Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide
EP by Guns N' Roses
Released	December 16, 1985
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock
Length	13:22
Label	UZI Suicide
Producer	Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses chronology
Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide (1985) Appetite for Destruction (1987)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide is a four-song EP released by the American rock band Guns N' Roses on December 16, 1985 on the label, UZI Suicide. (This was ostensibly a self-released record but UZI Suicide was actually part of Geffen Records.)^[2] When referred to by the band members talking about the EP, they have simply called it Live Like a Suicide. The record itself was reportedly limited to only 10,000 copies, and it came out only in vinyl and cassette formats.

According to Steve Adler's autobiography, the entire EP was recorded at Pasha Studios in Hollywood with audience applause and cheering in the background as Geffen's engineers told him "it would cost too much to actually record a live record". ^[3]

One song considered for this EP was Shadow of Your Love, which never made it onto the album. In 1988, the recordings featured on Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide were re-released along with four newer songs as the album G N' R Lies.

Artwork

The front cover consists of a photograph of two of the band members, Duff McKagan and Axl Rose (from left to right), with an early Guns N' Roses logo, designed by Slash, overhead. The artwork from this EP is also featured in the G N' R Lies album artwork.

Promotion

In 2010, Steven Adler said that Guns N' Roses got Rodney on the ROQ at KROQ-FM to initially play "Reckless Life" by giving Rodney one gram of cocaine.^[4]

Song information

The four songs were selected from the band's demo tapes: two are cover versions and two are originals. The EP was a faux-live recording with overdubbed crowd noise, but these are in fact studio performances.

"Reckless Life" is the opening track on the EP, it opens with Slash shouting "hey fuckers, suck on Guns N' Fuckin' Roses!"^[5] This song was originally written by Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin's previous band Hollywood Rose and included in their compilation album The Roots of Guns N' Roses. "Nice Boys" is a cover of a song by Rose Tattoo. The classic rock-inspired "Move to the City" is the third track on the EP. "Mama Kin" is a cover of a song by Aerosmith, a band Guns N' Roses has cited as one of their major influences.

Track listing

1. "Reckless Life" (Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Slash, Chris Weber) – 3:20
2. "Nice Boys" (Rose Tattoo) – 3:03
   • Rose Tattoo cover
3. "Move to the City" (Stradlin, Del James, Chris Weber) – 3:42
4. "Mama Kin" (Steven Tyler) – 3:57
   • Aerosmith cover

Personnel

^[6]

• Steven Adler – Composer, Group Member
• Duff McKagan – Composer, Group Member
• Axl Rose – Composer, Group Member
• Slash – Composer, Group Member
• Izzy Stradlin – Composer, Group Member
• Steven Tyler – Composer

References

1. ^ "Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide - Guns N' Roses". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r61963. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
2. ^ Marc Canter, Reckless Road, page 318.
3. ^ Adler, Steven; My Appetite for Destruction, pages 107-108. ISBN 978-0-06-191711-0.
4. ^ 9/21/2010: Steven Adler on the Adam Carolla Show
5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsyAJXs7C_w
6. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-like-a-suicide-r61963/credits