Review of Guns N` Roses: Welcome To The Videos

Introduction

Man, that whole L.A. rock scene was massive in the 80s, and one of the biggest bands to emerge to global domination was Guns N` Roses. The band was a global success in the late 80s through the early 90s selling millions upon millions of their breakthrough album, Appetite for Destruction. Even I have the CD on my shelf. Following this up with Lies and then the 2-part long-delayed Use Your Illusion, GNR were still making waves selling out concerts and being a little bit naughty. So to say there was mass hysteria surrounding the band at the height of its success might be underselling it slightly.

GNR weren`t the only ones riding high. Motley Crue and Bon Jovi too were enjoying global success too, the former fuelling it with the quintessential rock lifestyle (drugs, alcohol, girls and trashed hotel rooms). It was the new wave of rock and caught imaginations in all languages. By my standards, the band rocked.

Unfortunately the band lacked the staying power to keep itself together as a force to continually rock and like many bands went through line-up changes over the past decade. Axl is the sole original member, but the band is still around and continues to make music. Did you know that there are more than 30 Guns N` Roses tribute bands? I suppose this says something about the bands waning popularity. Whatever your criticism of the band, GNR helped to define an era.

The footage contained in these videos is the usual mixture of live stadium performance, studio footage and something creative too. Some of which seems good, while others are poor, but hey, it`s rock n` roll, man. The videos span Appetite and Use Your Illusion with no sign of the single from Terminator 2, You Could Be Mine. Here then is a selection of GNR`s life in rock: Welcome to the Videos.

Video

Presented with a fullframe video transfer, the quality throughout is dependent on the original source which tends to be a mixture of grainy looking stock, NTSC video as well as film. This is preserved for your viewing pleasure and has no visible digital problems. Good colour with fair detail.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0 provides us with as much grunt as we`re going to get with a clear soundtrack. The music wasn`t mixed in surround in the first place, so we get the hard guitars and drums as it`s meant to sound. It`s clear, it`s punchy, it has good range and I`m not complaining about it one bit. The clarity of the guitars, to the bass of the bass and drums sounds well balanced. It`s good to hear some of the early GNR again.

Features

Nothing.

Conclusion

I`ll keep this brief. If you`re a fan then you`ll either have this already or have it on your list and it really is something that I`d recommend to fans only. The videos aren`t creative, but it was a sign of the times with any big rock band; the sound is good and the video quality is fine. As much as I liked Appetite for Destruction, I can`t help but feel this collection of videos is lacklustre. Stick to the CD albums instead. This DVD has no interviews, no up-to-date bios, no up-to-date information, so no sale.