Artist: Guns N' Roses
Label: Geffen Records
Released: 1991
Length: 75:58
Rating: 4/5
The second-to-last studio album from the biggest band on the planet hit the shelves on the very same day as its older sister (review). In the race for the throne of the American charts, the younger sibling came out on top, selling 770000 copies and taking over the music Olympus (part one landed in second place). The record shares the same cover art as its older sister, only here the colors are darker, which fits the songs’ content perfectly. This famous studio duo also marks the beginning of the end for the original lineup. While they were being made, the band fired drummer Steven Adler, who was replaced by Matt Sorum. Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar) then left the band of his own accord a little later, in the middle of the tour. In one interview he described his exit as the only possible solution, since once he’d given up drugs he no longer saw the point. The constant bickering in the band (mostly over utterly ridiculous things) only made the decision easier.
The original lineup’s studio farewell kicks off with the legendary “Civil War”, which counts as drummer Steven Adler’s last stand. This hard-hitting ballad drags us into a philosophical tornado, where singer Axl asks what’s even civilized about war.
The then 14-year friendship between Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin gave birth to the song “14 Years”. A dreamy ballad of friendship, seasoned by Axl with his trademark piano, it came about as a merger of two songs that Axl and Izzy each wrote about the other. Izzy also takes over the vocals here, while Axl this time backs him up in the background.
Don’t live in the past, leave it behind you: that’s the message of “Yesterdays”. It’s yet another typical “Guns-style” ballad, marked by Axl’s one-of-a-kind voice and Slash’s guitar bits. The song also saw the light of day in a film version, which serves as the band’s goodbye to their ousted drummer.
If you’re angry and need a track to let off some steam, “Get In The Ring” is definitely it. A cynical, sarcastic settling of scores with the critics who slammed the band for their wild stage shows, it’s a studio recording to which crowd screams were added later, and it was never played live.
The megalomaniac video for »Estranged« is considered one of the most expensive in music history, since the band spent a good four million dollars on it. The nearly ten-minute clip wraps up the trilogy (alongside “Don’t Cry” and “November Rain”), which is based on Del James’s novella “Without You”. The promo video basically turned into a proper movie, packed with plenty of elements from the priciest spectacles. In it you can catch Axl’s free fall from a tanker and swimming with dolphins, and it hits its peak with guitarist Slash rising from the depths of the sea and later even walking on top of it.
After the dreamy mood the listener goes through on a few of the songs in between, the roar of “You Could Be Mine” reminds them once again why we file the band under “heavy metal”, among other things. The song also showed up in two Terminator films, first in the second one from 1992 and then in the fourth in 2009. The track is mostly about the collapsed marriage of Axl Rose and Erin Everly.
On the record you’ll also find a »reworked« version of “Don’t Cry”, this time with new lyrics, since the old ones (found on part one) apparently felt a bit disconnected from their current lives.
A superb studio conclusion to the saga of Guns N’ Roses, it’s a great (unplanned) farewell for the original lineup, who despite their short lifespan left a permanent mark on the currents of rock music. As I already said in my review of part one, with its mix of countless musical elements and the signature »Guns-style« sound, this record is something you could call the last gasps of »real« rock. Nobody after them has managed to repeat what they pulled off. In just a few short years they grew from an obscure garage band into a phenomenon that packed concert halls and stadiums, only to fall apart at the peak of their career and leave behind a modest, yet legendary and indelible musical legacy.
Lineup
- W. Axl Rose – vocals, piano, whistling on “Civil War”, backing vocals on “14 Years”, rhythm guitar on “Shotgun Blues”, keyboards and drums on “My World”
- Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar on “Civil War”, banjo on “Breakdown”
- Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on “14 Years”, acoustic guitar on “Breakdown”, sitar on “Pretty Tied Up”, lead guitar on “Estranged”
- Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on “So Fine”, percussion on “Locomotive”
- Matt Sorum – drums, backing vocals on “So Fine”
- Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Guest musicians
- Steven Adler – drums on “Civil War”
- Johann Langlie – drums, sound effects, percussion on “My World”
- The Waters – backing vocals on “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”
- Howard Teman – piano on “So Fine”
- Shannon Hoon – backing vocals on “Don’t Cry”
Production
Mike Clink, Guns N’ Roses
Track list
- “Civil War” (7:42)
- “14 Years” (4:23)
- “Yesterdays” (3:14)
- “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (Bob Dylan cover) (5:36)
- “Get in the Ring” (5:42)
- “Shotgun Blues” (3:23)
- “Breakdown” (7:04)
- “Pretty Tied Up” (4:48)
- “Locomotive” (8:42)
- “So Fine” (4:08)
- “Estranged” (9:23)
- “You Could Be Mine” (5:43)
- “Don’t Cry” (Alternate lyrics) (4:45)
- “My World” (1:24)
