Guns N’ Roses et al: Top 50 Songs

Guns N’ Roses et al Top 50 Songs

The rock band Guns N’ Roses formed in Los Angeles, Califirnia, in 1985. The original members consisted of Axl Rose (vocals: 1985-), Saul “Slash” Hudson (guitar: 1985-1996, 2016-), Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar: 1985-1991), Duff McKagan (bass: 1985-1997, 2016-), and Steven Adler (drums: 1985-1990). Their first album, Appetite for Destruction, featured the #1 hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and top 10 hits “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Paradise City.” is the best-selling debut in U.S. history with 18 million copies sold (30 million worldwide). The follow-up release, G N’ R Lies, combined the group’s 1986 EP Live Like a Suicide with four new cuts and sold 10 milion copies worldwide fueled by the top 10 song “Patience.” They followed that up with the simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II in 1991. The albums combined for 35 million copies worldwide and featured two more top-10 hits – “Don’t Cry” and “November Rain.” After the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident?, all the members except Axl Rose left the band eventually as he spent fifteen years working on the follow-up, 2008’s Chinese Democracy. In the meantime, Slash, Gilby Clarke (guitar: 1991-1994), and Matt Sorum (drums: 1990-1997) worked together in Slash’s Snakepit. Slash and Sorum also worked with McKagan in Velvet Revolver (2003-2008). Slash and McKagan came back into the fold in 2016 for the Not in This Lifetime tour, which grossed more than half a billion dollars over the next three years, becoming the third highest-grossing concert tour on record. Other members over the years have included DJ Ashba (guitar: 2009-2015), Brain (drums: 2000-2006), Buckethead (guitar: 2000-2004), Frank Ferrer (drums: 2006-), Robin Finck (guitar: 1997-2008), Richard Fortus (guitar: 2002-), Josh Freese (drums: 1997-2000), Chris Pitman (keyboards: 1998-2016), Dizzy Reed (keyboards: 1990-), Melissa Reese (keyboards: 2016-), Tommy Stinson (bass: 1998-2014), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar: 2006-2014), Paul Tobias (guitar: 1994-2002). For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes material by Velvet Revolver, Slash’s Snakepit, and Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds since they all featured former GNR members. Songs are by Guns N’ Roses unless noted otherwise. DMDB Top 1%: 1. Sweet Child O’ Mine (1987) 2. Welcome to the Jungle (1987) 3. November Rain (1991) 4. Paradise City (1987) DMDB Top 2%: 5. Patience (1988) DMDB Top 10%: 6. Don’t Cry (1991) 7. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (1987) 8. Civil War (1990) 9. Live and Let Die (1991) DMDB Top 20%: 10. You Could Be Mine (1991) 11. Nightrain (1987) 12. Fall to Pieces (Velvet Revolver, 2004) 13. Mr. Brownstone (1987) 14. Estranged (1991) 15. Since I Don’t Have You (1993) 16. Yesterdays (1991) 17. Slither (Velvet Revolver, 2004) 18. Hair of the Dog (1993) 19. Sympathy for the Devil (1994) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 20. Rocket Queen (1987) 21. Chinese Democracy (2008) 22. It’s So Easy (1987) 23. Used to Love Her (1988) 24. Ain’t It Fun (1993) 25. The Last Fight (Velvet Revolver, 2007) 26. Better (2008) 27. One in a Million (1988) 28. Look at Your Game, Girl (1993) 29. Pretty Tied Up (1991) 30. Shadow of Your Love (1986) 31. Coma (1991) 32. I Will Not Go Quietly (Don Henley with Axl Rose, 1989) 33. So Fine (2008) 34. Shuffle It All (Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds, 1992) 35. Double Talkin’ Jive (1991) 36. My Michelle (1987) 37. She Builds Quick Machines (Velvet Revolver, 2007) 38. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (1993) 39. Move to the City (1986) 40. Out ta Get Me (1987) 41. Heartbreak Hotel (1986) 42. 14 Years (1991) 43. Garden of Eden (1991) 44. Set Me Free (Velvet Revolver, 2003) 45. Dirty Little Thing (Velvet Revolver, 2004) 46. Oh My God (1999) 47. Beggars & Hangers-On (Slash’s Snakepit, 1995) 48. Dead Horse (1991) 49. Dust N’ Bones (1991) 50. Street of Dreams (2008) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Guns N’ Roses DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Velvet Revolver Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 11/11/2022.

