Guns N’ Roses released ‘You Could Be Mine’ with their fourth studio album, ‘Use Your Illusion II.’ The song gained recognition after appearing in the 1991 movie, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day,’ and it got popular, reaching the top five in many countries. One of the reasons the track succeeded was its one-minute-long drum and guitar intro. As it turns out, Mike Portnoy is also a fan of this song and its drum part.
“I guess the first one that comes to mind is, what is it, ‘You Could Be Mine,’” said the former Dream Theatre icon when asked about his favorite song by Guns N’ Roses during an appearance on Appetite for Distortion. “When you talk about a classic drum intro, that’s surely up there with them. So that’s the first one that immediately pops into my head.”
During that time, Matt Sorum played the drums for Guns. Therefore, Mike Portnoy praised Sorum’s drumming, but the duo had actually quarreled in the past. In 2012, Portnoy had criticized Sorum’s drum part on the Guns N’ Roses song, ‘November Rain’ in a now-deleted tweet, saying, “‘November Rain’ is an all-time classic song. But why on earth did Matt Sorum play the same exact fill every 4 bars? (23 times to be exact!).”
The former GN’R drummer had responded a few days later, saying, “That fill was Axl’s idea as a musical phrase that carried on through the trilogy, ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘Estranged.’ Those albums ‘Use Your Illusion I & II’ have sold 20 million combined.” He then added, “Remember, kids, drumming isn’t all about fancy drum fills and splash cymbals; ask Charlie Watts, Ringo, and Phil Rudd.”
After seeing Matt Sorum’s response to him, Portnoy thought he could’ve offended the drummer and shared another tweet to clarify things. He said, “Agree 1000%! Ringo is one of my greatest heroes! No disrespect meant, bro. Just making an observation of that song. Peace!”
Now that many years have passed, Portnoy seems to have changed his attitude towards Sorum’s playing, as he praised his work this time rather than criticizing it, as he had done before. Mike didn’t forget to do justice to his counterpart by appreciating his delicate craft in the GN’R classic ‘You Could Be Mine.’
