Information on song demos

Guns N’ Roses Demos

The differences are in comparison to the album versions and other demos.

Mystic Studio
August 1985
Producer: ?

Welcome to the Jungle (5:00)
This version is slow with dual vocal tracks
During the intro Axl whispers, “ch-ch-ch-ch-cha”
During the first chorus he just holds in the word “knees”

Anything Goes (5:11)
Alternate lyrics different from both Appetite for Destruction and the 1986 live/demo version. They are from when Hollywood Rose performed the song in which the first verse ends with, “But I'm gonna work it out”
Dual vocal tracks
During the intro (0:33) Axl holds in a wail for 14 seconds
The backing vocals in the chorus have a higher register
After the chorus (2:06) Axl repeats, “Ahh, ahh, ahh” for the next 23 seconds
Right at the end he does not sing “tonight” and leaves it at “say anything goes…”

Don’t Cry (4:42)
Dual vocal tracks with backing vocals during choruses
During the solo there are spoken words, “And don’t you cry cause I’ll be coming back home to you…”
At the very end Axl only holds the word “tonight” for 5 seconds
This demo can be found on the single for “Don’t Cry”

Back Off Bitch (4:57)
Dual vocal tracks
During the intro Axl says, “This one’s for you”
After the choruses Axl’s vocals are overlapped
During the lyrics “nasty ball breaker” the other vocal track hears Axl say “Ow!”
During the last choruses Axl sings, “I’m gonna burn, burn the witch”

Heartbreak Hotel
Recorded but not included on tape


Sound City
June 2-4, 1986
Producer: Manny Charlton

Out Ta Get Me (4:02)
Before the first chorus Axl sings, “I’m already gone”
During the first chorus Axl sings, “Cause I’m innocent”
Before the second chorus Axl sings, “For so fuckin’ long”
Only half of the part after the solo is played omitting the second half with the double notes and goes right into the third verse
During the last chorus Axl sings, “They’re out ta get me, you better believe, they won’t catch me, oh listen to me, I’m fuckin’ innocent”

Rocket Queen take 1 (6:13)
Right before the song starts a short guitar riff is played
During the choruses Axl holds the word “am” both times
During the second verse Axl sings, “I’ve had everything imaginable”
The part between the solo and the third chorus is omitted
During the end Axl sings, “I hate to see you walkin’ out there in the rain” instead of “out in the rain”
He also holds the word “harm”
Axl comes in late on, “Don’t ever leave me”

Rocket Queen take 2 (6:07)
This demo has the same structure as the first take only the bass is heard more prominently during the intro
During the end Axl pauses between “I” and “see you standin’”
He also doesn’t hold in “harm” as he did in the first take
At the very end he holds in “care” for 9 seconds

Nightrain (4:54)
At the start of the song there is no 4-count on the high-hat
The intro is played twice before Axl starts singing
During the first chorus Axl sings, “I can never get enough” first and then “I love my stuff” and ending it with “Ready to crash and burn” instead of “Never to return”
The ending repeats the intro 3 times

My Michelle (4:23)
Axl sings, “And you drive all your friends crazy…” instead of “Drivin’ all your friends crazy…”
He also sings, “So you can go party and I’ll return the key” instead of “Party till your connection calls...”
In the last verse he sings, “And if you keep tryin’ we both know money burns. Don’t stop your cryin’ and you’ll get what you deserve”
At the very end, “My my my Michelle” is done 8 times instead of 4

You’re Crazy (3:24)
Axl is heard speaking for a second at the very beginning
He sings, “I’ve been looking’ for you” in a higher register
Axl stays silent the entire double time before the solo

Paradise City (5:40)
The demo starts out with power chords instead of an introduction with vocals
Axl sings, “Spin me ‘round” in the chorus before the double time and there is only one double bass drum fill while he holds in “home”

Move to the City take 1 (3:15)
At 0:53 and 1:41 Axl sings, "Well you're gonna gonna move to the city"
Before the solo instead of singing "Sometimes it gets too shitty" he just holds in a note

Move to the City take 2
Unavailable, this take didn’t make it onto the bootlegs

November Rain acoustic (4:54)
On the same vocal track Izzy does the backing vocals after each lyric
At 3:16 Axl sings, “You can find me walkin’ again and again and again…”
The third verse is not sung and neither is the outro

November Rain piano (9:44)
The low and high F chords are played twice at the beginning
During the first verse Axl sings, “But when I’m holdin’ you” instead of “But darlin’ when I hold you”
The first verse is repeated where the third verse would be
Izzy does backing vocals again
The outro has only piano and no vocals

Shadow of Your Love (2:43)
Axl says, “Wake up! It’s time to play!” right at the beginning
He also holds in notes over the chords before the first verse

