Fresh Gn'R Tracks Leak

"Rhiad and the Bedouins"
First heard: 2001
Known only from a handful of live performances in 2001-02, this pounding rocker is reminiscent of the Use Your Illusion cut "You Could Be Mine."

"If the World"
First heard: 2008
A weirdly funky ballad accentuated with flamenco guitar and light industrial beats. "You're the only one I have ever loved/That ever loved me," Axl wails.

Title Unknown
First heard: 2008
A heartbroken epic in the tradition of "Civil War" and "November Rain," with a symphony, flashy guitar solos and a long, mellow instrumental coda. Plus: break beats!

"I.R.S."
First heard: 2003
An early demo of this catchy, paranoid headbanger surfaced on a New York metal radio show in 2003 — played from a tape somehow obtained by then-Mets catcher Mike Piazza. A complete demo hit the Web in February 2006, and Rose started playing it live soon after.

"Better"
First heard: 2006
Rumored to be the first single, this melodic, multisection tune sounds like an Axl-Trent Reznor collaboration. (It's not.) It first leaked after it was reportedly given to Harley-Davidson for a television commercial that was pulled at the last minute.

[From Issue 1056-1057 — July 10, 2008]