Guns 'N' Roses - Early Assorted Demos, Outtakes & More

Size: 394 MB
Bitrate: 320
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Found at Various Places
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Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985. The classic lineup, as signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese, guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. The band has released six studio albums, accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide, including shipments of 45 million in the United States, making Guns N' Roses one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.

Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite for Destruction (1987), reached number one on the Billboard 200 a year after its release, on the strength of "Sweet Child o' Mine", the group's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide, including 18 million units in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the US, as well as the eleventh best-selling album in the United States. The success of the debut was followed by the eight-song album G N' R Lies (1988) which reached number two on the Billboard 200. The twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991) debuted at number two and number one on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide, including 14 million units in the United States. The cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993) was the band's last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan.

After more than a decade of work and several lineup changes, Guns N' Roses released the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy (2008) which, at an estimated $14 million in production costs, is the most expensive rock album to ever be produced in music history. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 but undersold industry expectations, despite mostly positive critical reception. Classic era members Slash and McKagan both rejoined the band in 2016.

Guns N' Roses has been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock music, at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and glam metal. Its late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described as the period in which the group brought forth a "hedonistic rebelliousness" reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones, a reputation that had earned the group the nickname "the most dangerous band in the world". The band's classic lineup, along with later members Reed and drummer Matt Sorum, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, in its first year of eligibility.

Hollywood Rose:
Hollywood Rose was an American hard rock group formed in 1983 and is best known as the precursor group for what would eventually become Guns N' Roses. The group was founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Chris Weber while they were aided during live shows by Rick Mars, Johnny Kreis, Steve Darrow and Andre Troxx. Rose, Stradlin and Weber, along with Kreis, recorded a five-song demo in 1984. However, after a number of lineup changes, which includes Weber and Kreis being replaced by Slash and Steven Adler (both then of Road Crew) respectively as well the departure of Stradlin, the group disbanded the same year.

Hollywood Rose reunited briefly in 1985 with Rose, Stradlin, Weber and Darrow (Sonic Medusa, Rat Salad, Super Heroines, Decadents) returning and adding former L.A. Guns drummer Rob Gardner to the group. L.A. Guns founder Tracii Guns eventually replaced Weber. They changed their name to Guns N' Roses (combining the names of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose) with L.A. Guns bassist Ole Beich replacing Darrow. Eventually Guns, Gardner and Beich were replaced by former Hollywood Rose members Slash, Adler and their former Road Crew band mate Duff McKagan with this lineup becoming known as the "classic lineup" of Guns N' Roses.

The five-song demo, recorded in 1984, was released in 2004 with the title The Roots of Guns N' Roses. A number of Hollywood Rose songs were included on the Guns N' Roses albums Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide (1986), Appetite for Destruction (1987), Live from the Jungle (1987), and G N' R Lies (1988).

Formation (1983):
Prior to forming, guitarist Chris Weber was introduced to Lafayette native Izzy Stradlin, in the parking lot of the Rainbow Bar and Grill, by friend Tracii Guns, who was leading the first incarnation of L.A. Guns at this time, after Weber expressed an interest in forming a band. Soon afterwards, Weber and Stradlin started writing material and, at the suggestion of Stradlin, recruited his childhood friend, former Rapidfire and L.A. Guns singer Axl Rose, then known as Bill Rose. At the suggestion of Rose, the group called themselves AXL, with Rose adopting Axl as his first name. They played their first gig at The Orphanage in North Hollywood and played a few more shows before changing their name to Rose. The group soon changed their name, for the final time, to Hollywood Rose when Weber discovered that the name Rose was already being used by a New York band.

During the group's live shows, they were aided by bassists Rick Mars, Andre Troxx and Steve Darrow along with drummer Johnny Kreis who remained the only consistent member of the group outside of Rose, Stradlin and Weber.

After borrowing money from Weber's father, the group recorded a five-song demo in Hollywood in 1984. After playing a number of more shows, they appeared at the Music Machine in '84. Weber accidentally hit Rose with the headstock of his guitar. Rose stormed off and eventually fired Weber from the band with former Road Crew guitarist Slash joining the group. Unhappy at the firing of Weber, Stradlin left the group when Slash first came to rehearse, going on to join London. Slash's Road Crew band mate Steven Adler also replaced drummer Kreis during this time. The group continued to play more shows before eventually disbanding, playing their final show at The Troubadour in 1984. Rose went on to front L.A. Guns while Slash auditioned for Poison at the suggestion of former guitarist Matt Smith.

