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= Locomotive(Complicity) = “Locomotive”, also known as “Locomotive(Complicity)” is a song by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. While never actually released as a single, the song was included as the ninth track on the band’s 1991 fourth studio album Use Your Illusion II. At eight minutes and forty-two seconds, it is Guns N’ Roses’ fourth longest song, after "November Rain"(eight minutes, fifty-seven seconds), "Estranged"(nine minutes, twenty-three seconds), and "Coma"(ten minutes, fourteen seconds). Writing credits are assigned to lead vocalist Axl Rose and lead guitarist Slash.

Composition
“Locomotive” is made up of two distinct parts, the main portion, and the coda. The main portion is guitar driven and follows the traditional patterns of verses, pre-choruses, choruses, and guitar solos. The song is said to include some of Rose’s best lyrics, including a reference to the album’s name, Use Your Illusion, as well as four guitar solos, all performed by Slash. The coda is piano driven, which plays the same two chords back and forth, while Slash performs a guitar solo on top of it. On top of that, Rose, bassist Duff McKagan, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and drummer Matt Sorum all sing the line “Love’s So Strange” over and over again.

Background
According to Slash’s autobiography, “Locomotive” was written in 1988-1989 in a Hollywood Hills house with rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, as Slash states that the song was written around the time that the band filmed the music video for “Patience”. Slash claims that he brought the completed instrumental to Rose, but Rose disputes this, saying in a 2009 online forum that the song was not complete when Slash brought it to rehearsals. Slash still claims that he completed the instrumental on his own, claiming that he had written “Locomotive”, “Coma” and “Bad Apples”, and then brought those songs to the rest of the band.

According to band friend Marc Canter, “Locomotive” was a point of contention between band mates. Canter states that during the recording process, band manager Doug Goldstein said that he would get phone calls from Rose, where he would rant about how difficult it was working with Slash, specifically stating that the instrumental pieces for “Locomotive” that Slash had brought to him were proving very difficult to write lyrics to.

Despite Matt Sorum playing and being credited with the drums on the official recording, there are two demos that can be found online. One is with Matt Sorum on the drums, and sounds not dissimilar to the recorded version. The other demo features Steven Adler on the drums, who had left the band by the time they recorded the song. Band friend Marc Canter said that Adler’s departure was for the best, since songs like “Locomotive” required more technical drumming, which Sorum was better at than Adler. In addition to Sorum on drums, bassist Duff McKagan is credited with playing additional percussion on the recording.

In a 1992 Guitar World Magazine interview, guitarist Gilby Clarke said that his favorite songs to play are “Coma”, “Pretty Tied Up”, and “Locomotive”, since they are played slightly differently every time.

Live Performances
Guns N’ Roses have only played “Locomotive” a total of nine times over the course of their Use Your Illusions Tour, as well as their entire touring career. It was first played at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on July 17th, 1991, followed by the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountainview, California on July 19th, 1991, followed by back-to-back performances at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California on July 30th, 1991 and August 3rd, 1991, at Madison Square Garden, New York City on December 13th, 1991, and at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo on February 20th, 1992. It was supposed to be played at a 1992 Pay-per-View performance in Paris with guest guitarist Jeff Beck. Unfortunately, Beck stood too close to the drum kit during rehearsal and suffered temporary hearing damage, so the song was cut from the setlist. Rehearsal footage was released, with Slash, McKagan, Sorum, and Dizzy Reed, but not Axl Rose. The song was completely excluded from the tour in support of Chinese Democracy . More-than-three-and-a-half into the the semi-reunion Not In This Lifetime... Tour, the band included the song in their setlist for the first time on October 7th, 2019 in Wichita Kansas, where it replaced the song Coma as a lead-in the band member introductions. The band played the song two more times during the tour, once at the Exit 111 festival in Manchester, New Hampshire on October 13, 2019, and once in Oklahoma City on October 23, 2019.

Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed has performed the song twice with his solo band, once at the Memory Lane Music Hall in Standish, Maine on March 17th, 2012, and once at the Dae Udder Place in Minot, North Dakota on April 27th, 2012.

During live performances, the actual length of the song would vary, as the final guitar solo would be improvised and different each time it was performed.

Reception
While receiving little attention from press and Guns N’ Roses itself, “Locomotive” has been praised for its guitar parts and lyrics.

Spin.com, in a list ranking all of Guns N’ Roses’ songs released, ranked it at number 3, praising its guitar riffs, lyrics and overall energy. Guitar World Magazine, who only ranked the songs on both Use Your Illusion records, ranked it at number 8 out of 30, again praising Rose’s lyrics, McKagan’s bassline, and Slash’s multiple guitar solos.

The song has been referenced in Daniel Wilt’s Finding Myself: A Soldier’s Recovery from Betrayal, Embattlement, & Divorce, where it is listed as one of the songs that helped him and his fellow soldiers push through hard times.

Controversy
Guns N’ Roses, and specifically Axl Rose, have been criticized for his depiction of women in their songs lyrics, specifically the songs “Locomotive”, “Back Off Bitch”, and “Used To Love Her”. In a 1992 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Rose explained the thought process behind said lyrics, stating that his mother had never favored him since he was very young, always choosing his stepfather over him, who would beat Rose consistently. He also said that his grandmother always had issues with men, and because of all of this, he developed a resentful attitude towards women, which he channeled into his songwriting.

Personnel

 * W. Axl Rose – Lead Vocals
 * Slash – Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
 * Duff McKagan – Bass, Backing Vocals, Percussion
 * Dizzy Reed – Piano, Backing Vocals
 * Matt Sorum – Drums, Backing Vocals