasty, go-for-the-throat, no-nonsense, catchy, and very melodic at the same time. There have been more things written about this album than perhaps about any other metal album in history (not to mention you can almost hear it in its entirety on the radio), so I'm not going to go deep into it. But monumental anthems like "WTTJ" and "Paradise City" rightfully occupy the spots among the most requested tunes of all time. "It's So Easy," "Nighttrain," and "Mr. Brownstone" are equally catchy and groovy, and "Rocket Queen" is made for singing along. The most overlooked song on this album is "My Michelle," but it's one of my favorites: it has a very dark, sinister, and depressing feel to it. Axl doesn't sound as much in control of his voice as he would on later releases, but it's not exactly a problem. Slash and Izzy came up with some of the most grabbing riffs ever, and the band sounds extremely tight. Obviously, when talking about this album one cannot but mention "Sweet Child O' Mine" which begins as one ridiculously cliched love ballad but later turns into an emotional masterpiece, with Slash's solo being simply among the best-written licks in history. This debut albut had an impact like no other since then, and rightfully so.

USE YOUR ILLUSION I (1991)

RATING: ****1/2

BEST SONGS: "Don't Cry," "Double Talkin' Jive," "November Rain"

One of the things about G'n'R is their ability to combine glam metal with trash attitude (I call this style "trash rock," which, beside G'n'R, includes Jackyl and Ugly Kid Joe) and certain punk influences. Fast and punkish "Right Next Door To Hell," "Perfect Crime," "Back Off Bitch," and "Garden Of Eden" neighbor with power ballad classics "Don't Cry" and "November Rain" (which everybody should know from their respective superb videos), straight-ahead metal rockers "Double Talkin' Jive" (awesome main riff, very similar to Running Wild "Bad To The Bone") and "Don't Damn Me," bluesy "Dust And Bones," "You Ain't The First," and "Garden" (featuring Alice Cooper and made into another good video), and simple rock'n'rolls "Bad Obsession" and "Dead Horse." Btw, all Russians love "Don't Cry" because it contains the "Am - Dm - G - C - E" chord progression that you can find in every Russian folk song. Metallized version of McCartney's "Live And Let Die" is also a good tune and a decent video. The only tracks I don't care about is "Bad Apples" and a 10 minute bore "Coma." But, hey, I got other 12 tracks to choose from, and they are all quite good.

USE YOUR ILLUSION II (1991)

RATING: ****

BEST SONGS: "Civil War," "Knocking On Heaven's Door," "You Could Be Mine"

Although the average quality of songs is a little lower than in Part I, this album got more "hits" that its predecessor. Epic "Civil War," excellent melodic "Yesterdays" and "Knocking On Heaven's Door" (a much improved Bob Dylan's song), and fast rocking "Locomotive" and "You Could Be Mine" (a great song by itself, and one of the greatest videos of all time as well: who can forget Arnold Schwarzenegger and Axl Rose smiling at each other?) all make this album another milestone in heavy metal. "Estranged," a conclusion of the "Don't Cry" / "November Rain" trilogy, IMHO does not measure up to the first two, so I just listen to "Don't Cry – Alternative Lyrics" when I want some "emotions" and this album is around. The level of profanity is lower on this album than on Part I: it has only two songs with curses, while Part I has them all over the album. Axl and Izzy had the potential for being very good lyricists, but, for the sake of popularity, they did not exploit it to the full. Still, lots of warm and fuzzy memories for me in this one. A pity that this was all she wrote for this great band.

LIVE ERA 87-93 (1999)

RATING: ****1/2

BEST SONGS: "Nighttrain," "Welcome To The Jungle," "Don't Cry"

It beats the hell out of me why would they put out a clean version of the Guns N' Roses album in the first place, but there is more: the words "fuck," "bitch," and even "kill" (the whole song "I Used To Love Her" is fucked up because of that) are bleeped out, yet "asshole," which Axl frequently mumbles between the songs, is left in. The song selection is very decent, although it relies too much on the AFD, but other hits like "Don't Cry," "November Rain," and "You Could Be Mine" ("and I'll le-e-a-v-e you lying on the bed, with your ass in the air") are also there. An odd choice is "Dust And Bones" (I like it a lot, but it's strange that album makers even remembered it). It's also cool for them to include a cover of the obscure Black Sabbath tune, "It's Alright." Almost all performances are flawless (although Axl doesn't quite reach the same high notes in some places), the sound is excellent (a lot of studio work is apparent), and gives a good impression of an era that indeed was owned by Axl, Slash, Izzy, Dizzy, Duff, and Matt/Steve.

VELVET REVOLVER: CONTRABAND (2004)

RATING: ***1/2

BEST SONGS: "Do It For The Kids," "Illegal i Song," "Spectacle"

So, this is probably as close to the real Guns N' Roses as we're ever gonna get, given the circumstances and Axl's reputation. I must admit: as far as charismatic, scandalous, and unpredictable frontmen with questionable vocal qualities, Scott Weiland is a fitting replacement. As musicians, Slash, Duff, and Matt have always been adequate (and so is the second guitarist, Dave Kushner), so the main questions would be about the songwriting and the overall direction of the band. Well, while you can definitely hear elements of classic GNR here, it is STP and Slash's Snakepit that are prevalent on this ablum. "You Got No Right" and "Slither" (album’s first single) would fit fine on Core, and "Headspace" – on STP's second or third albums. When the boys decide to crunch it up, the result still comes off as Slash's Snakepit material, better produced but still not overly inspiring. "“Fall To Pieces" sounds completely like an Illusions-era ballad. The songwriting is not bad, but it could have been more hungry. All of the band's members have something to prove: that they must be reckoned with and taken seriously again, about a decade after their glory days. The songs that appeal to me the most are the opening "Sucker Train Blues," "Do It For The Kids" (for the chorus), "Illegal i Song," and especially "Spectacle" (a classic solo from Slash). In fact, "Spectacle" is the only truly "hungry"-sounding tune here. I will probably keep it for one of those "need something different" moods. To sum up: it’s good, but do not expect an earth shattering revelation.