Article: "Guns N Roses: Ranking Their Albums From Worst To Best"

[Spirit]

Guns N Roses: Ranking Their Albums From Worst To Best

Welcome to the discography?

Jacob Trowbridge



In the late 80s, pop music was taking over the world and was even infiltrating heavy metal, spawning a long line of ?nice? hard rockers, like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. The phrase ?bubblegum metal? was becoming a disturbing reality, and the Sunset Strip was being overrun with musicians concerned about which feather boa they were going to wear onstage that night.
And then, cutting through the frilliness and glitter like a knife dipped in cigarette ash, the opening notes of ?Welcome to the Jungle? came to singlehandedly reinvigorate the hard rock scene.
Since then, Guns N Roses? albums have sold more than 1 million copies and the reverberations of their influence can still be felt in modern rock music. Perhaps no band since Aerosmith had a duo has charismatic as Axl Rose and Slash. With a rhythm section as strong as they come (Izzy Stradlin remains one of the most underrated guitarists of all time), Guns N? Roses represented a pure-yet-grimy approach to rock and roll.
It was disappointing when the founding members started to fade away, because if any hard rock band from the 80s could have stood the test of the grunge explosion, it would have been the original lineup of GNR.
With the band hot on the heels of a reunion, it?s time to take a look back at the wealth of dynamic, dirty, and direly needed music they gave us.


http://whatculture.com/music/guns-n-roses-ranking-their-albums-from-worst-to-best.php

[Spirit]

7. Live Era ?87??93



Though it?s really just a scattered compilation that features most of their discography performed at various stages in their career, Live Era is one of the most insightful GNR albums you?ll ever hear.
Because Live Era represents the rise and fall of the group known as Guns N Roses (and shows how it slowly morphed into The Axl Rose Show), it ends up being the greatest act of storytelling they could hope to accomplish. That story isn?t necessarily heartening, and the production often goes against the rough, gritty, downright spastic energy that this band from the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles so forcefully represented in its heyday.
In fact, it?s?it?s kind of a bummer to listen to. Save for a few dynamic jolts to the system (?Out Ta Get Me? kicks off Disc 2 with a mad hatter, visceral swagger that only the duo of Axl and Slash could pull off), the songs on Live Era sound almost too perfect.
The most notable on the album is the only previously unreleased song in the bunch, a piano-driven cover of Black Sabbath?s ?It?s Alright.? Axl?s cover of the Bowie-ish Sabbath track is appropriate, because it?s one of the most sprawling, epic-sounding arena rock ballads they ever produced. And that?s the direction Axl had decided to take ?his? band in the 90s.

[Spirit]

6. The Spaghetti Incident?



It would be wrong to look at The Spaghetti Incident? as a punk album, even though that was clearly part of the intent. Guns N? Roses may have had minor elements of punk rock in their stage presence and general demeanor, but their music was always informed more by glam icons like David Bowie and bluesier classic rock like Aerosmith and ZZ Top.
Even though GNR were much grimier (at least in attitude) than a lot of their peers, they were always too polished to be considered punk. That said, they certainly did a commendable job translating songs like ?Attitude? by Misfits and ?New Rose? by The Damned (which sounds tailor-made for GNR, even though the original is a huge sonic departure from the classic Guns sound).
They shine on The Spaghetti Incident as a tough glam band capable of effortlessly crossing the dividing line between classic rock and ?alternative? music. They sound equally at ease delivering the swaggering slink of Nazareth?s ?Hair of the Dog? as they do greasing up the chords of The Stooges? ?Raw Power.?
There?s a little something missing in the rhythm section, unfortunately, as Izzy Stradlin had been replaced by the capable but underwhelming Gilby Clarke. And it shows in what wanted to be a more muscular approach to Fear?s ?I Don?t Care About You.? Still, there are very few genuine missteps here (the biggest being the inclusion of the Charles Manson-penned ?Look At Your Game, Girl?).