Guns N’ Roses chart with “November Rain”

November Rain Guns N’ Roses

Writer(s): Axl Rose (see lyrics here) Released: February 18, 1992 First Charted: September 28, 1991 Peak: 3 US, 13 CB, 4 GR, 2 RR, AR 15, 4 UK, 5 CN, 5 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.6 UK, 2.29 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 227.151 video, 919.48 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “November Rain” hit the album rock chart in September as soon as Guns N’ Roses released their highly anticipated Use Your Illusion albums. However, it wasn’t released as an official single until February 1992 and it wasn’t until June that it finally hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart, eventually peaking at #3. With a running time of nearly nine minutes, it is the longest song to reach the top 10. WK The original version was 25-minutes long. SF Guitarist Slash said they band jokingly called it “the ‘Layla’ song.” WK Lead singer Axl Rose started working on the song in 1983 SF and it was first recorded in 1986 prior to the band’s monstrous Appetite for Destruction album. That version has since been released on an expanded, box set-version of that album. Lead singer Axl Rose wanted to tackle the song again, giving it “a sweeping string arrangement,” WK but the rest of the band were reluctant, wanting to focus on more direct rock songs. WK The video was one of the most expensive ever made, costing more than a million and a half. SF It was the first made prior to the founding of YouTube in 2005 to pass the one-billion-views mark. WK Rose is portrayed as marrying then-girifriend Stephanie Seymour and later grieving at her funeral. The video, as well as the song’s original lyrics, are based on the short story “Without You” by Del James. SF NPR’s Stephen Thompson called the song “one of the ultimate hard-rock power ballads.” NPR New Zealand listeners of radio station The Rock ranked it #1 of all time in 2006. WK Resources: SF Songfacts NPR NPR (6/28/2018). “Hear a Never-Before-Heard, Piano-Only Demo of Guns N’ Roses ‘November Rain’” by Stephen Thompson WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/1/2021; last updated 4/30/2024.

Guns N' Roses release the Use Your Illusion albums

Use Your Illusion (I & II) Guns N’ Roses

Released: September 17, 1991 Peak: 2 US, 2 UK, 12 CN, 2 AU, 3 DF Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.3 UK, 17.8 world (includes US and UK) Genre: hard rock

Released: September 17, 1991 Peak: 12 US, 11 UK, 12 CN, 13 AU, 12 DF Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.3 UK, 18.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: hard rock

Tracks (Use Your Illusion I): Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Right Next Door to Hell Dust N’ Bones Live and Let Die (9/28/91, 33 US, 26 CB, 26 GR, 26 RR, 20 AR, 5 UK, 56 CN, 10 AU, 13 DF) Don’t Cry (original version) (9/17/91, 10 US, 7 CB, 9 GR, 13 RR, 3 AR, 8 UK, 11 CN, 5 AU, 16 DF) Perfect Crime You Ain’t the First Bad Obsession Back Off Bitch Double Talkin’ Jive (10/21/22, --) November Rain (9/28/91, 3 US, 13 CB, 4 GR, 2 RR, 15 AR, 4 UK, 5 CN, 5 AU, 2 DF) The Garden (with Alice Cooper) Garden of Eden (1/17/94, --) Don’t Damn Me Bad Apples Dead Horse Coma Total Running Time: 76:09 Tracks (Use Your Illusion II): Civil War (8/4/90, 4 AR, 11 UK, 45 AU, 1 DF) 14 Years Yesterdays (10/17/92, 72 US, 58 CB, 13 AR, 8 UK, 52 CN, 14 AU, 33 DF) Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (9/28/87, 18 AR, 2 UK, 56 CN, 12 AU, 4 DF) Get in the Ring Shotgun Blues Breakdown Pretty Tied Up (3/21/92, 35 AR) Locomotive So Fine Estranged (12/11/93, 16 AR, 40 AU, 16 DF) You Could Be Mine (6/21/91, 29 US, 3 AR, 3 UK, 30 CN, 3 AU, 16 DF) Don’t Cry (alternate version) My World Total Running Time: 75:55 The Players: W. Axl Rose (vocals, piano, etc.) Slash (guitar, backing vocals) Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals)

Rating (Use Your Illusion I): 4.088 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings) Rating (Use Your Illusion II): 4.038 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings) Awards (Use Your Illusion I): (Click on award to learn more). Awards (Use Your Illusion II): .

