Thursday 26 July 2007

GUNS N’ ROSES – YOU COULD BE MINE (GEFFEN)


GUNS N’ ROSES – YOU COULD BE MINE (GEFFEN)

This really was the last throw for hair metal in many respects. GNR were the final warriors living out that poodle lifestyle that just about still came with a bite when they did it. At the time it was easy to hate Guns N’ Roses because quite frankly their fans were idiots.

Smart comments aside this is a song that holds up surprisingly well. At a time when memory looks back on hair metal as being one trick and embarrassing, distance looks on at Guns N’ Roses in good favour, especially considering the joke of a tribute band the brand has now turned into.

Creaming with vitality there is a sustained sense of attack lent to the extended intro of this song. Just as things were about to get overblown here was one point where the playing lived up to expectations without taking things too far and wrecking the record. It is testament to the music that it is a good few minutes before the vocals of Axl land on proceedings seemingly intent on turning the air cheesy.

It has been funny to hear the opening bridge of this song appear in various hipper indie and alternative rock hits through the years. I swear you can hear this song is both “Freakin’ Out” by Graham Coxon and a couple of the more direct early Oasis tunes. Such is the universally stonking effect of this composition. This is a passage of entrance where it seems every member of the band is given their moment to shine.

With the recurring logo and fonts used there almost feels something regimental about the packaging.

Of course it is an embarrassing gesture to actually play this out loud now. What on earth are the sentiments behind this record? Is it really an ode to some lucky lady that she might be given the opportunity to be a heavy metaller’s girlfriend if she plays her cards right? Yeah the early nineties were quite a confusing time then too.

On the flipside is “Civil War” which I seem to remember was later released as an EP in its own right as the bottom of the Use Your Illusion barrel was being scraped. It definitely begs the question as to why would a person want to eventually buy a song that has already been used (thrown away) as a b-side. Then again clocking in at 7 minutes 38 seconds in a strange way there is a perverse VFM element to it. Such was the money making machine that was Guns N’ Roses back in the day (all shits no giggles).

In a strange way not bad for a record featuring the future of governor of California rocking a sawn off shotgun on its cover. We live in a strange world.

Thesaurus moment: product

Guns N’ Roses
Geffen

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