Classical Composer Reacts to GUNS N' ROSES: ESTRANGED | The Daily Doug (Episode 832)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- #gunsnroses #estranged #gnr
In this edition of #thedailydoug, I'm listening to music by Guns N' Roses for the first time on the channel. DJ DAN (my brother) has asked me to review Estranged from their Use Your Illusion II album. As I'll mention in the video, I'm familiar with several GNR songs, but I didn't remember this particular one. I found its narrative structure to be quite unique. Slash's guitar interludes bind the piece together, and the result is a great musical journey. I hope you enjoy!
Reference Video: • Guns N' Roses - Estranged
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Ladies and gentleman, on the keyboard, Mr. Dizzy Reed.
Dizzy, if I fall down, I’m alright, Reed. 😂
The second longest continuously tenured member of the band.
Axl played the piano on the record.
It was axl who played on the Studio version
I think he means when Axl speaks in the Tokyo show in 1992!
Folks are almost always surprised when I say that Estranged is my favourite GnR song, but those who get it, get it. ❤
Yup! This song is a real masterpiece and taught me the meaning of tone control back when I started playing.
Not surprised, all of the songs are great on both Use your illusion albums 🎉
It's probably because casual fans have never heard it. I used to play it on my college radio station and the first time I played it I said, "It is the best Guns N' Roses song most people have never heard." It is definitely top 5 GNR songs for me.
My favorite also
Also mine, by far.
Probably my favorite GNR song. Great solos, great lyrics, really emotional and moving.
My 2nd favorite outside Sweet Child o' Mine. The commonality of both is Slash's hypnotic melodic playing.
@@jonathanhenderson9422 yes and the amount of notes he uses is not that many, he plays so very sparingly, yet just the right ones with the timing that never fails to build and release tension. It's like you don't need to be talkative or fill in um's when you know what you want to say
While November Rain got all the attention and is deservedly a legendary song, Estranged is their masterpiece imo. I have tired of pretty much all of their songs at times and had to take time away but I never get tired of those 9 minutes of sheer brilliance on Estranged.
Same for me!
@@paulsinob so much this, exactly
"Slash, thanks for the killer guitar melodies"
A well-deserved thank-you. Estranged definitely deserved that little note in the booklet.
Was just gonna point that out😀🫡
@@cobrasys I miss when we had albums with booklets. I practically learned English on that thing.
@@vanyadolly "you're not the only one"
I remember reading that in the album sleeve and thinking “too fucking right!” Amazing.
Breakdown is an underappreciated gem. Real feelings, great atmospheric piano by Dizzy Reed, and a blistering solo.
I like breakdown too. One of my favorites off their illusions record. The only thing I don't like about it is the ending when the instrumentation goes wild and crazy and sounds all disjointed. That is when I would usually turn the song off. The rest of it was good though.
@@endtimesdarknessdescending5634 For me it's the other way round. I find the beginning and the middle part to be somewhat irrelevant. From the guitar solo onwards it really picks up speed until the end. I've never heard anyone else finish like that before or since. Very special in a positive sense. That's just my opinion.
I agree, but just like on Estranged record, is Axl who play the piano on Breakdown...
Yes! Breakdown is my favorite GnR song, with Estranged probably second.
@@EduardoSpicacci Oh yes you are right, its Axl on the piano!
"Coma" would be another good one to listen to.
Coma is an amazing song! Good choice!
Absolutely have to do coma!!
No, i don't think so...
Coma should be intriguing for him.
Yes indeed!! Slash calls it one big Chorus
ha love how everybody misses the fact that Slash was making dolphin sounds with his guitar. 12:19 its one of the best rock songs of all time.
Yes, they are called volume swells. I’ve been playing this song on guitar for 30 years
@@VoxRox1 david gilmour smooth guitar, slash smooth. i believe its harder to play smooth. but then again SRV doesn't and its hard.
what strikes me about that is that Slash recorded those "whale sounds" in 1990, and Axl decided to replace Girls by Dolphins on videoclips 2 years down the road. I mean... what are the chances? Did slash had a vision of the future while he was high?
