"Locomotive"
Song by Guns N' Roses
from the album Use Your Illusion II
Written1989-1990
ReleasedSeptember 17, 1991
RecordedJanuary 13, 1990 – August 3, 1991
Studio
GenreHard Rock, Funk Metal, Blues Rock, Alternative Metal
Composer(s)Slash
Lyricist(s)Axl Rose

"Locomotive (Complicity)" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, appearing on their 1991 studio album, Use Your Illusion II. At eight minutes and forty-two seconds, the song is the second longest on the album behind "Estranged".

Background

Manager Doug Goldstien mentioned in a book by Mick Wall about the song "Granted, I was with Slash and Duff when they were writing the music for Use Your Illusion, And 'Locomotive' and 'Coma,' they were doing that shit without Axl's participation. But I'd get these phone calls from the studio, and Axl would say, 'I fucking hate Slash. Have you heard this song 'Locomotive' yet? How the fuck am I supposed to write lyrics to this shit?' I'd go, 'Hey, man, I don't know. That's your gig, right? I do the management. You do the songwriting."[1]

Live performances

Guns N' Roses played the song a few times on the Use Your Illusion Tour.[2] The planned to perform the song with Jeff Beck on June 6, 1992, in Paris, but Beck had to pull out due to a severe case of tinnitus.[3][4] During the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, the band played the song a total of three times.[5]

Reception

The song has been met with positive reviews throughout the years since its release.[6] In 2021, the website UltimateClassicRock said this about the song "The band's newfound musical maturity was readily apparent in the haunting, "Layla"-esque coda to "Locomotive," replete with urgent piano chords, Axl Rose's multi-tracked crooning and one last yearning guitar solo from Slash. Bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum anchored the multi-part epic with airtight grooves, showing just how far Guns' rhythm section had come since their Appetite days."

In 2016, Spin ranked the song 4th out of 79 on their rankings of every Guns N' Roses song, saying "No other band could keep a song as big and volatile as this on the tracks — few moments in the GN’R catalog are as suspenseful or stunning as how Axl seems to lose the rhythm on the song’s chugging chorus"[7] The song ranked number 14 on UltimateClassicRock's rankings.[8] WMGK ranked the song as number 73 in 2018.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Wall, Mick (2017). Last of the Giants: The True Story of Guns N' Roses (1st ed.). Lesser Gods. ISBN 978-1944713355.
  2. ↑ "Guns N' Roses Average Setlists of tour: Use Your Illusion | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  3. ↑ Soundgarden - June 6, 1992 | Paris, France (Pro Shot, Four Songs), retrieved 2023-09-10
  4. ↑ Jackson MaxwellContributions from Jenna Scaramanga (2023-02-17). "Watch Jeff Beck play Locomotive with Guns N' Roses at a 1992 soundcheck for a live collaboration that never happened". guitarworld. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ↑ "Guns N' Roses Average Setlists of tour: Not in This Lifetime | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  6. ↑ Rolli, Bryan (2021-09-25). "How Guns N' Roses Flexed Musical Muscle on Dazzling 'Locomotive'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Every Guns N' Roses Song, Ranked". Spin. February 19, 2016. p. 2.
  8. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo (2015-12-10). "Every Guns N' Roses Song Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  9. ↑ "Guns N' Roses: All 87 Songs Ranked". 102.9 WMGK. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.