It only takes the first couple notes of this song to give me goose bumps and transport me through time. Oh, this song is epic. When you listen to it, you can't think about Guns N Roses past their prime, Axel Rose's reputation or anything else, only this song and how amazing it is.
I was in middle school when November Rain was popular. This didn't sound like anything they'd done before. It was sweeping and intense. I knew all the words by heart, even though I couldn't fully comprehend them at the time. During those years, I had a crush on my neighbor boy and one Christmas he gave me Use Your IllusionI on cassette as a gift. That was a pretty big deal!
Oh and let's talk about this video! It's glorious. Axel Rose at his absolute best, classic Slash solos, a symphony, a wedding. I'll say it again: epic. I watch it now and I'm still struck by how incredible it was to my 13 year old self. While looking up some info on the song, I learned that at the time it was one of the most expensive music videos ever made.
Before I started working on these posts, I don't think I'd fully listened to this song in a decade or more. At the end of a long day, I was in the bath tub with a glass of wine listening to a bunch of songs on my list to potentially write about. November Rain came on and I knew for absolute certain that I had to choose it for N. "Nothing lasts forever and we both know hearts can change", woah, I'd forgotten how passionate this song could make me feel.
I think I'm fortunate to have come of age at a time when Guns and Roses were still reigning and bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were just coming onto the scene. I feel like I got the best of both worlds. GNR certainly holds a special place in my heart for that reason and for this song.
epic, indeed.
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