This collection of hits from the world’s greatest MTV band came out late last month, but I forgot to mention it until I saw it reviewed here.
I happen to have a lot of love for GNR. Back then, you were either a Metallica fan, or a Guns N’ Roses fan, and I was pretty dedicated to Axl Rose and company. I think it was because I preferred GNR’s uber-manic attitude to Metallica’s grim and angry mood. I was never one of those “I want to kill myself, because the world doesn’t understand me” types in grade school, so James Hetfield’s music didn’t really speak to me.
In my mind, there are two very important reasons why GNR is better than Metallica, and that is 1) Hetfield’s name isn’t an anagram for “oral sex” and 2) what’s a lead guitarist without a nice hat?
Anyway, I just downloaded the whole album today (I absolutely refuse to pay for a collection of songs that I already own the cassette-tape versions of, so yes, I pulled this one off of edonkey/overnet again), and have been listening to it for the past hour or so.
The song list is noticeably lacking “My Michelle” (which is very nearly my all-time favorite GNR song), “I Used to Love Her” and “Estranged,” but other than that, it’s got pretty much every GNR song the casual fan is likely to want to hear. They even have “Sympathy for the Devil” as a sorta-bonus track for the hardcore fans.
- Welcome To The Jungle
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Patience
The three tracks that open the album are the definitive GNR songs, the ones that they’ll forever be remembered for. I mean, god, where would the world be without that Sweet Child guitar intro? - Paradise City
- Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
- Civil War
Where Metallica had “One” and The Scorpions had “Under the Same Sun“, GNR had this 9-minute patriotic, anti-war epic of a song. The opening dialogue (the part that goes “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate …”) is from the Paul Newman classic Cool Hand Luke, in case you were wondering. - You Could Be Mine
I never liked this song much. - Don’t Cry (Original)
The only thing really notable about Don’t Cry is that the Alternate-Lyrics version (from Use Your Illusion II) were better written. - November Rain
I don’t much like November Rain as a song (a 9 minute piano melody written to showcase Slash’s guitar licks is kinda self-indulgent don’t you think?), although I thought the video was an over-the-top classic. Does anyone understand exactly how Axl’s bride dies here? Because I’m 23 and I still don’t get it. - Live And Let Die
This take on the Wings original is a great example of why I love GNR. One of the best metal covers ever, imho. - Yesterdays
A pop song, by golly. - Ain’t It Fun
I’ve never heard the Dead Boys original, but this song was one of the only notable ones in the ill-fated Spaghetti Incident. The whole band just sounded bored. - Since I Don’t Have You
This is ok I guess, but really, who are they singing this schlock for? Certainly not for themselves. - Sympathy For The Devil
From the Interview with the Vampire soundtrack. This Rolling Stones cover is the last GNR song I heard and liked.
It’s hard to describe the feeling I got while listening to this album. Somewhere in between “wow, it sounds even better than I remember it” and “wow, is that all?” Recently I found this link detailing Axl Rose’s adventures in cosmetic surgery. Weird shit, but I guess the years after GNR went under has been pretty rough on the poor guy. When your first full-length album is “Appetite for Destruction,” coming up with a stronger, more mature followup can be next to impossible, I guess.