written by Rainfox, thanks! A welcome return to the jungle Guns N` Roses Live Era 87 - 93 Geffen, 1999 It goes without saying : When looking back on this century in a musical perspective, and in trying to decipher the music genre and attitude of rock and roll - the bastard child of blues according to legend - what it is, was and should be - and in some way engulfing this, you will eventually be ramming face first into the band that is (was) Guns N` Roses of Hollywood, California. Invariably existential, deliciously decadent and nihilistic to the bone, it is fair to say that Guns N` Roses were built on part boast and part confession, but when they ruled the world they also lived out their own sticky rock n` roll dream. They were since the very beginnings – if anyone – glued, sued and tattooed. A self-exclaimed shot in the arm to the whole industry, these modern day Sex Pistols genuinely vented their frustration and anger and were subsequently embraced by not only critics but by millions and millions of fans, legitimately winning over a whole generation of both old and young in the late eighties and early nineties. It was an amazing feat considering that the band (green lighted by everyone from George Michael to Public Enemy) knowingly (and unknowingly) hung all their dirty laundry in public and continually denied being boxed into any form of musical stylization, and that they also declared all out war on the media in response to them milking the band ruthlessly from day one. Guns N` Roses gradually fell apart though, as grunge reared it’s simultaneously ugly and beautiful head, and the band had by now (1993) become somewhat overly self-indulgent and thus finding themselves very much out of favor. Other hip and fellow aging bands, like REM and Metallica, suddenly started to point fingers at them. However, the music always - even in the conflicting last days of the band complete with an ugly Nirvana feud and a punk cover album (the highly underrated “The Spaghetti Incident”) - sounded lived in. Guns N` Roses made the kind of rebellious, catchy and heartfelt rock n` roll that surfaces only after it’s been lived in. Whatever the situation or over-indulgence, Guns N` Roses somehow seemed able to emerge from the mess supreme. More potent live – if possible – than on record, and equally celebrated, who doesn’t remember the circus that was GNR live? They raised hell wherever they went. Chronically late for shows yet fearlessly taking on any crowd, from the early beginnings in sleazy Hollywood bars to sold-out stadiums all over the world - from Munich to Las Vegas to Tokyo to Sydney – Guns N` Roses live was a hot ticket. Nearly seven years has passed since the band last were on stage together under the GNR moniker (or in the same room for that matter) and where key band members Slash, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan have released solo material left and right, there has been a distinct silence when it comes to lead singer and main songwriter/lyricist Axl Rose. The sole original remaining member today never publicly addressed the downfall of the band. Looking back now, that could turn out to be a smart move. Dubbed “the last great American rock n roll band” by Rolling Stone magazine and having their debut “Appetite For Destruction” forever considered a classic, the GNR legacy, with this release, sees an end to Part One. Clearly manipulated, the Live Era CD is sonically cleaned and bits are added here and there (crowd noise is in places either enhanced or reduced to fit the bill), and the performances are a mish-mash of six years of live shows thereby interlacing both club and stadium shows. This kind of spit-shining of a live album can be its own undoing, but the crisp and raw sound quality oozes of a caring touch, and speaks of attention to detail without taking anything away from the overall feel. Interlacing performances is also a statement; even the most compelling live show always contains duds and by piecing songs together – and well together – the intensity and cohesiveness can be maintained. This naturally after realizing that Guns N` Roses packed enough heat so that they qualified for this touch-up, without jeopardizing the authenticity of neither music nor performance. Also; drawing heavily from “Appetite For Destruction” (10 songs) and stripped of anything considered bloated today (fireworks, drum solos, too many horns etc.), Live Era is a no-holds-barred full-on assault from the first cut. It is thereby not only an interesting engineered listen but a surprisingly tight album, depicting a truly great and genuine rock n roll band in peak form. Slash, the most intriguing sounding rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix, dishes out trademark blues riffing that burns forever bright, and guitar buddy Izzy Stradlin even scuttles and stumbles charmingly through his very own alley cat shuffle “Dust n Bones”, while bassist Duff McKagan tries to get the front crowd to dance before another tune. This is a band that you never watched with your hands folded on your lap. Anything could happen. Or as they said : anything goes. There is - in other words - that characteristic GNR swing to the proceedings throughout. But what about Axl Rose? The singer, the songwriter, the man and some might say, man-child? What about the antics and the ranting? The bicycle shorts and the costume changes? The enigma that was Axl Rose? Remember? Can a CD capture him? Yes, as a matter of fact. While there isn’t a filler on here - Live Era is loaded, from rags (Appetite) to riches (Illusion), and even an awesome Axl-at-the-piano rendition of a forgotten Sabbath gem (“It’s Alright”) – what about Axl Rose? Does he bitch? Luckily he does and it is very refreshing indeed. When he introduces “Welcome to the Jungle” it is a nice reminder of just how very powerful his venom was. He even stops to encourage everyone to take a step back, because people are getting ''fucking smashed up front''. As far as his antics go he'll probably never learn, in the same vein that he will probably always be stubbornly misunderstood by the media, but what separates Axl Rose from all the bad asses around today, is that he was openly volatile and never had to create that rare animalistic magnetism; he was born with it. To him it was more than just music and fans. That connection paired with a you-can’t-cage-me attitude makes for a winning formula. There are many highlights. Most notably we find the non-singles in some rousing renditions; a punchy, opening “Nighttrain” and a totally thumping and utterly wicked “You`re Crazy” goes to show just what a powerhouse GNR were live, while an almost danceable and elaborately funky “Rocket Queen“ finds new life compared to the studio version. Live Era is also a testament to the small subtleties that the band had. Among the live show favorites – Rose`s “November Rain” piano segment for example – check out his intro here. At first you may think you are hearing a classical theme, but no, Rose is actually clamping a blues scale in disguise on his piano. In other words, the nostalgia runs thick and rightfully so. To the extent that you’ll maybe see Axl before you doing that snaky dance of his - that dance that holds it all - the anger and the rage, the beauty and the poetry, the obsession and the passion. Like a mermaid swooping through water, Rose majestically danced his rattling dance (custom built mikestand in hand), across the world’s stages - celebrating and embodying all that is freedom of expression, right or wrong, collective sense of purpose and yes, rock n` roll. The raunchy and appropriately distilled delivery of songs on Live Era catches this eminently, and it is a fine balancing act between the dirty and the polished, subsequently assuring that the album can be both a greatest hit package, a live CD set or a time referenced musical benchmark. You decide. Any which way, Live Era is smashing. Live rock n` roll, by its very nature, doesn’t get any better than this. * * * * ½ (4½ out of five Rolling Stone scale)