Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses (GNR) is one of the all time greatest rock bands.
Their main lineup brought a mix of musical styles that is still to this day original with no band even sounding similar to them. Even though their music was original, GNR was always grouped with the 80's hair bands. This is largely because at the time MTV had a huge part in making bands successful and Axl looked like a woman with his bushy hair in the band's video for Welcome to the Jungle.
Contents
Why the music has remained popular
While Axl is known for his screeching, he actually does have a huge vocal range and two very different voices that he uses while singing. Slash brings a combination of nasty rock riffs and incredible blues solos. Izzy brought the country twang (this is the component that really separated them from the hair bands). Adler has never been known for much other than his blond hair and drug problems, but while it wasn't extra special or truly unique, he complemented the rest of the band very well. Lastly there was the ever so grungy Duff. Duff brought a dirty, white trash attitude and pushed out some deep, loud, base notes.
Each instrument could easily be heard, none over shadowing the others, and the music produced during the time of this lineup was amazing.
Why they can't stay together
It makes sense that so many people with different styles in music and life would end up having a hard time dealing with each other. They had the music, but without a sustained friendship and stability it is hard to stay together.
Like oil and vinegar, they taste great when you shake it up, but eventually separation is inevitable.
Band History
Band Members (the ones that matter)
GNR has had tons of band members, but only a few of them are on the major albums and worth discussing.
Axl Rose
- Lead Singer
Slash
- Lead Guitar
Duff Mckagan
- Bass
Steven Adler
- Drums
Izzy Stradlin
- Rhythm Guitar
Matt Sorum, Dizzy Reed, Gilby Clark
- Drums, Keyboards, and Rhythm Guitar respectively
The Band Member History Table
Guns N' Roses has had a large number of band members. The only one who has been in the band from beginning to end is Axl Rose. The only reason he has been in the band that long is because he legally owns the name and can call a bunch of meowing cats Guns N' Roses if he wants.
Since the band has been around for over 20 years, it can be difficult to know who was in or out of the band together. This table should help bring it all together.
1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
Axl Rose | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Slash | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Duff McKagan | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Izzy Stradlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Adler | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracii Guns | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Matt Sorum | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Gilby Clark | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Josh Freese | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Tobias | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Buckethead | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rob Gardner | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Ole Beich | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Dizzy Reed | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Robin Finck | Robin Finck | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Tommy Stinson | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Chris Pitman | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Richard Fortus | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bryan "Brain" Mantia | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bumblefoot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Frank Ferrer |
Albums
GNR has produced a great deal of music, but only a few studio albums under major labels.
1987 Appetite for Destruction
1988 G N' R Lies
1991 Use Your Illusion I
1991 Use Your Illusion II
1993 "The Spaghetti Incident?
??? Chinese Democracy
Songs
Guns N' Roses only pushed out 4 studio albums of original material. Here is an alphabetical listing of them. It is amazing how many have become hits considering the list is relatively short.