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Guns n' Roses: Welcome to the Videos
Universal // Unrated // October 28, 2003
List Price: $14.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Videos
Remember that time you were in the biggest rock band on the planet and you just went away? Yeh, me neither. But, that's an over-simplified account of what became of Guns n' Roses. After releasing three albums (and one e.p.) and selling millions of records, the band just stopped playing, for several reasons which we won't go into here. With the recent re-emergence of singer Axl Rose with a new incarnation of Guns n' Roses, and the news that several of the band's former members have teamed with Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland for a new project called Velvet Revolver, there is renewed interest in G n' R. Therefore, Universal Music is bringing a series of older Guns n' Roses home video releases to DVD, including the music video compilation, Welcome to the Videos.
Welcome to the Videos was originally released to VHS in 1998, and includes 13 promotional videos from Guns n' Roses -- 3 from Appetite for Destruction, 1 from Lies, 8 from Use Your Illusion (Parts I & II), and 1 from The Spaghetti Incident. Several of these videos were MTV staples in the late 80s and early 90s and it seems as if they were on every five minutes (that's probably because they were). But, as rock, especially older rock, is completely absent from MTV these days, I haven't seen this clips in years, and it was certainly a treat to see these videos again. Welcome to the Videos captures a band who epitomized rock & roll excess, and, when it came to their videos, were clearly torn between artsy narratives, and straight-ahead performance pieces. Let's look at the videos included in this package:
1. "Welcome to the Jungle" -- 4:30 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- This is the one that started it all, and still holds up as a great rock song today. The song paints an unflattering portrait of L.A. and describes the kind of lives lead by those seeking stardom. (And now the song is used in many NFL stadiums!) The video illustrates the dichotomous nature of Guns n' Roses mentioned above, as it features the band performing the song in front of a live audience, intercut with footage of a very young-looking Axl Rose (eerily resembling Claire Danes) arriving in the big city by bus and succumbing to the sex and violence that it offers. This video will always be famous for launching G n' R, but it will also be remembered for Axl's incredibly large hair. Yikes!
2. "Sweet Child O' Mine" -- 5:11 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- When Guns n' Roses wasn't indulging in grandiose vides (these are yet to come), they seem to prefer performance pieces which depict a casual and laid-back environment. In this clip, the band performs the song in a warehouse-type space, surrounded by family and friends. The video features a combination of color and black & white photography and the visual match the various moods of the song, which, as with "Welcome to the Jungle", remains a classic. It was in this video that we got our first real glance at Axl's snake-like dance which should have had Davy Jones running for his lawyer.
3. "Paradise City" -- 6:48 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- As Guns n' Roses popularity began to increase, their videos sought to reflect that fact. The "Paradise City" video is made up almost exclusively of performance footage, all of which takes place in large, stadium venues. The video itself, again with a combination of color and b&w photography, seeks to capture the energy of a G n' R concert, and does a commendable job. The hard-driving song features the kind of melodic structure which made Guns n' Roses so popular, but the ending feels a bit drawn out. I can't hear this song without thinking of Can't Hardly Wait.
4. "Patience" -- 5:55 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- Following the multi-platinum success of Appetite for Destruction, G n' R released an ep entitled Lies, which included early live work and a series of acoustic numbers. "Patience" was the only video from this release, and perfectly reflects the tone of the acoustic numbers. With these songs, the band apparently wanted to show their softer side, and the videos echoes that sentiment. The bulk of the clip consists of the band "recording" the song in a room adorned with rugs, in which the band members sit on the floor, while Axl stands at a mic and sings. There are also shots of the band indulging in the trappings of rock & roll excess in a hotel. So, the song may be mellow, but the band doesn't want us to forget who they are.
