Live Era '87–'93 is a double live album by the American hard rock bandGuns N' Roses. It was released on November 23, 1999. The record was the first official Guns N' Roses release since "The Spaghetti Incident?" released on the same day in 1993. Guitarist Slash notes that the album is "not pretty and there are a lot of mistakes, but this is Guns N' Roses, not the fuckingMahavishnu Orchestra. It's as honest as it gets." The album is certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies. The RIAA counts each disc in a double album separately for certification, so the album has actually shipped 250,000 copies.
Album information
The album was compiled by band associate Del James. The dates and locations of the tracks are not revealed in the liner notes, and are referred to simply as being "Recorded across the universe between 1987 and 1993". However, the majority are believed to be from the Use Your Illusion Tour of 1991-1993. Axl Rose is alleged to have communicated through intermediaries with former Guns N' Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan to select the track list. "The live album was one of the easiest projects we all worked on," Slash noted. "I didn't actually see Axl, but we communicated via the powers that be." Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke, who play on the majority of the tracks, are not credited as band members, but as "additional musicians". Classic-member drummer Steven Adler, who plays on only three tracks, and Izzy Stradlin, who plays on six, are credited as "main band members." Two popular live songs, "Live and Let Die" and "Civil War" – both played frequently during the Use Your Illusion Tour – are omitted from this release. Songs that were played to a much lesser extent are included. The Japanese and vinyl versions of the album contain a rare performance of "Coma". "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was performed and recorded at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and was previously released on the "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" single. "Estranged," "Don't Cry," "November Rain," "Pretty Tied Up", "You Could Be Mine" and "Move To The City" were previously released on the band's Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II videos. The live audio from "Yesterdays" was included as a B-side on that song's CD single.
Track listing
Bonus track
This track was released as the twelfth track on the first CD of the Japanese edition, and as the eighth side on the four LP vinyl editions.
