"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 Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active 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 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 incep ...

and

Izzy Stradlin Jeffrey Dean Isbell (born April 8, 1962), best known as Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist. He was a co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of their fame in 1991, and with whom he ...

from

Hollywood Rose Hollywood Rose was an American glam metal group formed in 1983. They are best known as the precursor for what would eventually become Guns N' Roses. The group was founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Chris Weber, while they were aided during li ...

with help from Rose's friend

Paul Tobias Paul H. Tobias (also known as Paul Edward Huge (pronounced hugh-gee); born in August 1963, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American guitarist best known for his involvement with hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has collaborated since 199 ...

(Tobias later was a member of Guns N' Roses from 1994 until 2002). Rose mentioned being inspired by

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

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'' 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 Christopher Garrison Weber (born October 16, 1966) is an American musician best known as the guitarist and founder of the groups U.P.O. and Hollywood Rose (which featured future Guns N' Roses members Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Steven Adl ...

sued Rose over songwriting credits, claiming he co-wrote "Shadow of Your Love" (and "Back Off Bitch" from ''

Use Your Illusion I ''Use Your Illusion I'' is the third studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on September 17, 1991, the same day as its counterpart ''Use Your Illusion II''. Both albums were released in conjunction with the Use Your Illu ...

'').

Release and promotion

The first Guns N' Roses version appeared as a B-side on the '' It's So Easy/

Mr. Brownstone "Mr. Brownstone" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut studio album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). Group guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin wrote the tune while they were sitting around Stradlin's apar ...

'' 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''. 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 ''Appetite for Destruction'' is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records. The album was released to little mainstream attention in 1987. It was not until the following ...

'' boxed set. The artwork for the single release was made by artist Arian Buhler. Buhler worked with the band previously on designing

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

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 The Appetite for Destruction Tour, by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, promoted their debut album ''Appetite for Destruction'', released in July 1987. During its 16-month duration, the band opened for bands The Cult, Mötley Crüe, Alice ...

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 Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

– lead guitar *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion ;Hollywood Rose version *Axl Rose - lead vocals *

- 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