@@perrygoround yeah but they hit their peak in that album artistically so its not really surprising.
This song has some of the best melodies, both vocal and guitar, I have ever heard in any musical style. Slash and Axl at their best were just unbelievable.
This song is a masterpiece
one of the Greatest songs ever that isn't even known........helped me with my divorce and PTSD from Iraqi war......Thanks for reviewing.
I hope you get better sir, best of luck.
@@gymnastchannel7372 Thank you for your comment....God Bless
Stay strong brother, from here in the UK 🤝🏻💪🏻🤟🏻
@@Devypocalypse Thank You sir...My heart goes out to the real british people....Cant believe what is happening there...God Bless
I’m so sorry for your pain. Praying for your peace, healing, and flourishing. For your 12:30 moments every day.
Everyone always talks about slash and axel, but duff's bass lines are all absolutely essential. His tone is pretty much godly as well. To this day I think he's the most underrated bassist of all time.
You sir are absolutely spot on 👌
Oh man, I’m still mining all the awesome that Duff brings. GNR is devastating, and I’ve had a ball savoring and figuring out why they hit me so hard. It’s all kind of a delicious daze at first, but early on I recognized that the bass was standing out to me as one of those key things. Tone, attack, groove, melody, musicality, DANG it’s so good!!! And vocals! 💥 Those five guys, man, MAGIC mix!
Heavy as lead but lithe and bright, meaty, lean and mean, pommeling drive with filthy groove, guttural savage attack, joyful swagger and feel, sweet sweet melody. He knows what to play and what NOT to play. He serves the song. Matchless foundation and colors for days. Still trying to put my finger on it, but I love that I still can’t!
You’re right, but if you listen their first album called “Appetite For Destruction” you’ll see how good they are. Listen the Rythm and the Drumm too, they all absolutly great and wild
Duff is terrific on this track - right in the spaces he needs to be in to blend with the piano and drums in several places. Great point !
I saw Guns 2 years ago. 3.5 hour concert. All their hits and many more. Amazing from start to finish, but the most incredible part about it was that they started on time! Looking forward to you reviewing more GNR Doug!
AC/DC got Axl back in line to turn up to shows on time when he was singing for them as there's no way they would put up with that shit. He's been on time for GNR shows and generally just become more rerspectful towards others since that experience.
They stopped dancing with Mr Brownstone
I saw them twice a few years back. Long concerts, but it was so much fun
'November Rain' and this back to back is epic. 'Estranged' is one of the modt legit underlooked licks and solos of all time. Absolutely top tier of all time.
So glad to see you react to this, it's my favorite song of theirs. I was a teenager when it came out and it just struck a nerve that I wasn't getting even with their other songs. It's an incredibly mature song that I caught greater glimpses of along the road of life but that I responded to in a very strong way on the release of the album upon the very first listen.
It's undeniable.
As a kid, my brother had four albums from Guns N Roses.
Aperite for destruction.
Use Your Illusion 1 and 2
And a small first CD called 'GnR Lies'.
The song One in a Million I really liked.
Technically lies was released after AFD
One in a Million is a fantastic song
Sadly the controversy prevented folks from seeing how great it really is
@@LN-Liferyeah it's fucking badass....and you're crazy 21:15 in both forms for that matter
Don’t need your religion. Don’t watch that much tv……used to love her is awesome too. I can’t think of a song on that EP that would get released today lol. Even the intro to the Aerosmith cover, “this is a song about your fuckin mother”.
With a few exceptions, the Use Your Illusion albums are noticeably more melodic than Appetite For Destruction, especially the biggest hits on them. I’m more of an Appetite person myself, but “Civil War”, “Coma” and their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” are all things I love to listen to as well as this one.
Your first quote is the best Gn'R song
UYI2 has some incredible tracks on it, 1 not nearly as many but it's still a great album, AFD is just packed with great songs..
