Guns n' Roses FTW!!

Okay, as most of you have probably gathered by this stage, I like my music. Personally speaking, I love glam rock/hair metal just as much as I love Elvis and Mr. Sinatra himself. Therefore, Guns n' Roses have always been/always will be in my opinion, probably one of the greatest glam rock bands ever to enter our headphones.

I remember the first time that I heard Sweet Child o' Mine. I was about 13 at the time. I was sitting in my dads car after school one day when it came on the radio. That's when I thought to myself "these guys are AMAZING." And from what i gathered from listening to the rest of their music over the years, I certainly wasn't wrong.

"Sweet Child o' Mine" is the third single released by the American rockstars and the third from their 1987 debut studio album Appetite For Destruction which was released on August 18, 1988. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's first and only number-one single. It reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and reached number 4 in Ireland.


The first time this song appeared in a movie was in 1988. It played as the credits were rolling for the movie Bad Dreams. Since then,  It has been played in the 2008 film The Wrestler featuring Micky Rourke and has also been played in many more well-known films such as Adam Sandler's Big Daddy and in the hilarious 2008 movie, Step Brothers. Needless to say, this timeless classic needed little or no more publicity. Until Taken By Trees came along, and ripped it apart.

Now, some could say that Taken by Trees did a good job at covering this song. The "some" who would say this are obviously deaf with absolutely no rhythm or appreciation for music. Never in my life have I hear such a whiny, depressing voice such as the one of Victoria Bergsman, the lead singer of Taken by Trees. I can honestly say that I've heard this song being covered better by karaoke than from this woman who seems to call herself a musician.

Throughout Bergsman's version of Sweet Child O' Mine, it constantly sounds like the girl is about to jump off a cliff. Even the opening of the song sounds like something thats about to be played in mass rather than at a rock festival. The piano work is good but where the hell is the feeling? As for the chorous, give me a break!! Her tuning is all wrong wrong, she lacks emotion and above all SHE MUMBLES some of the most amazing lyrics that was ever written. Oh dear.

Then we get to the end of the song..the grand finale that once wowed so many people with Slash's incredible guitar work and Axl's high pitched screeches and what does she do? SHE HUMS! Let me emphasise that HUMS one of the most memorable endings to any song in history. Shame on this band. Big time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dqVDQ-lF4Q

Above is the link to this atrocious cover. See what you think yourself. Then compare it to the Guns n' Roses version right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7OgIMMRc4.
The evidence of what I just said, speaks for itself.

In an interview with Hit Parader magazine in 1988, bassist Duff McKagan said:

"The thing about 'Sweet Child' is that it was written in five minutes. It was one of those songs, only three chords. You know that guitar lick Slash does at the beginning? It was kinda like a joke because we thought, 'What is this song? It's gonna be nothin', it'll be filler on the record.' And except that vocal-wise, it's very sweet and sincere, Slash was just messing around when he first wrote that lick"

"Sweet Child o' Mine" placed number 37 on Guitar World's's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos." It also came in at number three on Blender's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, and at number 196 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of all Time.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 6 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The introduction's famous riff was also voted number-one riff of all-time by the readers of Total Guitar magazine and on a recent BBC poll, the song was voted to have the "greatest guitar riff ever". Beat that Taken by Trees!

Knockin' on Heavens Door.

I'm very happy to say that I have some of the coolest people to call my friends. And most of these people are also the biggest stoners that you could meet, so it's usually either one of the two Bob's that's getting played when I go to see them in their smokey abode. Bob Dylan or Bob Marley. Not a bad combination either, in all fairness.

Take last night for example. A few of us were sitting around when Dylan's version of Knocking on Heavens Door came on. Now, I have to admit, I'm a huge Guns n Roses fan. Axl's vocal cords could stretch to Antartica and back and he'd still be in tune but Dylans version of that song never fails to blow my mind whenever I listen to it
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"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan for the soundtrack of the 1973 Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. It describes the feelings of a dying deputy who can no longer continue his role. I believe that this is one of the most heart felt songs that Dylan has ever written. Dylan put a bit of his soul in this song which is clear when he performs it. That's another thing about covering other people's songs actually, the same amount of feeling can never go into it. It's like tracing someone else's picture, it'll just never be as good.

Over the years Knockin' on Heavens Door has been performed by numerous artists like U2, Bon Jovi, Lynyrd Skynyrd (another personal favorite of mine) and worst of all, AVRIL LAVIGNE! Someones got to be taking the piss by letting her perform that song. I can honestly say that she butchered it in everyway possible.

Speaking with one of the lads the other night about this song, he made a very valid point when he said "No one could ever cover that song as well as Dylan. You can hear in his voice the real pride and admiration he had for the deputy. It's like he knew him"

That's the thing about Dylan though, he probably did know him. Judging by a lot of his previous songs, Dylan seems to write about personal experiences. Listening to this song you can hear real emotion in his voice. He makes every single song a work of art. That's what I admire about Dylan and every other singer songwriter out there. It's such a shame to see the likes of Avril Lavigne, a girl with a lot of eye make up and very little talent butchering works of art. It really is.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVOlSR7A1ns

Music.

You see, I'm one of those people who seem to appreciate the more original things in life. I'm sure if I was at all up to date with fashion or sport then I definitely wouldn't appreciate a fake Prada bag or a copy of a Liverpool jersey. But one thing I DO appreciate is music; good, strong, original music. I don't like covers of songs. Simple as. Never have and never will. Actually I hate them.

So, the aggravation that I feel when i hear of what I believe to be some of the greatest tunes of all time being covered by some little shitty teenybopper with no respect or appreciation for music in the slightest, is not a pretty sight. I've been known to walk out of a bar if I hear a dj play a remix to what WAS an amazing tune. My bedroom is so full of old classics like Elvis and Buddy Holly that my poor mother has to step over the records when she braves her way in every now and again to make sure that there's still life amongst the shiny vinyl in the darkness.

Unfortunately, both Elvis and Buddy, along with many more of my all time favorite musical heroes have had the bad luck to have their best somgs covered by what I would not only call an amature but also, completely deaf and above all, deluded individuals who seem to believe that they could POSSIBLY cover the track better than the original artist. What a shame!

One thing I do know though, poor Elvis and Buddy would be turning in their well preserved, well deserved million dollar graves.