The band has released six studio albums: Appetite For Destruction in 1987, G N' R Lies in 1988, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II in 1991, "The Spaghetti Incident?" in 1993 and, after 15 years and with frontman Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed being the only members left from the previous lineup, Chinese Democracy in 2008. They also released three EP's in 1986, 1988, and 1993 and two live albums, in 1999 and 2014.
The group was formed in early 1985 by Hollywood Rose members Axl Rose (vocals) and Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar) and L.A. Guns members Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Ole Beich (bass) and Rob Gardner (drums). The band created its name by combining two of the members' names. Rejected names were "Heads of Amazon" and "AIDS." A short time later, Beich was fired and replaced by Duff McKagan, and Guns was replaced by Slash after not showing up to rehearsal. Slash had played with McKagan in Road Crew and with Stradlin during a short stint in Hollywood Rose. On their first tour (from Sacramento, California to Duff's home town of Seattle), Gardner quit and was replaced by Slash's friend, Steven Adler.
Stemming from the LA rock underground, the ugly lyrics matched the sleaze of the music--driven by heavy blues licks--covering misogyny, violence, city life, sex, liquor, and hard drugs. They also, however, tended to show sensitivity and a desire to break free from the city. Subsequent albums revealed influence from bands in the vein of The Rolling Stones and Queen.
Their 1987 breakthrough, Appetite for Destruction, (18-times platinum and the highest-selling debut album of all-time), coupled with the success of the hit single "Sweet Child O' Mine" in 1988, took the world by storm. "Appetite" was full of raunchy hard rock with blistering, anthemic guitar riffs and snarling vocals.
The followup EP, "G N' R Lies", contained four songs from their debut EP, three new acoustic songs, and an acoustic version of "You're Crazy". The album sold well and got into the top 10 alongside Appetite. By the end of the 1980s, they were one of the most popular bands in the world.
Steven Adler (original drummer) was kicked out of the band due to his drug abuse and replaced by Matt Sorum.
Following the release of G N' R Lies, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II made history by making the number 1 and 2 spots on the American Billboard Album chart. The albums were filled with songs that pushed Guns into a different direction, far from the Appetite era. They surprised critics who expected hard rock songs but found more "epic" tracks featuring a wider range of instruments (pianos, brass instruments, various effects, etc). The main response was that instead of releasing two albums that included "filler tracks", they could have released one CD.
The band then started a world tour to support the albums. During this tour, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin quit the band due to differences with Slash, Sorum and McKagan due to his newfound sobriety and Stradlin's anger at Rose's management of the band.
They played 192 shows in the 28-month tour, which set attendance records and concluded with a show in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. This show marked the last time original members Slash and McKagan and newcomers Clarke and Sorum would play a live show with Rose.
Axl began work on a new album of original material in 1993. In 1994, Gilby Clarke left the band, and was replaced with Paul Tobias. That same year, the band recorded a cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" for the movie Interview with the Vampire. According to Slash's 2007 autobiography, the first version of guitar track was rejected by Axl, who wanted Slash to copy Keith Richards' playing on the original. Reluctantly, Slash agreed and recorded another version closer to the original. Slash was further infuriated when he discovered Tobias' guitar copying his own solo note by note layered in the final mix of the song. This would be the last recording by the original version of the band, and five years would go by before any new material came out under the Guns N' Roses name.
Slash drifted in and out of the band for the next couple of years, beginning a side project called Slash's Snakepit. In August 1996, GN'R returned to the studio, even though McKagan and Sorum were simultaneously touring with their side project, Neurotic Outsiders. Eventually, only Slash and Rose were left to continue working. During this period, Slash commented in an interview, "My relationship with Axl right now is sort of at a standstill." Additionally, Axl had approached guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) about jamming and possibly joining Guns N' Roses.
In 1996 and 1997, Slash, Sorum and McKagan all left the band, leaving Rose as the only remaining charter member of the band. The three later formed rock supergroup Velvet Revolver with former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and guitarist Dave Kushner.