@@alexandremaireno-ni4ec It's definitely in contention for number 1.
@@decay79 I personally think 1 and 2 are their best albums with 2 being the number 1.
@alexandremaireno-ni4ec alot of people aren't aware but Adler played drums on the Civil War recording.
There's a quote from Axl on the booklet of the album, just after the lyrics: "Slash: thanks for the killer guitar melodies"
I haven't heard of similar thank you note on another booklet, directly after the lyrics.
It's Slash at its best, Axl at its best as a songwriter. It's GNR striving for perfection. Use Your Illusion is the greatest rock SOUND I've heard a band creating.
That's Axl ripping Slash off, imo; palming him off with a lame 'thank you' note instead of giving him the writing credit he deserved.
15:16 Bingo! It feels like a start/stop, stutter-step stream of consciousness, rather than a verse/chorus structure. Techncially, the "so nobody every told you baby, how it was going to be..." could be the chorus, but it's not much of a chorus -- it feels like more of a pre-chorus or bridge or something. The song always feels like it's going to arrive somewhere, and then it never quite does. But I love it! The lack of a comfortable, familiar refrain fits perfectly with the despair and sadness of the lyrics.
In popular music, my answer to what a song’s hook / chorus is when it’s not obvious is to pose this question:
“If someone hears you talking about a song, they aren’t sure if they know it, and they ask you, ‘how does it go?’
what do you respond with?”
Sometimes the answer is not a singalong chorus with lyrics.
In Zep’s Immigrant Song most people would probably answer the above by attempting Plant’s “aa aa aa aaaaa”
vocal chant.
Maybe the guitar riff.
In Estranged, if I were asked, “how does it go?” I’d probably mouth either of Slash’s guitar leads:
likely the main theme at the beginning, maybe the more Eastern sounding one over the broken up rhythms.
A hook is that element that is memorable and repeatable.
Sometimes there’s more than one in a song.
But they’re usually there.
When it’s not a typical pop format, radio friendly song it may not be what we typically think of as a chorus, but popular artist who know how to make memorable songs usually find a way to get those hooks in there…
Having said the above, pointing out the very personal, stream of consciousness experience this song elicits is right on, I’m with that
Axl is an amazing pianist. This song is a masterpiece; Coma is still my favorite off of the Illusion set. Absolutely worth listening to.
The long songs on Use Your Illusions are brilliant. I don't care much for November Rain, but Estranged, Coma, Locomotive & Breakdown are incredible songs.
I feel exactly the same :-) And « Civil war »
I was just a kid when this came out. Slash rising up out of the water with that solo was the most badass thing I had ever seen. Blew my mind.
May I request again Coma: hell of a ride, very intricate songwriting with a maze of key changes.
The story telling on that song. Wow.
Some of the songs from that two albums were so epic. More musical material in one song "Estranged" than some "modern artists" have on whole album.
Estranged
Breakdown
Locomotive
Don't cry
The Garden
November rain
Coma
@@ronparsons8786 Every single dong has a story behind.
@@Marcin79W Exactly. Those things have gotten more guys in trouble than can be counted.
@@ronparsons8786 The Garden is a really underappreciated one., it's just scary how good it is if you break it down the way Doug would. I'd so much like to see it.
I always say that Izzy and Duff holding everything together is what made this band great. Both of their solo careers are great, too.
Beautiful song. The best GnR song of all.
Indeed. It absolutely beautiful.
Great song. Maybe not better than Coma, though.
As a youngster I never really payed attention to this song. The last 10 years time (I'm 43 now) it's been my clear favourite GNR song, though 🙂
Slash has said once in an interview that it’s probably the hardest song to play because the whole song throughout is basically one big solo
Appetite for Destruction is one of the greatest debut albums of all time for a reason.
If you listen to the isolated parts that Izzy played it's just phenomenal and adds so much depth to the song. GnR had two equally important guitarists each playing their own separate pieces simultaneously and it's pure bliss.
Everyone focuses on Slash but those songs aren't the same without Izzy's contribution.
