Live Era '87–'93

Live Era '87–'93
Live album by
Guns N' Roses
ReleasedNovember 23, 1999
RecordedJune 28, 1987; December 10, 1988; April 10 and 28, 1993
1991–1992
GenreHard Rock[1]
Length133:02
LabelGeffen Records
ProducerDel James
Guns N' Roses chronology
Welcome to the Videos
(1998) 		Live Era '87–'93
(1999) 		Greatest Hits
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

Live Era '87–'93 is a double live album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on November 23, 1999. The record was the first official Guns N' Roses release since "The Spaghetti Incident?" released on the same day 6 years prior in 1993. Guitarist Slash notes that the album is "not pretty and there are a lot of mistakes, but this is Guns N' Roses, not the fucking Mahavishnu Orchestra. It's as honest as it gets."[4]

The album is certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies. The RIAA counts each disc in a double album separately for certification, so the album has actually shipped 250,000 copies.[5]

Album information

The album was compiled by band associate Del James.[6] The dates and locations of the tracks are not revealed in the liner notes and are referred to simply as being "recorded across the universe between 1987 and 1993." However, the majority are believed to be from the Use Your Illusion Tour of 1991—1993.[7]

Axl Rose is alleged to have communicated through intermediaries with former Guns N' Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan to select the track list. "The live album was one of the easiest projects we all worked on," Slash noted. "I didn't actually see Axl, but we communicated via the powers that be."[8]

Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke, who play on the majority of the tracks, are not credited as band members, but as "additional musicians". Classic-member drummer Steven Adler, who plays on only three tracks, and Izzy Stradlin, who plays on six, are credited as "main band members."

Two popular live songs, "Live and Let Die" and "Civil War" – both played frequently during the Use Your Illusion Tour – are omitted from this release. Songs that were played to a much lesser extent ("Pretty Tied Up" and "Move to the City") are included.

The Japanese and vinyl versions of the album contain a rare performance of "Coma".

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was performed and recorded at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and was previously released on the "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" single.

"Estranged," "Don't Cry," "November Rain," "Pretty Tied Up", "You Could Be Mine" and "Move To The City" were previously released on the band's Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II videos. The live audio from "Yesterdays" was included as a B-side on that song's CD single.

Two similar covers were released, with the slight difference being either a blue corner or a red corner. The blue corner was the explicit release and the red corner was the clean release.

Track listing

All music and lyrics written by Guns N' Roses, except where noted

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nightrain" (from Appetite For Destruction, 1987) 5:19
2."Mr. Brownstone" (from Appetite For Destruction) 5:42
3."It's So Easy" (from Appetite For Destruction)Guns N' Roses, West Arkeen3:28
4."Welcome to the Jungle" (from Appetite For Destruction) 5:09
5."Dust N' Bones" (from Use Your Illusion I, 1991)Slash, Stradlin, McKagan5:05
6."My Michelle" (from Appetite For Destruction) 3:53
7."You're Crazy" (from G N' R Lies, 1988) 4:45
8."Used to Love Her" (from G N' R Lies) 4:17
9."Patience" (from G N' R Lies) 6:42
10."It's Alright" (Black Sabbath cover)Bill Ward3:07
11."November Rain" (from Use Your Illusion I)Rose12:32
Total length:59:54

[9]

Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Out ta Get Me" (from Appetite For Destruction) 4:33
2."Pretty Tied Up" (from Use Your Illusion II, 1991)Stradlin5:25
3."Yesterdays" (from Use Your Illusion II)Rose, Arkeen, Del James, Billy McCloud3:52
4."Move to the City" (from Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, 1986)Stradlin, Chris Weber, Daniel Nicolson (a/k/a D.J.)[10]8:00
5."You Could Be Mine" (from Use Your Illusion II)Rose, Stradlin6:02
6."Rocket Queen" (from Appetite For Destruction) 8:27
7."Sweet Child O' Mine" (from Appetite for Destruction) 7:25
8."Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover from Use Your Illusion II)Bob Dylan7:27
9."Don't Cry" (from Use Your Illusion I)Rose, Stradlin4:44
10."Estranged" (from Use Your Illusion II)Rose9:52
11."Paradise City" (from Appetite for Destruction) 7:22
Total length:1:13:09

[9]

A live version of "Coma" was released on several versions.[11]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Coma" (from Use Your Illusion I)Rose, Slash10:50

[9]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[12]

Band members

Backing musicians

  • Teddy Andreadis – backing vocals, harmonica, percussion, keyboards (1992)
  • Roberta Freeman – backing vocals (1992)
  • Tracey Amos – backing vocals (1992)
  • Cece Worrall – horns (1992)
  • Anne King – horns (1992)
  • Lisa Maxwell – horns (1992)

Charts

The album reached number 45 in the UK albums chart.[13]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[14] Platinum 60,000^
Australia (ARIA)[15] Platinum 70,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[16] Gold 100,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[18] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (2007). Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota. Simon and Schuster. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-4165-8952-5.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Guns N' Roses - Live: Era '87-'93 Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Fricke, David (January 20, 2000). "Guns N' Roses: Live Era '87-'93 : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Guitar World Presents: Guitar Legends - Slash #76 pg.12
  5. ^ GNR certifications- RIAA
  6. ^ Hotten, Jon (January 2002). "Mad bad and dangerous to know?". Classic Rock #36. p. 78.
  7. ^ "Live Era Track Sources". October 14, 2010. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008.
  8. ^ Guitar World Presents: Guitar Legends - Slash #76 pg.17
  9. ^ a b c "Live Era '87-'93 | Guns N' Roses live album". www.slashparadise.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  10. ^ "GN'R Song Archive: Move To The City". Appetite For Discussion.
  11. ^ Guns N' Roses - Live Era '87-'93, retrieved 2022-11-22
  12. ^ Live Era '87-'93 (Media notes). Guns N' Roses. Geffen Records. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Guns N' Roses | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  14. ^ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  15. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  16. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Roses – Guns N'roses Live" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Guns n' Roses – Live Era". Music Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  18. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Guns n' Roses – Live Era" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1999年12月 on the drop-down menu
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Guns n' Roses – Live Era". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  20. ^ "American album certifications – Guns n' Roses – Live Era". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 10, 2019.