Watch Guns N’ Roses Pay Tribute to Glen Campbell and Cover James Brown
Guns N' Roses paid a touching tribute to the late Glen Campbell last night in Edmonton, then added another song to their set list by covering James Brown.
Their surprise update of Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" fell between tried-and-true favorites "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Used to Love Her" at Commonwealth Stadium. "[This is] something we've never played before," Axl Rose says in the above fan-filmed video. "It might not be your thing but, you know, it’s just to kind of pay a tribute to someone."
Slash added a touching solo on the acoustic guitar, as Duff McKagan joined him on the steps of the drum riser. “For Glen,” Rose adds as the song ends.
Campbell, a country legend who also worked with the Beach Boys, died on Aug. 8 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's. "Wichita Lineman" became a crossover hit in 1968, rising to No. 3 on the pop chart.
Watch Guns N' Roses Cover James Brown
Four songs later, Guns N' Roses dove into "I Got You (I Feel Good)," the perennial James Brown party favorite from 1965. "Something else we’ve never done," Rose admitted before they played the song. "Our own little arrangement of it. If anybody will f--- up on it, it'll be me but, anyway, we'll give it a go."
They concluded "I Got You" with an extended jam before a smiling Rose said, "Thanks for bearing with us on that." The Brown and Campbell songs were part of an expanded 32-song set that included a total of 10 covers. Slash later praised Edmonton fans as "super gracious" on Twitter, adding, "Thanks for being so responsive to a couple first-time jams. You kicked ass."
Rumors circulated that Guns N' Roses were working up their version of "I Got You" in advance of an intimate Apollo Theater show last July in New York, but it never materialized. This ongoing tour continues Friday night at BC Place in Vancouver.
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