If you had to choose one GNR song....

[allwaystired]

As there's not too much going on at the moment......

If you had to choose one GNR song, as a favourite - what would it be? I'm interested to hear people's choices.....

It's Estranged for me.

[jarmo]

Instead of just naming the song, explain why... 


Paradise City is special. Made me order AFD from a mail order record catalogue....



/jarmo

[allwaystired]

Instead of just naming the song, explain why... 


Paradise City is special. Made me order AFD from a mail order record catalogue....



/jarmo

Ok - good idea!

I'd never heard anything like Estranged in my life when it came out: the way it seems to be many songs into one. Sat at about three in the morning in my room in a University halls of residence many years after it came out,  I was feeling pretty fed up, having just started and feeling a bit lost.  Dug out my old tape to listen to it. A guy I'd met a couple of times came along, knocked on the door, said he was also feeling pretty down and couldn't sleep. He asked me what it was (he's not especially into music) and I told him all about GNR and how they'd really opened up my life in many ways. We're still friends now, nearly 20 years later, and hearing that song reminds me of talking to him and realizing the future was going to be OK, and that there were people around who felt similar to me about life.

When I saw them play it again this summer I still got the tingles up and down my spine. That feeling is incredible.

[johnreed3344]

ESTRANGED

just an all-timer for me. song puts you through a whole range of emotions and i think if a song/band can do that it shows how brilliant they are. Especially when i was 28 lol "old at heart, but i'm only 28" kind of struck a cord with me during a tough time as well. All in all Estranged is the GOAT!

[McGann]

“Prostitute”. No doubt.
Not just my fav Guns song, but
My fav song ever.

I love the vocal...
I love all of the changes
In intensity...

Piano highlights...
Deep and complex production...
Inspired lyrics...

Did I say vocal 😄
“Prostitute” tops the list of
Best songs that I’ve heard.

Splash

/Mike

[Lord Stan]

It's actually My Michelle.

That's the first song when I thought what band is this, this is so cool. Some bootleg a friend got somewhere on a C-cassette.

(Later on Estranged but that doesn't count now.)

[GNR4L]

Better  ( NITL version) love how they took a good song and made it Better ( no pun intended).

[PermissionToLand]

The Garden. The dynamics of the soft, psychedelic verses (I would love to see them venture into psychedelia again) contrasted with that killer aggressive chorus riff and what is Slash's best solo IMO (it's just pure energy), just cannot be beat. In fact, Slash said in an interview, "that solo is particularly focused, in terms of where your energy is".

[GnR-NOW]

There Was A Time..... heard it twice during the 2012 residency and once in Philly. Love the guitar playing in the song

[ITARocker]

Can’t pick one... too many great songs, and during my life i have changed my mind so many times about it because of the age, the mood etc... i first fell in love with wttj, then one in a milion, scom... today i really don’t know

[D-GenerationX]

Probably 'Paradise City'.

If I was introducing someone to the band that had never heard a song, that is where I would start.  I just think it has it all.  Good vocals, cool lyrics, and solid riffs throughout.  And I think the overall vibe of the song sums up AFD era GNR.

On a personal level, it's my favorite GNR video.  And one of the all time favorite videos of my youth from anyone.  Seen it so many times since 6th grade when it came out, I can play it shot for shot in my head every time I hear the tune.

[D-GenerationX]

There Was A Time..... heard it twice during the 2012 residency and once in Philly. Love the guitar playing in the song

Hands down the best non-Slash GNR song, in my view.  And I think that guitar outro is one of the best things to ever appear on a GNR song from any era.  Buckethead just kills it.

It's the only post-1993 tune I would even consider on an all time top 10 list.  Even with an island of mistfit toys line-up cranking it out, I just think the guitar work is so solid throughout, I don't even care who is playing on it.

[Mike McKagan]

There's a strong argument to be made for nearly any of the singles. (I mean, SCOM is an all-time classic "Great American Songbook" type song.)

