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Axl Rose

When you read, you begin with ABC. When you sing, you begin with do-re-mi. But when it comes to LSD, you really need look no further than the front man, visionary and credit-taker par excellence for Guns N' Roses. Though Guns began as a band, midway through the campaign... more for their legendary debut album, "Appetite for Destruction," Rose's megalomania was well on its way to rendering it a solo project. Next came the onslaught of lineup changes, the egregious wardrobe choices and, of course, the ultimate Lead Singer Disease symptom: the 10-minute power ballad. In Rose's case, "November Rain." (Which, apparently, is cold.) Relegated by his own impossible standards to an exile of session players and collaborators who have to sign nondisclosure agreements, Rose is also that rare LSD victim who has taken the disease to its furthest extent: He almost never performs or releases music anymore. Depending on your attitude, this is either a happy or a sad eventuality.

(Eddie Malluk/Retna)