Guns N' Roses: Information from Answers.com
At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N' Roses brought raw, ugly rock roll crashing back into the charts. They were not nice boys; nice boys don't play rock roll. They were ugly, misogynist, and violent; they were also funny, vulnerable, and occasionally sensitive, as their breakthrough hit, "Sweet Child O' Mine," showed.
While and ferociously spit out dueling guitar riffs worthy of or , screeched out his tales of sex, drugs, and apathy in the big city. Meanwhile, bassist and drummer were a limber rhythm section who kept the music loose and powerful. Guns N' Roses' music was basic and gritty, with a solid hard, bluesy base; they were dark, sleazy, dirty, and honest -- everything that good hard rock and heavy metal should be.
There was something refreshing about a band who could provoke everything from devotion to hatred, especially since both sides were equally right. There hadn't been a hard rock band this raw or talented in years, and they were given added weight by 's primal rage, the sound of confused, frustrated white trash vying for his piece of the pie. As the '80s became the '90s, there simply wasn't a more interesting band around, but owing to intra-band friction and the emergence of alternative rock, 's supporting cast gradually disintegrated, as he spent years in seclusion.
Guns N' Roses released their first EP in 1986, which led to a contract with Geffen; the following year, the band released their debut album, . They started to build a following with their numerous live shows, but the album didn't start selling until almost a year later, when MTV started playing "Sweet Child O' Mine." Soon, both the album and single shot to number one, and Guns N' Roses became one of the biggest bands in the world.
Their debut single, "Welcome to the Jungle," was re-released and shot into the Top Ten, and "Paradise City" followed in its footsteps. By the end of 1988, they released , which paired four new, acoustic-based songs (including the Top Five hit "Patience") with their first EP. ' inflammatory closer, "One in a Million," sparked intense controversy, as slipped into misogyny, bigotry, and pure violence; essentially, he somehow managed to distill every form of prejudice and hatred into one five-minute tune.
Guns N' Roses began work on the long-awaited follow-up to at the end of 1990. In October of that year, the band fired , claiming that his drug dependency caused him to play poorly; he was replaced by Matt Sorum from . During recording, the band added Dizzy Reed on keyboards.
By the time the sessions were finished, the new album had become two new albums. After being delayed for nearly a year, the albums and were released in September 1991. Messy but fascinating, the albums showcased a more ambitious band; while there were still a fair number of full-throttle guitar rockers, there were stabs at -style balladry, acoustic blues, horn sections, female backup singers, ten-minute art rock epics with several different sections, and a good number of introspective, soul-searching lyrics.
In short, they were now making art; amazingly, they were successful at it. The albums sold very well initially, but while they had seemed destined to set the pace for the decade to come, that turned out not to be the case at all.
's hit number one in early 1992, suddenly making Guns N' Roses -- with all of their pretensions, impressionistic videos, models, and rock star excesses -- seem very uncool.
handled the change by becoming a dictator, or at least a petty tyrant; his in-concert temper tantrums became legendary, even going so far as to incite a riot in Montreal. left by the end of 1991, and with his departure the band lost their best songwriter; he was replaced by ex-Kills for Thrills guitarist . The band didn't fully grasp the shift in hard rock until 1993, when they released an album of punk covers, ; it received some good reviews, but the band failed to capture the reckless spirit of not only the original versions, but their own .
By the middle of 1994, there were rumors flying that the band was about to break up, since wanted to pursue a new, more industrial direction and wanted to stick with their blues-inflected hard rock. The band remained in limbo for several more years, and resurfaced in 1995 with the side project and an LP, .
remained out of the spotlight, becoming a virtual recluse and doing nothing but tinkering in the studio; he also recruited various musicians -- including , , and ex- guitarist -- for informal jam sessions.
Remaining members were infuriated by 's inclusion of childhood friend Paul Huge in the new sessions when both and were excluded from rejoining the band. And a remake of ' "Sympathy for the Devil" was essentially the straw that broke the camel's back, as cut out some of the other member's contributions and pasted Huge over the song without consulting anyone else. By 1996, was officially out of Guns N' Roses, leaving the lone remaining survivor from the group's heyday; rumors continued to swirl, and still no new material was forthcoming, though did re-record with a new lineup for rehearsal purposes.
