Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 single “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is one of the biggest songs of the past several decades. Now, nearly 30 years after its release, its authenticity has been called into question by Australian blog Max TV, which highlighted some similarities between it and Aussie band Australian Crawl’s 1981 track, “Unpublished Critics.”
Listen to both tracks below.
“Max reader Jimmy Gray pointed out the similarities between Guns N’ Roses’ most enduring song — 1987’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine” — and Australian Crawl’s 1981 song “Unpublished Critics,” from their #1 album Sirocco,” writes Max TV. “We checked it out, and yep it does it sound similar: the same chugging chord progression, a similarly-sweeping lead break, the verse melody, and the elongated one-syllable vocal in the chorus… We sincerely doubt co-writer James Reyne has never heard of the Gunners track, nor noticed the common themes.”
Apparently Reyne has, and he’s reflected on the possible inspiration — but he’s not about to go chasing Axl Rose through the courthouse anytime soon.
“It is not inconceivable that there are similarities between the two songs,” he tells the Daily Mail Australia. “It’s also not inconceivable that there may be vaguely legs in something. It’s also not inconceivable that when they came out they were quite open in interviews that they liked a lot of Australian bands. It’s also not inconceivable that they wouldn’t have been aware of certain Australian songs. God forbid I had an active publishing company and they investigated the possibility. I’m not about to take on the might of the Guns N’ Roses lawyers.”
Compare the two for yourself…