Greatest Hits (Guns N' Roses album)

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Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Guns N' Roses
Released March 23, 2004
Recorded 1987–1994
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 79:18
Label Geffen
Producer Guns N' Roses
Mike Clink
Bill Levenson
Guns N' Roses chronology
Live Era: '87–'93
(1999)		 Greatest Hits
(2004)		 Chinese Democracy
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars.... [1]
NME 9/10 stars......... [2]
Pitchfork Media (3.9/10) [3]
Stylus (D+) [4]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5 stars.... [5]
BBC (mixed) [6]

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, released on March 23, 2004. It was released by Geffen in part because of the delay in the making of Chinese Democracy, and the subject of lawsuits by band member Axl Rose and ex band members in an attempt to block its release due to its track listing [7] . Despite the album having almost no promotion it reached number one on the UK Albums Chart[8] and number three on the Billboard 200 chart.[9] The album has proven a popular seller, selling over 5 million copies in the United States to date. Greatest Hits became Guns N' Roses' second-longest charting album in their homeland (after Appetite for Destruction). Universal Records' response to Rose's opposition to the record was that he had been given adequate time to supply them with a record but had failed to do so, and so they had produced their own Guns N' Roses record instead.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Original album Length
1. "Welcome to the Jungle"   Axl Rose, Slash Appetite for Destruction 4:32
2. "Sweet Child o' Mine"   Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin Appetite for Destruction 5:55
3. "Patience"   Stradlin, Rose G N' R Lies 5:56
4. "Paradise City"   Rose, Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Slash Appetite for Destruction 6:47
5. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover) Bob Dylan Use Your Illusion II 5:36
6. "Civil War"   Rose, Slash, McKagan Use Your Illusion II 7:42
7. "You Could Be Mine"   Stradlin, Rose Use Your Illusion II 5:44
8. "Don't Cry" (Original version) Stradlin, Rose Use Your Illusion I 4:51
9. "November Rain"   Rose Use Your Illusion I 8:57
10. "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney & Wings cover) Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney Use Your Illusion I 3:02
11. "Yesterdays"   Rose, West Arkeen, Del James, Billy McCloud Use Your Illusion II 3:18
12. "Ain't It Fun" (The Dead Boys cover) Cheetah Chrome, Peter Laughner "The Spaghetti Incident?" 5:10
13. "Since I Don't Have You" (The Skyliners cover) Joseph Rock, James Beaumont "The Spaghetti Incident?" 4:18
14. "Sympathy for the Devil" (The Rolling Stones cover) Mick Jagger, Keith Richards Interview with the Vampire 7:36
Total length:
 79:18

[edit] Notes

  • "Ain't It Fun" was censored for the compilation: "Ain't it fun when you tell her she's just a cunt" became "Ain't it fun when you tell her she's just a–", with guitar notes at 3:36 instead of the final word in the line. This version had never been officially released before, but had been broadcast by most radio stations when it was released as a single in 1993. Nonetheless, other profanity on the compilation remains unedited (the word "bitch" remains on "You Could Be Mine", and "fuck" remains on "Since I Don't Have You".)

[edit] Reception and lawsuit

Although the album received mainly positive reviews and sold well, fans criticized the track listing, citing lack of some popular songs and too many covers, as reason for complaint. Axl Rose immediately tried to block the release by suing Geffen, saying it would ruin his focus on Chinese Democracy and if he were to get the album finished and released sooner, the Greatest Hits album would be selling more, leaving the album unnoticed. Former bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan helped Rose file the lawsuit against Geffen, although they did not speak to each other in person. This failed and the album was released under Geffen Records' rights.

[edit] Missing singles

The album omits several singles released by the band between 1987 and 1999: "It's So Easy", "Nightrain", "Estranged", "Hair of the Dog", and "Oh My God". Also, "Mr. Brownstone" was dropped, when it was released in some areas as a double A-side to "It's So Easy" or "Welcome to the Jungle".