The first new original GNR song in eight years, the industrial metal sludge of "Oh My God" finally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1999 Arnold Schwarzenegger film End of Days. Soon after, Geffen issued the two-disc .
2000 brought the addition of guitarists (of ) and .
2001 was greeted with Guns N' Roses' first live dates in nearly seven years, as the band (who consisted of plus guitarists , , bassist , former drummer , childhood friend and guitarist Paul Huge, and longtime GNR keyboardist Dizzy Reed) played a show on New Years Eve 2000 in Las Vegas, playing as well at the mammoth Rock in Rio festival the following month. On New Years Eve 2001, the band played almost the exact same set as the year before.
An appearance at MTV's 2002 Video Music Awards helped garner interest in the new lineup, but a rusty performance from and an interview where he said his new album wasn't coming out anytime soon didn't do much to further their cause.
That summer, the band started on their first tour in almost eight years, and they managed to fulfill all of their commitments in Europe and Asia. Sadly, they caused a violent and destructive riot in Vancouver when failed to show up for the first date of their North American tour. While he was up to his old shenanigans with the retooled lineup, former vocalist , , Sorum, and formed the successful in spring 2002.
And so years passed and still no new GNR album, to the point where it became a joke to many. The album was long billed as Chinese Democracy, and occasionally session recordings would leak and make their way onto Internet file-sharing networks. A fascinating article written by Jeff Leeds for The New York Times, published March 2005, revealed how tangled and costly the making of the album had become.
According to the article, titled "The Most Expensive Album Never Released," began work on the album in 1994 and racked up production costs of at least 13 million dollars. Producers involved with the album at one time or another include , Youth, Sean Beavan, and even . (Curiously, claimed to have been offered the job as well.
) Marco Beltrami and were allegedly brought in for orchestral arrangements, and there was a revolving door of guitarists. In 2006, the album seemed closer to release, as began surfacing in public and even took his band on the road for some shows. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Greg Prato, All Music Guide that gained fame during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Their 1987 debut, , earned them worldwide popularity, solidified by the simultaneous release in 1991 of and and the subsequent world tour. Having sold an estimated 90 million albums worldwide, they are one of America's most successful hard rock bands.
The band's musical style, onstage presence, and image helped usher in a new era within the dominant and scene of the .
While was the leading genre in record sales, video charts, and radio airplay, Guns N' Roses offered a grittier, more traditionalist take on rock music, their apparent authenticity. The band enjoyed worldwide success from 1987 through 1993, but the clashing personalities of various band members, coupled with heavy alcohol and drug abuse hindered the group's ability to work together. Today, frontman is the only original member in the band's current lineup.
, as an informal merger of and , both of which Axl Rose had been a member, and the second of which Tracii Guns had been a member. The name Guns N' Roses was derived from the names of two bands: Hollywood Rose and L.A.
rhythm guitarist , and from L.A. Guns, Guns's former bandmates bassist of the time.
for the performance. In early 1986, the pair joined full-time, with the lineup being as follows: Axl Rose (lead vocals), Slash (lead guitar), Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar), (bass) and Steven Adler (drums). On the way back to Los Angeles, they wrote the lyrics for " ", which became one of their signature songs.
Tom Zutaut, a A R executive, witnessed a Guns N' Roses show at the Troubadour, then falsely warned other scouts that "they suck" so he could have more time and leeway to sign them. Axl Rose demanded and received a $75,000 advance from Zutaut before revealing that he promised an A R from Chrysalis that the band would sign with her if she walked naked down Sunset Boulevard. For three days, Zutaut nervously watched from his Sunset office window for a naked A R executive before he could close the deal.
Alan Niven was subsequently hired as the band's manager, and the team then set out to record the band's full-length debut album.
Live ?!
*@ Like a Suicide
In December 1986, the band released a four song self-produced titled
on GN'R's own Uzi Suicide label. It starts off with a roadie screaming "Hey fuckers, suck on Guns and fucking Roses!".
