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intothewellsabyss
Nov 29, 20227 min read

Guns N' Roses - G N' R Lies (1988)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…



On November 29, 1988, Guns N' Roses released their second full-length studio album G N' R Lies (also known simply as Lies) via Geffen Records.



It is also the band's shortest studio album, running at 33 and a half minutes. The album reached number two on the US Billboard 200, and according to The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the album has shipped over five million copies in the United States. Patience was the only single released from Lies, and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.



This is their last full-album to feature drummer Steven Adler following his departure in 1990, shortly after the single Civil War was recorded, and featured on Use Your Illusion II (1991), as well as their last album to be recorded as five-piece band.



Personal Thoughts:

Two bands that made a huge impact on me in 1987 were L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses (although, I wouldn't learn of the two bands connections until sometime later). The two were different, yet the same. They were both loud, lude, sleazy and dangerous. And, although both bands debut releases were well produced, they still had a raw, organic and wild atmosphere. The reckless abandon that the bands portrayed had captured my attention. They were unlike any of the countless bands that had come out of the L.A. Glam Metal scene. Sure, the themes of sex, drugs and rock n' roll were present in every aspect of their music, but unlike their predecessors, their attitudes lent more to that of streetwise punks than they did to the high school jocks with their weekend, post-game keggers.


As I said previously, to a 14 year old teenager, they were dangerous! And, I ate up every riff and word I heard. Eventually, G N' R's Appetite for Destruction would be on constant rotation, my walls would be plastered from floor to ceiling with the bands posters, and my daily atire always included one of the many G N' R shirts I owned. I was a Gunner, through and through, and I couldn't wait for the bands second album to be released.


As luck would have it, I wouldn't have to wait very long, as Guns N' Roses' G N’ R Lies arrived a mere 15 months after their record-setting debut album, Appetite for Destruction had hit the shelves. The November 29, 1988 release date of Lies was approximately 90 days after Appetite had finally topped the Billboard 200 Albums chart.


Much had changed for the band since Appetite’s rather inconspicuous introduction into a very crowded Glam Metal landscape in July 1987. The album’s 57-week climb up the charts had initially gave no evidence of the stardom that awaited Guns N' Roses after Sweet Child O’ Mine took over radio waves and abruptly pushed demand for the band into the stratosphere.


Like myself, millions of rabid teenage (and young adult) fans had felt the shot from their gun and Geffen Records could smell the blood. Without hesitation, label execs abruptly paused the bands busy tour schedule and had them hit the studio in order to record a few new acoustic tracks. And, as it wasn't readily available, the pairing of the new songs together with the bands 1986 limited edition Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP, made G N’ R Lies almost irresistible.


The bait was cast, and like countless numbers of glam-metal fans, I was hooked. On release day, I ran to my local record store to snag my copy of the album that would ultimately reach more than five million copies sold. — E.N. Wells (Into the Wells)



Background:

The first four tracks consist of the previously released EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide. These four tracks were also included as bonus tracks on the 2018 reissue of Appetite for Destruction.



The last four songs were recorded acoustically. They were written and recorded in only a few studio sessions (with the exception of You're Crazy, which appeared in an alternative version on Appetite for Destruction), which producer Mike Clink called "one of those magical Rock and Roll history moments."



In later interviews, Axl Rose stated that while he loved how the band sounded on the last four songs, he hated the sound of his voice. Rose recalled that his voice was husky and scratchy from the band's lengthy touring at the time, and if he could he would have re-recorded his vocal tracks in a separate session.



A significantly faster version of You're Crazy with electric guitars had previously been released on the band's debut album, Appetite for Destruction, and was now recorded as originally intended. Used to Love Her was written as a joke after Izzy Stradlin disliked a song he heard on the radio featuring "some guy whining about a broad who was treating him bad". Slash stated that "People think it's about one of our old girlfriends, but it's actually about Axl's dog."



Three of the four songs from the G N' R Lies EP are included on the 2018 remastered release of the album Appetite for Destruction, with the exception of the controversial One in a Million.



