Dubo's Den: The Ballads of Guns N' Roses

White Album. While there are enough of hard-driving, frenetic rockers that satiated my want to replicate the title of Appetite, I view it would have been better to carry the better of both parts and combine them into one because I found too much self-indulgent filler, soft piano bits, radio-friendly sound, and too many ballads. Guns N' Roses' early material strikes me as raw, authentic, tough, and honest, and while parts of it are undeniably brilliant, too much of Use Your Illusion comes off as a pretentious attempt to do "serious" music.Recently, I have begun re-examining my initial perception of Use Your Illusion. Perhaps because I, like a lot of fans, view this album as the first of the end for GNR - the commencement of a downward spiral that would pass to a long hiatus only end when Axl Rose reformed the circle with a new lineup - that I unfairly took my disappointment out on this album. Maybe instead of wishing the classic line-up had continued on with the seniority of the Rolling Stones, I should have comprehended this effort. I still prefer Appetite, and while parts of Use Your Illusion are pretentious and self-indulgent, it's actually a pretty stellar release.In that land of intellect and being that it's Valentine's Day, I decided to see three songs off the album that contain an unofficial trilogy: "Don't Cry," "November Rain," and "Estranged." All three are ballads, were turned into hugely expensive music videos, feature some of Slash's best guitar solos, and were inspired by a history by Del James called "Without You." More importantly (at least for the purposes of this blog entry), they're about lost love, loneliness, and sorrow. Most surprisingly is how beautiful I get them.Keep in mind, song meanings are open to interpretation.I care I could say how the songs are reinforced with technique and style, but I'm not as musically knowledgeable as I'd wish to be. These are simply how the songs make me feel."Don't Cry" is the 4th track off Use Your Illusion I, and it's almost a check up. The man can see the woman wants to say something and understands how he feels, so he tells her not to cry; she'll feel better tomorrow, but she should remember how he felt. Don't cry because "there's a heaven above you;" things will turn out in the end. "Don't Cry" is the most traditional hard rock ballad of these three. It doesn't have any outside instruments, retains a uniform structure throughout, and is the shortest. It's a very good call to mind to when you're feeling down. No matter how bad things may get, someone's looking out for you, and spirit will get better."November Rain" is the tenth track off Use Your Illusion I. Of these three, it definitely gets the most radio airplay (although nowhere near as often as "Sweet Child 'O Mine"). It begins softly with a soft and builds with symphony instrumentation and synthesizers until eventually we get the first unaccompanied by Slash. In fact, the rock instruments - guitars, bass, and drums - augment the strings, piano, and vocals, existing more as background. Only Slash's solos are as prominent, and they're epic. Looking back, I was invariably stunned this was from the same group that did "Welcome to the Jungle." "November Rain" is near the ephemeralness of love. Love and felicity is similar a warm candle in the cold November rain; it won't last forever, but you should cherish it while you can."Estranged" is the eleventh track off Use Your Illusion II. Nearly nine-and-a-half minutes long, its about a cross of the heavy rock roots of "Don't Cry" and the symphony of "November Rain." It changes rhythms and direction and is difficult to pin down. Once you believe it's sticking with one style, it shifts into another. Axl opens the song almost whispering, creating this mental picture of a man huddled alone in the night after losing everything. But like "November Rain," it builds up and becomes more powerful, assertive, and most defiant. Then it slows down for another piano interlude, as if stopping to remember about what's been lost. By song's end, the bed is gone, but it's accepted. Now the whispering man can go on as he remembers that property on to the doomed love was dragging him down.Pretentious? Sure. Ambitious? Absolutely. Filled with glorious music? Yes. These three ballads certainly are different from the angry, rowdy street boys of Appetite for Destruction.I can't say I prefer Use Your Magic to GNR's debut album, but at least I can say I'm not dismissing it anymore. Great music is great music, and as weird as it is for me to say this, these three songs from a strong rock band are beautiful.