Designed to gauge public opinion of the band outside of Los Angeles, the record contained covers of 's "Nice Boys" and 's "Mama Kin", along with two original compositions: the punk anthem "Reckless Life" and the classic rock inspired "Move to the City" both of which were co-written by Hollywood Rose founding memeber . Despite having the look and sound of a live album, band members have admitted that the tracks were actually studio recordings with a live audience . Only 10,000 vinyl copies of the album were produced, and even though the tracks were re-issued verbatim two years later as part of the GN'R Lies EP, the original Live ?
!*@ Like a Suicide has been a valuable and sought after collector's item among fans since the late 1980s.
was released on , .
In the US, " " was issued as its first single with an accompanying music video. Initially, the album and single did not perform well, but when founder was asked to lend support to the band, he obliged by personally convincing executives to add "Welcome to the Jungle" to their after hours rotation. Even though the video was played at inopportune times like 5am, fans took notice and began requesting the video and song en masse.
In the , "It's So Easy" was released prior to the album itself. The band on June 28, 1987. A 12-inch single for "It's So Easy" included Marquee Club renditions of "It's So Easy" and the classic " ".
In Japan, an entire EP entitled Live from the Jungle was issued, which contained the album version of " " and most of the Marquee Club recordings. European and Asian single releases were often peppered with Slash or Axl Rose interviews, which was common practice in those countries.
from religious groups and caused some record stores to brown bag, obscure, or refuse to sell the album.
The revised cover was gleaned from a tattoo that Axl had recently commissioned featuring skeleton faces of the five musicians arranged on a cross. Rose later insisted that the Gold and Platinum plaques issued by the be set using the original Williams cover. Copies of the LP with its original artwork are now rare collectors items.
The artwork from the original cover can be found in the booklet of the CD release.
"Sweet Child O' Mine" was the album's second US single. Due to the growing grassroots success of the band and the cross-gender appeal of the tune, the song and its accompanying music video received heavy airplay on both radio and MTV, and became a smash hit during the summer of 1988.
" " was then re-issued as a single, with new pressings of records and tapes and new artwork. The UK re-release was backed with an acoustic version of "You're By the time " " and its video reached the airwaves, the band's touring success and fame had catapulted the album to #1 on the charts. "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and " " were each US top ten singles.
To date, Appetite For Destruction has sold over twenty million copies and remains the best-selling debut album of all time.
Guns N' Roses began opening shows for major rock acts, but as their fame began to take hold, a world tour in support of Appetite for Destruction was scheduled. The band traveled across the United States, and in spring of 1988 were invited to the notorious Festival at in the UK, where they shared the stage with groups like , and .
At the start of the Guns N' Roses set, the capacity crowd of over 100,000 began jumping and surging forward. Despite Axl's requests that the crowd move away from the stage, two fans were trampled to death. Without knowledge of the extent of fan injuries, the band continued playing, and was largely blamed by the media for the tragedy.
In addition, the behavior of the band was also garnering negative attention from the media. McKagan, Slash and Adler were often seen intoxicated both on and off stage. Members of the crew at the time stated that Slash often had to be carried onstage by a group of people and would sometimes pass out after the concert ended.
When touring in England in 1987 the bandmembers were Guns N' Roses' next release was the LP in 1988, which reached #2 on the Billboard music charts. The album included the four recordings on one side, and four acoustic songs on the other. The song "One in a Million", which included the .
Rose responded by saying the claims are unfounded, particularly when considering Slash himself is half black and half Jewish. He explained that by the term "nigger" he meant low lives and meant no offense to anyone. He also went on to explain that the song reflected racial and prejudicial problems of society, rather than promoting them.
Rose also cited that he was a fan of homosexual singers like and visibly intoxicated and using profanity, Geffen Records executives asked the band to curtail their behavior. The members took steps to deal with their addictions after Rose threatened to end the band if they continued with their heavy drug abuse. He even spoke up about the situation, specifically the heroin addictions, during an opening set for in 1989 at the .
In 1991, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording their most ambitious undertaking yet. During recording sessions, drummer Steven Adler was unable to perform due to his struggles with cocaine and heroin addiction. After the recording sessions for the new album became troubled because of Adler's problems he was fired in August 1990, and replaced with former drummer .
A few months prior, keyboardist member. The band's manager, Alan Niven, was fired in May 1991 and was replaced with Doug Goldstein.
