Maps of Music

G N' R Lies (1988)

Where the lyrics of G N' R Lies take you, and where it was really made.

The cover parodies tabloid newspapers, and at 33 and a half minutes this is the band's shortest studio album.

Key places

Recording at Pasha Music House (1988)

Recording site Pasha Music House — Listed as a recording location for this album in the candidate data. The article says the songs were written and recorded in only a few studio sessions, but no session date is given here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Take One Studio (1988)

Recording site Take One Studio — Listed as a recording location for this album, with the building position given at studio level. The article says the songs were written and recorded in only a few studio sessions, but no session date is given here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Image Recording Studios (1988)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Listed as a recording location for this album, with the building position given at studio level. The article says the songs were written and recorded in only a few studio sessions, but no session date is given here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• G N' R Lies, also known simply as Lies: second studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses
• Released by Geffen Records on November 29, 1988
• The band's shortest studio album, running 33 and a half minutes
• Reached number two on the US Billboard 200
• According to the RIAA, shipped over five million copies in the United States

Background

• The first four tracks are the previously released EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide
• Those four tracks were also included as bonus tracks on the 2018 reissue of Appetite for Destruction
• The last four songs were recorded with acoustic guitars
• They were written and recorded in only a few studio sessions
• Producer Mike Clink called the process one of those magical rock and roll history moments
• The single Patience, the only single from the album, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 3, 1989
• This is the last full album to feature drummer Steven Adler, who left in 1990
• His departure came shortly after the single Civil War was recorded, and that song appeared on Use Your Illusion II (1991)
• It is also the last album recorded as a five-piece band

Recording

• Axl Rose said he loved how the band sounded on the last four songs
• Rose said he hated the sound of his own voice
• He recalled that his voice was husky and scratchy from the band's lengthy touring at the time
• If he could, he would have re-recorded his vocal tracks in a separate session
• A significantly faster version of You're Crazy with electric guitars had already appeared on Appetite for Destruction
• The version on this album was recorded as originally intended
• Three of the four songs from the G N' R Lies EP are on the 2018 remastered Appetite for Destruction, except the controversial One in a Million

Cover

• The cover is a parody of tabloid newspapers, as are the liner notes
• Several minor changes were made when the album was released on CD, though early CD pressings keep the original art
• The bottom-left text changed from a wife-beating statistic to LIES LIES LIES on the CD cover
• The headline about an elephant giving birth to a midget was replaced by Ladies, welcome to the dark ages on the CD
• Many copies of the original LP included an uncensored picture of a nude model on the inner sleeve

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles, California, in March 1985 by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Tracii Guns and others from L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose.
• The classic lineup of Rose, Slash, Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler was finalized in June 1985.
• Signed with Geffen Records in March 1986.

Members

• Current members include Axl Rose (vocals), Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), Dizzy Reed (keyboards), Richard Fortus (guitar), Melissa Reese (keyboards) and Isaac Carpenter (drums).
• Rose is the only constant member since the band's formation.

Career

• Debut album Appetite for Destruction (1987) sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling debut album in the U.S.
• Use Your Illusion I and II (1991) debuted at numbers two and one on the Billboard 200.
• Chinese Democracy (2008) was the long-delayed album reportedly costing $13 million.
• The Not in This Lifetime... Tour (2016–2018) grossed $563.3 million.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012; the band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars
• Rolling Stone said it would be easy to dismiss the record as outtakes thrown together for the holiday season, but the album is much more interesting than that
• Rolling Stone praised the four acoustic songs as a welcome new facet of the band
• AllMusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars
• AllMusic criticized some of the acoustic-side songs and called the album the point where the band changed from real threat to joke
• AllMusic called Patience the band at their prettiest and sappiest, and said its emotional directness made the controversial songs sound genuine
• Robert Christgau gave a negative review in The Village Voice and put the musical quality around C plus
• Christgau also condemned One in a Million and Used to Love Her

Reappraisal

• Metal Hammer's 2014 review dissected the controversy around the album
• Metal Hammer called the second Guns N' Roses album a remarkable one-off
• Ultimate Classic Rock said the tabloid-style cover ironically hinted at the scandals and paranoia that would engulf the band and its singer
• Ultimate Classic Rock tied the album to the band's eventual dissolution after the two Use Your Illusion albums

Records

• US Billboard 200: number two
• RIAA: over five million copies shipped in the United States
• Patience: number four on the Billboard Hot 100, June 3, 1989

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Used to Love Her was written as a joke after Izzy Stradlin disliked a song he heard on the radio
• Slash said people assume the song is about one of the band's old girlfriends, but it is actually about Axl's dog
• One in a Million has caused controversy and raised accusations of racism and homophobia
• Rose denied being a racist and defended his use of the word in the song, citing other musicians who had used it
• Other band members later defended the song, saying it was misunderstood
• The song was left off later compilations that otherwise included every other track from Lies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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