"Shadow of Your Love" is a song by the American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

, originally released as a B-side in 1987 and then later released in an alternate take as a single in 2018. The song entered at 31 on the Mainstream Rock chart in its May 12 edition, peaking at as of June 19. It would later be included in the 2020 re-issue of the band's ''Greatest Hits'' album.

Background

"Shadow of Your Love" was written by Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin from Hollywood Rose with help from Rose's friend Paul Tobias (Tobias later was a member of Guns N' Roses from 1994 until 2002). Rose mentioned being inspired by Thin Lizzy in writing the lyrics, and wrote the song in "about 7 minutes". The song was first recorded by Hollywood Rose, with an original demo and two remixes later being released on ''

The Roots of Guns N' Roses ''The Roots of Guns N' Roses'' is a compilation album containing old songs of Hollywood Rose. It was released on June 22, 2004, by Deadline Music (Cleopatra Records). Background The album was produced by Chris Weber, the band's ex-guitarist. C ...

'' compilation.

Steven Adler Steven Adler (born Michael Coletti; January 22, 1965) is an American musician. He was the drummer and co-songwriter of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s. Adler was fired from Guns N' Roses ...

explained the background of the song: "The first song we played in rehearsal was 'Shadow of Your Love,' and Axl showed up late. We were playing the song, and right in the middle of the song Axl showed up and he grabbed the microphone and was running up and down the walls screaming. I thought, 'This is the greatest thing ever.' We knew right then what we had." In 1998, former Hollywood Rose guitarist Chris Weber sued Rose over songwriting credits, claiming he co-wrote "Shadow of Your Love" (and "Back Off Bitch" from '' Use Your Illusion I'').

Release and promotion

The first Guns N' Roses version appeared as a B-side on the '' It's So Easy/ Mr. Brownstone'' 12" single in 1987, as a "faux-live" version of the song, with overdubbed crowd noise on the studio track. The same version was also released in 1988 on the '' Live from the Jungle EP''. The track was an outtake from the band's debut EP, ''

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide ''Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide'' is a four-track EP by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on December 16, 1986, on the UZI Suicide record label. When referred to by band members, they have simply called the EP ''Live Like a Suicide''. ...

''. A different recording of the song was released as a B-side on the " Live and Let Die" single in 1991, which is identical to the Sound City Session version later included on the ''Appetite for Destruction Deluxe Edition''. A previously unreleased recording of the song was officially released as a single in 2018 to promote the '' Appetite for Destruction'' boxed set. The artwork for the single release was made by artist Arian Buhler. Buhler worked with the band previously on designing lithographs for the Not in This Lifetime... Tour. Two lyric videos were released in promotion of the single. The song is also included as 7" single in the ''Appetite for Destruction'' Locked N' Loaded Box Set, backed with the 1988 acoustic version of "Move to the City". On June 6, 2018, the band played the song live for the first time since the Appetite for Destruction Tour.

Personnel

;Guns N' Roses versions *

W. Axl Rose W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inc ...

– lead vocals * Slash – lead guitar * Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Duff McKagan – bass guitar, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion ;Hollywood Rose version *Axl Rose - lead vocals * Chris Weber - lead guitar *Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar *Steve Darrow - bass *Johnny Kreis - drums

Charts

References

{{Authority control Guns N' Roses songs 2018 singles 2018 songs Songs written by Axl Rose Songs written by Izzy Stradlin Songs written by Paul Tobias Speed metal songs