The cover of the album is a humorous parody of tabloid newspapers, as are the liner notes. The album's cover art underwent several minor modifications when the title was released on CD. First, in the bottom left corner reading LIES LIES LIES originally read "Wife-beating has been around for 10,000 years." Secondly, instead of "Elephant gives birth to midget", the original headline reads, "Ladies, welcome to the dark ages." Many copies of the original LP release also contained an uncensored picture of a nude model on the inner LP sleeve.



The UK/Euro WX 218 924 198 - 1 release had 2 stickers on the cover; Special Limited Edition containing a Sheet of Japanese Peel off Stickers, and Contains language that some people may find offensive 924 198 - 1. The Peel off Stickers are on a 21mm x 30mm sheet.



The cover art bears a resemblance to John Lennon's Some Time in New York City, an album that contains Lennon's controversial Woman Is the N!*@ er of the World, a song Axl Rose cited when he defended his use of the word "n!*@er" in One in a Million.



In addition to the album cover, two songs from the album caused significant controversy. The song One in a Million raised accusations of racism and homophobia. Rose denied that he was a racist and defended his use of the word n!*@er, claiming that "it's a word to describe somebody that is basically a pain in your life, a problem. The word n!*@er doesn't necessarily mean black." He cited the rap group N.W.A. and the John Lennon song Woman Is the N!*@er of the World as other examples of musicians using the word. Several years later, Rose conceded that he had used the word as an insult towards black people who had tried to rob him, and because the word is a taboo. In response to the allegations of homophobia, Rose stated that he considered himself "pro-heterosexual" and blamed this attitude on "bad experiences" with gay men.



The song Used to Love Her was perceived as misogynistic by critics.



A promotional video was shot for the song Patience in which the band were filmed in what resembles a rehearsal space.


(Clips from the music video for Patience)


Critical Reception:

Rolling Stone, in a 4 out of 5 star review, stated;

"Given that Guns N’ Roses could probably release an album of Baptist hymns at this point and go platinum, it would be all too easy to dismiss G N’ R Lies as a sneaky attempt by the band to throw together some outtakes and cash in on the busy holiday buying season... The good news is that Lies is a lot more interesting than that... The calm Folk-Rock melodies of these four acoustic songs reveal yet another welcome facet of Guns N’ Roses. They should also end any further mutterings from the doubting Thomases out there who are still making snide comments about the band’s potential for longevity."

(G N' R on the cover of Rolling Stone, November 17, 1988)


AllMusic, in a 3.5 out of 5 review, criticizied some of the songs on the acoustic side, stating;

"Constructed as a double EP, with the "indie" debut Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide coming first and four new acoustic-based songs following on the second side, G N' R Lies is where the band metamorphosed from genuine threat to joke. Neither recorded live nor released by an indie label, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide is competent bar band boogie, without the energy or danger of Appetite for Destruction. The new songs are considerably more problematic. Patience is Guns N' Roses at their prettiest and their sappiest, the most direct song they recorded to date. Its emotional directness makes the misogyny of Used to Love Her (But I Had to Kill Her) and the pitiful slanders of One in a Million sound genuine.

In a negative review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau stated;

"Axl's voice is a power tool with attachments, Slash's guitar a hype, the groove potent "Hard Rock", and the songwriting not without its virtues. So figure musical quality at around C plus and take the grade as a call to boycott, a reminder to clean livers who yearn for the wild side that the necessary link between sex-and-drugs and Rock-and-Roll is a Hollywood fantasy"

Christgau also condemned "One In a Million" and "Used To Love Her".


In a 2014 review Metal Hammer dissected the controversy around the album, stating "Conceived as a stop-gap release, the second Guns N’ Roses album remains a remarkable one-off in every sense."


Ultimate Classic Rock stated;

"Ironically, G N’ R Lies tabloid-style cover art also hinted at the incessant scandals and resulting paranoia that would soon engulf the band, and its singer in particular, sowing the seeds to their eventual dissolution after the twin Use Your Illusion behemoths, and protracted creative silence until 2008’s historically delayed Chinese Democracy opus."

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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