With enough music for two double albums, the band released and on .
The tactic paid off when the albums debuted at #2 and #1 respectively on the charts, which set a record as they became the first and only group to achieve this feat. Additionally, the albums spent 108 weeks on the chart. Both prior to and after the release of both albums, Guns N' Roses embarked on the twenty-eight month long to support them.
It would become famous for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred at the shows.
The tour included a Slash guitar solo incorporating theme, and a piano rock inspired "Move to the City" was where Rose showcased the ensemble of musicians assembled for the tour.
riots, late starts and outspoken rantings by Rose.
While the band's previous drug and alcohol issues were seemingly under control, Axl was often agitated by lax security, sound problems, and unwanted filming or recording of the performances. He also used the banter in between songs to fire off political statements or retort against music critics or celebrity rivals.
During a July 2, 1991 concert at the recently-built Riverport Amphitheater in , just outside of , Axl Rose jumped into the audience and tackled an unruly fan who was recording the show with a video camera.
After being pulled out of the audience by members of Guns' crew, Rose ended the show early. With the words, "Thanks to the lame ass security, I'm going home," he slammed his microphone down and left the stage. The angry crowd began to , and dozens of people were injured.
Rose was charged with having incited the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose, but a judge ruled that he did not directly incite the riot. In his defense, Rose stated that the Guns N' Roses personal security team had made four separate requests to the venue's security staff to remove the camera, all of which were ignored; that other members of the band had reported being hit by bottles from the audience; and that the venue's security had been lax, allowing weapons into the arena and refusing to enforce a drinking limit.
Consequently, "Use Your Illusion"'s artwork featured a hidden message amidst the Thank You section of the album insert: "Fuck You, St. Louis!".
During this time, guitarist Izzy Stradlin quit the band due to differences with both Rose and Slash. He was replaced by In late 1991, Rose added a touring ensemble to the band which included a horns section and several background vocalists.
In 1992, the band appeared at the , performing a two song set.
Later in the year they went on a mini-tour with American heavy metal band Metallica was forced to cancel the second hour of the show, but promised to return to the city for another show. After a long delay, during which the audience became increasingly restless, Guns N' Roses took the stage. However, the shortened time between sets did not allow for adequate tuning of stage monitors resulting in musicians not being able to hear themselves.
Compounding the situation were Rose's claims that he had problems with his voice which caused the band to leave the stage early. The cancellation led to another riot by audience members, reminiscent of the rioting that had occurred in St. Louis one year earlier.
Rioters overturned cars, smashed windows, looted local stores and set random fires. Local authorities were barely able to bring the mob under control.
The Use Your Illusion Tour is also notable for the many videos the band released to support it, including " ", " " and " " - some of the most expensive videos ever made.
The hit ballad "November Rain" became the most requested video on , eventually winning the 1992 for best cinematography. During the awards show, the band performed the song with accompanying on piano.
In May 1993, Gilby Clarke broke his wrist in a motorcycling accident and the band needed a replacement for some dates in Europe.
Izzy Stradlin briefly returned for a string of five shows.
twenty-eight months in which more than 200 shows were played. The last show in Buenos Aires also marked the last time original members Slash and McKagan as well as the newcomers Gilby Clarke and Matt Sorum would play a live show with their frontman.
The Spaghetti Incident?
. Despite protests from Rose's bandmates, an unadvertised cover of request.
Years later, Rose said he would remove the song from new pressings of the album, citing that critics and the media had misinterpreted his interest in Manson. However, as of 2006, the song is still present on the album. The Spaghetti Incident?
During the recording of "Sympathy for the Devil", Tobias recorded an echo of Slash's solo at Axl's request. Slash was infuriated when he heard the song's final mix and that Tobias' guitar had been placed on top of his. Axl had Slash then drifted in and out of the band for the next year or so, beginning a side project called before finally quitting in late 1996, citing musical differences with Rose.
He was replaced by . The next year, drummer Sorum was fired from the group following a verbal dispute with Rose regarding negative comments Paul Tobias had made about Slash. In mid 1997, McKagan opted out of his contract, and officially left the band in early 1998.