I find myself wondering what Locomotive would be like if Izzy was on rhythm. It’s such a juggernaut with Slash on both. Would any swagger cut the speed? Maybe not, b/c Double Talkin’ Jive definitely hurtles right along. There’s so much going on in Locomotive, churning and roiling and boiling over itself, almost out of control, and I love it! You can hear four distinct awesome musicians going all out and each adding so much. My brain kind of explodes trying to imagine Izzy adding a signature counterpoint to the mix! 🤯🥵 I saw a video of Stevie playing along to it. That was fun to hear too. Matt’s brutal and driving, and Steven has that wild swing and energy. I want all these versions! I lost it when I got to hear Coma live last Fall. If they tore into Locomotive, I’d explode! 💥
Great reaction Doug!! What a wonderful way to start my Friday morning! Use Your Illusion II is my jam...for me, not a bad song on it (well, maybe My World - not bad per se, just weird!) Starting off with Civil War (my #1 GnR song) - you need to react to that one! Estranged is such an epic masterpiece - so many moods - and for me, it outdoes November Rain (and I love that one too!).
Further musts: Don't Cry, Nightrain, You Could Be Mine. Cheers!
Please do more Guns N’ Roses. Love your content
November Rain. Vote me up people.
Would love to hear Doug talk through the piano solo from the UYI live video. It's about time GN'R allowed people to appraise their music in this way
Yes, and next "Civil War" and "Knocking on Heaven's Door" live
God yeah 🙌
Not in the league of 'Estranged', IMHO
@@vipul_singhNovember Rain is the better ‘pop’ song, this is the better ‘epic’. It’s MASSIVE.
Such a great song. Slash's guitar is so beautiful.
this song is a masterpiece both lyric and melodic. some of the most remarkable 90's guitar lines for me
So glad you enjoyed this. Please, please please do November Rain too. One of my fave songs of all time.
Nice to see you do some GNR, knowing your profile. I'm surprised you didn't mention the changing sustained harmonics from the guitar after you mentioned that first octave lift after 7:17, that always impressed me. You caught that initial one though, many people don't notice it's actually guitar. The "cello" or "double bass" you're referring to is Slash doing a volume swell and slide also on guitar, from G to C (they tune in flat). Hope you end up doing more GNR. Coma, while a heavier song, might impress you.
Thanks for this reaction, Estranged is definitely one of my all-time favorite songs. I used to have the CD booklet, I remember that for this song, there was a note at the end of the lyrics from Axl thanking Slash for the 'killer guitar melodies'.
This song was a little overlooked when it came out, but is now deservedly ranked among their best. Great song.
“coma” would be a nice option to react to, it has like 19372 chord changes
Yes, it is insane at the end part.
My favorite GnR song its just beautiful have enjoyed it for almost 25 years now!
Locomotive is one that has grown on me in the last 15 years vs the first 15 years.
Estranged is a beauty! Prob my fave
This was the third song in a video trilogy that were all related in the video. Its started with Don’t Cry then November Rain and then Estranged.
It's funny because the band tunes down a semitone, and so as a guitarist, when you're talking about it being "F sharp minor" and "B major" I'm thinking "but the official guitar sheet music says it's G minor and C major!?", and then remembering... CONCERT pitch, not transposed!
But that definitely makes the song a lot easier to play, as F#m and B are not beginner-friendly chords on the guitar, while G and C are regular open "campfire" chords, and tuning down or using a capo to raise the pitch allows guitarists to use those beginner-friendly chords in a wide variety of keys!
UYI I, II albums bring back great memories from my teenage years. I got the I (yellow) album on vinyl for Christmas of 1991 from my mom. She wanted to buy me both but the blue was sold out. I bought it a couple of years later. I started watching MTV either in late 1990 or early 1991 and that's how I got to know the band and become a rocker and a bit later a metal fan with other, heavier bands.
One of my all time favorite songs. I’m excited for this.