[Spirit]

5. G N? R Lies



Although Lies technically qualifies as more of a double EP than a proper album, there?s a fascinating dynamic to be found in the song selection.
The first four tracks come from the band?s first release, Live Like a Suicide, and showcases their thrashing rock stylings in its infancy. ?Reckless Life? was written when the group was still under the moniker Hollywood rose (and still a couple members short of the ultimate lineup), and it plays as a glitzier version of a Judas Priest track. Their cover of ?Mama Kin? is a pretty faithful recreation, but it?s interesting to hear Axl?s voice settle into a groove for the first time.
The real treasure of Lies is the acoustic second half, which is where we find the folksy mentality we never knew was lurking beneath the surface of these L.A. bad boys. Sure, that whistle intro to ?Patience? may have turned to cheese with time, but it was the sharpest way to mark the shift between their street blues and this new, oddly calm disposition.
What sticks out most in this half of Lies is just how dexterous the rhythm section could be, and how soulful Slash?s guitar playing sounded with the volume turned down. This guy wasn?t all about the flash (even if the production on their more bombastic numbers sometimes made it sound that way), he was a skillful blues player hidden away under a thick mane of hair and a penchant for sparkling riffage.

[Spirit]

4. Chinese Democracy



It was an album fifteen years in the making that resulted in the breakup of one of the greatest rock bands of all time and turned Axl Rose into the Howard Hughes of sleazy rock and roll music.
A lot of us hoped, a bit naively perhaps, that Chinese Democracy would somehow come and turn rock and roll on its head. We wanted some of that vintage danger and excitement that we remembered from listening to ?Nightrain? for the first time. We didn?t get that. Instead, we got a very polished, totally disparate album full of good-to-great songs that sounded like they?d spent fifteen years being cooked up in a studio.
Rose?s perfection had risen to such a level that people wanted him to fail spectacularly. And although it wasn?t nearly as bad as everyone wanted it to be (?Bette? is damn near perfect), there?s an overall lack of personality on the album that?s a little disconcerting, especially coming from a musician who had more of it in his hair than most modern rock bands have in their entire lineup.
Most of the individual songs fail to come up with their own identity, morphing in and out of whatever hook Axl felt like laying down in the studio that month. So Chinese Democracy is really more of a hard rock jam band experiment than it is a proper album, with a rotating cast of players coming and going during each riff.
If you take Chinese Democracy for what it is?the a musical pastiche from one of rock music?s talented semi-recluses?it?s actually pretty solid. It doesn?t have a clear direction, but neither did Use Your Illusion.

[Spirit]

3. Use Your Illusion I



Choosing the better half of the Use Your Illusion double album is entirely up to genre preferences. If you were a bigger fan of Izzy?s hard rock core and wanted an album closer to Appetite For Destruction, than Use Your Illusion I is for you.
Unfortunately, you?re not going to find an album nearly as tight as Appetite, either. Illusion I weaves in and out of their brand of tough, spunky blues (blasting out of the gate with ?Right Next Door To Hell? and ?Dust N? Bones?) while still trying to achieve the grandiosity of Queen and Yes. You can practically hear the band members butting heads, and the resulting album is a constant tug-o-war between their roots and Axl?s desire to become hard rock?s answer to Elton John.
Of course, without this push and pull, there?d be no ?November Rain,? nor would they ever decided to cover a song like Wings? ?Live and Let Die,? both of which are still considered among the band?s most classic offerings. Then again, this method also provided an album overstuffed with filler. (?Back Off Bitch? is egregious even by GNR?s standards, and ?The Garden? sounds like an Axl vanity project.)
Illusion I certainly doesn?t lack for ambition, and even if the scattershot approach doesn?t work quite as well in this first half, it still provides ample groove and a slew of amazing individual tracks.

[Spirit]

2. Use Your Illusion II



The second part to Use Your Illusion has a more epic scope than the first, as heard in the purposeful politicking of ?Civil War? and the never-ending sprawl of ?Estranged.? This was no doubt the portion of the double album that had Axl handling the reigns and, as hard as this might be for GNR?s diehard fans to say out loud, his progressive direction really worked.
That?s not to excuse the bloat of a song like ?Breakdown,? which could have been cut in half and un-layered by about ten, but Axl?s visionary musicianship certainly outshines the repetitive riffage of ?Shotgun Blues,? which aims for Appetite?s level of grungy immediacy, but ends up sounding base and sophomoric when stacked up against the likes of ?14 Years? and ?Yesterdays.?
 
All in all, though, the disappointments are few and far between on Illusion II, which narrowly positions it above its first half in the Guns? legacy.
And, if nothing else, they proved once and for all that a hard rock band actually can do justice to a Bob Dylan classic, further proving their musical breadth with the cover of ?Knockin? On Heaven?s Door.?

