It Worked Once, So . . . a GNR Video Doubleheader

Last year Guns N’ Roses shattered pop convention by releasing two albums simultaneously.

So what this year?

Two home concert videos.

“Guns N’ Roses: Use Your Illusion World Tour--1992 in Tokyo I” and “II” are set for release on Dec. 8. Together, the two 90-minute tapes capture a complete GNR concert, taped mostly at the 50,000-seat Tokyo Dome on Feb. 22, with bits of offstage and interview footage mixed in.

“The band wanted to get as close to a full show as possible on tape,” Geffen’s head of marketing Robert Smith explained. “One tape wouldn’t have been enough for all that. And to put out just one tape of highlights wouldn’t be enough either.”

It also would have been too expensive. This way, fans can buy one $19.95-list volume (or, more likely, ask for it for Christmas) and then save to get the other one later.

“This may be just what the business needs,” says John Thrasher, chief buyer for the Tower Video chain. “It hasn’t been a good year for music videos.”

But Smith cautions that retailers shouldn’t expect the same rush on the videos that there was on the albums last year. “The music-video business is different--on a much smaller scale. It’s hard to compare the two markets. There was a big six-month buildup to the release of those albums. There’s nothing like that for these tapes.”

The bad news for GNR fans is that the double release means a further delay for release of a video of the concert last year near St. Louis--yes, the one at which Axl Rose sparked a riot after diving for a photographer in the audience and cut the show short. Geffen representatives had said that the release of the video--titled “Missouri Storm”--was being held pending resolution of charges filed against Rose.

Now they’ve been resolved; Rose was found guilty last week of inciting a riot and fined $50,000 with a two-year probation. But with the two other tapes coming out now, Geffen will wait to release the “Missouri” package at a later, as-yet-undetermined date.

In any case, there’s apparently more GNR video on the way. Two “making-of” videos--”The Making of ‘Don’t Cry’ ” and “The Making of ‘November Rain’ “-- are expected to be available as early as spring, though Geffen hasn’t decided whether to release them separately or together on one tape.