10 songs that Guns N’ Roses should have never released
Guns N’ Roses is a divisive band. Their legacy as one of the great hard rock bands is undeniable, as they continue to headline festivals and sell out stadiums worldwide decades after releasing their first album. Their songs have an infectious energy that withstands the test of time.
When you think about the classic rock sound the band championed, two of the most important aspects are killer guitar-playing ability and great vocals, and Guns N’ Roses didn’t struggle in this department. Axl Roses’ outstanding vocal ability with grit and determination, along with Slash’s solos and riffs, pricked the ears of many rock music fans.
In 1987, the band released their debut album, Appetite For Destruction, which was received well by critics and fans. There was some controversy, but anybody who wanted energy and rock music found it in Guns N’ Roses. After that, they released a lot of good music, as they experimented more with their sound, creating some stellar songs. However, they also released some duds in the process.
The bottom line is that Guns N’ Roses have a plethora of songs that make up their discography; some are masterpieces, and some should have never seen the light of day. This article will focus on the latter, as these are songs that Guns N’ Roses should have never bothered releasing.
The songs Guns N’ Roses shouldn’t have released:
‘Anything Goes’
There is no denying that Appetite For Destruction was one of the best hard rock albums ever made. The exciting Slash riffs, Axl Roses piercing vocals, and the band’s unbelievable energy on every track were utterly undeniable. Many of the tracks, such as ‘Paradise City’, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, and ‘Sweet Child O Mine’, are still considered classics.
That being said, every album needs a song to let it down to prove that bands are human, and on Appetite for Destruction, that comes in the form of ‘Anything Goes’. The track is all killer, no filler, a wholly helpless and haphazard offering of riffs and screaming that doesn’t line up with the rest of the quality on the record.
‘Human Being’
Guns N’ Roses best album is up for debate when you speak to fans, but their worst is pretty unanimous. The Spaghetti Incident? was an album dedicated to punk music, where the band gave their offerings of classic tracks that had come before. Their tone didn’t fit many of the songs that make up the album, as can be heard on their cover of New York Dolls ‘Human Being’.
‘Human Being’ already isn’t one of New York Dolls’ best songs anyway, and when you have a band that shouldn’t be playing it, playing it, the shortcomings of the song are highlighted. It’s a track of bland instrumentation and poor melody that Guns N’ Roses sound out of practice on.
‘ABSURD’
Credit where it’s due, Guns N’ Roses have a discography that each band member could live off for the rest of their career; however, after the band split and since they have come back together, each member has written and released new music. They are addicted to songwriting, but some of their songs would be better left in a rehearsal space.
In a bid to release new music, the band started putting out some hard and fuzzy tracks. One of their most notable tracks was ‘ABSURD’, which is an absolutely painful listen. The band struggles to find any kind of creative direction and ends up with a song that sounds like a half-finished B side.
‘Riad N’ The Bedouins’
Chinese Democracy received mixed reviews upon release, given that it was the only Guns N’ Roses album released after the band split without the original line-up. Many traditional fans rejected the record before they had even heard it; however, with the power of hindsight, it is clear that many of the songs are good.
That can’t be said for all of them, though, as the song ‘Riad N’ The Bedouins’ saw Axl Rose making a bad impression of Robert Plant and struggling to find a theme to write about. He touches upon war, but it’s hard to find a comprehensive train of thought throughout the track.
‘Bad Apples’
Sometimes, loose-sounding chaos can work well on a rock track, but that’s not the case when you listen to the song ‘Bad Apples’. Nothing comes together throughout the whole track. It feels as though the band was never actually trying to write a song; instead, they were just putting some music together and seeing if it stuck.
It stands out as even more messy in Use Your Illusion I, which comprises well-presented and perfectly put-together songs. It feels like a momentary lapse in judgment committed to a record they don’t want to get rid of, but it should never have seen the light of day.
‘Reckless Life’
A lot of the songs that Guns N’ Roses went on to release weren’t necessarily bad, but they represented a lacklustre attitude that so often trips the band up. Many songs in their discography sound as though no effort has been put into them, and instead, the band has just put something together for the sake of it.
You can hear this clearly in the song ‘Reckless Life’. This was the first time that a lot of the world heard Guns N’ Roses, and when you consider some of the songs they released afterwards, it’s evident that the song is clearly just filler.
‘Scraped’
On the album Chinese Democracy, Axl Rose had a lot to do. He had to prove that the band could survive with just him. This meant stretching out for multiple creative ideas and pushing boundaries.
It was evident that Rose had reached his limit with the album. On the song ‘Scraped,’ it’s clear that the band has reached its creative limit and is scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas. ‘Scraped’ is one of Guns N’ Roses’ most creatively stunted songs and would be better left alone.
‘My World’
‘My World’ is the first entry on this list from the album Use Your Illusion II. This highlights just how influential that album was. It emphasised the band’s ability to write a versatile group of songs, but this track let the album down.
It sounds as though Axl Rose was caught between genres and struggled to work out whether he wanted to make metal music or hip-hop. It’s a great example of when the band’s experimentation didn’t play off, and if you want to listen to Guns N’ Roses, you’ll be best leaving this track out.
‘I Don’t Care About You’
Many people describe Guns N’ Roses as a punk band, which is evident in their attitude when performing on stage and the grit with which they play their instruments. They tried to tap into this with The Spaghetti Incident and their punk covers, but it just didn’t pay off.
This is evident on their track ‘I Don’t Care About You’, which is one of the poorest offerings on the entire album. This blasé approach towards bad punk music was embarrassing, and listening to ‘I Don’t Care About You’ is a difficult experience.
‘Dead Horse’
The final entry on this list comes from Use Your Illusion I as ‘Dead Horse’ in isolation, which might not sound awful. However, before the epic album closer ‘Coma’, the song is highlighted as one of the band’s worst. Rose described ‘Coma’ as the best thing he ever did, and that’s only further emphasised by following one of the band’s worst.
‘Dead Horse’ is a nothing event in an album full of standouts. The acoustic section which opens the track is quite dull and Rose’s singing falls flat.
