Guns N' Roses: The Videos

Posted by Marshall Slayton on 05.27.2009

411's Marshall Slayton sits down with a bucket of popcorn and watches the official Guns N' Roses videos. He's compiled and rated all of them for your viewing pleasure! Come inside and have yourself a good headbanging!



Guns N' Roses has been with me since my childhood, and I will continue to love the late 80's and early 90's rock spirit forever. I've seen these videos dozens of times, and felt it necessary to share my thoughts and feelings about them with you, dearest readers.

While most of these songs are perfect tens for me, I believe music videos either maintain your relationship with a song, or in some cases, make the song even better.

Let's see which Guns N' Roses videos fall into the latter category. Keep in mind, this is not an evaluation of the songs... just the videos.

1. Welcome To The Jungle



What's Going On?: Axl Rose gets dropped off in a city where he doesn't belong and finds himself strapped in a chair watching news footage of chaos and destruction, a la A Clockwork Orange.

The 411: Everything about this video screams "badass." From Axl's over-the-top hair to being strapped in a chair with open eyes, "Welcome to the Jungle" is both creepy and intense while managing to rock your socks off. How come we never hear anything this cool on the radio today?

Rating:9.5


2. Sweet Child O' Mine



What's Going On?: Shot documentary style in a large room, Guns N' Roses sing "Sweet Child O' Mine" while black-and-white footage breaks the fourth wall and shows the crew shooting the video.

The 411: Putting the band in an intimate setting works because the performance is ours and ours alone. Who wouldn't want a private live show from the old Guns N' Roses?

Rating: 9.0

3. Paradise City

What's Going On?: Guns N' Roses play in front of crowds. Large crowds. Very large crowds. Headbanging ensues.

The 411: An amazing song, but a pretty standard video. "Paradise City" shows GN'R rising to fame and gathering massive numbers at concerts, and becoming the rock gods they deserved to be. I tend to skip the video, because the song stands so well on its own. At least they didn't try to make their own representation of Paradise City – seeing Axl and friends singing on a beach with oiled bikini women would have been cliché, so maybe live footage was the best way to go.

Rating: 8.0

4. Patience



What's Going On?: The band rehearses casually with acoustic guitars. In a hotel room, Slash covers himself with a snake while different sexy women enter his bed. Izzy takes a tray to the lobby and sits with some chatty girls.

The 411: A beautiful song with ambiguous imagery, the video evokes a feeling of isolation using the hotel surrounding as a landscape. Long hallways, naked rooms, and long camera takes provide the viewer with a sense of longing and emptiness from failed relationships. "Patience" is an unlikely single for GN'R at this point, but an excellent song regardless.

Rating:8.5

5. Don't Cry



What's Going On?: Axl and Slash are terrible to their women! Axl engages in a fight with his wife (and a gun) after she discovers that he's cheating on her. Slash drives his girl off a cliff, killing her -- and then solos his guitar about it afterward. Axl's inner turmoil is depicted through a series of nightmares, such as stumbling through a snowy blizzard and drowning in an endless body of water. He goes insane and dies a sad, lonely death. Lots of people attend his funeral, while his lifeless body looks up towards the heavens and reaches towards the sunlight. He is reborn as a cute, innocent wet infant.

The 411: The first truly cinematic GN'R video. There's so many ideas presented here, it's hard to keep track of them all. The imagery here is absolutely brilliant: it's hard to picture Axl's wailing at the end of the song without seeing his naked, frozen body reaching towards the sky. The mood of this video can be summed up in one word -- intense. Even the live footage on the skyscraper with helicopters circling has intensity stamped all over it. A timeless video, and one of their best, "Don't Cry" is a top-quality production which all music videos should strive to achieve. It tells an amazing story while successfully forcing your ass out the door to buy the CD.

Rating: 10.0

6. Live and Let Die