In 1998, a "clean" (i.e., profanity removed) version of Use Your Illusion was released (in the USA only), mainly so the album could be sold in Wal-Mart and K-Mart stores. The album, titled "Use Your Illusion" was a 1 CD compilation of the 2 albums.
Also in 1998, Axl put a new version of the band together and returned to the studio. This version of the band has been touring and recording sporadically ever since. The new band's membership has changed frequently, but its core members have included guitarist Robin Finck, effects man Chris Pitman, bassist Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements)— as well as Paul Tobias, drummer Josh Freese and longtime GN'R keyboardist Dizzy Reed.
In 1999, the band released one new song, "Oh My God", on the soundtrack of the film End of Days. The track featured additional guitar work by [arist]Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine, Rose's personal guitar teacher. The song's release was intended to be a prelude to their new album, now officially entitled Chinese Democracy. Geffen also released Live Era '87-'93, a collection of live performances from various concerts during the Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion tours. Also in 1999, during an interview with Kurt Loder for MTV, Axl said that he had re-recorded Appetite for Destruction with the new band, replacing two songs with "Patience" and "You Could Be Mine".
In 1999, guitarist Robin Finck departed the band in order to rejoin his former band, Nine Inch Nails, on tour. In 2000, virtuoso guitarist Buckethead joined Guns N' Roses as a replacement for Finck. Josh Freese was replaced with Bryan "Brain" Mantia (formerly of Primus). Robin Finck returned to Guns N' Roses in late 2000 to complement Buckethead on lead guitar.
The revised lineup finally made a public appearance in January 2001 with two well-received concerts, one in Las Vegas and one at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro. The band played a mixture of old hits and new songs from their forthcoming album.
The new lineup played a further two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001. In 2002, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with life on the road. He was replaced by Richard Fortus (formerly of The Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love). The band then played several shows in August 2002, headlining festivals and concerts throughout Asia and Europe. They made their way to New York for a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.
In 2002, the band's first North American tour since 1993 was organized to support Chinese Democracy. However, the opening show in Vancouver was canceled by the venue when Rose arrived late due to his plane being held up by bad weather conditions at Los Angeles airport. A riot ensued. This tour was met with mixed results. Some concerts did not sell well, while shows in larger markets such as New York sold out in minutes. Due to a second riot by fans in Philadelphia, tour promoter Clear Channel canceled the remainder of the tour.
The band went on hiatus until they were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio IV in May 2004. However, Buckethead left the band in March of that year, causing them to cancel. Also in March 2004, Geffen released Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits, since Rose had failed to deliver a new studio album in more than 10 years. Rose expressed displeasure with this album as its track listing was established without his consent and went as far as trying to block its release by suing Geffen. This failed, however, and the album went triple platinum in the USA.
In February 2006, demos of the songs "Better", "Catcher in the Rye", "I.R.S." and "There Was a Time" were leaked through a fan site. The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and web sites. Despite this, radio stations began adding "I.R.S." to playlists, and the song reached #49 on the Radio & Records Active Rock National Airplay chart in the final week of February - the first time an internet leak had done so.
On May 5, 2006, Axl appeared on the Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk radio show (during an interview with ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach) and said the new Guns N' Roses album would be released before the end of the year. Later in May, the band launched a European tour, headlining both the Download Festival and Rock In Rio - Lisbon. Four warm-up shows preceded the tour at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and became the band's first live concert dates since the aborted 2002 tour. The shows also marked the debut of virtuoso guitarist and composer Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, replacing Buckethead. During the tour, Bach and Izzy Stradlin made frequent guest appearances. By the tour's end in 2007, the band had played to over 750 000 people in over 23 countries.
On April 5, 2008, a picture of Finck appeared on Nine Inch Nails web page under the title "Welcome Back!" starting the rumor of his possible reunion with Trent Reznor. On April 11, Finck expressed his happiness on playing again with NIN. On April 20, on Guns N' Roses' web site, Axl expressed surprise about the news.
Chinese Democracy had been given the tentative release date of March 6, then reported September 17, 2007. However, both dates passed with no sign of the album. After further release dates were discussed, the album finally came out on November 23, 2008, to mostly positive critical reviews & underselling industry expectations.