5. "Don't Cry" -- 5:01 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- "Don't Cry" establishes Guns n' Roses newfound love for big-budget videos and their on-going relationship with director Andy Morahan. This video is the first in a trilogy, which all feature loosely entwined narratives. But, I don't even know where to start with this one. It features Axl in the snow...Axl in a domestic abuse situation with then girlfriend Stephanie Seymour...Axl underwater...a catfight between two models...Slash driving his car off of a cliff...Axl confronting himself (literally)...Axl naked and underground. To call this video weird and disjointed would be an obscene understatement, but it contains some undeniably intriguing visuals. This video is well-known for the "Where's Izzy?" sign, referring to the absence of then guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and the appearance of late Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon providing back-up videos. As for the song, it's a huge departure from the hard-driving rock of Appetite for Destruction, and introduces the idea that Use Your Illusion will contain several power-ballads.
6. "Live and Let Die" -- 3:07 -- Directed by Josh Richman -- Guns n' Roses covering a Paul McCartney song? Is this sacrilege? I doubt it, as the song is harmless enough. The band replaces McCartney's orchestrations with soaring guitars and Axl's screeching voice. The video is simply a montage of concert footage and should satisfy anyone who has a craving to see Axl in number of outrageous outfits. (But, he does get props for the Nine Inch Nails t-shirt.)
7. "November Rain" -- 9:12 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- The second chapter of the "trilogy", this one features the band performing with an orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen, and back-up singers. Axl in seated at the piano, and this section has a very subdued feel. That is contrasted by the turbulence of the "narrative", which illustrate Axl's (fictional) marriage to Stephanie Seymour. The clip contains the wedding, the reception, and a very dour ending. And who could forget Slash's solo in the wind-swept desert. The song shows that G n' R had mastered the power-ballad format as the arrangement flows from melodic tenderness to the blazing outro.
8. "Yesterdays" -- 3:12 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- This is a pretty tame and almost somber video, as it features the band performing in a warehouse. The black & white performance footage contains older photos of the band. Axl has his hair pulled back and appears quite tame. The song is a fairly simple mid-tempo number that is good, but forgettable.
9. "The Garden" -- 5:17 -- Directed by Del James -- My first reaction was, "They made a video for this song?" I don't remember ever seeing this one on MTV. This is easily the worst video of the bunch as it contains dreamy, black & white footage of the band sitting in various spots in a city (New York?). This gives way to color footage of a decadent XXX-shop laden street. This looks more like an experimental film than a music video. I always considered this to be one of the filler songs on Use Your Illusion.
10. "Dead Horse" -- 4:24 -- Directed by Guns n' Roses & Louis Marciano -- This is another video comprised solely of concert footage. Some features Axl strumming an acoustic guitar. The song starts off slowly and then builds into a standard G n' R rocker.
11. "Garden of Eden" -- 2:47 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- Hmm...this one certainly doesn't fit the mold. This video is comprised of one long shot, in which the band performs in front of a fixed-position camera, which has a sort-of "fish-eyed" lens. This causes Axl to look very large as in leans into the mic, which is perched just below the camera. The song is a very fast-paced punk number and the lyrics scroll by on the bottom of the screen in a sing-along style as Axl bounces around manically. An odd video, but certainly not dull.
12. "Estranged" -- 9:40 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- If you've ever watched VH1's "Behind the Music", then you know that it's not unusual for excess to catch up with rockers. That's certainly the case with this video, which is the third chapter in the trilogy. It opens with the police searching a darkened house in which Axl is hiding, and then segues into concert footage, which is notable, as we can see that Axl uses a teleprompter for the lyrics. Following this, we get shots of Axl jump off of an oil tanker into the ocean. This video couldn't have been cheap to make, but it certainly is muddled and pretentious. The song is about estrangement, and the video is apparently attempting to carry this theme, but it gets way too bogged down in its own imagery. And, the song can't carry this behemoth of a video, as it wears out its welcome very quickly, not having the epic nature of "November Rain". In the video, Axl wears a shirt which reads, "Deep". He wishes.
