Ed Said: The Continuing Scam (or Career) of Guns n’ Roses

Ed Said:
Occasional Ramblings About Arts and Entertainment

The Continuing Scam (or Career) of Guns n’ Roses

by Ed Yashinsky

First things first, I wholeheartedly admit that Appetite for Destruction is one of the defining records of the past twenty years. I really didn’t care for it all that much, but it is a lightning rod masterpiece that screamed from the streets of Los Angeles with a vengeance that remains relevant today.

That being said, everything Guns n’ Roses has produced since 1987’s Appetite for Destruction has been done based on a record label’s cold, calculated decisions. (Did Use Your Illusion really have to be two releases to capture the band’s vision or was it just a money grab? Or if that’s not enough what about the Use Your Illusion Bonus CD or the Road to Illusion Box Set. Man, for only having two real studio albums — G n’R Lies is a reissue of their first EP and The Spaghetti Incident? is simply a collection of cover tunes — these guys sure have figured out how to get a lot of product on the shelves.) The vision that the stardom-starved Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler strived for has been left in the hype and drudge of market reports, drugs, alcohol, egos, personality clashes, and plain stupidity.

Which brings us to the long awaited (really?) Guns n’ Roses live set, Live Era: 1987-1993. The record has been so long in the making that most teenagers won’t recall the opening strains of “Mr. Brownstone” because they were interested in sleeping, eating, or pooping in their diapers when the song first appeared.

Is Guns n’ Roses really that important that we need to take a look back at their meager two tours that occurred nearly a decade ago to come to the conclusion that they rocked, but they were really nothing special?

Oh, but I almost forgot, Guns n’ Roses are rebels, and they’re every parent’s worst nightmare. (Well, at least they used to be.) I think most parents today would be excited about their kids listening to Guns n’ Roses given the likes of Kid Rock, Korn, Limp Bizkit, and the other rap rockers who currently sit atop rock’s popular pantheon.

Guns n’ Roses might have been something for parents to fear in the early 1990s when Axl Rose appeared like some satanic beast rising from the Los Angeles sewer to pick up your teenage daughter. But come on, except for the guy wearing a Charles Manson t-shirt (and his ill-advised kilt days) is he really that scary? He grew up in the Midwest, for God’s sake.

I remember the ruckus that Guns n’ Roses unleashed in Central Pennsylvania on June 11, 1991 — they left a lot of people very tired. Opening act Skid Row managed to scream ‘fuck’ as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and participle almost twice a minute during a pathetic thirty-five minute set. Then Guns n’ Roses decided to allow for an almost three hour break between bands before coming onstage at 11:45 p.m. to their own never-ending barrage of ‘fuck this’ and ‘fuck that’. It was so rebellious I shook in my boots while listening to the show from my parent’s patio nearly a mile from Hersheypark Stadium. Actually, the show was so contrived, that I decided to head home after four or five songs. It was that thrilling.

However, Guns n’ Roses can’t afford to alienate any old fans or new fans now, so Geffen Records has decided to release an edited and a non-edited version of Live Era so kids of all ages can enjoy Guns n’ Roses without being offended (another example of record company handling). Boy, I can’t wait to catch a bit of edited Live Era, for jewels like, “Alright all you [beep] mother [beep], are you [beep] ready to [beep] rock your [beep] balls off or [beep] what?” Wow, just like the show!

And if that’s not enough reason to remain unexcited about Guns n’ Roses, perhaps the start and stop approach to their long-awaited next studio record should be the icing on the cake. Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Duff McKagan are long-gone, and Steve Adler didn’t even make it to the Use Your Illusion releases. It’s been so long between records that even members who have replaced the original band members have been let go, as well as people who were signed to contracts to finish the record and then hit the road who have been deemed unnecessary. Only Axl Rose remains from the original lineup, and who knows, maybe he can be replaced as well.

Whatever the case, a new Guns n’ Roses record will appear sometime before 2010, and only then will Axl Rose learn the true meaning of irrelevant. Yes, it’s true that the record will move 500,000 to 1 million copies to hardcore fans, but the fickle public has lost interest and moved on to other things. Perhaps if they would’ve concentrated on the music, Guns n’ Roses would still matter, but Live Era proves that Guns n’ Roses’ era has truly passed.