GNR Live Version: "Street of Dreams"

Great music is often creative and unique sounding. That's what I've always loved about Guns N' Roses. 

Love or hate him, lead singer Axl Rose is a bad ass. Dating back to the days when they barely survived living in Los Angeles when the band went from being Hollywood Rose to Guns N' Roses, they always brought something different to the radio. 

Combining the edge in which Slash played the guitar with the belting out of lyrics at thr top of his lungs by Rose, you had the makings of something special. Original Gunners Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler all combined to make a memorable album that's still frequently played on stations and in stadiums. 

Appetite For Destruction remains one of the best rock albums from the 1980's. "Welcome To The Jungle," is still blasted at the start of games. "Paradise City" is one of the prettiest sounding and epic songs that we can still hear. There's too many to list. It's timeless. 

When the original group split up due to creative differences, Axl was the only member left, along with Dizzy Reed, who joined during the Use Your Illusion era. He's superb on the piano and keyboard. Astonishingly, he's the second longest lasting member. 

Before GNR released the long anticipated album Chinese Democracy, fans got to hear some of the featured tracks during shows. That included "Street of Dreams." Originally titled, "The Blues," it features the outstanding piano playing of Reed. It always had a bluesy sound. 

Maybe that's why I liked the original title. When my brother and I went to see Guns N' Roses play in December 2002 at Madison Square Garden, it was a great show. Along with "Madagascar," and self-titled "Chinese Democracy," "Street of Dreams" was played live on that snowy night. 

Over two decades later, it still remains one of my favorite songs from that album. If you listen to it, there are plenty of good tracks. It may have took forever to release due to Axl, but it still delivers in how music should sound. Something that's not as frequent these days. 

Here's how "Street of Dreams" sounded in Rock In Rio some 22 years ago.