We all know that Guns N’Roses was one of the most important bands of rock, capable of creating a frenzy once only the territory of indisputable legends like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
The Roots of Guns and Roses is a very special album that, after much research and just plain searching, brings together the work of Hollywood Rose, Axl’s first band, with the embryo of sound that would become Guns.
The band recorded only five tracks in 1984 (among them, Reckless Life and Anything Goes, songs that would later be recorded by GNR) which are their entire legacy. At that time they played the club circuit in L.A. where they became part of the scene known as ‘hair metal’ due in large part to the extravagant hair-do’s of its members. Along with Axl Rose other important members of the group include Izzy Stradlin and Tracii Guns, who left the group to form L.A. Guns, another band of the genre who shared the stage with a nascent Poison and Motley Crue.
The second part of The Roots of Guns and Roses includes a selection of the most popular songs by L.A. Guns, hymns to life in the fast lane like Sex Action, Electric Gypsy and Bitch is Back, as well as the soothing hit The Ballad of Jayne which marked the high point of the band’s popularity.
The Roots of Guns and Roses also offers a hidden gem in the form of a special version of My Michelle, the original of which is found on Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’Roses and is performed here by L.A. Guns.
With exquisite cover art and a carefully chosen selection of quality tracks, The Roots of Guns and Roses is an album of immeasurable historical significance and both a pleasure to own as well as a collector’s item.