Slash, McKagan and Sorum still played together in Velvet Revolver. However, Izzy Stradlin, original GN'R rhythm guitarist and co-composer of many of the band's most successful songs, has not joined them. He did, however, play a few dates as a guest with GN'R in the summer of 2006. Keyboard player Dizzy Reed, while not a founding member of the band (joining in 1990 in the Use Your Illusion period), remained in the previous lineup. in 2014, Bassist Tommy Stinson had previous commitments to The Replacements, leading former bassist Duff McKagan to fill in. After the 2014 tour, bassist Tommy Stinson, guitarists DJ Ashba & Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, and keyboardist Chris Pitman all left the band.
Slash and McKagan rejoined in 2016, as did keyboardist Melissa Reese, as the group embarked on the "Not in This Lifetime..." stadium tour. The tour also featured several guest appearances, including from former drummer Steven Adler, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, and Rose Tattoo singer Angry Anderson. The tour was a massive success, becoming the third highest grossing concert tour of all-time by its end in 2019.
The band continued with the Guns N’ Roses 2020 Tour and in 2021 released two new singles “Absurd” and “Hard Skool”, both reworkings of ‘’Chinese Democracy’’ era tracks. The singles are the first songs released featuring Slash and Duff McKagan since 1994.
GN'R's current lineup includes Rose (lead vocals), McKagan (bass), Fortus (rhythm guitar), Slash (lead guitar), Melissa Reese[/bandember] (synth & programming), Frank Ferrer (drums) and Reed (keyboard and percussion).
Discography
Appetite for Destruction (1987) #1 US Billboard, 18x Platinum
G N' R Lies (1988) #2 US Billboard, 5x Platinum
Use Your Illusion I (1991) #2 US Billboard, 7x Platinum
Use Your Illusion II (1991) #1 US Billboard, 7x Platinum
The Spaghetti Incident? (1993) #4 US Billboard, Platinum
Live Era '87-'93 (1999) #45 US Billboard, Gold
Greatest Hits (2004) #3 US Billboard, 3x Platinum
Chinese Democracy (2008) #3 US Billboard, Platinum
The above figures represent US sales only and do not constitute worldwide figures, which are much higher.
Going down
Guns N' Roses Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It’s a crown of thorns
That never seems to break the skin
There’s no blood in the scars
Just your broken fall
You used to be so sweet
You walked with a smile
Amuse yourself, make you useful
[Pre-Hook]
You’ve got nothing good to say
Keep your mouth shut
Nothing good to do
Keep it to yourself
Nothing’s ever good enough for you
[Hook]
Sick of everything that you say
It’s going down
Sorry for everything
Sick of everything that you do
It’s going down
You look like a fool
You never mean to hurt no one
They just happen to be there next to you
As you’re going down
I know this dark place
I heard these words
On the tip of a million tongues
I’ve heard them yelled
I’ve even heard them sung
Get into your car and drive
Just as fast as you can
You’ve had your 15 minutes
You tried to take an hour but
Now no one, hears your call
[Pre-Hook]
You’ve got nothing good to say
Keep your mouth shut
Nothing good to do
Keep it to yourself
Nothing’s ever good enough for you
[Hook]
Sick of everything that you say
It’s going down
Sorry for everything
Sick of everything that you do
It’s going down
You look like a fool
You never mean to hurt no one
They just happen to be there next to you
As you’re going down
Sick of everything that you say
It’s going down
Sorry for everything
Sick of everything that you do
It’s going down
You look like a fool
You never mean to hurt no one
They just happen to be there next to you
As you’re going down
Cause you’re going down
You’re going down
Cause you’re going down
You’re going down
Nothing’s good enough for you
The lyrics of Guns N' Roses' song "Going Down" express feelings of frustration and disappointment towards a person who is self-centered and unable to appreciate the good things in life. The first verse talks about the pain that the singer has experienced in their life like a crown of thorns. The scars of that pain have not broken the skin, but still run deep inside, and the person is unable to find any solace. The second verse describes the person whom the singer is addressing. They used to be sweet and happy, but now their behavior is selfish and negative. Their attitude towards life is bitter, and they are unable to see anything positive in it. The pre-hook suggests that the person should keep their thoughts to themselves if they are unable to say or do anything good. The hook of the song repeats the phrase "Sick of everything that you say, it's going down" indicating that the singer is fed up with this person's behavior and wants to distance themselves from them.