Reckless Life (2:47)
This version is played faster than the one on Live Like a Suicide, the solo starts out with lower notes
Axl laughs at the end

Think About You (3:54)
Both guitars have distortion during the choruses instead of just one
Axl omits the first two lyrics in the chorus after the solo

Welcome to the Jungle (4:59)
At the very beginning Axl says, “You guys ready?” and Slash attempts to start the intro but stops and then restarts
On the second “And when you’re high you never, ever wanna come down…” Axl sings “I said down”
There are no backing vocals

Don’t Cry (5:19)
During the last chorus after the first “And don’t you cry tonight” Axl adds “Whoa no, whoa no, oh whoa”
At the very end he holds “tonight” for 6 seconds

Nice Boys (2:59)
Axl says “No we’re not” right at the very beginning
During the chorus with just drums and no guitars Axl sings, “Nice boys never play rock n’ roll, I bet your mama said…” changing “don’t” to “never” in this version

Back Off Bitch (4:41)
Axl sings the first lyric, “Oh baby” instead of “Whoa baby”
He also holds in a note over the beginning of the solo
At the end of the solo he sings, “I’m talkin’ to you” and repeats it again during the last choruses along with “So what are you gonna do?”
Axl laughs at the end right before “Fucking bitch”

Anything Goes (4:33)
This demo starts out with Axl saying, “Ready”
This is second of three versions with different lyrics in which the first verse contains, “I know you want it, you can bring your sister, and we can do it on top of the car”
Again Axl does not sing the word “tonight” at the very end

Mama Kin (3:29)
This demo starts right with the power chords without Axl saying, “This is a song about your fuckin’ mother!”
Slash’s solo is very different

Heartbreak Hotel (4:41)
For the third and fifth choruses Axl sings, “So fuckin’ lonely”
The fifth chorus is done right before “Don’t make me cry”
At the very end Axl holds in a note for 15 seconds and the whole ending lasts for 28 seconds

Ain’t Goin’ Down instrumental (3:33)
No vocals
Slash’s solo runs from 1:37 to 2:20

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (3:26)
This take is done very fast
At the end Axl says, “That one’s for your mama!”

Jumpin’ Jack Flash acoustic (3:53)
This acoustic take is done very slow
There are backing vocals from the rest of the band on the same vocal track throughout the whole song but Axl is heard most prominently

Move to the City acoustic (3:48)
Talking is heard in the very beginning and then the lyrics, “I’m a West Coast junkie, an East Coast monkey, got another big dick under my arm” before the acoustic guitars come in
The rest of the band does some backing vocals throughout the verses
Axl laughs at the end and an applause is heard

Untitled song in progress
Unavailable, this take didn’t make it onto the bootlegs

You’re Crazy acoustic
Unavailable, this take didn’t make it onto the bootlegs

The Plague
Unavailable, this take didn’t make it onto the bootlegs

Cornshucker Stomp
Unavailable, this take didn’t make it onto the bootlegs

The last four songs were omitted from the bootlegs that ended up in circulation. Since the demo session was so long, it’s possible that they just didn’t fit onto the tapes they were copied onto. The other “Move to the City” demo hasn’t surfaced either for whatever reason.


Pasha Studios
August 1986
Producer: Spencer Proffer (only for Sweet Child O’ Mine and Nightrain)

Sweet Child O’ Mine (6:29)
The intro fades in
Duff doesn’t play bass notes over the C chord the first time the rest of the band comes in
Axl sings, “Oooohhh, oh yeaah” during the intro
This version is slowed down
During the ending Axl sings, “Oh child where do we go now?”
There is feedback at the end and then a drum is heard

Nightrain (5:14)
The song starts out with a train sound and drumbeat which is followed by the guitar riff of the chorus being played as the intro before going into the actual intro
This version is slowed down
The ending has all of Axl’s vocal overdubs

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (3:31)
This version has backing vocals on the choruses and the ending

You’re Crazy (3:35)
At the end of the first chorus before the double time Axl sings, “You’re fuckin’ crazy” again
He stays silent during the double time except for right before the solo

Reckless Life (3:11)
This is the same take used on Live Like a Suicide before the crowd noise is overdubbed

Heartbreak Hotel (4:15)
Axl sings, “So fuckin’ lonely” in the first and third choruses and “So god awful lonely” in the second chorus
Right after the last solo Axl goes into “Don’t make me cry” instead of a fifth chorus
At the very end he holds in a note for 7 seconds

Shadow of Your Love (2:59)
Axl stays silent during the intro
During the first verse he pauses in between “Took my chances carelessly” and “Choked on my own cigarette”
This version is slower than the Sound City take and has backing vocals on the choruses

Welcome to the Jungle (4:59)
Drumsticks count the song off
During the drumbeat after the solo Axl whispers, “Cha”
The song ends with a drum roll

