1. Guns N' Roses - The Spaghetti Incident?
OK, so I'm cheating a bit this one. Guns N' Roses are still around, in the sense that Axl Rose still tours under the name with his gaggle of side musicians. But in terms of the band that the average punter recognises as GNR, i.e. the one that had a Slash and a Duff, this is the album that killed them. In a way, the decision to do an album of old rock n' roll and punk songs makes sense. The bands two Use Your Illusion albums were sprawling, bloated affairs and the ensuing world tour was pure Spinal Tap - drug and alcohol addictions, guitarists leaving, riots at concerts - you name it, it probably happened. So doing an album like The Spaghetti Incident? in 1993 was a chance for the band to return to the sleaze rock roots of their seminal debut Appetite For Destruction. And in truth, its a fun listen for what it is. It veers on the wrong side of goofy a few times (Axl's faux-English accent on New Rose and Down on the Farm is ridiculous) and the infamous inclusion of the Charles Manson ditty Look at Your Game, Girl reeks of Axl trying too hard, but lively renditions of Ain't It Fun and Hair of the Dog are welcome additions to the GNR canon. Unfortunately, the record-buying public were not quite so enthusiastic. Though selling 190,000 copies on its first week seems respectable, when you consider that the dual UYI albums sold almost 1.5 million between them in the same timeframe in 1991 then its clear this album did them no favours. The Axl-Slash-Duff lineup recorded just one more track after this album, the rather awful Sympathy For The Devil cover for 1994's Interview with the Vampire(described by Slash as 'the sound of a band breaking up') and the lead guitarist and bassist called it a day later in the decade. Though its true GNR technically live on, the band that once ruled the world in the early 90s died with this album.