About the Albums: “The ‘difficult second album’ is one of the perennial rock & roll clichés, but few second albums ever were as difficult as Use Your Illusion.” E1 Guns N’ Roses exploded in 1988 with Appetite for Destruction, making them the biggest rock band in the world. After the 1989 GN’R Lies interim package which slapped four new songs together with GNR’s Live Like a Suicide EP from 1986, they released not one, but two albums. They were packaged separately, but with the names Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, they were generally treated as a double album. The general consensus has been that the pair of albums was a bloated, over-the-top follow-up. This is “a shining example of a suddenly successful band getting it all wrong and letting its ambitions run wild.” E1 “It can be a chore to find the highlights…amid the overblown production and endless amounts of filler.” E1 A nice argument has been made that a single-disc album not only would have reigned the band in, challenged AC/DC’s Back in Black as the biggest and best hard rock album ever, and, most importantly that it might have kept the group from splitting apart. DF However, it didn’t happen that way and from a chart and sales standpoint, the general public didn’t appear too disappointed. The two albums have sold a combined 14 million in the United States and 35 million worldwide. Nine of the albums’ songs charted on the album rock charts from 1990 to 1994. “Tensions between Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Axl Rose are evident from the start. The two guitarists, particularly Stradlin, are trying to keep the group closer to its hard rock roots, but Rose has pretensions of being Queen and Elton John, which is particularly odd for a notoriously homophobic Midwestern boy.” E1 “Conceivably, the two aspirations could have been divided between the two records, but instead they are just thrown into the blender.” E1 Those two sides make themselves apparent in the first two official singles supporting the albums. Three months before their release, the single You Could Be Mine emerged from the movie Terminator II. While not as strong as GNR classics like “Welcome to the Jungle” or “Paradise City,” the song serves as a showcase for the group’s more muscular tendencies. On the other end of the scale, the power ballad Don’t Cry was released as a single at the same time as the albums dropped. While unnecessarily released in two versions – one on each album – it still did a respectable job of reminding listeners that Guns N’ Roses also had a softer side, such as they’d showcased on “Patience.” A year before the Use Your Illusion albums dropped, fans also got a taste of the “grandiose epics” E2 to come. The band made an anti-war statement with the nearly-eight minute Civil War, initially released in July 1990 on the various artists’ compilation Nobody’s Child which raised money for Romanian orphans. There were also “ambitious set pieces” E1 like the “multipart Estranged” E2 and November Rain, which was released as a single in February 1992 after gaining traction as an album cut at mainstream rock radio. The latter proved to be one of the band’s most durable songs and provided one of the most epic videos of all time. “Stradlin has a stronger presence on I, contributing three of the best songs – Dust n’ Bones, You Ain’t the First, and Double Talkin’ Jive – which help keep the album in Stonesy Aerosmith territory.” E1 and makes it the “harder-rocking record.” E1 “Use Your Illusion II is more serious and ambitious than I, but it’s also considerably more pretentious” E2 with “no less than four songs that run over six minutes.” E2 There are also songs with “a nervy energy” E2 such as “the ferocious, metallic Perfect Crime” E1 and “the charging funk metal of Locomotive.” E2 14 Years has “a lean, Stonesy rhythm” E2 while “Duff McKagan’s Johnny Thunders homage, So Fine…[is] entertaining.” E2 Speaking of homages, the group also offer up a couple of high-profile covers. A live version of Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was first featured in 1987 as a B-side for “Welcome to the Jungle.” A studio version of the song was recorded for the Days of Thunder soundtrack in 1990. The band also offer their take on “Live and Let Die,” originally recorded in 1973 by Paul McCartney & Wings. It ended up reaching the top 40. One could interpret the tackling of not one, but two, legends of rock and roll as pure hubris on the part of the GNR boys or genuine tributes. Quite likely, it’s a bit of both. Amidst the gems, however, there is also “a dippy psychedelic collaboration with Alice Cooper and a song that takes its title from the Osmonds’ biggest hit.” E1 There’s also “no forgiving the ridiculous Get in the Ring, where Axl Rose threatens rock journalists by name because they gave him bad reviews.” E2 The second album ends with “the bizarre closer, My World, which probably captures Rose’s instability as effectively as the tortured poetry of his epics.” E2

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Guns N’ Roses E1 Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide (I) E2 Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide (II) DF Disenfranchisedfm.com Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 9/17/2012; last updated 2/12/2023.