13. "Since I Don't Have You" -- 4:59 -- Directed by Sante D'Orazio -- Er, OK. This song is the only video from The Spaghetti Incident, which was an ablum of cover tunes. This song harks back to the 50s, but the video feels like a David Lynch movie, as the band is constantly tormented by an imp-like man in white make-up. A strange video and a boring song.
While it's certainly great to have this compilation on DVD, this video collection is not complete. Videos were made for the songs "Civil War" and "Knocking on Heaven's Door", but they aren't included here. The biggest disappointment is the fact that "You Could Be Mine" is absent, no doubt due to rights issues, as the video contains footage from Terminator 2. But, anyone who's seen the video knows that the "Waste of Ammo" moment is classic. Someone should have bitten the bullet and forked over the cash (or whatever) to get this video on the DVD.
Video
All of the vides included here are presented in a full-frame format. (And all of them were apparently shot that way, which is interesting, as it seems that almost every video is letterboxed today.) While the content appears to be a no-frills reproduction of the VHS release, the DVD presentation looks fairly good. For the most part, the images are clear and free from defects. The videos which feature black & white photography do show some grain and there is a great deal of video noise in "Paradise City". Some artifacting is present at times, but otherwise the video is satisfactory.
Audio
The videos on this DVD carry a Dolby 2.0 Surround audio track. This track does a great job of reproducing the songs. The tracks feature very good stereo separation and the rear speakers are filled with rhythm guitars and bass lines. The tracks are all very clear, showing no distortion or muddiness. The audio doesn't live up to 5.1 standards, but it is still quite good.
Extras
There are no extras on this DVD. The Internet Movie Database has listings for "making of"'s for "Don't Cry", "November Rain", and "Estranged", so one has to wonder why they weren't included here.
I keep waiting for 80s hard rock (or any rock for that matter) to make a comeback, but in the meantime, I've got DVDs such as Welcome to the Videos to keep me company. Guns n' Roses were THE rock band in the early 90s and these videos help to illustrate why. While many of these videos were played to death in their day, they are now classics and this DVD is the perfect way to re-live those hard-rockin' memories.
Remember that time you were in the biggest rock band on the planet and you just went away? Yeh, me neither. But, that's an over-simplified account of what became of Guns n' Roses. After releasing three albums (and one e.p.) and selling millions of records, the band just stopped playing, for several reasons which we won't go into here. With the recent re-emergence of singer Axl Rose with a new incarnation of Guns n' Roses, and the news that several of the band's former members have teamed with Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland for a new project called Velvet Revolver, there is renewed interest in G n' R. Therefore, Universal Music is bringing a series of older Guns n' Roses home video releases to DVD, including the music video compilation, Welcome to the Videos.
Welcome to the Videos was originally released to VHS in 1998, and includes 13 promotional videos from Guns n' Roses -- 3 from Appetite for Destruction, 1 from Lies, 8 from Use Your Illusion (Parts I & II), and 1 from The Spaghetti Incident. Several of these videos were MTV staples in the late 80s and early 90s and it seems as if they were on every five minutes (that's probably because they were). But, as rock, especially older rock, is completely absent from MTV these days, I haven't seen this clips in years, and it was certainly a treat to see these videos again. Welcome to the Videos captures a band who epitomized rock & roll excess, and, when it came to their videos, were clearly torn between artsy narratives, and straight-ahead performance pieces. Let's look at the videos included in this package:
1. "Welcome to the Jungle" -- 4:30 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- This is the one that started it all, and still holds up as a great rock song today. The song paints an unflattering portrait of L.A. and describes the kind of lives lead by those seeking stardom. (And now the song is used in many NFL stadiums!) The video illustrates the dichotomous nature of Guns n' Roses mentioned above, as it features the band performing the song in front of a live audience, intercut with footage of a very young-looking Axl Rose (eerily resembling Claire Danes) arriving in the big city by bus and succumbing to the sex and violence that it offers. This video will always be famous for launching G n' R, but it will also be remembered for Axl's incredibly large hair. Yikes!
