Guns N' Roses come up with new tracks

BY RAFER GUZM?N
Newsday Staff Writer

May 16, 2006

The latest incarnation of Guns N' Roses played a "warm-up" show at Manhattan's filled-to-bursting Hammerstein Ballroom Sunday night, showcasing songs from the long-awaited album "Chinese Democracy" and promising - yet again - that the disc would be out soon.

The four nights at the venue - Friday, Sunday, last night and tomorrow - are being dubbed warm-up shows before the band tours the European festival circuit this summer and opens two dates for the Rolling Stones in Germany.

Axl Rose, 44, remains the only original member of Guns N' Roses. Sunday's lineup was essentially the same as in 2002, featuring bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia, guitarists Robin Finck and Richard Fortus, and keyboard players Dizzy Reed and Chris Pittman. Former guitarist Buckethead, known for wearing a KFC bucket on his head, was replaced by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thall, who played a guitar shaped like a foot with movable bees' wings.

The band kicked off with the urban anthem "Welcome to the Jungle" and played a two-hour, 15-minute show punctuated by on-stage fireworks and a roster of old favorites such as "Mr. Brownstone," "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "My Michelle," a duet with Skid Row's Sebastian Bach. Though plagued by microphone problems, Rose revealed a voice that's as powerful and piercing as ever.

The crowd, which included Lenny Kravitz sitting with friends in a private box, seemed familiar with the unreleased songs from "Chinese Democracy," many of which have leaked onto the Web. The newer numbers included a theatrical epic called "The Blues," the jagged rocker "Better" and the album's chaotic title track.

Regarding the disc, which has been in the making since the late 1990s, Rose said, "You and a whole lot of -- like you can obviously hold their breath a lot longer than David Blaine. I want to thank you."

Guns N' Roses bared its musical chops on two covers: a Satanic version of Wings' "Live and Let Die" and a soulful take on Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Finck's solos incorporated a number of unusual tunes, from "Over the Rainbow" to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful."

The band closed with "Paradise City" around 1:10 a.m., and Finck dove into the crowd.

GUNS N' ROSES. Back in the jungle. Hammerstein Ballroom Friday, Sunday, last night and tomorrow. Seen Sunday.