Guns n' Roses
GN'R Lies

By Rob Selina
Click here to e-mail reviewer

CD: MoFi MFSL UDCD 748

  Back to 1986, the days of poofed-up, longhaired, makeup-wearing, so-called "hard-rock" bands. Although Slash, Axl, Duff, Izzy and Steve did have the long hair, the similarities ended there. Unlike most of the other "hard rock" bands around at this time, Guns N' Roses actually had talent!

Unlike the band's first big hit, Appetite for Destruction, GN'R Lies has a softer edge. The album doesn't start out that way though. The first four songs are live recordings of "Reckless Life," "Nice Boys," "Move to the City" and "Mama Kin." I use the word "live" with reservation. The crowd noises sound a little removed from the recording, but I didn't think much of it until a cool dude told me that the tracks are actually studio recordings with crowd effects mixed in. Even if they are studio recordings, they're still pretty good with crazy guitar rifts from Slash and Axl screamin' his heart out. Raw, powerful, energetic GN'R. These tracks are all off of Live?!*@ Like A Suicide, so if you have the EP, you know what I'm talking about.

Just when you're getting into it and singing along to the Aerosmith cover "Mama Kin" the album takes a turn. The band now shows off its softer side with the ballad "Patience". They also softened up the song "You're Crazy" off of Appetite for Destruction. I must say that I do prefer the slower-paced version. The song was originally written this way, and I'm glad they took it back to its original pace. Why change a good thing, right?

"Used to Love Her [But I had to Kill Her]" is as the album itself points out, "A joke, nothing more." It's a little on the obnoxious and dark side, but it is humorous. The last song on the album has to be the darkest of them all. "One in a Million" is a song I might potentially like if I didn't understand English, but unfortunately I do, and quite frankly, I hate the song. Axl managed to make racist remarks toward cops, African Americans, immigrants (a demographic I'm a member of) and homosexuals. I'm not impressed.

If you leave out "One in a Million," the disc is quite enjoyable. The recording is of high quality, using MFSL's Gain 2 system and even includes their new DSD technology from Sony. The first four live tracks sound very detailed and energetic, though, as I mentioned earlier, the crowd sounds distant and removed.

The recording really shines when you hear the last four studio tracks. The most obvious benefit is the incredible room acoustics of the studio. You can hear various echos and reflections. The guitars couldn't be clearer and the separation between the different instruments is very defined, allowing you to hear many fine details. This part of the album has incredibly high resolution. The only concern I have is that Axl's voice sounds slightly recessed. It's just a little dry in the treble. This is quite minor though, and doesn't bother me at all once I'm out of "analytical mode."

GN'R Lies isn't their best album, but for the serious fan it's obviously a must have. With the exception of "One in a Million" the studio tracks are of high caliber both in sound quality and musical enjoyment. The live tracks are definitely entertaining, containing lots of energy and raw power. If you're a Guns N' Roses fan, the extra sound quality make this well worth the while. For the more casual fan, go check out Appetite for Destruction or either of the Use Your Illusion discs. They show the band's infant stages and their musical peak respectively.

Enjoyment: 75

Sound Quality: 85 (tracks 1-4)
                     92 (tracks 4-8)