Guns N' Roses
Live Era '87-'93 (Cd 1)

Already in 1999, the name of the infamous new CD by Guns N' Roses, 'Chinese Democracy', was circulating. In that year, Geffen Records, to fill a silence that lasted almost six years, decided to release a collection of the greatest tracks by Guns N' Roses taken from live performances, the "Live Era '87-'93". For now, I will only comment on the first of the two CDs; otherwise, it would take too much time and space.

The CD opens with the cavernous shout of the speaker "GUNS N' ROSES!!!", and the sound of a departing locomotive precedes the explosion of "Nightrain". Played really well, and then it's fun to notice the obvious variations in lyrics and solos (moreover, played brilliantly by Slash, almost as if in studio) due to the stage presence. The live version of this song is more powerful than the studio one. Great to start. Then comes "Mr. Brownstone", slower than from "Appetite" and sometimes Axl's voice fades and is overshadowed by the instruments. Great Slash. More disappointing compared to the first. The mood lifts at track no. 3, "It's so easy", slightly slow but very energetic and expressive. Slash doesn’t play a solo in this song that matches "Appetite", which renders the song devastating, also thanks to a great Axl and a bad mixing of Duff's bass, creating a very hard effect. A great live performance.

Axl's scream before "Welcome to the Jungle" is the best thing about the CD. The song isn’t sung very well by Axl (too hoarse), but there is a noteworthy amount of rage which helps ignite the atmosphere. In the end, Steven accelerates too much. At track no. 5, you hear Izzy's voice striking up his “Dust n’ bones”. I think it's slightly more expressive than the studio version. Great Duff, present everywhere with his Jazz Fender bass. It’s clear that Izzy isn’t a singer, though he handles it. Slash not exceptional.
Then follows “My Michelle”: very powerful also thanks to a great performance by Axl, really pissed off. Technically, it's performed very well. Perhaps a bit slow in the punk part. Slash and Izzy could play blindfolded and would still be great. Then we have an unreleased version of “You’re Crazy” (the third one!), a compromise between what we hear in “Lies”, slow and acoustic, and the “Appetite” version, very fast and almost punk. Here it’s slow but very powerful, also thanks to the excellent presence of the drums; we have the distortion of the guitars. Izzy makes it almost country mixed with Slash’s entirely blues solo. I would have seen this version instead of the one in “Appetite”, very fast but less expressive than this live one.

Then, from “G N’ R Lies”, with a presentation by Axl, follows “Used to Love Her”. This too in a new guise. The original was entirely country, acoustic. This live version presents an intro in the style of Aerosmith (“Mama Kin”) and continues swift and tranquil, despite the distortion, like a country ballad. In the end, a nice little song, fun and played very well by Slash. The third last of the CD is “Patience”. Known for never having come off very well live, here it’s played acoustically, a bit long and disturbed by the audience's choir (Axl is barely heard...). Slash dominates, with an extended solo very romantic and melancholic. In the end, drums, bass, and Axl’s hoarse voice, which finally is heard, join in.
At no. 11, I hear an unknown song, never released on any album: “It’s Alright”. Played entirely on the piano by Axl, it’s very romantic. You can see one of the rare times Axl sheds his violent persona to become a romantic singer-songwriter. A little gem. The last track is “November Rain”. Preceded by an unpublished intro by Dizzy on the piano, which suggests a lyrical piece rather than a ballad. A bit inappropriate. Otherwise played almost identically to the original version. I think Axl had some vocal issues, which is a bit muffled and strained. It continues slowly and without variations until the epic finale, where Slash brings some variation and is simply perfect, devastating and precise. Some parts seem like the "robotic" style of Buckethead, the guitarist with a bucket on his head.

Anyway, the album is a good move by Geffen to sell a bit, also because the skill of Guns N' Roses live was well known. However, listening to Guns’ tracks live with many innovations and seldom inappropriate changes is interesting. Lastly, I would like to add that such a collection is certainly better than the “Greatest Hits” of 2004, in which songs were included at the expense of surely better ones.

I have finished but would like to say one last thing: in my previous reviews, I have had harsh comments many times not related to the review but the person. I only ask one thing. Stick to commenting on the review because it’s not nice to suffer insults and affronts of all kinds just because you like Guns N’ Roses.

Thank you.