Hit Parader Magazine - May 1989
by James T. Dawkins

Guns N' Roses - Lies, Lies, Lies
Platinum Rockers Keep Rolling Along With New EP


     Where does a band go from up? That's the dilemma facing Guns N' Roses these days and it's a problem just about any other band on the face of the planet Earth would be happy to handle for them. After all, sales for the band's first LP, Appetite for Destruction have now passed the six million level, and their new EP, Lies, seems destined to become one of the largest-selling records of that format ever released. Yes, things are certainly hot for vocalist Axl Rose, guitarists Izzy Stradlin and Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. They've recently completed tours of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, where they packed crowds in at every stop, and now it's back to the recording studio to finish work on their all-important follow-up to the precedent-shattering Appetite.
     "I don't have to worry about us being able to make this next record even better than the first one," Slash said. "We've already gotten all the songs written, and Axl's come up with some incredible lyrics. Being able to tour the world and experience all we have during the past 18 months has given us an incredible amount of energy to draw from. Appetite for Destruction was only the beginning of what this band is going to do. This next record will kick-ass just as hard, but it'll be different, too."
     Just how that album will be different is hard to surmise at the moment. Judging from the band's recent body of work nothing is beyond the Guns gang's creative grasp, and it's a safe bet that their next album will be just as unpredictable as the songs featured on their debut disc and EP. According to Slash the new material, which should be ready for release by early summer, picks up where Appetite left off, presenting down and dirty tales of love and lust done as only Guns N' Roses can do 'em.
     "The material actually came together a little easier this time," he said. "We knew what we wanted to do, so every time we had a break from the road we'd all get together in an L.A. rehearsal hall and try to get some new songs together. The four musicians in the band would work on some basic song structures while Axl would be off working on his lyrics. Then we'd get together and see what fit together. It was amazing how even if we didn't know what the other guy was doing how the words and music just naturally fit together."
     While the band's hit-and-run writing procedures may be somewhat unusual, those tactics were forced by the incredible amount of time the band spent on the road last year. Touring with the likes of Alice Cooper, The Cult, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, and Aerosmith, Guns logged over 250 concert performances and traveled an estimated 40,000 miles across the face of the planet on their first tour. Originally, the band had hoped to have their second LP recorded and released by the fall of 1988, but the success of singles like Sweet Child O' Mine and Welcome to the Jungle kept the band's tour itinerary hopping. So their recording schedule kept being pushed back, and pushed back some more. Eventually, the band decided that they needed to get some new product out to their fans to hold them over until their new LP could be completed. Thus the concept of Guns N' Roses Lies was born.
     "We wanted to put something out between the last tour and the next album," Slash said. "We heard that kids were having to pay $50 to $100 for original copies of our first EP, Live Like A Suicide. We also wanted to do some new songs that showed another side of us. So what we did on Lies was re-release the four songs that had been on Suicide, and we added four new songs that are very different from anything we've done before. These are songs we just felt like doing. This is a rock and roll band, but there are a lot of different influences within Guns N' Roses. We write a lot of our songs on acoustic guitar, so doing Lies seemed a natural thing for us."
     But why would a band that has verbally rebelled against the press sensationalism that has surrounded Guns N' Roses since their inception play right into the press' sleazy hands with Lies? Featuring a tabloid- like cover, and the subhead "The Drugs, The Sex, The Violence, The Shocking Truth," it seems as if the Gunners have finally realized that when it comes to the rumor-loving press, if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em.
     "We did the cover for a good reason," Slash said. "We've been in the center of attention for so long. We've had so much hype and sensationalism centered on us over the last few years that it became really ridiculous. All of it was bullshit. We've heard that we've all died in car crashes, that we're all drug addicts and that we all have AIDS - and, of course, it's all untrue. This EP cover was our chance to turn it around and stick it back in everyone's face."
     Not only did the band stick it to their detractors through their cover art. The material on Lies proves once and for all that Guns N' Roses is one of the most talented and diverse bands currently inhabiting the rock realm. While such tracks as Reckless Life, Nice Boys, Move to the City, and Mama Kin all appeared earlier on Live Like A Suicide, their four new tracks are what really has put the rock world on its ass.
     "I'll tell ya a little about the new songs," Slash said. "Patience is pretty self-explanatory, you try to keep it, but it comes and goes. Used To Love Her is one we've played in concert a lot, and we got a lot of heat about it because the lyric goes, 'I used to love her, but I had to kill her.' People think it's about one of our old girlfriends, but it's actually about Axl's dog. It's really a joke, nothing more. You're Crazy is a song we originally wrote as an acoustic song right after the band was signed. But we worked on it during rehearsals and it popped up as an electric song on Appetite. Now it's been taken back to its original pace, though it has remained electric. We weren't trying to make it better, we just did it this way because we wanted to."
     "The last song on Lies is One In A Million," he added. "Have you ever been hassled by someone with a gun and a badge? Maybe you've been conned or had someone attempt to sell you stolen property and they just won't take no for an answer. Have you ever been to a gas station or convenience store and been treated like you don't belong there by an individual who can barely speak English? Hopefully not, but have you ever been attacked by a homosexual? Has some so-called religionist tried to con you out of your hard-earned cash? Have you ever been banned or censored by a relatively small group of people claiming to be a majority with self-righteous and dangerous motives? This song is very simple and extremely generic. My apologies to those who may take offense."
      To Slash and all the guys, we all humbly accept your apology and anxiously await your next outrageous move.