THE ALBUM OF THE DAY IS…
THE OUTPATIENCE, ANXIOUS DISEASE
I’ve often wondered why West Arkeen, one of Guns N’ Roses’ most frequent collaborators (he co-wrote “It’s So Easy,” amongst other songs), never joined the band after Izzy split; most likely because he was a bluesy, kick-ass lead player and didn’t wanna play second fiddle to Slash. In any case, he eventually went off and formed his own band, The Outpatience (silly name, I know), who only got to record this one album before Arkeen died from an overdose. For a long time available only in Japan, the album is notable for featuring guest appearances from Steve Stevens and all of the original Gunners save Steven Adler (natch); and, especially, for its incredible title track, which was the last song Axl Rose and Slash ever recorded together. The whole thing has a remarkable Use Your Illusion-esque vibe to it; really, besides GN’R themselves, no one ever wrote a Guns song like West Arkeen did.
-AR
Buy Anxious Disease
