Mr. Brownstone
"Mr. Brownstone" | |
---|---|
| |
Single by Guns N' Roses | |
from the album Appetite for Destruction | |
A-side |
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Released | June 15, 1987 |
Format | |
Recorded | 1987 |
Genre | |
Length | 3:46 |
Label | Geffen |
Songwriter(s) | Guns N' Roses |
Producer(s) | Mike Clink |
"Mr. Brownstone" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction (1987). Group guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin wrote the tune while they were sitting around Stradlin's apartment complaining about being heroin addicts. They began by improvising lyrics and music ("Brownstone" is a slang term for heroin).
Composition
The lyrics make a clear reference to the tolerance that the drug causes: "I used to do a little, but a little wouldn't do, so the little got more and more. I just keep trying to get a little better, said a little better than before". They wrote the lyrics on the back of a grocery bag and brought it to Axl Rose. Slash said the lyrics describe a typical day in the life of Slash and Stradlin. He also states that it was the first song the band wrote after being signed by Geffen Records.[1]
Single release
"Mr. Brownstone" was the first Guns N' Roses single released outside of the United States and appeared as the "AA"-side of "It's So Easy" in the United Kingdom. In the US, it was used as the B-Side of "Welcome to the Jungle".
Live
- "Mr. Brownstone" is a staple at Guns N' Roses shows and has been included in the set list at nearly every show since 1986, generally played early during the set.
- On April 14, 2012, it was one of three Appetite For Destruction songs played at the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies celebrating the induction of Guns N' Roses, performed by Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Myles Kennedy.
- Slash has included "Mr. Brownstone" frequently in set lists during most of his post-Guns N' Roses career, beginning with Slash's Snakepit in the mid-1990s to his most recent 2014 tour with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.
- Velvet Revolver, which includes former Guns N' Roses' members Slash, McKagan, and Sorum, played "Mr. Brownstone" frequently with Scott Weiland on vocals.
- Steven Adler's band Adler's Appetite performs this song on their set list.
References
- ↑ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 142