What set Guns N' Roses apart?

I think we're all grateful Axl didn't do that...

 

hehe, good point!

 

good melodic heavy songs with fine sounding lead guitar...

 

I'm sure some fans would have dug it...

 

Yes, he does have a nice style and sound...

 

I call it the Van Halen formula: melodic rock with big hooks, solid drumming, dynamic frontman with quotable quips for the media, and Song Power. Memorable songs with themes common to almost everyone and a quirky lyric separate superstar bands like VH and GnR from . . . the second tier bands.
And a top shelf marketing campaign. The best band in the world with the ultimate songs won't succeed if you have to ferret 'em out on some streaming site. That's why record companies are still relevant, because they sell the Rock Star Mythos, which is part of what we buy into.
Anyhoo, GnR had these elements, at least for a while.

 

only quoting my own post as it's a revelation.

I finally realize why the 1990's were so different (yet close to the late 80's) than then 80's -- lost of fear embedded into youthful minds throughout the 80's

 

The best sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll band in a while, I think. The 80s were kind of polished and Guns N' Roses brought back some of the danger and wildness of rock bands in the 70s. And "Appetite for Destruction" is a great rock album. Slash can really play the guitar, he's not just a poser.

 

One In A Million from G N R Lies is a great song musically .Too bad they never recorded more from that period.They were definitely a great band at that point.

 

Axl and fun real R n R songs and attitude. And the chemistry that the guys had which made the music. They came around at the right time.

 

They were retro before retro became a 'thing'.

 

IMO "One in a Million" verse melody sounds too much like Alice Cooper's "The Ballad of Dwight Fry"

 

Their music had a timeless quality that lived through Hair Metal and Grunge without losing a beat. Had they stayed together, they would have continued into the 2000's strong, I have no doubt. Velvet Revolver carried the torch for GNR fans in the absence.

 

even more obnoxious vocals than usual from a hard rock band.

the songs were catchy, the band was tight, Slashs guitar playing was good... but I put the deciding factor on Roses' buzzsaw vocal. He's instantly recognizable and even better, easy to parody.