"Gimme some reggaaaeee!!!"

Awesome, rockin' CD that brings back some fond memories from my teenage years in the early 90s. Yes, there are some essential live tracks missing (i.e. the debut of "Civil War" at Farm-Aid 4.7.90, "Live & Let Die" from Wembley Stadium 8.31.91, the group's rendition of the "Godfather Theme", "Dead Flowers" or "You Ain't the First" from the '93 Skin n' Bones acoustic sets) and a few minutes of Axl's famous rants would've painted a nice sonic portrait of a real G'n'R concert circa '91-'92 but I suppose Geffen will release those from the vaults on Volume 2 (after all the current litigation is over, that is).



OK, now onto the music that IS included: "It's Alright", the Black Sabbath cover, is the highpont of Disc 1 for me as it is the only song here I had never heard before. It is a beautiful song amidst the raucous and volatile Appetite tracks that dominate the first disc Axl shows off some magnificent piano chops here as well as on the solo leading into "November Rain" demonstrating that he apparently listened to Beethoven and the John Coltrane Quartet along with Zepplin and the Stones.



Disc 2 mellows things out a little with great versions of "Estranged" and "Don't Cry". Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" from the Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert (4.20.92) is performed superbly (better than UYI2 version) and IMHO was the highlight of that historic concert. "Move to the City" is not my favorite track, but I do like jazz and I respect that the band was broadening their musical horizons and reaching out to more international audiences (even if the 976-Horns did piss off some hardcore metalheads).



This CD is probably geared for the more serious G'n'R fan, but is also enjoyable even if you've only heard G'n'R on the radio or watched their videos on MTV waaaaay back when. I'm gettin' old. Rock on!.

Great song selection, sounds great, but just like the albums

First off, I l-o-v-e Guns N' Roses. The songs they play in this album are superb. They sound superb (maybe too good for an unedited live album...?). But when I listen to a live album, I want the songs to be different. When I listen to Led Zeppelin's "How The West Was Won" or Queen's "Live At Wembley Stadium", they change their songs. They might add a solo, make it 20 minutes longer and other such things. With this album, the songs sound the same (except for November Rain's 3 minute piano opening) as they do on the studio recordings, but with a crowd in the back. But if you like GnR, this album is definately for you, and probably if you would like to get into GnR, this album gives you a good idea of their songs.

Great, but they're not actually live

Some of these songs are live, but the majority are the re-recorded tracks that Axl made in the studio with the new GN'R lineup. He extracted his audio and placed it over top of the old band's instruments, so they were legally allowed to say it's "live" (because only the vocals are updated, it's a technicality).



It's easy to hear this in the songs, too. Axl was always a bit unreliable live (his voice often becoming raspy and out of key as he screamed so much and it hurt his vocal chords) but on Rocket Queen, Sweet Child O' Mine and Welcome to the Jungle he hits every note. Also you can tell it's the "New Axl" because he's got that high-pitched, "whiny" sound.



I am not trashing this album. It's excellent. I am a fan of Axl and support him. I disagree with people who diss Chinese Democracy; now that "I.R.S." has been leaked, judging from how excellent it is, and how great Axl's vocals are, maybe the "Axl is an idiot" crowd will stop picking on him.



"Live Era" is a must for fans. It's two discs and features (basically) all their greatest hits. The Sweet Child O' Mine track is the same as the track recorded with New GN'R for the "Big Daddy" (1999) soundtrack. During the end credits, Sheryl Crowe's version "morphed" into New GN'Rs'. Pretty neat.



Worth a listen if you're a fan, or are interested in hearing what the re-recording of Appetite for Destruction sounds like, at least vocally.