Move to the City (3:27)
This is the same take used on Live Like a Suicide before the crowd noise is overdubbed

Mama Kin (3:41)
This is the same take used on Live Like a Suicide before the crowd noise is overdubbed

Nice Boys (???????????)
This is the same take used on Live Like a Suicide before the crowd noise is overdubbed

Mr. Brownstone (4:13)
At the very beginning the word “Ready?” is heard through a talkbox
This version is slowed down
At the end of the choruses Axl sings, “He won’t leave me alone, no no, no no whoa”
The drumbeat right after the solo is slightly different
Axl doesn’t pause in between “I leave it all…behind”

Don't Cry (5:25)
This demo is played even slower than the first two
There are no backing vocals
At the end Axl holds in “tonight” for 9 seconds making it sound the closest to Use Your Illusion I


Rumbo Studios, Take One Studio & Can Am Studio
Fall 1986
Producer: Mike Clink

These are all unavailble at the moment

Welcome to the Jungle
It’s So Easy
Nightrain
Out Ta Get Me
Mr. Brownstone
Paradise City
My Michelle
Think About You
Sweet Child O’ Mine
You’re Crazy
Anything Goes
Rocket Queen


Rumbo Studios
???? 1988
Producer:

Patience (5:56)
Outtake???

One in a Million (6:32)
There is talking at the beginning addressing Mike Clink asking if he’s ready
Axl does not whistle during the intro
There is no distorted third guitar just two acoustics
In the first verse Axl sings “I need some piece of mind” instead of “needed”
During the second chorus he doesn’t reverse “You know that you are” and “You’re a shooting star”
Axl continues to sing over the solo

You’re Crazy (4:26)
Axl shouts, “One, two!” right before the song starts
He only sings “You know you’re crazy” throughout the choruses instead of “You’re fuckin’ crazy”
Axl makes a lot of noises over the double time before the solo

Used To Love Her (1:30)
Axl counts off the song in Spanish
The song is played only to second chorus

Cornshucker (4:20)
Duff sings lead vocals and Axl joins on the choruses
Although the song didn’t end up on GN’R Lies it was played live once at the Limelight in New York, NY on January 31, 1988


Mates Rehearsal Studios
December 6, 1989
Producer:

Don’t Damn Me instrumental take 1 (5:23)
Slash begins to play the opening riff, stops and then starts again

Don’t Damn Me instrumental take 2 (5:17)
Steven bangs on the snare drum at the very beginning

Garden Of Eden instrumental (3:20)
The song is restarted four times

Locomotive instrumental (5:15)
The ending is omitted

Dust N’ Bones (5:19)
Duff sings lead vocals


Record Plant Recording Studios
September 21, 1990
Producer:

Estranged (instrumental) (9:27) - Drumsticks count the song off, Slash’s solo before “Well I jumped into the river…” is not played, just the rest of the instruments
Locomotive (instrumental) (8:30) - Drumsticks count the song off
Breakdown (instrumental) (7:11) - Piano is heard briefly at the beginning and then the song is counted off
The Garden (instrumental) (5:09) -
Black Leather (instrumental) (3:46) -
I Don’t Care About You (instrumental) (2:09) - The song is counted off
Attitude (instrumental) (1:37) - There is a count off and the pick slide at the beginning is different, the power chord strumming and solo also sound different
New Rose (instrumental) (2:40) - The song is counted off on the high-hat
14 Years (5:18) - Izzy reverses a lot of the lyrics and adds completely different ones in certain parts, the ending is extended with another solo by Slash


Record Plant Recording Studios
December 1990 - January 1991
Producer:

November Rain (mix from December 16, 1990)
Live and Let Die (mix from December 17, 1990)
Estranged (mix from December 19, 1990)
Double Talkin’ Jive (mix from January 5, 1991)
You Ain’t the First (mix from January 6, 1991)
Yesterdays (mix from January 7, 1991)
Pretty Tied Up (mix from January 10, 1991)
You Could Be Mine (mix from January 12, 1991)
Bad Apples (mix from January 14, 1991)
Don’t Cry (original) (mix from January 16, 1991)
Don’t Cry (alt. lyrics) (mix from January 16, 1991)

November Rain (Q-Sound)
Live and Let Die (Q-Sound)
Estranged (Q-Sound)
Double Talkin’ Jive (Q-Sound)
You Ain’t the First (Q-Sound)
Yesterdays (Q-Sound)
Pretty Tied Up (Q-Sound)
You Could Be Mine (Q-Sound)
Bad Apples (Q-Sound)
Don’t Cry (original) (Q-Sound)
Don’t Cry (alt. lyrics) (Q-Sound)

HUUUUUGE thanks to Creepshow2 at mygnrforum for compiling this list and all work included. See the original thread here: http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?/topic/198946-demo-list-with-details/