Guns N Roses
Greatest Hits
This album has nothing to do with the actual band, the record company wanted to release this, with hurdles in the way because of Axl Roses lawsuits. The record company won and released the album. Glad that they did though, it's great for people like myself who aren't really interested in the band but have a general liking in them. The line-up for the songs released were....
Axl Rose - High pitched vocals which can get quite annoying but they work and fit the band
Slash - Never riffing, always with the solos, obviously the most talented in the band
Izzy - The rhythm guitar and the backbone of the Guns N Roses posse, overpowered by Slash but knows his way around the fretboard.
Duff - The bass player, mostly just rhythm but has it's moments
Steven Adler - He's alright, he's no Danney Carey but he does the job
On the first track,
Welcome to the Jungle it's the kind of song to say "We are Guns N Roses and we are here to rock!" It shows Guns N Roses what they are made of and it shows it well. A nice breakdown near the 2 minutes and a half point and then exits into a short solo and into a chorus with a higher pitch.
Sweet Child of Mine is to show that the Guns can write a slow emotional song. It makes me wonder how junkie alchohol-fuelled no-gooders can make ballads. The song starts with a type of circus riff that Slash has even admitted he hates. The best part is....guess....the solo! It kicks major butt and puts Slash on the map. Emotional, fast, hard, it's beautiful. The song is about Axl's girlfriend, Michelle which is later sung about in the Appetite For Destruction album song My Michelle.
Accoustic time for old Slash with the slow ballad
Patience. Starts with whistling from axl which I don't really like actually but the actual singing is quite good. Though this is a brilliant song, I just can't imagine Slash with an accoustic. The same with Nirvana, both bands just aren't accoustic bands. It does have a nice accoustic solo though which is quite good.
Paradise City is considered a Guns classic, sorry for the hardcore fans but I hate this song. Maybe it was just the mainstream appeal to the song and how catchy it is. Only highlight in the song is the fast bit and the solo which, as usual, kicks butt. I find the lyrics quite stupid
"Take me down to the Paradise City
"Where the grass is green and the girls gone pretty"
Now for a nice Bob Dylan cover of
Knocking on Heaven's Door which is an absolutly brilliant song. I haven't heard the original but I'm sure this owns more. Slash uses a double guitar here and the 12-stringer sounds lovely. The phone conversation is a bit annoying though and kinda kills the mood of the song. Axl Rose shares his vocal ability with back-up singers which only adds to the song.
Now for the half accoustic, half electric epic. My favourite song on the album
Civil War . The singing is beautiful and there is another awesome guitar solo and an even better one at the end. Words are hard to describe it, just listen to it.
Now for a traditional hard-rockin' song titled
You Could Be Mine. The drums are tight in this song and so is the rhythm. I think this song was put on The Terminater 2 soundtrack. It does quite fit the movie indeed. And guess what? A sweet solo from our man Slash.
If I could name the most emotional Guns song, it'd have to be
Don't Cry (Original) which is the most beautiful power ballad I have ever heard. Lyrics are cliche but the music video rocks, it really fits the song. For some reason, I found myself writing the lyrics down one night?
The first time you listen to this song you're like "What the...?" Orchestra? Female back-up singers? As messed up as this sounds
November Rain is quite emotional and it works, it really does! This eight-minute epic has a serious mood-swing half-way through, with a giant long solo. When Slash plays the solo in the desert in the video, it is so cool. Then it gets all sad and dark which I think is better than the first half of the song. Because of it's length, it gets a bit old fast. I'm pretty sure radio-stations play it so the people can go to the crapper.
A short three-minute cover of Paul McCartney's
Live and Let Die. Starts off like a ballad with the piano playing and then turns all rock for a minute and then back to the ballad-type and then rock and then it's over before it even starts.
Next up is the "Happy"
Yesterdays which is actually quite a poor song compared to the rest of the album. Mediocre is a word I would use here, then should have left it out and put some other killer Guns N Roses song. Just over three-minutes which is good so it doesn't take up too much album space.
Now for one killer song which most people hate.
Ain't It Fun is so cool, the vocals scream, the guitars rock. Not for the faint-hearted but people who like metal (like myself.) Could someone tell me who did this originally? Izzy shows his talent as a rhythm player in this song.
Nice and relaxing is the word to describe it,
Since I Don't have You is nice to sit and back and listen. Nice finger-picking accoustics and nice blues guitar playing done by Slash. I wouldn't listen to this regulary but if I have a bad day, this is lovely to listen to.
I hate the next song, I know it's a Rolling Stones classic but I didn't like the original, so I'm not going to like this.
Sympathy For The Devil is a bit to jazzy for my taste.
Verdict:
It's a decent Greatest Hits album for sure. It has lots of classics but songs like
Yesterdays and
Sympathy For The Devil bring the score down.
Pros
+ Solos are top notch
+ The songs are composed very well
Cons
- Axl's voice is annoying
- They should have missed out some songs
Final Score:
4/5
