10 Greatest Classic Rock Bands Of All Time
8. Guns 'N' Roses
Yes, they may have considered themselves hard rock and there are definitely examples of when their music went down that path, but it cannot be denied that the Gunners are one of the all time great classic rock bands. The magic behind the band was the Axel Rose/Slash combination, that produced some of the greatest rock ballads ever produced.
This is best exemplified by the extraordinary Sweet Child O' Mine. While the riff is rightly rated as the greatest of all time, it is the ability for Slash's guitar work to complement Axl's longing for his childhood days that makes the song such a classic.
While hits such as You Could Be Mine and Welcome To The Jungle displayed the band's heavy rock aspirations, more contemplative hits like Patience and November Rain were the band's finest, with Axl's poignant and sorrowful lyrics brought to life by Slash and co's instrumentals. Don't Cry is perhaps their greatest song, and arguably the greatest song about heartbreak ever made. The slow melancholic lyrics and tune builds up to a sorrowful and angry cry out as Axel begs for his ex to move on with his life, Slash's guitar simultaneously searing into our heartstrings.
The band effectively finished with 1993's The Spaghetti Incident, with 2008's Chinese Democracy an expensive mess. But the Axel-Slash days is what we'll all remember, a final celebration of classic rock before the 90's really came a knocking.