I think you would like Coma, and Breakdown. They both have lengthy arrangements with no designated chorus per se… Cheers Doug from Canada!
I do remember having heard Slash saying that it was during the creation of this video that he came to the conclution that Axl was completely off the rails and quite literally drifting away...
Illusions shows all the bands taste. Punk, rock, metal, blues. Axl is a huge elton john fan. He maybe insane but he knows how to compse a master piece
Let’s vote for Coma next.
Great reaction, Doug. My favourite GnR song. Slash is a great emotional guitarist with one of his influences being David Gilmour. I would suggest a song called Velveteen by Transvision Vamp. Another great long song, full of emotion and great ebbs and flows.
So glad this was your first GNR reaction. IMO musically their best song. So many changes that flowed so nicely. Lyrics were perfect and sung perfectly for all the changes. Kudos to your brother for getting you to do this video. Ty
When I've heard this song I was 11 or 12 years old. That's a song took me for another planet.... Awesome dreams..... Good job GnR make it.
Epic reaction and well spotted with all the chord changeups! They tune down to Eb on the guitars etc and i believe they also do the same with the keys, so the middle section/coda certainly gets to some simpler / more traditional chords :)
With the chorus thing, i guess this can be called a 'rock opera' by definition with its constantly evolving, non-repetitive structure.
Look forward to more deep dives on GnR! 🙌
Definitely a fan favorite, bit of a deeper cut, see also Coma, Locomotive.
My favourite GnR-Song since the release of Use your Illusion. Everytime I see the video I'm glad about the live footage from Munich since I'm somewhere in the crowd 🙂
Slash as normal was incredible with the guitar 🎸. His melodies really made greater each song he played in on Use your illusion.
In this song, like you said, lifting it to a harmonic level and making it remarkably full of soul.
I personally love this song .🤘🏼
I always have goosebumps whenever I listen to this song. Thank you for your analysis, Doug!
I remember distinctly that as soon as that video debuted on MTV it was the end for GNR. They hyped it so hard as the last video of the “trilogy” and debuted it to great fanfare, only to have it become an absolute laughingstock when Axl was hanging with the dolphin at the end. It completely overshadowed the music, which was spectacular, and really marked the end for them.
I guess you could say they jumped the dolphin with this one?
The three songs you mentioned -- Don't Cry, November Rain, and Estranged -- are the three best songs from the Use Your Illusion albums, in my humble opinion. If you do a reaction to Don't Cry, make sure to check out the version with alternate lyrics as well.
I'd sure add Civil War to that list (Their best IMO)
I prefer Don't Cry from the 2nd one.
@@scorpiusbalthazar4327
Absolutely.
Bleh. They used the shitty version of Don't Cry for the video.
Please, do the both of them, and I would like that this'll be the begining of a Guns n Roses reaction videos.
At Last!!! Guns is letting this extraordinary music be analized by the best on TH-cam!!!
Finally! This song is getting the attention and recognition it deserves 👌 when you listen to it, it doesn't seem like it's almost 10 minutes long. Definitely a classic masterpiece
It was a mirical the band managed to get these songs down before any of them overinduldged fatally and the tour for the album they went even harder. Amazing they are all alive at the time of this video upload. They went hard at it in 80s and 90s.
For 32 years this band inspired me to be a guitarist, especially Slash.
Thanks for listening to my favorite tune ever, Doug. Will never forget it
Also you should try in the other long form songs of GNR like Coma, Locomotive, Breakdown and of course November Rain. Even the alt version of Don't cry or other olders like Rocket Queen and Mr Brownstone are musically outstanding
One of my favourite songs by them. A real gem.
A reaction to live performances from the Use Your Illusion tour is warranted!
I really enjoyed your reaction and your breakdown of this song.
I have no idea what most of it means…what you’re talking about…but it’s very relaxing.
I’d be very interested to see your reaction to another GN’ R song, Coma.
It’s their longest song at just over 10 minutes and there’s no official video, so it’s audio only…but an interested in your breakdown of that song as well.