2. "Sweet Child O' Mine" -- 5:11 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- When Guns n' Roses wasn't indulging in grandiose vides (these are yet to come), they seem to prefer performance pieces which depict a casual and laid-back environment. In this clip, the band performs the song in a warehouse-type space, surrounded by family and friends. The video features a combination of color and black & white photography and the visual match the various moods of the song, which, as with "Welcome to the Jungle", remains a classic. It was in this video that we got our first real glance at Axl's snake-like dance which should have had Davy Jones running for his lawyer.
3. "Paradise City" -- 6:48 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- As Guns n' Roses popularity began to increase, their videos sought to reflect that fact. The "Paradise City" video is made up almost exclusively of performance footage, all of which takes place in large, stadium venues. The video itself, again with a combination of color and b&w photography, seeks to capture the energy of a G n' R concert, and does a commendable job. The hard-driving song features the kind of melodic structure which made Guns n' Roses so popular, but the ending feels a bit drawn out. I can't hear this song without thinking of Can't Hardly Wait.
4. "Patience" -- 5:55 -- Directed by Nigel Dick -- Following the multi-platinum success of Appetite for Destruction, G n' R released an ep entitled Lies, which included early live work and a series of acoustic numbers. "Patience" was the only video from this release, and perfectly reflects the tone of the acoustic numbers. With these songs, the band apparently wanted to show their softer side, and the videos echoes that sentiment. The bulk of the clip consists of the band "recording" the song in a room adorned with rugs, in which the band members sit on the floor, while Axl stands at a mic and sings. There are also shots of the band indulging in the trappings of rock & roll excess in a hotel. So, the song may be mellow, but the band doesn't want us to forget who they are.
5. "Don't Cry" -- 5:01 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- "Don't Cry" establishes Guns n' Roses newfound love for big-budget videos and their on-going relationship with director Andy Morahan. This video is the first in a trilogy, which all feature loosely entwined narratives. But, I don't even know where to start with this one. It features Axl in the snow...Axl in a domestic abuse situation with then girlfriend Stephanie Seymour...Axl underwater...a catfight between two models...Slash driving his car off of a cliff...Axl confronting himself (literally)...Axl naked and underground. To call this video weird and disjointed would be an obscene understatement, but it contains some undeniably intriguing visuals. This video is well-known for the "Where's Izzy?" sign, referring to the absence of then guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and the appearance of late Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon providing back-up videos. As for the song, it's a huge departure from the hard-driving rock of Appetite for Destruction, and introduces the idea that Use Your Illusion will contain several power-ballads.
6. "Live and Let Die" -- 3:07 -- Directed by Josh Richman -- Guns n' Roses covering a Paul McCartney song? Is this sacrilege? I doubt it, as the song is harmless enough. The band replaces McCartney's orchestrations with soaring guitars and Axl's screeching voice. The video is simply a montage of concert footage and should satisfy anyone who has a craving to see Axl in number of outrageous outfits. (But, he does get props for the Nine Inch Nails t-shirt.)
7. "November Rain" -- 9:12 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- The second chapter of the "trilogy", this one features the band performing with an orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen, and back-up singers. Axl in seated at the piano, and this section has a very subdued feel. That is contrasted by the turbulence of the "narrative", which illustrate Axl's (fictional) marriage to Stephanie Seymour. The clip contains the wedding, the reception, and a very dour ending. And who could forget Slash's solo in the wind-swept desert. The song shows that G n' R had mastered the power-ballad format as the arrangement flows from melodic tenderness to the blazing outro.
8. "Yesterdays" -- 3:12 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- This is a pretty tame and almost somber video, as it features the band performing in a warehouse. The black & white performance footage contains older photos of the band. Axl has his hair pulled back and appears quite tame. The song is a fairly simple mid-tempo number that is good, but forgettable.