[edit] Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[10] 2× Platinum 80,000x
Australia (ARIA)[11] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Brazil (ABPD)[12] Gold 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[13] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[14] Platinum 200,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 6× Platinum 90,000x
Mexico (AMPROFON)[16] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[17] Platinum 60,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[18] Platinum 40,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[20] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[21] 3× Platinum 3,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

[edit] Personnel

  • W. Axl Rose – lead vocals, percussion on "Welcome to the Jungle", whistling on "Patience", whistle on "Paradise City", piano on "November Rain"
  • Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar on "Civil War", lead acoustic guitar on "Patience"
  • Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, rhythm acoustic guitar on "Patience", backing vocals (on tracks 1–11)
  • Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals, rhythm acoustic guitar on "Patience"
  • Steven Adler – drums, percussion (on tracks 1–4, 6)
  • Matt Sorum – drums, backing vocals (on tracks 5, 7–14)
  • Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano (on tracks 5–14)
  • Gilby Clarke – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (on tracks 12 & 13)
  • Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil"

[edit] References

  1. ^ Greatest Hits (Guns N' Roses album) at Allmusic
  2. ^ "NME Album Reviews - Guns N' Roses : Greatest Hits". Nme.Com. 2004-03-19. http://www.nme.com/reviews/guns-n-roses/7348. Retrieved 2012-02-19. 
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ "Guns n Roses - Greatest Hits - Review". Stylus Magazine. http://stylusmagazine.com/reviews/guns-n-roses/greatest-hits.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-19. 
  5. ^ "Guns N' Roses - Greatest Hits (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 2005-06-23. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/2576/Guns-N-Roses-Greatest-Hits/. Retrieved 2012-02-19. 
  6. ^ "Music - Review of Guns N' Roses - Greatest Hits". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8bmq. Retrieved 2012-02-19. 
  7. ^ "Judge denies Axl Rose bid to stop release of CD". USA Today. March 23, 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-03-16-axl-rose-judge_x.htm. Retrieved May 4, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Chart Stats - Guns N' Roses". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=269. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
  9. ^ "Artist Chart History - Guns N' Roses". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=4761&model.vnuAlbumId=1197907. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
  10. ^ "Argentinian album certifications – Guns – Greatest Hits". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=Guns&album=Greatest+Hits&LanDesde_MM=0&LanDesde_AA=0&LanHasta_MM=0&LanHasta_AA=0&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP. 
  11. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2010Albums.htm. 
  12. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Greatest Hits" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. http://abpd.org.br/certificados_interna.asp?sArtista=Guns+N%27+Roses&tmidia=1. 
  13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Guns 'N Roses – Greatest Hits". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Greatest+Hits&sa=Guns+%27N+Roses&smt=0. 
  14. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Guns 'N Roses; 'Greatest Hits')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Greatest+Hits&strInterpret=Guns+%27N+Roses&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
  15. ^ "Irish album certifications – Guns N Roses – Greatest Hits". Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/multi_platinum.htm. 
  16. ^ "Mexican album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Greatest Hits" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. http://www.amprofon.com.mx/certificaciones.php?artista=Guns+N%27+Roses&titulo=Greatest+Hits&categoria=ALBUM&contenido=buscar. 
  17. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2004" (in Swedish) (PDF). IFPI Sweden. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/ar-20042.pdf. 
  18. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Guns N' Roses; 'Greatest Hits')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Guns+N%27+Roses+Greatest+Hits. 
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Appetite Greatest Hits in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  20. ^ "American album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Greatest+Hits%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  21. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2009". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat2009.html. 
Preceded by
Anastacia by Anastacia
D12 World by D12		 UK number one album
April 24, 2004 – May 7, 2004
May 15, 2004 – May 21, 2004		 Succeeded by
D12 World by D12
Hopes and Fears by Keane
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greatest_Hits_(Guns_N%27_Roses_album)&oldid=477786053"
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