The group reunited, briefly, with Rose, Stradlin, Weber and Darrow returning along while L.A. Guns drummer Rob Gardner also joined the group. Weber, who left to move to New York City, was soon replaced by Tracii Guns. The group changed their name to Guns N' Roses (combining the names of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose) with the lineup consisting of Axl Rose, Tracii Guns, Izzy Stradlin, Ole Beich[15] (also formerly of L.A. Guns) and Rob Gardner. Beich was eventually replaced by Duff McKagan (formerly of Fastbacks, The Fartz, 10 Minute Warning and Road Crew) while Guns left the group (after a falling out with Rose), being replaced by Slash. McKagan went on to book shows taking place between Sacramento and Seattle, which was dubbed "The Hell Tour". During this time, Gardner quit the group and was replaced by Steven Adler with this lineup becoming known as the "classic lineup" of Guns N' Roses.

A number of Hollywood Rose songs would be included on a number of releases by Guns N' Roses such as "Anything Goes" (from Appetite for Destruction), "Reckless Life" and "Move to the City" (both from Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide and G N' R Lies) as well as "Shadow of Your Love" (from Live from the Jungle). In 1998, former guitarist Weber sued Axl Rose, claiming that he co-wrote two songs he was not credited for, "Shadow of Your Love" and "Back Off Bitch" (from Use Your Illusion I).

The US release of their 1st album

Appetite for Destruction: 
Guns N' Roses' debut album Appetite for Destruction was released July 21, 1987. The album underwent an artwork change after the original cover design by Robert Williams, which depicted a surrealist scene in which a dagger-toothed monster vengefully attacks a robot rapist, was deemed too controversial. The band stated the original artwork was "a symbolic social statement, with the robot representing the industrial system that's raping and polluting our environment." The revised cover was done by Andy Engell, based on a design by tattoo artist Bill White Jr., who had designed the artwork for a tattoo Rose had acquired the previous year. The artwork featured each of the five band members' skulls layered on a cross.

In the U.S., "Welcome to the Jungle" was issued as the album's first single, with an accompanying music video. Initially, the album and single lingered for almost a year without performing well, but when Geffen founder David Geffen was asked to lend support to the band, he obliged, personally convincing MTV executives to play "Welcome to the Jungle" during the network's after-hours rotation. Even though the video was initially only played once at 4 a.m. on a Sunday, heavy metal and hard rock fans took notice and soon began requesting the video and song en masse. 

The song, written in Seattle, was about Los Angeles. The music video took place in New York. According to Rose, the inspiration for the lyrics came from an encounter he and a friend had with a homeless man while they were coming out of a bus into New York. Trying to put a scare into the young runaways, the man yelled at them, "You know where you are? You're in the jungle baby; you're gonna die!" The song was featured in the 1988 Dirty Harry film The Dead Pool, starring Clint Eastwood, and members of the band had a cameo appearance in the film.

Disc 1:
01. Ain't Goin' Down
02. Get In The Ring
03. Don't Damn Me
04. Sentimental Movie (Duff on lead vocals)
05. Think About You
06. Welcome To The Jungle
07. Yesterdays
08. Mama Kin
09. Back Off Bitch
10. Heartbreak Hotel
11. Just Another Sunday
12. West Coast Junkie
13. Welcome To The Jungle (Take 2)
14. Instrumental Jam
15. You're Crazy
16. Crash Diet
17. Shadow Of Your Love

Disc 2:
19. Reckless Life
20. My Way Your Way (Anything Goes)
21. Get In The Ring
22. Double Talkin' Jive
23. Don't Damn Me
24. Bad Apples
25. Dead Horse
26. Coma
27. Garden Of Eden
28. Sympathy For The Devil
29. Whole Lotta Rosie
30. Move To The City
31. Jumping Jack Flash
32. Move To The City
33. You're Crazy
34. Don't Damn Me #1

Disc 3:
35. Studio Medley (24 Minutes)

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The Astronauts - Competition Coupe (Rare Surf US 1964)

Size: 55.7 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

For their second long-player, the Astronauts got distinctly more ambitious, and with good results. The harmony singing, while no match for the Beach Boys or Jan & Dean, is a lot better this time out, especially on the title track and "Our Car Club" (which are a lot of fun to begin with). And their playing is bolder as well, with the result being that the group's second album still makes good listening five decades later. 

