The musical history of L.A. Guns will always be intertwined with that of Guns N’ Roses. In the early days, Tracii Guns was a founding member of the band before Guns N’ Roses became a global phenomenon. I will go out on a limb and say that L.A. Guns was the better band. Their first three albums are absolute classics.
That’s not to say they haven’t had their own struggles over the years, with members coming and going and different versions of the band touring simultaneously. It can certainly be confusing. They should have had a far more lucrative career, but the fact that they’re still hanging on and playing shows around the world proves they still have something to say.
Having released several live albums over the years, the band has now released its latest, L.A. Guns: Live from the Guild Theatre, which captures the band on tour in 2025. They rip through 15 tracks and two solos, spanning their entire catalog. They open with “Taste It,” a track from their 2025 album Leopard Skin, that feels right at home nestled in the ’80s. After another banger from the past few years, “Cannonball,” they launch into “Electric Gypsy” and “Sex Action” from the debut LP.
The band moves things back up to the last couple of decades with “Hellraisers Ball,” “Hit and Run,” “Like a Drug,” and “Speed,” then delves back into the classics “One More Reason,” “Over the Edge,” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.” They throw in one more modern track, “Lucky Motherf–ker,” before closing out the set with “Never Enough,” “The Ballad of Jayne,” and “Rip and Tear.”
The setlist was an excellent collection of songs that highlighted different points in the band’s career. Vocalist Phil Lewis and guitarist Tracii Guns, the sole members remaining from the classic era, haven’t lost a step. Guns helped define a sound and has never fully received the credit he deserves. Age hasn’t taken away Lewis’ voice either. He still sounds fantastic, which is more than can be said for some of his contemporaries who should have given it up long ago or stayed retired.
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Released by Cleopatra Records, L.A. Guns: Live from the Guild Theatre is available in multiple formats, including vinyl, digital, CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. For this review, I watched the Blu-ray, which, aside from the main show, has no other features, and that’s okay. You get 80 minutes of non-stop Sunset Strip rock ‘n’ roll that never grows old.
The multi-camera show captures the band from every angle, with very few shots of the crowd that night. A couple of shots are shaky and a bit jarring, but overall, for a small production, it’s a damn solid live show that’s really fun to watch. It’s a highly recommended recording, and I don’t think the format will matter. L.A. Guns have proven their place in music history and won’t let you forget it.
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