9. "The Garden" -- 5:17 -- Directed by Del James -- My first reaction was, "They made a video for this song?" I don't remember ever seeing this one on MTV. This is easily the worst video of the bunch as it contains dreamy, black & white footage of the band sitting in various spots in a city (New York?). This gives way to color footage of a decadent XXX-shop laden street. This looks more like an experimental film than a music video. I always considered this to be one of the filler songs on Use Your Illusion.
10. "Dead Horse" -- 4:24 -- Directed by Guns n' Roses & Louis Marciano -- This is another video comprised solely of concert footage. Some features Axl strumming an acoustic guitar. The song starts off slowly and then builds into a standard G n' R rocker.
11. "Garden of Eden" -- 2:47 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- Hmm...this one certainly doesn't fit the mold. This video is comprised of one long shot, in which the band performs in front of a fixed-position camera, which has a sort-of "fish-eyed" lens. This causes Axl to look very large as in leans into the mic, which is perched just below the camera. The song is a very fast-paced punk number and the lyrics scroll by on the bottom of the screen in a sing-along style as Axl bounces around manically. An odd video, but certainly not dull.
12. "Estranged" -- 9:40 -- Directed by Andy Morahan -- If you've ever watched VH1's "Behind the Music", then you know that it's not unusual for excess to catch up with rockers. That's certainly the case with this video, which is the third chapter in the trilogy. It opens with the police searching a darkened house in which Axl is hiding, and then segues into concert footage, which is notable, as we can see that Axl uses a teleprompter for the lyrics. Following this, we get shots of Axl jump off of an oil tanker into the ocean. This video couldn't have been cheap to make, but it certainly is muddled and pretentious. The song is about estrangement, and the video is apparently attempting to carry this theme, but it gets way too bogged down in its own imagery. And, the song can't carry this behemoth of a video, as it wears out its welcome very quickly, not having the epic nature of "November Rain". In the video, Axl wears a shirt which reads, "Deep". He wishes.
13. "Since I Don't Have You" -- 4:59 -- Directed by Sante D'Orazio -- Er, OK. This song is the only video from The Spaghetti Incident, which was an ablum of cover tunes. This song harks back to the 50s, but the video feels like a David Lynch movie, as the band is constantly tormented by an imp-like man in white make-up. A strange video and a boring song.
While it's certainly great to have this compilation on DVD, this video collection is not complete. Videos were made for the songs "Civil War" and "Knocking on Heaven's Door", but they aren't included here. The biggest disappointment is the fact that "You Could Be Mine" is absent, no doubt due to rights issues, as the video contains footage from Terminator 2. But, anyone who's seen the video knows that the "Waste of Ammo" moment is classic. Someone should have bitten the bullet and forked over the cash (or whatever) to get this video on the DVD.
Video
All of the vides included here are presented in a full-frame format. (And all of them were apparently shot that way, which is interesting, as it seems that almost every video is letterboxed today.) While the content appears to be a no-frills reproduction of the VHS release, the DVD presentation looks fairly good. For the most part, the images are clear and free from defects. The videos which feature black & white photography do show some grain and there is a great deal of video noise in "Paradise City". Some artifacting is present at times, but otherwise the video is satisfactory.
Audio
The videos on this DVD carry a Dolby 2.0 Surround audio track. This track does a great job of reproducing the songs. The tracks feature very good stereo separation and the rear speakers are filled with rhythm guitars and bass lines. The tracks are all very clear, showing no distortion or muddiness. The audio doesn't live up to 5.1 standards, but it is still quite good.
Extras
There are no extras on this DVD. The Internet Movie Database has listings for "making of"'s for "Don't Cry", "November Rain", and "Estranged", so one has to wonder why they weren't included here.
I keep waiting for 80s hard rock (or any rock for that matter) to make a comeback, but in the meantime, I've got DVDs such as Welcome to the Videos to keep me company. Guns n' Roses were THE rock band in the early 90s and these videos help to illustrate why. While many of these videos were played to death in their day, they are now classics and this DVD is the perfect way to re-live those hard-rockin' memories.
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