REVIEW: Guns N’ Roses – “Patience” (1989 12″ single)

GUNS N’ ROSES have announced an APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION deluxe edition coming in June.  While “Rocket Queen” will certainly be on it, it’s highly unlikely the interview track below will.

GUNS N’ ROSES – “Patience” (1989 Geffen 12″ single)

Fans of vintage Guns N’ Roses (what other kind are there?) should always be alert and eyes open for old singles.  Whether CD or vinyl, some of those old Guns singles have buried treasure on them.  One is “Patience”, released several months after the Lies EP from which it sprang.

Here’s some truth for you, and it’s rather strange.  “Patience” simply sounds better with the crackle of vinyl.  I can’t explain it but I sure can testify.  Just a little bit.  Just enough to transport you back in time to 1989 when people were spinning Lies on vinyl (or at least cassette tape) nightly.  The delicate strum of acoustics accentuate one another, and hot-damn, it’s hard to deny the timelessness of “Patience”.  The missus and I played it at our wedding reception and it was a highlight of the evening.  Almost every couple dancing to it that night is still together.  Magic, people!  It’s real.

But no, the real treasure is on side two, and it’s not “Rocket Queen”.  Don’t get me wrong!  “Rocket Queen” is an amazing showcase and could still today be the best tune Guns have ever laid to vinyl.  It’s heavy, it’s soft; it has a bit of everything.  I’d put it in my top five.  But you already have Appetite for Destruction, so you know this already.  What you have probably never heard before is the second track on the B-side, a vintage interview (7:44 long) with the elusive W. Axl Rose himself.

Conducted in his apartment among his broken platinum albums, Axl is asked some point-blank questions.  Did you know Duff had his own comedy version of “Patience” that could have come out at some time?  Axl even dropped lyrics from a new Izzy Stradlin song still two years down the road.  “Double talking jive, get the money motherfucker, ’cause I got no more patience…”  He also revealed they had a lot of ideas…anything from “10 songs to 30 songs”.  (Turns out, it was 30.)

Axl confessed that his violent streak comes from frustration and stress, and that he has always smashed his things.  It’s clear that this guy, sitting at the very top of the rock pile, needed some mental health care.  Bon Jovi, after all, didn’t smash his platinum albums.  He even went as far as to warn psycho fans to stay away or deal with the consequences of getting in his face.

It’s an odd interview, and revealing.  That’s why it’s a treasure worth seeking.  A single like this is valuable to fans who need to know these bits of trivia and minutia.

4/5 stars

37 comments

      1. Yes, that is a little crazy. The super deluxe is $179.99 which I think is still crazy. At least the digital 4 CDs is only $29.99 on iTunes. That might be where I end up. I just want the songs anyway.

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        1. I will end up with the 4 CD set. I’m not particularly happy…but I want the songs too. The Sound City demos oughtta be cool. I can gripe about what I wish was in there, but isn’t. I really wish the 5.1 blu-ray was available for a more reasonable price, just like I wish Gene Simmons would give us a Vault that I can afford.

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        3. I never would have guessed your true age.

          I guess I thought about it too. Fantasied more than planned. Ultimately I had to make the same decision as you. Also, if I was going to spend $2000 on a gift for me, I would have to think wisely. I could buy a lot of things for that money.

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        4. Exactly, I could buy so many other albums I don’t have that I might enjoy more.

          Also, we are actually planning a huge trip next year since I turn 50 at the end of this year, my wife turns a big number (same as me I just can’t actually say her age) and my oldest turns 16. I am going to have to save for it. I am thinking it will be Paris and hoping to throw London into the mix as well. Gotta save for the record shopping of course.

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      1. Aye… but clearly this was on the horizon when they announced the ‘reunion’. No doubt the tour will make them more money, but there are people who can’t get out to shows for one reason or another… and there’s bound to be some “let’s maximise the income” given the amount of versions available.

        Destruction Deluxe tour… reissuing the LP (again, though it’s interesting that this one says using the analogue masters as a source for the first time) across to slices of vinyl. Not even the original cover (maximise stockists, I guess). It’s a great album, but c’mon already with the deluxe deluxe super deluxe…

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        1. Ahh I see. Yes, the way you lay it out, I fully agree. Like when the reunion was hashed out, they would have had a multi-year business plan. Like Marvel phases. Do the tour, then release the box to hype another tour cycle.

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        2. Yeah. This was definitely part of those discussions… I’m not saying it wouldn’t sell if the reunion didn’t happen, but the excitement and interest in GNR has no doubt increased.

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        1. It should never have to be that much of an investment to buy a brand new music release. An old rare Beatles pressing…or an old deleted Dylan…something truly of value…yes you can sometimes justify paying that much. Not so easy for something like this.

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  9. I sure do hope this one doesn’t start a new trend for re-releases, super extra expensive mega boxes for ridiculous prices, I’m not in for that.

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      1. True. Although I don’t listen to radio much at all, and would never play radio that would play Backshite Boys. If it was BNL, we’d call it Pagey, or something like that… our other car is called Daisy Stormtrooper. Because our daughter thought it looked like a daisy, and our son says it looks like a stormtrooper from the front (it does).

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