It used to be that the announcement of a new Guns N’ Roses video would be earth-shattering news. And while the release of “Perhaps” doesn’t carry the same weight as it would have back in the day, it does have some importance. After all, the last GN’R album came out 15 years ago and of course, Chinese Democracy didn’t even feature any known band member other than Axl.
Some people have a hard time calling “Perhaps” new, since rumors date the first recordings going back to the sessions for Chinese Democracy. But taking into account that the album took 14 years to finish, lots of music and ideas got left by the wayside. Enter Slash and Duff.
A press release states the song was written by Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan and it was their first new composition and recording in 30 years. So if the band wants to consider “Perhaps” new, we should all be good with that. It means not only are they playing live together, but they are also working together and the possibility for even more new or “new” music exists. Axl said as much on “Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk.”
The release of “Perhaps” is apparently important enough to warrant its own collection on the merch page of the band’s website. There are shirts, hoodies, vinyl, and even a magic eight ball.
The song itself is reflective, not combative, with lyrics like: “Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t see you/ Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t believe you.” Musically, it has the piano sound introduced on the Use Your Illusion albums. While more ballad than screaming rocker, Slash’s guitar work reminds the listeners just what (and who) makes a GN’R songs howl.
The video is a performance piece and while it doesn’t try to be conceptual by any means, it makes the point that GN’R is huge. They play on a large stage in giant stadiums in front of tremendous audiences. It’s like the point is to show how big the actual band is. There are seven on stage performers and each gets a moment or more to shine, but there’s no doubt the heroes of the piece are the three original Gunners. Even though it has backstage, “behind the scenes,” and black and white sections, this is a beautifully shot concert video with shots of Slash soloing that are suitable for framing. There are also enough shots of Duff and even Axl smiling to make us hopeful for more new releases from Guns N’ Roses.
- Daniel Gray
