Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Listen to a condensed audio version of this review by Greg
Where do I begin with this one? There is so much to say. In 1987 I entered a small, Mom & Pop record store in Londonderry, VT when I came across a cassette tape hanging on the wall. The cover was black, really black. It had a cross with five separate skulls placed delicately at each end of the cross. The skulls also had long hair, and one of them, wore a top hat. Above and below the cross were ribbons unconnected. Each ribbon had words painted on them. They read, Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction. I had to have it.
My parents were extremely uncomfortable when they read the sticker across the cassette case “explicit lyrics”, but for some reason they let me buy it anyway. About ten minutes in to our car ride home, back to Massachusetts, the cassette was quickly ejected from the car stereo after a very intentional, incredibly aggressive “F” word was shouted during the album’s second song, It’s So Easy. That was it for me. I had to wait until I got home where I would purchase the album again despite my parents’ refusal.
In an earlier review, I discussed how the album, Sports by Huey Lewis & The News pushed me into the music world. It did. It was my first album purchase ever. But Appetite for Destruction? Well, let’s just say this album changed my life forever. It was the album that made me realize I was hooked on music and would be for the rest of my life.
On July 21st, 1987, a group of musicians, compiled mostly from Los Angeles and Indiana released their first full length album titled, Appetite for Destruction. The band called themselves, Guns N’ Roses. Apart from some local, Los Angeles area airplay, the album received little attention. In fact, after several music retailers refused to carry copies of the album, the band decided to change the cover to the now famed Celtic Cross with the skulls of rhythm guitarist Jeff Isbell (otherwise known as Izzy Stradlin), lead guitar virtuoso Saul Hudson (otherwise known as Slash), bassist Michael McKagan (otherwise known as Duff McKagan), drummer Steven Adler and William Bailey (otherwise known as the eccentric Axl Rose). The original cover showcased a half-naked woman being assaulted by a robot about to be destroyed by what the band called, “a metal avenger”. THIS must have been why my parents hesitated that day at the record store.
After the band and their record label, Geffen Records, changed the cover, the album sold what in those days was a measly 200,000 copies, forcing Geffen to second guess their investment and marketing plan. But in a stroke of luck, in August of 1987, Geffen Records general manager convinced MTV to air the band’s video of Welcome to the Jungleonce a night for three nights in a row. The video took off, eventually becoming the most requested video on MTV at that time, catapulting Guns N’ Roses to mainstream success.
Welcome to the Jungle, the album’s opening track, begins with a mix of Gibson guitars like you’ve never heard. Resting on top of the guitars is a guttural scream by lead singer, Axl Rose. The rhythm picks up and it is impossible not to tap your foot. What sticks out in this song, and the entire album, is Slash’s guitar playing. His bluesy style mixed with hard rock is just what the world needed in 1987. As glam bands were releasing a similar formula out to the airwaves and onto MTV, Guns N’ Roses’ music was best described by Rolling Stone writer, Ann Powers as a “unique mix of different rock values, such as speed and musicianship and flash and dirt”. The album also represented an early introduction of hard rock mixed with punk.
The jaw dropping, edge cutting riffs continue with It’s So Easy. Duff McKagan’s pick strumming bass guitar starts off the song, which bleeds into a punk rock and roll riff just as Axl’s low, baritone voice enters. Axl’s voice range is heavily displayed on “Appetite” going from below sea level then shooting to Mars like a Rocket Ship. As you listen to It’s So Easy, just make sure you are not sitting in the backseat of your parent’s station wagon. I suppose these days with our ability to pull up a song from a device in our pocket, it is much easier to get away with that stuff.
The album hits you next with Nighttrain and Out Ta Get Me. In a similar formula as the first two tracks, Axl’s vocals coupled with Slash’s guitar carry each song. These songs are the definition of Hard Rock. It is not metal, nor blues, nor Glam Rock. There is a certain edge to this music that is different from any other band before them and after.
When you reach Mr. Brownstone, the album’s fifth track, you’re like, “Okay. Enough fooling around now. These guys are on to something”. As a young kid, I certainly had no idea that “dancin’ with Mr. Brownstone” was code for using heroin. I just figured they were singing about a cool guy they liked to dance with. This song could arguably be the strongest on the album, but like my review of Strangefolk’s Lore, this album has zero duds. ZERO. Ok maybe, maybe Think About You? But if you put that song by itself, take it off this album, it is stronger than most hard rock songs. Another unique fact is that unlike several other bands, there was a somewhat equal amount of collaboration in the song writing from all members of the band. It was not until their second long awaited double album release of Use Your Illusion I and II where Axl took control over most of the song writing.
If you were over the age of, say six or seven in 1988, you heard the songs, Paradise City and Sweet Child o’ Mine. These two songs simply BLEW UP on the radio and MTV, moving the band from popular to “we can no longer go out in public without 20 security guards” popular. They were everywhere.
Sweet Child o’ Mine also appealed to the female crowd, with its sweeter sounding verse and radio friendly chorus. Despite its commercial success, it is probably Slash’s best performance on the guitar. The opening guitar changes catch your attention. As Axl sings about his then girlfriend, Erin Everly, the song takes several turns going from sweet and melodic to hard and punk laden. If you ever saw the video, you have vivid memories of watching the band go from standing still during the verse and chorus only to cut that edge and thrash a bit as the song gets heavier.
Paradise City is similar in status, but maybe a bit more “anthemic”. This song was written to be played in front of large crowds, watching people wave their fists in the air as they sing every single note, perfectly.
Other ridiculously strong tracks include My Michelle, Anything Goes and the album’s closing track, Rocket Queen.My Michelle is an outrageous tale of harsh reality. Rose originally wrote this song about Slash’s childhood friend, Michelle Young, painting her life in a sweet, affectionate manner. But after some distaste from the band and Michelle herself, Axl rewrote it deciding to be brutally honest, describing Michelle’s real life rather than fantasy. The song starts off with a quiet, smooth tempo then hits you in the jaw with its punk rock riff that once again, has you wondering whether this might be the best song on the record.
Despite not being represented in MTV videos, Anything Goes and Rocket Queen could be some of the most underrated hard rock songs. These two tracks might be a tad less radio friendly as they seem like a bunch of songs written separately then mashed together to make one song. Sometimes this approach can backfire, but many times it creates an audio journey that begins on one familiar path, veering off only to bring the listener back at the end. According to Mike Clink, the album producer, the “female” voice during the middle section of Rocket Queen is a real recording of a woman the band knew, “sowing her wild oats”. The last verse of the song, a separate melody from the rest, turns to a love poem as Axl sings, “All I ever wanted was for you to know that I care”. Nonetheless, this closing song could also be considered the album’s strongest.
In 1988, one year after Appetite for Destruction’s release, the album spent four consecutive weeks at number one, and a total of 147 weeks on the Billboard Top 200. A gigantic accomplishment seeing how no one gave it a chance in July 1987 when it was released. To date, the album has sold upwards of 28 to 30 million copies worldwide, putting it in the Top 20 most sold albums all time. Some of its company includes Michael Jackson’s Thriller, The Eagles’ Hotel California, Whitney Houston’s Bodyguard Soundtrack, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Shania Twain’s Come On Over.
Regardless of what genre of music you prefer, you have to give it to Guns N’ Roses. For they paved the way in the late 1980s and changed popular rock music at that time. Some may say Nirvana was responsible for the death of hair metal, but I think you can look back at July 21, 1987 when Appetite For Destruction was released. On that day, maybe no one but the band themselves knew the album would change music forever.