Live ĭuring live Guns N' Roses shows, "Paradise City" is usually performed last, as an encore. The latter designating it as the most overrated in their catalogue, writing "'Paradise City' runs out of ideas halfway through its triumphant first refrain and yet still lasts for six more minutes." Kerrang! ranked the song the second best Guns N' Roses song, behind Welcome to the Jungle.
It ranked number 459 on Rolling Stone's 2010 list of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Some publications, such as Ultimate Classic Rock and Spin, have identified the song as one of the band's worst. The song ranked number 21 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time. Musically, the song has been described as glam metal, hard rock, and heavy metal. Guns and former member of Guns N' Roses, the riff was influenced by the Black Sabbath song "Zero the Hero" from the Born Again album. This can be seen in Izzy Stradlin's "Bomb" and Velvet Revolver's "Do It for the Kids". Hanoi Rocks' original rhythm guitarist Nasty Suicide can also be seen in the music video for "Paradise City." The style of the main riff of "Paradise City" (involving an ascending chromatic riff) has also been used by many former Guns N' Roses members in new projects. Axl Rose has often cited Hanoi Rocks as Guns N' Roses' biggest influence. He has said that the chorus is just a slower version of the riff in " Lost in the City". Guitarist Andy McCoy has said that the song is copied from several riffs written by his band, Hanoi Rocks. In the last two minutes of the song, it changes to double-time and the chorus is repeated several times while Slash plays a guitar solo in the background. Slash has stated that "Paradise City" is his favorite Guns N' Roses song. This song was often used as the band's show-closing song during the Appetite for Destruction Tour, Use Your Illusion Tour and Chinese Democracy Tour. ĭuring a 1988 interview, Rose told Hit Parader magazine that "the verses are more about being in the jungle the chorus is like being back in the Midwest or somewhere." Finally, Slash wrapped up by coming up with the heavy riff that drives the song. The band then expanded upon the rest of the lyrics in rounds. He was outvoted and they used the first line. home!" Slash preferred his second line but the rest of the band felt differently. Slash started humming a melody when Axl Rose sang, "Take me down to the Paradise City." Slash chimed in with "Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty." Rose sang the first line again, where Slash shouted out "Where the girls are fat and they've got big titties." Rose finished with "Take. Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin started playing along. He says that the band was drinking and playing acoustic guitars, when he came up with the intro. Guns N' Roses' lead guitarist, Slash, states that the song was written in the back of a rental van as they were on their way back from playing a gig in San Francisco with the band Rock N Riders.