As with its predecessor, this record is never boring, and it never settles down. For this album, they rely on Duane Eddy alumnus Steve Douglas for a lot of the material, and it mostly all works, with only a few moments that are less than bracing -- and one Roger Christian/Steve Douglas composition, "Chevy Scarfer," was already a lovingly nostalgic doo wop homage in 1964 that holds up even better in that vein in the 21st century. The playing is still better than the singing, but it's all amazingly worthwhile, and deeply evocative of its era.

The Astronauts were an American rock and roll band, who had a minor hit in 1963 with "Baja" and remained successful for several years, especially in Japan. They have been described as being, "along with...(the) Trashmen, the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s." For most of their career, the band members were Rich Fifield, Jon "Storm" Patterson, Bob Demmon, Dennis Lindsey, and Jim Gallagher.

The Astronauts developed out of a group, The Stormtroopers, which was originally formed at Boulder High School, Boulder, Colorado in 1956 by Jon "Storm" Patterson (vocals, guitar), Robert Graham "Bob" Demmon (11 February 1939 – 18 December 2010) (guitar), and Brad Leach (drums). In 1961, they became The Astronauts after adding Richard Otis "Rich" Fifield (vocals, guitar) and Dick Sellars (guitar), the change of band name recognising the fascist connotations of the previous name and to pay tribute to local hero, astronaut Scott Carpenter. Patterson switched to bass, Leech was replaced on drums by Jim Gallagher, and soon afterwards Sellars left to join the US Navy, being replaced by Dennis Lindsey. 

With a line-up of Demmon, Patterson, Fifield, Lindsey and Gallagher, the band gained a strong local reputation, toured as far as Chicago and Dallas, Texas, and released their first single, "Come Along Baby", in 1962, on the small Palladium label. They were signed to RCA Records after a record company executive was impressed by their performance at a local night club, the Tulagi.

Their first single on RCA was "Baja", an instrumental written by Lee Hazlewood originally for his friend, guitarist Al Casey. Released by The Astronauts in early 1963, the track was described as "a typical surf instrumental with a reverberation-heavy twangy guitar and driving drumbeat", and reached # 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 for just one week, the pinnacle of their US chart career. 

However, they released a succession of further singles on RCA, in an attempt by the record company to emulate the success of the Beach Boys and other surf music-related groups in the charts at the time. According to reviewer Richie Unterberger, "the group shone brightest on their instrumentals, which used mounds of Fender reverb and two rhythm guitars; when they sang, the results were much less successful." 

Japan Single 1964

Patterson and Fifield shared lead vocals, and the band recorded songs by Roger Christian, Gary Usher, Dick Dale and Henry Mancini, among others. Fifield, the lead guitarist, used a Fender Jazzmaster on the recordings, with an early prototype reverb unit personally loaned to the group by Leo Fender. Their 1965 song "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day was covered by The Monkees in 1966.

As well as a succession of singles and EPs, the band released four LPs over nine months, starting in May 1963: Surfin' with The Astronauts – which reached # 61 on the Billboard 200 album chart – Everything Is A-OK! (recorded live at the Club Baja in Denver, Colorado), Competition Coupe, and The Astronauts Orbit Campus (recorded live in Boulder).

They appeared several times on the Hullabaloo TV show, and have the distinction of appearing in more beach party movies than any other surf band: Surf Party, Wild on the Beach, Wild Wild Winter and Out of Sight. 

Regarding the band's performance in 1964's Surf Party, the book Pop Surf Culture states “The Astronauts bang out a thick, reverb-laden instrumental called ‘Firewater,’ and their theme song ‘Surf Party’ happens to be one of the best surf instrumentals ever recorded.” (See Filmography, below)

In 1964, their record company discovered that they had a growing fan base in Japan, where they outsold The Beach Boys and toured with The Ventures. Five albums and three singles made the top 10 there, with "Movin'" – retitled as "Over The Sun" – reaching number one in the country.

In all, they recorded nine albums. Gallagher and Lindsey were drafted for Vietnam before the last album, Travelin' Men in 1967, and were replaced by Mark Bretz and Rod Jenkins respectively. Demmon also left, being replaced by Robert Carl McLerran, before Fifield and Patterson finally decided to end the band name after a tour of Asia in 1968.

