"For the first time ever, All of their Greatest Hits on 1 CD"

Guns ' N ' Roses Greatest Hits is a classic album, and if you don't own a copy, you are missing out!

Of course, being GnR , it comes with the obligatory 'Parental Advisory Explicit Content' sticker: I have listened to this CD literally hundreds of times over, and I can only think of 1 F-word and 1 B-word - so I must be getting old and can't understand what Axl is saying, lol. Yes, there are a couple of rude words but it's really nothing that you probably won't hear in the school playground, to be honest!

This is a fantastic mix of their own compositions and cover versions, taken from all their 6 albums from the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is the Guns N Roses in their original crazy line-up of Axl Rose, Slash (Saul Hudson), Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Steve Adler.


1 - Welcome to the Jungle

What a way to open an album: I think this song could wake the dead, it's probably one of the best rock songs I have ever heard. It's got to be played loud.

2 - Sweet Child o' Mine

Who doesn't know this song: That guitar in the opening moments .... I remember when it first came out in the 1980s, and it still feels fresh today.

3 - Patience

The first ballad on this album: A surprise for people who don't know Guns n Roses very well and think all they can do is heavy metal screeching, this is a surprisingly tender song about unrequited love.

4 - Paradise City

Another classic that everyone knows, not just metal fans. Even my own children put this on all the time so they can sing along to it.

5 - Knockin' on Heaven's Door

A cover version of the Bob Dylan classic: I love this version, complete with it's sound effects of a gun being dropped to the floor and all!

6 - Civil War

Their own composition, again surprisingly insightful for those who don't know. Axl tells a sad story about the pointlessness of war.

7 - You Could be Mine

Now this one is angry, angry, angry : Fast and loud, the bitter sound of a relationship breaking up. I find this quite stressful!

8 - Don't Cry

Another ballad: Axl Rose turns his voice soft for this one, and it's quite moving.

9 - November Rain

This is another one that even non-GnR fans are aware of - from the early 1990's , it has one of the longest guitar solos in history, and is an epic 8:57 minutes long. The story of a doomed bride, it is divided into two parts. Although I love it, it always makes me laugh out loud when I hear it because it reminds me of the French and Saunders show parody of it.

10 - Live and Let Die

Another cover version of the Wings James Bond theme. Sorry Paul, love you dearly and all that, but I think this is better than the original: It's short, but it's got more life in it.

11 - Yesterdays

I'm not so familiar with this one, and I might skip through it - I think this is one of those album fillers to be honest, that's just my opinion .... it's a medium speed ballad, it sounds great as they all do, but there's just nothing special about it for me.

12 - Ain't it Fun

Now this one is a bit cheeky, as the band basically list all the ways there are to be naughty and then set it to music, lol. Not written by the band, it's a cover first done by 1970's rock / punk band Rocket from the Tombs.

13 - Since I don't have You

A cover version, ironically done with a glint in their eye, This was originally a 1950's style do-wop song, from a band called The Skyliners. It's all about the heartbreak 'since I don't have you' and lists all the ways to be sad. I'm pretty sure though , that The Skyliners never said 'we're f*****" haha. Parental advisory - I skip this one when the kids are around!

14 - Sympathy for the Devil

The Rolling Stones created this of course, and GnR take it to new heights: Again, I find that I prefer this to the original. After listening to this version so many times, I recently heard the original and just found it a bit anaemic compared to this: GnR put so many more layers of music and sound into all their productions.


The CD comes with a short booklet containing photographs of the band, and details of the songs contained within.

The front cover is steel effect, with the Guns N Roses logo ... which is, er, guns and roses :)

The CD itself is plain silver colour and looks like it has already been totally scratched, and gave me a bit of a shock the first time I opened it.


Overall verdict: Even if you don't normally like heavy rock/metal, this is one to own. Hear one of the greatest bands ever, from the days before they self-destructed.