| "Better" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Promotional single by Guns N' Roses | |
| from the album Chinese Democracy | |
| Released | November 17, 2008 |
| Recorded | 2001–2007 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:57 |
| Label | Geffen |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
|
"Better" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their 2008 sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy . It was sent out as the second radio promo from the album, after "Chinese Democracy", but was not commercially released as a single eligible for international sales charts.
"Better" was written by lead vocalist Axl Rose and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Robin Finck between 2001 and 2003, before the band headed out on tour in 2006. By that time the song had already been recorded; later, however, most of former drummer Brain's drums on the track were edited by drummer Frank Ferrer. Prior to the song being released as a single, "Better" had been played live by Guns N' Roses on their Chinese Democracy Tour in 2006 and 2007. [2] In February 2006, the song, alongside a few other unreleased songs, was leaked onto the internet through a Guns N' Roses fan site. [3] [4] The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and websites. [5]
Coinciding with the 2006 tour, the song "Better" appeared in an internet advertisement for Harley-Davidson in October 2006. [6] Keyboardist Dizzy Reed stated that the release was an accident, with two versions being made, one 'experimental edit' featuring a demo of "Better" and one with "Paradise City". [7] The ad with "Better" was mislabeled and inadvertently uploaded online for a day before being replaced by the intended ad with "Paradise City". [7] The 'final' version of the song was leaked online to positive reviews in February 2007. [8]
Breaking a two-month silence by posting on a message board on December 11, 2008, Axl Rose revealed that a music video for "Better" directed by Dale "Rage" Resteghini [9] would be released "soon". [10] Shortly after, Rose wrote that Lars Ulrich stated that he makes an appearance in the video saying, "There’s a shot of me and Axl embracing backstage at some concert, and I signed off that, and hopefully it’ll make it in the final cut.” Ulrich was later blamed by Rose's associate, Fernando Lebeis, to be the reason the video has been delayed, since "the Metallica drummer needed to sign a release". Ulrich responded by saying “I have heard about this, yes. There was a couple of clips of me in the video and they asked if I would sign off on it. When it got to me, I signed off on the one clip… I don’t know where [the rumor] came from. I’d love to be in a Guns N’ Roses video. It’s my favorite song on the record — I think it’s a great song." On December 30, 2008, Rose wrote on the message board "Lars isn't holding anything up with our video. Our message board comments were meant casually, in fun and amongst friends...We hope to have our video out shortly." [11] On September 13, 2012, nearly four years after the single release, a workprint of the video leaked onto the internet, although as of 2021 [update] , no official video has been released.
"Better" debuted live on May 12, 2006, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. It has been played at almost every show since. During the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, a new version of the song was played, featuring an additional intro and the opening lines being sung by Duff McKagan, Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.
The song has received a positive reception from critics. Consequence of Sound wrote, "While there’s the industrial-like swagger that’s prevalent in 'Chinese Democracy', the bite and harmony is classic GN’R. In fact, this might actually be the best song on the record, out of all three singles released from the record it has been considered to be the lead single." Rolling Stone concluded, "Like 'Chinese Democracy', 'Better' feels like classic Guns N’ Roses — Rose’s growling croon in the verses could have floated out of the Use Your Illusion sessions." [12] The song was officially released as a single on November 17, 2008. On Rolling Stone's "100 Best Singles of 2008" list, "Better" placed at number 19. [13] Consequence of Sound stated the song was the "hit" of the album, saying, "Anyone who’s ever doubted this current line up should listen to this song. It’s brutal, honest, and aggressive. Rose sings with a cadence that’s uncanny, and he hasn’t sounded this youthful and bittersweet since 1987’s 'Sweet Child of Mine'. When guitarist Robin Finck wails at 3:43, there’s this feeling that screams, 'They’re back,' even if 'they' aren’t." [14]
In a retrospective on the album, Steven Hyden of Grantland.com stated the song is "the album’s catchiest track" and "the poppiest song in the GNR catalogue next to Don't Cry". [15] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame blog listed the song as one of the 10 'essential' Guns N' Roses songs. [16] In 2016 Spin ranked it as the 6th best Guns N' Roses song out of 79. [17]
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [18]
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [19] | 18 |
W. Axl Rose is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in 1985. Possessing a distinctive and powerful wide-ranging voice, Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets, including Rolling Stone, NME and Billboard.