[Spirit]

1. Appetite For Destruction



Guns N Roses? debut album was a shot in the arm to hard rock music in 1987. When every other band of their ilk was looking for nothing more than a good time, these guys were into the dangerous side of things. Their music had an undeniable edge to it that bands like Poison and Cinderella were sorely missing. Appetite For Destruction marks a turning point in the sound of 80s rock music. And the era was much better for it.
When GNR released their Greatest Hits album in 2004, it could have (and should have) featured more than half of their debut album, and no one would have batted an eye about that decision.
?Welcome to the Jungle,? ?Nightrain,? ?Paradise City,? ?Sweet Child O? Mine,? and ?It?s So Easy? are all on the same album. And of course, there?s also ?My Michelle.? And ?Mr. Brownstone.? It?s?kind of ridiculous, really.
Appetite is the literal definition of a hit parade. But while it?s no doubt achieved legendary status as a genre-defining classic, not everything on Appetite holds up three decades later. (?Rocket Queen? is only memorable because it features some live, in-the-studio dirty deeds between Axl and drummer Steven Adler?s then-girlfriend. )
But you have to really start nitpicking to find too much at fault with this near-perfect debut album. In fact, one of its only flaws is that it set the bar too high, which may have led to the band?s ultimate destruction in the long run.

[TheBaconman]

There really isn't that many albums. 

I hope this new band puts outs some new music

Why isn't the greatest hits thing included if you included the live era thingy

[DeN]

yeah, let's bury Appetite. last chance.

[Voodoochild]

With You're Crazy and Anything Goes on the list, the guy really had the nerve to slam Rocket Queen?


Anyways, the list is as good as any. I do like the fact that Chinese is not in the 7th.

[Mike McKagan]

"'Rocket Queen' is only memorable because it features some live, in-the-studio dirty deeds between Axl and drummer Steven Adler?s then-girlfriend."

I was onboard until I got the end and saw this. Anyone who says "Rocket Queen" isn't a bona fide all-time rock classic doesn't need to be taken seriously.

[COMAMOTIVE]

With You're Crazy and Anything Goes on the list, the guy really had the nerve to slam Rocket Queen?


Anyways, the list is as good as any. I do like the fact that Chinese is not in the 7th.
[/quot

Same here
If you've ever noticed in ITunes store - if you look up Chinese..it actually tells people it's not really a Gn'r album...kinda screwed up if you're a new fan just trying to learn/ sample the Gn'r catalog and the people selling it to you are giving their opinion on that

[LIGuns]

I still like the whistling at the beginning of Patience...Before I regressed back to an LG flip phone it was the ring on my IPhone..

[damnthehaters]

Rocket Queen is quite possibly my favorite GNR tune

[Voodoochild]

Same here
If you've ever noticed in ITunes store - if you look up Chinese..it actually tells people it's not really a Gn'r album...kinda screwed up if you're a new fan just trying to learn/ sample the Gn'r catalog and the people selling it to you are giving their opinion on that

Thank god I dont use iTunes. Hate that thing and Im glad I don't need it anymore (been an Android user since last year).

I still like the whistling at the beginning of Patience...Before I regressed back to an LG flip phone it was the ring on my IPhone..

Hahaha, why did you do that?

About Patience: I really don't think it's cheesy. Never heard anybody saying that too.

[D-GenerationX]

I would flip the UYI albums on this list.

UYI II has more of my alltime favorite songs, but UYI I is stronger top to bottom, in my opinion.

[draguns]

The last 3 minutes of Rocket Queen is one of the most beautiful, soulful music ever produced. I'm not sure why this guy decided to slam the song.

[Gunsguy]

The last 3 minutes of Rocket Queen is one of the most beautiful, soulful music ever produced. I'm not sure why this guy decided to slam the song.

I don't say I love one song over another often but if I had to Rocket Queen would be up there for sure, always loved it

[zombux]

this is a stupid list. I mean, really? Live Era is a live album (they could include Appetite for Democracy as well), TSI is a cover album... in fact, GNR only released AFD, UYI1+2 (really hard to consider these separate albums, altough formally they are), ChiDem and Lies EP. only a stupid journalist could get an idea to make a rank off these.