This left Rose as the sole original member of the group. Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum later formed the rock supergroup with former and guitarist , where they released their first CD, and had immediate success.
Rumors circulated in 1997 that Axl Rose had returned to the studio to begin work on a new album.
The album's producer was supposedly . Nothing came out of the rumors in 1997, and GN'R remained in hiatus. In 1998, Axl formally returned to the studio accompanied by guitarist (formerly In 1999, the band released one new song, "Oh My God", which was included on the soundtrack of .
The track featured additional guitar work by and Gary Sunshine, Axl's personal guitar teacher. The song's release was intended to be a prelude to their new album, now officially titled . Geffen also released during the Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion tours.
The band played a mixture of old hits as well as new songs from their forthcoming album. During their Rock in Rio set, Rose made the following comment regarding former members of the band:
today. Regardless of what you have heard or read, people worked very hard (meaning my former friends) to do everything they could so that I could not be here today.
I say fuck that. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike , we could not find a way to all get along." The new lineup played another two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001.
In 2002, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with life on the road. He was replaced by , formerly of the bands and . The band then played several shows in August of 2002, headlining festivals and concerts surprise appearance at the in September.
Due to a second absence by Axl Rose in and the resulting riot by fans, promoter canceled the remainder of the tour.
The band went into hiatus until they were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio 4 in May 2004. However, Buckethead left the band in March of that year, causing the band to cancel their appearance.
R.S.", and "There Was a Time" were leaked on the Internet through a Guns N' Roses fan site.
The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and websites. Despite this, radio stations began adding "I.R.
S." to playlists, and the song actually for the final week of February 2006 - the first time an internet leak had done so.
On May 5, 2006, Axl Rose appeared on the Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk radio show (during an interview with 2006.
Later that month, the band launched a European tour, headlining both the and . Four warm-up shows preceded the tour at became the band's first live concert dates since the aborted 2002 tour. The shows also marked the debut of virtuoso fusion guitarist and composer (a.
A press release for the Chinese Democracy Tour at the beginning of October 2006 stated that "there October 3rd and December 19th. However, the album's release date has reportedly been pushed back to 2007.
Seemingly linked to this public news about even more album delays, the prices of tickets to the remaining 2006 concerts have plummetted to US$20 per piece.
Many fans who bought the tickets at a full price of sometimes over US$75 feel that they have been short-changed as they could have bought the same tickets at the discounted price. Speculation is abound that this price drop is a response to dwindling ticket sales. In the 1990s, the band integrated keyed instruments (played by either or , on tour accompanied by ) into the band, and for roughly half of the Use Your Illusion tour, added a horn section to the stage.
While Reed's keyboard and Rose's piano remain in some of the Chinese Democracy demos and in concert, the aborted 2002 tour and the 2006 tour (to date) have not included winded instruments, though the band has employed synthesized horns on some of their new songs.
1980s by bringing a more serious, emotional, and sometimes political edge to 80's rock, in stark contrast to the carefree themes pants.
A central component of the Guns N' Roses legend lies in the sheer velocity and audacity with which they rose to fame.
In an era where most rock and metal acts spent years building credibility and 'paying dues' in the form of club touring, failed signing attempts, and unsuccessful album releases, Guns N' Roses signed with a major label within nine months of their inception and topped national sales charts merely weeks after garnering late hours airplay on MTV. The record-breaking achievement of and roll history.
called GN'R "the next .
" In 2002, named Guns N' Roses in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Also, the ranked Guns N' Roses ninth in its "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" special. Appetite appeared in The band has not been free of criticism by the media.
The flagrant alcohol and by some members of the group, particularly Slash and McKagan, and Axl's fondness of T-shirts, were used by the media to portray GN'R as a poor example and negative influence on their young fans. The long periods of time that the band took to release albums were also a source of heavy criticism.
Frontman Axl Rose has become a source of both controversy and criticism since the other founding members left the group.
His constant elusiveness, such as the fact that he has not held a press conference since 1994, has led to several stories claiming he the original group, have criticized him for continuing the band after the original members had departed and have questioned the constant change in band members. They also cite his behavior and sense of albums. However, Rose still has fans who view him as a sort of musical .
..unless there's a mutual respect or understanding.
..and we're way far from that.
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