BUT, for me, the song that I've probably played as much as any is "Don't Damn Me." It's got one of the very best guitar riffs that Slash has ever composed, and the lyrics engage cultural/social considerations in a way that very few GN'R songs ever did, but without getting overly preachy or didactic.

It still makes me sad that it's one of the only GN'R songs to never be performed live, since I'd imagine that riff would fill stadiums pretty effectively.

Bonus points for the vocals staying much lower than Axl's normal range (until the end, at least), which makes it one of the few GN'R songs I can sing at the top of my lungs while driving. 

But yeah, that's my pick. 

[sky dog]

Sweet Child O' Mine-perfect pop rock song
*1(B) Estranged-perfect Axl/Slash song
 

[Sillything]

Paradise City for the music and Better for the lyrics.

[nick6sic6]

Locomotive after some thought.
The perfect example of guitarist - singer collaboration. The original demo of the song is just a funky riff but after Axl's input it became a whole different beast.
Lyrics are another monster and the vocals too.you can hear 2 different Axl voices throughout the song.not to mention some of Slash's carreer best solos.

[hsvhsv83]

Estranged. I Love this awesome song 

[D-GenerationX]

BUT, for me, the song that I've probably played as much as any is "Don't Damn Me." It's got one of the very best guitar riffs that Slash has ever composed, and the lyrics engage cultural/social considerations in a way that very few GN'R songs ever did, but without getting overly preachy or didactic.

It still makes me sad that it's one of the only GN'R songs to never be performed live, since I'd imagine that riff would fill stadiums pretty effectively.

To the first point, totally agree.  One of my favorite lyrical tunes and Slash steps out bit more than usual.

My theory on why it was never performed live?  Ever try singing along?  It zaps your oxygen to keep up.  And that's sitting in a room.  Imagine running side to side to side across a stadium stage. 

I don't think it's a coincidence that 'Perfect Crime' was a staple in arenas and a rarity once they hit the stadiums.  Tough to pull off running around.

[D-GenerationX]

Locomotive after some thought.
The perfect example of guitarist - singer collaboration. The original demo of the song is just a funky riff but after Axl's input it became a whole different beast.
Lyrics are another monster and the vocals too.you can hear 2 different Axl voices throughout the song.not to mention some of Slash's carreer best solos.

Incredible lyrics.

And, amazingly, the 2 live versions I have (December 1991 in NYC and February 1992 in Tokyo) Axl kills it.  Does not miss, or even mix up, one line.

[Vezara]

Reading this thread makes me very very happy, because this is exactly why I enjoy being part of a GnR forum... being among people which share the same musical taste.
My favorite song depended on my age... There are only a small number of songs that weren't actually on the list of favorites...
My first was Paradise City, then Jungle, then SCOM, then, bla bla bla... in puberty I adored Rocket Queen, especially the second part, I'll skip cllasics NR and DC, Patience, etc.
Estranged was probably my favorite for the longest amount of time, because of the journey it takes me every time I listen to it...
Don't damn me and Locomotive also had a similar effect but with a special attitude that I still admire!
If I made a song, I would like it to sound like COMA! The attitude, the guitar, the singing, the lyrics, its all there, that's probably the ONE, especially the second part of the song, from the scream it gets better and better till the very end. Axl singing over the guitar as if surfing on boiling lava going 150km/h
Then came CD and I was up for a trip once again, street of dreams, IRS, Better, Catcher in the Rye, Madagascar, Shackler, This I love***, Prostitute, Sorry, but the closest to my all time favorite is TWAT, again the incredible journey, the guitars, the lyrics... it would be my favorite if it weren't for the high pitch tones that are woven through the whole album, which I cannot point out or explain but seem to bother me while listening to, as background music
I don't know, I can't decide between Estranged, Coma and TWAT... If I had to, if I was offered by GnR to play just one song for me, it would probably be  Estranged, because they play it so well