Aborted album release dates, canceled tours, late onstage times when they do play live, riots when they decide they don't feel like playing...come to think of it, maybe the "new" Guns 'N' Roses isn't so different from the way the old Guns 'N' Roses were.

It's been 13 years since a new studio album (Chinese Democracy will come out someday, really it will), and close to 10 years since the much maligned covers album The Spaghetti Incident was released. The principle members of the band have either quit or been fired, leaving just vocalist Axl Rose behind (along with keyboard man Dizzy Reed). But the old Guns N Roses did reunite recently, as they tried unsuccessfully to get this single disc Greatest Hits compilation blocked from being released. The judge threw out the case though, and this disc appeared on store shelves this past Tuesday.

This 14 track collection spans GNR's entire career, from their exceptional 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction, to the stop-gap Lies disc, to the two disc Use Your Illusion series, right up to the Spaghetti Incident. It also includes the band's halfway decent but nothing great cover of The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For the Devil, which originally appeared on the Interview With the Vampire soundtrack. The band's main beef was the tracklist, although they also complained about having no say in the artwork and photos for the disc either. I can't say much for the artwork and photos (I actually like the basic and simple cover art), but the tracklist is a source of certain consternation.

Some GNR fans have bemoaned that this collection lacks the eight minute ballad Estranged, from the Use Your Illusion II disc. But for all the spins the song's ultra cool video received on MTV, it never garnered all that much radio play, especially compared to a couple of the other tracks from that disc that are on here.

In fact, if one were to bemoan obvious omissions, the first would be Mr. Brownstone, probably one of the greatest songs about drugs ever produced. Another omission is the acoustic Lies track Used to Love Her, which was controversial back in the day, but now is more of a lark than anything else (hell, it was a lark back then to me as well, but some people just have to feel important).

All the usual suspects are here. The disc opens with Welcome to the Jungle, which given the stale state of rock these days would probably become just as big a hit if it had been recorded this year. The raging chaos of Jungle is followed by the melodic power ballad Sweet Child O Mine, which features one of the more instantly recognizable guitar openings ever. Child became the band's first #1 hit.

It's kind of funny, but 15 years later you can still do the Axl Rose side to side shuffle dance and be guaranteed at least one other person in the room knows exactly what you're doing. This dance, of course, became the most indellible image of the Patience video. While Child was not really a ballad, when compared to the rest of the material on the Appetite album, it was by far the most commercially appealing song. Patience takes the band one step further, with some nice acoustic riffing by Slash and of course, Axl's unmistakenable vocals.

We then move into straight up anthem territory. Paradise City was the second single from Appetite (in between Jungle and Child), and remains to this day one of the band's most popular radio hits. I always loved the melodic opening, and then the whistle blowing leading into the more driving rock part.

The band's best known cover was always Dylan's Knockin on Heaven's Door, and with good reason. It was this song that most likely had people actually somewhat anticipating the Spaghetti Incident record to be good. I really love everything about this song, the guitars, drums, vocals, it is all just about perfect.

Civil War is one of the most solid recently written anti-war songs, and I've always thought it was an under-rated gem by too many. Sure, radio played it an awful lot back around 1992/1993 (and I still hear it occasionally), but I don't think enough people gave Axl the songwriting credit he deserved for it. Lastly, You Could Be Mine has probably not held up as well as some of Guns' other songs, but it still has a solid riff and some excellent rhythm section work.

The second half of the record is where the band's biggest ballads reside. The eight minute November Rain has always been over-rated in this reviewer's eyes, but it's still a good song (just not as good as everyone else seems to think). Don't Cry is actually probably the worst GNR original song that became a hit. The band also waited way too long to release the overlooked Yesterdays as a single, but I'm happy to see it included on here. I really like the melodic guitars that song has in spots.

And then we have the rest of the covers. I've covered Sympathy for the Devil, but there's also the Paul McCartney song Live and Let Die, which became more of a radio and concert staple than it did a video staple. And the two songs from the Spaghetti Incident are hit and miss. Since I Don't Have You plays like an old school 50s prom song, but it works surprisingly well. What works less well is the Dead Boys cover Ain't It Fun.

While Greatest Hits is not quite definitive, it is pretty close. Sure, a couple of tracks are missing, but it seems these days, oh so few greatest hits collections get it all "right." What is here is good (for the most part), and they all were hits (for the most part). And thankfully, Geffen resisted the urge to put some sort of "new" or "previously unreleased" track(s) on here in an effort to sell more copies. This is what it is, take it or leave it. If you already own most of GNR's catalog, this is of little interest to you. But if you want a one stop drop for your GNR fix, you can't do much better than this.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4


Great Music to Play While: waiting for the inevitable reunion tour of the original members of GNR

Recommended: Yes