Thanks for this reaction🤘🏼
That first slash solo is magical and I have not seen anyone on the internet come close to playing it accurately.
I also love how Slash mimics the dolphin call with his guitar in the Axl ocean scene!!!
What a track! Great review Doug! 👏
My favorite song by Guns N' Roses. The piano solo sweeps me off my feet every time I hear it.
It would be nice to see the Daily Doug with the The Charismatic Voice jamming together with a rock song
Do some songs off of Chinese Democracy. That’s a great album from start to finish. Very underrated
There was a time
To me, one of the most underrated albums ever made. Hated by fans and critics when it came out, but a GREAT album all the way through.
@@paulpv7yes and Catcher in the Rye
@@olavjorvik94 It's a masterpiece. Critics are sad individuals
@@stephanea5364 most gnr fans are shit, as well.
No slash = it sucks.
No, that’s just not true.
Good songs are good songs.
The music and art of GnR are deeper than people think.... I think all the media and fame put over them an certain halo of "simple and superficial" but.... they are really complex musicians and I'm glad you (and we) put a flag over this 💪 Super video 🎉
Great review as always, Doug. Now please do the uniquely sounding Mr. Brownstone!
Mmm that groove! STANK. FACE!
Slash said it was the one song that gave them problems live. There’s just so much going on. Great tune. Next ‘November Rain’ please
A most excellent introduction to GNR! The radio singles are good but the rest are better.
12:34 I am 44 yrs old. I’ve been playing the guitar since I was eleven because of this moment right here. I was playing saxophone at the time, and I had an epiphany. Great reaction.
Please react to Coma by GNR, it's epic and is so under the radar taking into account it's based on a real life event that happened to Axl Rose.
Too cool! Thanks Doug and Dan!
Coma, please do Coma!
Please react to Coma next. GNR is way more then their main hits.
Indeed. coma is crazy
That was great to hear you break it all down like that. I always knew it was an epic tune but to get that insight into the structure was great. I have a limited knowledge of music theory 12 bar blues and mayjor and minor scales on guitar is my limit but you expained what they were doing there great. My favorite band but i still cant play along to any of they're tunes this explains why🤣 Ive still got alot to learn after 30 years of noodling😂
Saw them play in glasow last year it was epic😁
Normally I do not like reaction videos, but this one was spot on!
This is my favorite song from them!
The best GNR song this is a piece of art!!
Estranged and coma are both brilliant 😮
This is my favorite GNR song but I can't listen to it too often because those guitar melodies get stuck in my head, sometimes FOR DAYS. Gorgeous melodies. Slash, as revered as he is, is still somehow underrated.
I waslucky to hear this live some years back. Awesome song
Thanks Doug ! This song is fantastic and will remain so. They were on top of the world... Please also do November Rain and Don't Cry to complete the trilogy.
My favorite gnr song. Saw a soundcheck on Facebook years ago. My father heard it and commented that it sounded terrible. So we listened to both the soundcheck and full song which connected us in music
It’s called growth in their career❤
GN'R drop-tune (the stringed instruments) to E flat, so whilst you're hearing F# major, the guitars and bass are playing G and will be written as G in the published tab books.
And Estranged is my favourite GN'R track, love Slash's work in this 👍
The one thing to know about GnR, they tuned their instruments down one half step. So, when analyzing you are in the correct keys, but the chord voicings are in open chords for the players. You hear F# but the guitars are playing 'open G' on the instrument. Just food for thought. 😊
This really is a trip through the mind of a Manic Depressive, and the effects the condition has not only on the person with it but those around them as well, as a fellow M/D this is one of many songs Axl wrote that to me makes sense.
Slash guitar work is sublime on this cut
Loved this reaction. Your concern about how Axl was gonna survive in the ocean made me crack up 😂
Check out "Double Talkin' Jive" live from Baltimore. A good demonstration of why Slash is a contender for "King of the Les Paul."
This is probably their most complete song. It has everything!
Yeah, in the 90s you still could put such a monster of a song out as a single.