Guns N’ Roses “Civil War” charted

Civil War Guns N’ Roses

Writer(s): Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan (see lyrics here) Released: June 21, 1991 First Charted: August 4, 1990 Peak: 4 AR, 11 UK, 45 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 67.6 video, 116.09 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After Guns N’ Roses exploded with 1987’s Appetite for Destruction, it would be four years before they released a proper full-fledged album, and then it was a double whammy with Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. It wasn’t that they didn’t release any new music in the interim. 1988’s G N’ R Lies featured four new songs alongside the group’s 1986 EP Live Like a Suicide. A live cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” also became a radio airplay hit. In 1990, GNR released the song “Civil War” on the charity album Nobody’s Child. The project, compiled by George Harrison, raised money for Romanian orphans through the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation. Fans eager for new material from Axl Rose and the boys sent the song to #4 on Billboard’s album rock chart. It was released worldwide as a single in 1993 and charted in several countries, most notably at #1 in Poland. The protest song denounced war because it “feeds the rich while it buries the war.” It also referred to all war as “civil war.” At one point, Axl Rose declares, “What’s so civil about war, anyway?” Duff McKagan said the line, “Did you wear the black arm band / When they shot the man / Who said ‘Peace could last forever?” was inspired by attending a peace march for Martin Luther King Jr. with his mom when he was a kid. WK Slash said the song grew out of an instrumental he wrote right before the band left for the Japanese leg of its Appetite for Destruction world tour. WK The speech at the beginning of the song (“What we have here is failure to communicate”) is from the movie Cool Hand Luke. The American Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” is also used when Axl Rose whistles it at the beginning and end. SF This was the last single recorded with drummer Steven Adler, who left several months after the song was recorded and was replaced by Matt Sorum, formerly of the Cult, before “Civil War” saw release as a single. Adler played the song for the one and only time at Farm Aid WK on April 7, 1990. SF The song would become part of the Use Your Illusion collection in 1991, as did their cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/6/2022.

Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” charted

Paradise City Guns N’ Roses

Writer(s): Slash, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler (see lyrics here) Released: November 30, 1988 First Charted: January 14, 1989 Peak: 5 BB, 4 CB, 9 GR, 4 RR, 14 AR, 6 UK, 10 CN, 48 AU, 15 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.2 UK, 1.59 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 821.89 video, 1038.08 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Guns N’ Roses formed in 1985 in Los Angeles, California. 1987’s Appetite for Destruction became the best-selling debut album in U.S. history, selling 18 million copies. It has sold around 30 million copies worldwide. It wasn’t an overnight success, however. The band didn’t really take off until “Sweet Child O’ Mine” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – more than a year after the album’s release. Then “Welcome to the Jungle” was re-released and hit the top 10. The album had seemingly run its course by then since the group released GN’R Lies, a collection of four new songs and the group’s four-song EP Live Like a Suicide. However, after reaching the top-ten a third time with the power ballad “Patience,”Guns N’ Roses dipped back into the Appetite album for “Paradise City,” which became the album’s third top-ten hit. Slash, the lead guitarist for the band, says the song was written in the back of a rental van. The group were returning from a gig in San Francisco and playing acoustic guitarist. Slash came up with the intro and Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin joined in. After Slash started humming a melody, singer Axl Rose chimed in wit the line, “Take me down to the paradise city.” Slash responded with the line “Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.” WK According to McKagan, the song grew out of one of their first rehearsals and some lyrics from one of his notebooks. SF Verses about “the rough life on the streets” were inspired by Los Angeles, but “the chorus was based on Axl Rose’s memories of the Midwest, with images of green grass, innocence and possibility.” SF Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/10/2024.