01. Little Ford Ragtop  02:07
02. Competition Coupe  02:21
03. The Hearse  02:18
04. '55 Bird  01:52
05. Devil Driver's Theme  02:11
06. Happy Ho-Daddy  02:16
07. Our Car Club  02:25
08. Devil Driver  02:11
09. Chevy Scarfer  01:57
10. 4:56 Stingray  02:00
11. El Aguila (The Eagle)  02:00
12. 650 Scrambler  01:54

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Ted Nugent - King Biscuit Flower Hour 1977-01-22

Size: 219 MB
Bitrate: @320
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Found in Pluto
Artwork Included

Best remembered for their 1968 acid rock classic "Journey to the Center of the Mind," Detroit's Amboy Dukes also introduced the world to the Motor City Madman, guitarist Ted Nugent. The group's roots date to 1965, a period when a teenage Nugent was living in Chicago; there he formed the first incarnation of the Amboy Dukes, borrowing the moniker from a recently disbanded Detroit band who themselves took the name from an infamous exploitation novel of the period. When Nugent returned to Southeastern Michigan in 1967, he assembled a new Dukes lineup including vocalist John Drake, his former bandmate in the Lourds, as well as rhythm guitarist Steve Farmer, bassist Bill White, keyboardist Rick Lober, and drummer Dave Palmer. Famed for its snarling closer, an incendiary cover of Them's "Baby Please Don't Go," the group emerged as one of the hottest attractions on the Detroit club circuit.

Journey to the Center of the Mind Still, when the Amboy Dukes' self-titled debut LP appeared on the Mainstream label in 1967, it was the group's originals that became the focus -- while Nugent handled the music, Farmer penned the drug-fixated lyrics, adding a psychedelic sensibility to an otherwise proto-metal sound. After a series of lineup shifts that saw White and Lober exit in favor of bassist Greg Arama and keyboardist Andy Solomon, in 1968 the Dukes issued Journey to the Center of the Mind, riding the title track into the U.S. Top 20. Vocalist Rusty Day replaced Drake in time for 1969's Migration, which failed to equal the success of its predecessor; Marriage on the Rocks, issued later that same year, was also a disappointment, and after 1971's Survival of the Fittest Nugent dismissed Day and Solomon after Palmer left the group to accept an engineering gig. After recording a handful of albums as Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes, he finally dropped the group's name altogether and mounted a solo career.

Throughout his lengthy career, guitar wildman Ted Nugent has reveled in the controversy and criticism that always seems to follow in his path. While there's no denying his exceptional talent on the six-string, his knack for penning arena rock anthems, or his standing as one of rock's top live acts, it's his non-musical endeavors that have caused the most condemnation from his detractors (his pro-right wing beliefs, pro-gun advocacy, appreciation of hunting animals, etc.). But by the same token, Nugent is a family man and one of the few hard rockers who has admirably stuck by his lifelong anti-drugs and -drink stance throughout his career.

Journey to the Center of the Mind Born on December 13, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, Nugent became interested in rock & roll early in the game, picking up the guitar as a youngster, while his disciplinarian father passed his beliefs down to Nugent. In the '60s, Nugent formed his first bands (including Royal High Boys and Lourdes), drawing inspiration from such British blues-rockers as the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. But it wasn't until the formation of the Amboy Dukes that the Nuge got his first taste of stardom (it was also around this time that Nugent began playing a Gibson Byrdland guitar, a model that would be instantly associated with him throughout his career). 

The other members of the group didn't exactly share Nugent's clean-living lifestyle, as proven by their psychedelic hit single "Journey to the Center of the Mind," which Nugent claimed he didn't know at the time was about being "under the influence." The band managed to issue several albums throughout the late '60s -- 1967's self-titled debut, 1968's Journey to the Center of the Mind, and 1969's Migration -- as the group fit in well with other high-energy rock bands that emerged from the Motor City, the MC5 and the Stooges in particular.

Call of the Wild With bandmembers coming and going at an alarming rate, Nugent remained the only constant member -- eventually officially changing the band's name to Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes by the '70s, and issuing 1971's Survival of the Fittest, 1973's Call of the Wild, and 1974's Tooth, Fang & Claw. While none of these releases exactly stormed the charts, Nugent and his cohorts remained an in-demand concert draw, as he also set up "guitar duels" on-stage around this time (battling with MC5's Wayne Kramer and Mahogany Rush's Frank Marino, among others).