The lyrics of the song reveal the complicated emotions and feelings that arise when one is dealing with a person who has a negative mindset. The lyrics "You never mean to hurt no one, they just happen to be there next to you as you're going down" suggests that the person is oblivious to the impact of their negativity on others. Overall, the song is a powerful expression of frustration and disappointment towards a person who is unable to see the good in themselves or the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
I’ve known my share of pain
I have experienced a significant amount of emotional and physical anguish in my life
It’s a crown of thorns
This pain is a constant reminder of my suffering, much like the painful crown of thorns worn by Jesus
That never seems to break the skin
Despite the toll it has taken on me, my pain is not visible to others and remains internalized
There’s no blood in the scars
The emotional scars left by my pain do not bleed externally, but still cause significant harm
Just your broken fall
My pain is the result of my own personal failures and shortcomings
You used to be so sweet
I remember a time when you were kind and pleasant to be around
You walked with a smile
You used to exude happiness and joy, and it was infectious to those around you
Life tastes funny and the coffee’s cold
Life has become unpleasant and almost comically bad, as represented by the cold coffee
Amuse yourself, make you useful
To cope with life's unpleasantness, you must find ways to entertain yourself and be productive
You’ve got nothing good to say
Your words are consistently negative, hurtful, or irrelevant to the situation at hand
Keep your mouth shut
It is better for you to not speak at all than to say something hurtful or unnecessary
Nothing good to do
You lack any productive or positive actions to contribute to society or to improve yourself
Keep it to yourself
It is better for you to keep your negativity and inaction to yourself, rather than spreading it to others
Nothing’s ever good enough for you
You have unrealistic expectations and are always unsatisfied with whatever you receive
Sick of everything that you say
I am disgusted and worn out by your constant negativity and unhelpful speech
Sorry for everything
I apologize for your behavior and the impact it has on myself and others
Sick of everything that you do
Every action you take is unproductive or disruptive to others, causing distress and discomfort
You look like a fool
Your behavior is embarrassing and damaging to your reputation
You never mean to hurt no one
You do not intentionally cause harm to others, but your actions and words have ramifications regardless
They just happen to be there next to you
Your negative impact on others is simply the result of their proximity to you
As you’re going down
Your behavior and negative impact on others is causing you to fail or lose influence
I know this dark place
I have experienced my own emotional and mental struggles, and understand the depth of despair that can be felt
I heard these words
I have heard the same cruel and negative words from others before
On the tip of a million tongues
This kind of negative and hurtful speech is common and pervasive in our society
I’ve heard them yelled
These words have been shouted or screamed at me before, bringing me pain and anger
I’ve even heard them sung
These words have even been turned into music or entertainment, normalizing their harmful effects
Get into your car and drive
Leave your problems and negativity behind, and focus on moving forward
Just as fast as you can
Move quickly and decisively away from your negative past, and towards a brighter future
You’ve had your 15 minutes
You were given a brief moment of success or fame, but it has since been lost
You tried to take an hour but
You attempted to extend your moment of glory, but it was unsustainable and short-lived
Now no one, hears your call
You have lost your influence and platform, and no one is listening to or supporting you anymore
Cause you’re going down
Your negative actions and behaviors are causing you to fail and lose influence
Contributed by Isaac V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Monicx
on Sweet Child o' Mine
Guns N' Roses sind eine großartige Band. Ich frage mich, wie Sweet Child o' Mine live klingen wird. Ich habe gerade Tickets für ihr Konzert in Deutschland auf https://www.timeforgig.com/de/guns-n-roses/artists/0mjrv gekauft.