Guns N’ Roses released a new single, “Perhaps,” a few days ago and it got me to thinking about the long journey for this band since I first heard of them in 1987. I was all-in on Appetite For Destruction and through Lies and the Use Your Illusions, I felt like just about everything they did was brilliant. Even the stuff I didn’t care for wasn’t anything to be too critical about. Except maybe for “My World.”
With this latest song, there’s a video and the band is performing it live on their current monster-size stadium tour. For me, “Perhaps” is a miss, but it does nothing to tarnish the great history of the band. More importantly, the live versions I watched showed Axl Rose struggling mightily. Yep, a common subject of discussion these days.
A lot of our beloved singers are struggling in the live setting these days, and how could they not? The kind of music I love calls for fire-breathing, glass-shattering vocals and you can’t expect that to hold up over the long haul.
Well, here we are. Axl’s on the list now, so I’m looking back nostalgically over the storied history of Guns N’ Roses. Great success, lots of controversy and never a dull moment, even when they have years and years of downtime.