Free-for-All By the mid-'70s, Nugent decided to finally ditch the Amboy Dukes name and set out on his own, assembling a first-rate backing band that included second guitarist/vocalist Derek St. Holmes, bassist Rob Grange, and drummer Cliff Davies. By 1975, the new band was signed to Aerosmith's management company (Leber & Krebs), as well as the same record company, Columbia, resulting in the release of Nugent's self-titled debut in November of the same year. The band immediately struck a chord with the heavy metal/hard rock crowd from coast to coast, due to the band's over the top stage show. But the bandmembers' relationship with Nugent was rocky at best -- Nugent wanted complete control of the band, while the others wanted it to be more of a democracy. The end result was St. Holmes leaving the band prior to the sessions of their sophomore effort, 1976's Free-for-All (which saw a then-unknown singer by the name of Meat Loaf filling in for the departed singer).

Cat Scratch FeverSt. Holmes returned, however, in time for the album's ensuing tour, and by the release of 1977's Cat Scratch Fever (which spawned the hit single title track), Nugent and company were one of the top rock bands in the U.S. -- storming the charts and selling out arenas coast to coast. By now, Nugent had assumed the stage persona of a caveman -- hitting the stage dressed in nothing but a skimpy loincloth and knee-high boots, and would often begin his show by swinging out on a rope à la Tarzan (!). Like other rock acts of the '70s (Kiss, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, etc.), Nugent used a live album -- 1978's classic Double Live Gonzo! -- to catapult his career to the next level of stardom. But despite all the success, the members of his band began deserting him one by one over the course of such albums as 1978's Weekend Warriors, 1979's State of Shock, and 1980's Scream Dream. To add insult to injury, Nugent found himself bankrupt around this time, due to several failed business ventures and poor management.

Intensities in 10 CitiesNugent continued to tour and crank out albums throughout the '80s (including such forgettable releases as Intensities in 10 Cities, Nugent, Penetrator, Little Miss Dangerous, and If You Can't Lick 'Em...Lick 'Em), but it appeared as through the Nuge was trying to keep pace with the burgeoning pop-metal crowd instead of sticking to the raw and raging rock that brought him success in the first place. Nugent also tried his hand at acting around this time, appearing as a drug dealer in an episode of the hit TV series Miami Vice in 1986. By the end of the decade, Nugent joined the rock supergroup Damn Yankees (joining former Night Ranger bassist/singer Jack Blades, former Styx guitarist/singer Tommy Shaw, and drummer Michael Cartellone) -- resulting in the quartet's self-titled debut in 1990, which became a surprise hit due to their Top Ten power ballad "High Enough." But ultimately, the union proved to be short-lived; after only one more album (1992's lackluster Don't Tread), the band called it quits.

Spirit of the WildNugent returned to his solo career, issuing his best album in over a decade, 1995's back-to-basics Spirit of the Wild, while several archival releases turned up throughout the '90s: 1993's three-disc box set Out of Control, 1997's Live at Hammersmith '79, as well as his first three albums reissued with added tracks and newly remastered sound in 1999 by the Epic/Legacy label (also issued at the same time was the first truly comprehensive compilation of the Amboy Dukes, the 18-track Loaded for Bear). 

The Nuge was also the subject of an interesting VH1 Behind the Music episode. He continued to tour well into the 21st century (landing the opening slot on Kiss' Farewell U.S. Tour in 2000), and issued the third live collection of his career, Full Bluntal Nugity, in 2001. That same year, the Nuge penned his own autobiography, the perfectly titled God, Guns, & Rock n' Roll. His Spitfire-issued 12th long-player, Craveman, dropped in 2002, followed by Love Grenade in 2007. He next embraced the digital realm by releasing the two-disc, 30-track MP3 online song bundle Happy Defiance Day Everyday over the 4th of July weekend in 2010. In 2014 Nugent released his 14th studio album, Shutup & Jam!, which featured a guest appearance from Sammy Hagar.

In addition to music, Nugent has gotten involved in politics, hosting a number one morning radio show in Detroit; has run his own hunting camp and issues instructional videotapes (as well as the Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild PBS video series); owns his own hunting supply store; has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association; writes columns regularly for a number of different magazines; and even sells his very own beef jerky (called Gonzo Meat Biltong)!

Ted Nugent
KBFH "King Biscuit Flower Hour" 
Radio FM January 22, 1977
Freeman Coliseum
San Antonio, Texas

Disc 1
01.  Stranglehold
02.  Just What the Doctor Ordered
03.  Free For All
04.  Snakeskin Cowboys
05.  Cat Scratch Fever
06.  Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
07.  A Thousand Knives (Very Rare)
08.  Dog Eat Dog
09.  Stormtroopin'

Disc 2
01.  Hey Baby
02.  Great White Buffalo
03.  Guitar Solo
04.  Hibernation
05.  Motor City Madhouse

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