Review Summary: The Spaghetti Abomination?
At their
Use Your Illusion peak, Guns N’ Roses were a very talented band, this cannot be denied. Front figure Axl Rose could be an annoyance, but often enough showed impressive vocal deliveries and strong song writing (
November Rain, anyone?), Slash had a distinct feel for melody and a knack for creating great solos, Stradlin was an excellent asset behind the rhythm guitar and delivered a few moments of vocal triumph (
Dust N’ Bones,
Double Talkin’ Jive,
14 Years) on top of it. The rhythm section, consisting of Duff McKagan on bass, Matt Sorum on drums and some added piano/organ/various instrumental work by Dizzy Reed put it all up a notch, and since their inception, the boys have given us three damn fine records:
Appetite for Destruction,
Use Your Illusion I and
Use Your Illusion II.
So what went wrong with
The Spaghetti Incident?
First of all, Stradlin had quit the band during the
Use Your Illusion tour (because of Rose, unsurprisingly), and was subsequently replaced by Gilby Clarke. As most will know, this was the first sign of the eventual split-up of the original (and real) Guns N’ Roses. What an already divided band did following their humongous tour for the
Use Your Illusion pair, was just grabbing some unreleased tracks (all covers) originally recorded for the duo. They planned on releasing them on an EP, but ended up recording more covers and producing enough material for a full album.
It already doesn’t seem a very good approach to record a great album with, but maybe a bit of faith wouldn't be misplaced. Of course, Guns had shown their covering chops in a few instances (
Nice Boys,
Mama Kin,
Live and Let Die,
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door), all of which were at least great. The question was, of course: could they pull of a whole album?
All of you who’ve seen that 1.5 at top page (being everyone), already know the answer: a definite no. The 13 covers featured, all from different artists, ranging from
The Stooges to
Soundgarden to
Nazareth to
The Misfits, are mostly punk rock and glam rock songs. That isn’t such a bad thing, and Guns had previously incorporated those genres, mostly in
Appetite for Destruction, meaning this could have become both an Appetite-era revival (which many would have been happy to hear) and an inspired cover record.
What
The Spaghetti Incident? is, however, is neither. The fierce assault found on the band’s debut is not very much revived, and inspired is far from any of the terms I would like to use to describe the covering work. Ironically, Stradlin could have done some fine improvement on the record, as the punkish, laid-back voice he showcased on the UYI albums could have done wonders for some of the tracks. Instead, bassist Duff McKagan takes over from Rose on four of the thirteen tracks. He hasn’t got a bad voice per se, but as became clear on UYI II’s so fine, he doesn’t really stand out either.
Whether covering less known material was a purposeful decision or not, it does not bring improvement to the album. The covers are not necessarily badly performed, but because we have (in most cases) no knowledge of the originals, it is difficult to view them as interesting new interpretations, or at least decent covers. There is really nothing that makes it all that interesting.
But that is not even the biggest problem. What that is, is that the sound that deservedly earned Guns recognition is not present in the needed quantities. I miss soul, I miss spirit, I miss devotion, I miss honest force and roughness, but most of all: I miss the 6 individuals that used to be something called Guns N’ Roses. These are tunes completely unworthy of the band’s oeuvre to say the very least, and as such,
The Spaghetti Incident? had better be forgotten. It was the start of an eventual breakdown, and an endless process of recording the ‘new G N’ R album
Chinese Democracy’. This, my friends, is where Guns N’ Roses died.
Guns N’ Roses: (1985-1993)
May they Rest In Peace
