Now, I love me some bluegrass, and I wholeheartedly believe that any song can be made better by getting a bluegrass makeover.
I mean, we all heard what Sturgill Simpson did with Cuttin’ Grass records, right?
But the Guns N’ Roses classic “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is definitely not an exception.
Singer Robyn Adele Anderson has done a whole slew of genre-bending covers on her YouTube channel, including jazz, 1920s and 60s, and classical string covers.
In this version of “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Anderson teams up with Anthony Vincent, a fellow YouTube creator who makes videos changing the style of iconic songs, to bring us classic rock meets fiddle and banjo.
Classic rock and country are definitely similar in style and use of instruments. The southern rock subgenre is proof of that with many playlists including both rock and country artists like The Charlie Daniels Band and Lynyrd Skynryd.
Still, most would consider bluegrass to be pretty firmly country rather than crossing over into any rock ‘n roll.
Though, this Guns N’ Roses cover proves that it can be done. All you gotta do is switch out an electric guitar for a banjo and change your head bangin’ to toe tappin’, and you’re already halfway there.
This cover really plays into the bluegrass instruments and backs it up with some amazing vocals.
Anthony Vincent in particular is obviously used to belting out some rock songs (or at least in the style of rock), which is awesome, but definitely fits the original vibe of the song more. The smoothness of Anderson’s voice though balances Vincent’s, and together, they’re pretty killer.
I think my only disappointment is that the cover is shorter than the original song because some of the musical breaks are cut. I really wanted to see some extended moments from the people playing the banjo and the fiddle because their playing is what really drove home the style this cover was going for.
We got one instrumental break, but I just always want more banjo.
Honestly, this cover is just a lot of fun and makes me want to hear every song be performed as bluegrass.
