1994.06.DD - Hit Parader - What's Next? (Slash)

GUNS N' ROSES
What's Next?

An aura of mystery and intrigue has always shrouded Guns N Roses. Prom their earliest days on the L.A. club circuit right through the last arena stop on their historic Use Your Illusion tour, these guys have always left those around them guessing as to whet was really running through their collective minds. Now a new chapter in this game ofintrigue has been added with the release of The Spaghetti Incident? an album that has had the band's countless followers speculating and wondering over the last few months as to exactly what that enigmatic title means. The fact that they have once again tickled the public psyche comes as no surprise to vocalist Axl Rose, guitarists Gilby Clarke and Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, bassist Duff McKagan and keyboardist Dizzy Reed. In fact, according to Slash, nothing pleases the members of G N' R more than knowing that they have managed to create a little extra discussion and controversy while presenting their music.

"I've heard some really strange things about the album title," Slash said. "People are coming up to me and guessing a lot of different things, but they're always wrong. It’s really just an inside joke among the members of the band. It has nothing to do with the record. There's really no point to the title; but then, there’s really no point to this album either."

The two million fans who have already purchased copies of The Spaghetti Incident? would probably heartily disagree with Slash's assessment of his band's latest release. Those who have closely followed the band's career know exactly what they're getting when they slip a copy of TSI? into their CD player. They're getting a loosely-structured musical masterpiece filled with classic rock and roll tunes presented only as Guns N' Roses can present them. The fact that these tunes each represent some of the band members' all-time favorite songs, originally written and recorded by then primary artistic inlluences, only adds more mystique to this powerful collection. Hearing Rose add his unique singing style to the Skyllners '50s standard Since I Don't Have You (a song he used to perform in clubs), or listening to Slash tear into Fear's I Don't Care About You, states loudly and clearly that this was a true labor of love for G N' R. While they spent month after month working on Use You Illusion. TSI? was recorded fast, fun and feverishly.

"This record isn’t very serious, but it's real honest," Slash said. "It's live and haphazard, just us hanging out. It's not making any particular statement: it's about passion and spontaneity. Originally, when we were in the studio recording Use Your Illusion we felt we’d just do three or four really cool punk tracks we didn't hear enough of. But pretty quickly the project became more than that."

Recording seven of the album's 12 tracks (well, 13 actually, but more about that later in one day, the band quickly realized that their original intention of having a few bonus tracks for Illusion, or even an EP, was simply not going to work. They chose to record the remainder of the album shortly after their world tour finished in mid-'93, picking material near and dear to the hearts of each band member. McKagan brought in Johnny Thunders' You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory (originally intended for his Believe In Me solo disc), while Slash brought in T. Rex' Buick Makane which the band inventively combined with Soundgarden's Big Dumb Sex.

"This really isn’t a punk record," Slash said."These are G N' R versions of songs from when punk was happening, a tribute to songs and bands that had a lot to do with where we come from. There were some great bands back then but they aren't recognized as newer generations get into music. We want to help make them known again. We were originally fans—I remember seeing Fear and the Misfits. Part of our fantasy was also playing songs from bands we would've loved to have seen but never had the chance."

Ironically, if one is even remotely familiar with the original versions of such songs as The Damned's New Rose, U.K. Sub's Down On The Farm and The Dead Boys' Ain't It Fun, it becomes instantly apparent that G N' R's versions are far from letter perfect copies. The reason? A lot of the tunes the band chose to record were played from memory since they couldn't find copies of the origi-nals. Still, as Slash indicated, the attitude the band brought to the recording sessions was more important than their musical accuracy, and one would be hard pressed to imagine anyone being annoyed with the artistic licenses taken with these "updated" versions.

"People who listen to this record should just do it to have fun," the guitarist said. “It's something for fans to listen to and tide them over until we complete the next original one—God knows when that'll be. The only thing for sure is that the future for this band doesn't look any less exciting than its past."

Of course, even with an album as seemingly innocuous as The Spaghetti Incident?, controversy can never leave Guns N' Roses completely alone. For those with a good ear, a surprise, uncredited and unlisted 13th track appears on the album, a song called Look At Your Game Girl. Why the secrecy? Apparently because the song was originally written and performed by none other than Charles Manson, the notorious mass murderer. Apparently Manson recorded an album of his own in 1970, with Look At Your Game Girl being one of the tracks. How and why GN'R decided to recorded the song— and then leave it uncredited—is anyone's guess, and unfortunately Slash wouldn't (or couldn't) shed any extra light on the matter. According to sources at the band's record label, Rose's sense of humor has never been fully understood or appreciated.

"When it comes to G N' R," the spokesperson said. “There are no rules. Who else would have recorded an album like The Spaghetti Incident? They're a unique band with a unique place in rock history. You really can't over-analyze what they do because much of it defies analysis. All-in-all, they're just Guns N' Roses."

This has disappeared. Supposed to be Hit Parader from June 1994. Anybody got a copy of it?

I do. I have transcribed it, too, before I saw it was already in the database. I'll send it.

Blackstar wrote:I do. I have transcribed it, too, before I saw it was already in the database. I'll send it.

Great!