Bryan Kei Mantia, known professionally as Brain, is an American rock drummer. He has played with bands such as Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis, and Godflesh, and with other performers such as Tom Waits, Serj Tankian, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, and Buckethead. He has also done session work for numerous artists and bands.
Paul Tobias is an American guitarist best known for his involvement with hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he collaborated with from 1994 to 2002.
Richard Fortus is an American guitarist. He is a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2002. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler and fellow Guns N' Roses bandmate Frank Ferrer. Aside from lead singer Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, Fortus is the longest-tenured member of Guns N' Roses, having been with the band continuously since 2002.
Robert John "Robin" Finck is an American guitarist. Finck is the longest-serving touring musician for Nine Inch Nails, performing with the band from 1994 to 2000, and returning in 2008. With Nine Inch Nails, Finck contributed studio performances on The Slip (2008).
Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on November 23, 2008, by Black Frog and Geffen Records. It was the first Guns N' Roses studio album since the 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?", and their first album of original studio material since Use Your Illusion I and II (1991). It languished in development hell for eight years, delayed by personnel and legal problems, label interference, and the perfectionism of vocalist Axl Rose. It was the first Guns N' Roses album without Izzy Stradlin, Slash, and Duff McKagan, and the first not produced by Mike Clink; instead it was produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo.
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in March 1985 when local bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns merged. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic lineup" 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, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.
"Oh My God" is a song by Guns N' Roses released in 1999 on the soundtrack to the film End of Days. The song was sent to radio stations in November 1999 as a promo for the soundtrack and the band. Despite being the band's first recorded release in almost five years, it was never issued as a stand-alone single for public retail. The song was written as the band was recording music for Chinese Democracy.
The Chinese Democracy Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Guns N' Roses to promote the group's album Chinese Democracy. It began in 2001, with three U.S. dates and a Brazilian one, while their 2002 tour included Asian, North American and a few European dates. The band did not tour again until May 2006, when it toured North America again and performed a major tour of Europe. The band's tour continued in 2007 with shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Mexico.
"Chinese Democracy" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the title track from their sixth studio album. It was released as a radio single on October 22, 2008 and was released on the iTunes Store on November 9, 2008. It was primarily written by Axl Rose and Josh Freese. It was the band's first single of original material since "Estranged" was released in 1994 as the final single off the 1991 album Use Your Illusion II.
"Madagascar" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, written by Axl Rose and keyboardist Chris Pitman and featured on their sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy, released in 2008.
"Shackler's Revenge" is a song by Guns N' Roses, and the second track on their sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy. The song was released on September 14, 2008 in the Rock Band 2 video game. The song was written by vocalist Axl Rose, guitarists Robin Finck and Buckethead, drummer Brain, producer Caram Costanzo and engineer Pete Scaturro. It was included as the b-side to the single "Chinese Democracy".
"Street of Dreams" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their 2008 album Chinese Democracy. The song is the third promotional song sent to radio stations, but was not released as a commercial single eligible for international Singles charts. From 2001 to 2008, the song was called "The Blues", but was changed to "Street of Dreams" for the album's release.
"Prostitute" is the fourteenth and final track from Chinese Democracy, Guns N' Roses' sixth studio album, released in 2008. The song is written by Axl Rose and Paul Tobias with additional work by Robin Finck.
"There Was a Time" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, written by Axl Rose, Paul Tobias, Dizzy Reed, and Tommy Stinson and featured on their sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy, released in 2008.
"Absurd" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released as a single on August 6, 2021. The song marks the group's first release of new material since the release of Chinese Democracy in 2008. It is also the first new track to feature guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan since the 1994 release of "Sympathy for the Devil". Originally written during the Chinese Democracy sessions, "Absurd" was first performed live in 2001 as "Silkworms". The reworked version made its live debut on August 3, 2021 in Boston.
Hard Skool is a single and the fourth extended play by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. The single was released on September 24, 2021, with the EP following on January 28, 2022. The EP consists of two recent singles and two live tracks, and is their first EP release with guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan since they rejoined the band in 2016.
"Perhaps" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released as a single on August 18, 2023. A limited edition 7-inch vinyl, with "The General" as its "R-side", was originally scheduled to be released on October 27, 2023 but the release was postponed to December 8, 2023. Like the band's previous two singles, "Absurd" and "Hard Skool", the origins of this song date back to the writing and recording process of Chinese Democracy from the late 1990s.
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