A line spoken by Axl Rose during the infamous aborted tour in late 2002... "And the sh*ts... I mean hits keep on coming..."
While I must admit that Guns N' Roses is my absolute favorite band, I also will admit that this "greatest hits" collection is a total joke on a few key levels.
First... the tracklist.
1 Welcome to the Jungle
2 Sweet Child O' Mine
3 Patience
4 Paradise City
5 Knockin' On Heaven's Door (COVER SONG)
6 Civil War
7 You Could Be Mine
8 Don't Cry (original lyrics)
9 November Rain
10 Live and Let Die (COVER SONG)
11 Yesterdays
12 Ain't It Fun (COVER SONG)
13 Since I Don't Have You (COVER SONG)
14 Sympathy for the Devil (COVER SONG)
Notice how FIVE of the songs out of this 14 track album all have "COVER SONG" written after them? Now... maybe it's just me being overly critical... but, to me, I think that a "greatest hits" album should really be comprised mostly of... ohhh... I don't know... ORIGINAL SONGS! Especially when you consider what was scrapped to make room for the true gems like "Ain't It Fun" (which, by the way... is an EDITED version of the song) and "Since I Don't Have You" off of the horrid "Speghetti Incident?" album.
That should be one hint that this really isn't exactly the best compilation package out there.
Another hint... This album actually reunited Slash, Duff, and Axl.
For one of the first times in almost a decade, three of the original founding members were all in agreement on one thing- This album is a ripoff.
The band NEVER authorized this track list.
The band NEVER wanted the songs to be "remastered."
The band NEVER even got to see the artwork/liner notes.
However... on the other hand...
This album has some simply AMAZING songs on it... "Welcome to the Jungle" which is one of the great anthem songs EVER... "Paradise City", the ultimate party song... "Sweet Child O' Mine", the most recognized guitar riff in the GnR catalogue... "Civil War", one of the greatest anti-war songs ever... brilliantly written and performed... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...
Over all... If you're a diehard fan (like me) you're going to pick this up JUST to complete your collection.
If you're a casual fan, this would be an alright starting point... however, I'd really just recommend picking up "Appetite For Destruction" and the "Use Your Illusion" compilation album released in 1998.
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