CONTROVERSIAL SONG APPARENTLY LEFT OFF GUNS N' ROSES BOXED SET
The newly announced Locked N' Loaded deluxe boxed set of Guns N' Roses' classic 1987 debut album Appetite For Destruction also includes B-sides from the Appetite sessions, the 1986 Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP and three of the four songs from the band's 1988 acoustic EP G N' R Lies. But one track from Lies has been left out of the new release: "One In A Million," a song that was controversial at the time for lyrics containing racial and homophobic slurs.
The song contained the words "n***a" and "f****t" as well as anti-immigrant sentiments. Singer Axl Rose said at the time that he based the lyrics on his first impressions of Los Angeles when he arrived from small-town Indiana. In a 1989 Rolling Stone interview, he described "black men selling stolen jewelry, crack, heroin and pot," as well as having "very bad experiences with homosexuals," including an attempted rape.
- Neither the title of Lies nor the live EP are referenced in a press release announcing the boxed set, with the sessions for Lies only mentioned in passing as the source of another song included in the package. This seems to indicate that "One In A Million" has been deliberately left out of the Appetite reissue.
- Rose defended his use of the racial slurs at the time of the EP's release, saying, "Why can black people go up to each other and say, 'n***a,' but when a white guy does it all of a sudden it's a big put-down. I don't like boundaries of any kind. I don't like being told what I can and what I can't say."
- Guns guitarist Slash, who is half black, later admitted he had mixed emotions about recording the song, telling Rolling Stone in 1991, "I didn't think it was very cool, but Axl gets very adamant about expressing himself." He added, "I don't regret doing 'One in a Million,' I just regret what we've been through because of it and the way people have perceived our personal feelings."
- The deluxe edition of Appetite For Destruction will arrive on June 29th and include 73 songs -- including 49 tracks that never before been released -- spread out across four CDs and seven 12-inch 180-gram vinyl LPs. A super deluxe version will also include a 96-page book with unreleased photos from Axl's personal archive, new lithographs and a plethora of memorabilia.
Story source: Ultimate Classic Rock
CHECK IT OUT: Watch the lyric video for "Shadow Of Your Love," a previously unreleased track included on the boxed set:
AC/DC DRUMMER SAYS HIS 'LIPS ARE SEALED' ABOUT BAND'S FUTURE
AC/DC drummer Chris Slade said in a new interview with Duke TV that his "lips are sealed" about whether or not AC/DC plans to record a new studio album with Axl Rose on vocals. Asked about the group's future recording activities, Slade answered, "My lips are sealed. And if I knew, I couldn't say a word anyway. What I usually say is if I tell you, I have to kill you." He added, "Which, perhaps, is not in good taste. I couldn't even start to answer that, I'm afraid."
Ever since AC/DC completed the tour cycle for its 2014 album Rock Or Bust nearly two years ago -- a turbulent trek that weathered the forced retirement and eventual death of co-founder Malcolm Young, plus the departures of longtime singer Brian Johnson, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams -- fans have wondered whether sole founding member Angus Youngwould keep the band going.
- Although Slade decline to elaborate, Rose Tattoo singer Angry Anderson said in a recent interview that Angus told him he is at work on new AC/DC music and intends to have Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose -- who took Johnson's place on the road in 2016 -- sing on the LP.
- Slade also told Duke TV that it was all due to Axl that AC/DC broke out a number of rare cuts on the two legs of the tour Axl sang on, saying, "I was standing right next to (Axl) when he asked Angus, 'Can we do these songs?' And I love playing 'Riff Raff', and I always have . . . All those songs were great, and the fans loved them."
- Johnson was forced to leave AC/DC mid-tour due to a dangerous level of hearing loss, while Rudd was dismissed following a drug arrest and Williams decided to retire.
- Angus has not said publicly what he has planned for the future of AC/DC.
Story source: Blabbermouth
CHECK IT OUT: Watch the interview with Chris Slade: