Search - Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Videos (Jewel Case) on DVD

The Rise And Fall Of Guns N' Roses, video by video

David W. George | New Hampshire | 01/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am, and always will be, a monster fan of Guns N' Roses. As a 16 year old listening to "Appetite For Destruction" in 1987, I thought the sky was the limit for this band. They were young and talented, and I was convinced they would become one of the greatest acts in rock n' roll history, and not just the hard rock genre. To me, Axl Rose was the next John Lennon. He seemed to possess it all- a unique voice, exceptional songwriting skills , and a captivating stage presence. Unfortunately, he and the other band members never lived up to the promise of "Appetite For Destruction"- internal tension, drug use, and the increasingly egotistical behavior of Rose ultimately resulted in a complete implosion of the original lineup. These days, only Rose remains, and there has not been a new Guns N' Roses album in more than ten years,as fans of the original GN'R find it difficult to refer to Rose's new lineup as Guns N' Roses.The "Welcome To The Videos" collection has been available on VHS since 1998, but finally hit DVD in 2003. The best videos are from the early, "Appetite" era- watching "Welcome To The Jungle" brought me all the way back to 1987, at least temporarily. Back then, the band was hungry, living the true "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll" lifestyle. Guns N' Roses took over MTV in the spring of 1988 with the video for "Sweet Child O' Mine", which catapulted the band into mainstream America, and both the single and the "Appetite" LP to number one on the charts. GN'R closed out the 80's with clips for "Paradise City" and "Patience", and as the 90's approached, GN'R seemed ready to lay claim as one of the great rock bands of all time. The two "Use Your Illusion" albums, released in September 1991, spawned nine videos, including "You Could Be Mine" which does not appear in this collection, likely because it contained several clips from the film "Terminator 2". The videos for "Don't Cry", the epic "November Rain", and "Estranged" attempt to form some kind of three part story. None of them make complete sense, but "Rain" is gorgeous to look at. Prominently featured in the clip is model Stephanie Seymour, Axl Rose's then-girlfriend. However, these videos and the others from the "Illusion" albums reflect the changes occurring within the band; two original members were gone by then, and the once ferocious intensity which carried Guns N' Roses to the top in 1988 was slowly but steadily in decline. Videos for "The Garden", "Dead Horse", and "Garden Of Eden" are all throwaways, without any memorable images. None of those songs were released as singles, so why were there videos for them? Worst of all is the band's final video effort, "Since I Don't Have You", from "The Spaghetti Incident". Featuring actor Gary Oldman as the devil, the video presents the band members frolicking on a beach with women, while Rose is tied up and gagged for some reason. It essentially completes the band's downfall- no longer hungry, GN'R were now rich and uninspired, a trend which still carries on as fans continue to wait for Rose to release "Chinese Democracy", complete with new band members, delayed since 1999. This video collection garners four out of five stars from me, based on the strength of Guns N' Roses early videos and "November Rain". I'll always love the music of Guns N' Roses, but definitely not all the videos."