[username]

QUESTION: WHAT ARE BOOTLEGS?

ANSWER: A BOOTLEG IS AN UNOFFICIAL COPY OF A MUSICAL RECORDING OR LIVE SHOW, OR AN ORIGINAL BUT ILLEGAL RECORDING. SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS PIRATE. THEY ARE PUT OUT BY INDEPENDENT RECORD COMPANIES, WITHOUT THE BAND'S APPROVAL.

Almost every Guns N Roses show ever done is available as a bootleg either as an audio or video recording. Some bootlegs also contain a collection of rare live or unreleased studio songs.


ARE BOOTLEGS ILLEGAL? CAN I GET IN TROUBLE?

Some are/were legal because they were made in countries that have, or had at the time, very fuzzy or loophole legislation (Italy and Japan spring to mind). It's usually illegal to export these to other countries, and to import and sell them.

Some websites say: You won't get prosecuted for ordering or downloading, or owning a bootleg. We do not offer legal advice on this matter.

The record companies (and the bands) realize there's no point in prosecuting people for this - not because trading networks are just too big - but because they often think of it as a form of free exposure and because most people interested in bootlegs have often already purchased all the "official" material released by the artist.

You definitely WILL get in trouble if you copy and sell original GNR material such as the Use Your Illusion I CD for example. NEVER, we repeat NEVER copy and/or sell original material from any band. This would be ILLEGAL without a doubt. This site cannot be held responsible for your actions.


LEGAL OR NOT - ARE THEY UNETHICAL?

You decide. Of course bootleggers can take output control away from the artist (or record company). Their products (generally) do not generate royalties.

Some of them are cheap rip-off jobs issued only for a quick profit while others are labors of love that bootleggers are losing money on.

DID AXL EVER MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT BOOTLEGS?

Axl Rose has mentioned bootlegs on quite a few occasions. Check out the Axl sound page to hear Axl talk about bootlegs.


OK, BUT WHERE CAN I GET BOOTLEGS?

You should first should read the article "DO YOU REALLY NEED BOOTLEGS?". Before spending lots of money on bootlegs that may disappoint you because of sound or image quality, consider officially released merchandise. You should consider having these items before buying bootlegs because no bootleg will ever match the quality of the official Guns N' Roses releases.

Bootlegs are not sold in stores. You often have to download or order them on the internet. You can start your search here.

Bootlegs are sometimes listed on Ebay, but can also be downloaded for free sometimes. Check out this link for places to go for them: this topic. You can also take a look in the MEMORABILIA TRADING section of this forum.

Some people believe that downloading bootlegs is not "ripping off the band" - the way downloading original albums would be. This is partly true because the band does not lose any money when someone downloads a bootleg - but it does lose money if someone downloads an official album that's for sale in a record store.

One last thing:
Don't think it's gonna be easy!!! Some shows/bootlegs are VERY rare and VERY hard to find!


WHAT'S WRONG?? I DOWNLOADED SOME BOOTLEGS, AND THEY SOUND HORRIBLE!

Well that's quite possible. Bootlegs never offer the same audio quality as for example Live Era. The studio material are mostly demo recordings that were never properly mastered, and/or cleaned up. The live recordings are sometimes just recorded from the crowd with a tape recorder. "Soundboard" bootlegs are much clearer because they're recorded from the mixing panel. But yes, some bootlegs have VERY poor quality.

However, most traders offer you a good and fair impression of the sound quality.

You should also read the TIPS ABOUT BOOTLEGS, because some bootlegs have different names but are in fact the same concert.


ARE THERE ANY "FAMOUS" BOOTLEGS I SHOULD LOOK FOR?

There are a lot of famous shows out there. Some would be:

- The Ritz 02-02-1988
- Paris 06-06-1992
- Pittsburgh 22-11-2002
- Rock In Rio III 15-01-2001

But like we said, there are a LOT. Almost every GNR show ever given has a bootleg available. A few of the more popular Guns n' Roses bootlegs include:

- Unplugged
This is not MTV Unplugged. It is a collection of acoustic live performances from various shows! Great audio quality as well! A very nice bootleg to get you started!

- Unwanted Illusions
A collection of demos and live recordings. This is, together with Unplugged, probably the most well known Guns n' Roses rarity bootleg. This might be the most famous, but by all means NOT the most complete collection of demo's. It also has some mislabels on it.

- The Story (Volume I and II)
An 8 cd collection of rare live recordings and a LOT of demos! One of the best out there. This has very good quality for a bootleg.

- Ultra Rare Tracks
A 6 cd collection of rare live recordings. The quality is often very poor, but it's definitely worth it. If you have this and The Story, you've come a long way! Together they contain almost every rare song in the Guns n' Roses (pre 1994) rare song guide.

- Acoustic Jam
Similar to Unplugged.

- Covering Them
A bootleg containing songs that gnr performed live.

So, those are just a few pointers. Some more information about a few bootlegs out there can be found on the main mygnr page. You can find the setlists for almost every show at this website.

This post has been edited by username: 12 January 2005 - 04:14 PM