Guns N' Roses
The Spaghetti Incident?

After the tremendous success of the incredible "Appetite For Destruction" and the two lengthy works "Use Your Illusions 1 & 2," in 1993 the Guns N' Roses released their final album "The Spaghetti Incident?" The record contains twelve covers that the Guns have performed with their wild, unrestrained, and powerful style. By looking at the bands they chose to reinterpret, you can understand the influences Axl and friends had during their short but extremely successful career: mainly punk and hard rock groups like The Damned, The UK Subs, The New York Dolls, Iggy Pop And The Stooges, The Dead Boys, Steve Jones (Sex Pistols guitarist), Fear, The Skyliners, The Misfits, T. Rex, Soundgarden, and Nazareth.

The CD includes a song the Guns played in memory of the great Johnny Thunders, who died a few years earlier from an overdose, namely "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" and a track that caused quite a stir, that is "Look At Your Game, Girl" by Charlie Manson.
The first track on the album is the melodic ballad "Since I Don't Have You" (The Skyliners), also released as a single, which caused many band fans to cringe, but which I still consider a good slow piece very well interpreted by the group. From the second song onwards, it's pure speed and power, namely "New Rose" by The Damned, where you can notice an excellent vocal performance by Duff McKagan, a great riff, and catchy choruses that are very pleasant to hear. A truly exciting piece!!

"Down On The Farm", by The UK Subs, is introduced by an initial bass riff, good work by Slash, and a truly fit Axl, as also in the wild and long "Human Being" by The New York Dolls.
"Raw Power" (The Stooges) stays at the level of the previous track. Defiant riffs and the wild Axl and Duff at the microphone, while "Ain't it Fun" by The Dead Boys, is the best cover of the album. The song starts with beautiful solos by Slash, with Axl alternating at the vocals with Michael Monroe from Hanoi Rocks, and the rest of the band showcases their undisputed technical skills. "Buick Mackane / Big Dumb Sex" (T. Rex / Soundgarden) proves to be mediocre, perhaps due to its brevity and repetitiveness. The eighth song, "Hair Of The Dog" by Nazareth, is a classic hard rock piece, with a riff that vaguely reminds of "Day Tripper" by the Beatles and a nice vocal performance by Axl.

The album continues with the very energetic "Attitude" by The Misfits and the dark "Black Leather" by Steve Jones, which with its slow pace reminds me of some Velvet Revolver pieces. "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" is an emotional ballad, while the album ends with the hardness of "I Don't Care About You" by Fear, thanks to the explicit chorus "I Don't Care About You, Fuck You." When everyone thinks the album is over, it continues for less than three minutes with the controversial "Look At Your Game, Girl" by Charlie Manson, a calm and relaxing piece that surprisingly concludes this loved and hated Guns album.