Guns N’s Roses debut “Appetite for Destruction” – A collection of outstanding and enduring Rock hits
The influential album marked a new era for Rock music in 1987
Guns N’s Roses debut “Appetite for Destruction” – A collection of outstanding and enduring Rock hits
David Warren an editor and author for Pop Expresso and in the free time enjoys making instrumental music – davidwarrenmusic.com – and to learn about history and cultures. Reach out at david@popexpresso.com
A game changer in the Rock music panorama of the 1980’s, the debut album of Guns N’Roses, “Appetite for Destruction”, was released on July 21, 1987, and featured an outstanding collection of hard Rock songs that turned the band into Rock stars. According to Axl Rose, many of the songs on the album were written while the band was performing on the Los Angeles club circuit, and a number of songs that would be featured on later Guns N’ Roses albums were considered for Appetite for Destruction, such as “Back Off Bitch”, “You Could Be Mine”, “November Rain” and “Don’t Cry”. The 12 songs are now absolute Rock classics, it’s a pretty much flawless album that almost feels like a greatest hits compilation given the popularity of these songs over the years. During an era where Rock had lost the spunk that had back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Guns N’ Roses recovered the sparkle, offering a blend of Punk, Heavy Metal and Hard Rock with sometimes melodic Pop elements that marked the beginning of end for the 1980’s sometimes weaker Glam Rock of bands like Cinderella. Of course, it wasn’t up until the 90’s Grunge Rock explosion that the era of Glam Rock officially came to an end, and Guns N’ Roses, survived it by doing good music that fit perfectly into a new era for Rock music. Opening with the enduring hit “Welcome to the Jungle”, the album goes on with “It’s So Easy”, easily one of their best songs. Side one still features other concert staples such as “Nightrain”, “Mr. Brownstone” and the anthem “Paradise City”. In between, the hard “Out Ta Get Me”. Side two features “My Michelle”, a well-crafted and constructed Rock song with discreet Pop elements and more hits, including one of their signature songs, the radio friendly “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. “You’re Crazy”, “Think About You” and “Anything Goes” are strong songs, still not enough remembered by many. Closing the album, “Rocket Queen”, another one of their concert staples. For some, “Appetite for Destruction” featuring the classic line up of Axl, Slash, Izzy, Steven and Duff may certify this as the best Guns N’Roses album, despite the success and popularity of the 1991 double releases of “Use Your Illusion”, but sometimes, is not just about the “singers” or the “musicians”, is about “the song(s)”. In recent years, a deluxe and expanded release of “Appetite for Destruction” was released, featuring several other songs that were not included on the original release, including the long awaited “Shadow of Your Love”.
All tracks written by Guns N’ Roses, except where noted
Side 1
1 “Welcome to the Jungle”
2 “It’s So Easy” (Guns N’ Roses, West Arkeen)
3 “Nightrain”
4 “Out ta Get Me”
5 “Mr. Brownstone”
6 “Paradise City”
Side 2
7 “My Michelle”
8 “Think About You”
9 “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
10 “You’re Crazy”
11 “Anything Goes” (Guns N’ Roses, Chris Weber)
12 “Rocket Queen”
Personnel
W. Axl Rose: lead vocals, synthesizer, percussion
Slash: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, talkbox
Izzy Stradlin: rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals, percussion
Duff “Rose” McKagan: bass, backing vocals
Steven Adler: drums, percussion, backing vocals
Produced by: Mike Clink
Recorded during: March–April 1987 at Rumbo Studios, Canoga Park, CA; Take One Studio, Burbank, CA; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA and Can Am Studio, Tarzana, CA
Released: July 21, 1987
Label: Geffen
Singles:
“It’s So Easy” Released: June 15, 1987
“Welcome to the Jungle” Released: October 3, 1987
“Sweet Child o’ Mine” Released: August 17, 1988
“Paradise City” Released: November 30, 1988
“Nightrain” Released: July 29, 1989
Strongest tracks:
“Welcome to the Jungle”, “It’s So Easy”,”Nightrain”, “Mr. Brownstone”, “Paradise City”, “My Michelle”, “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, “Rocket Queen”
Watch the 1987 music video “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses
Listen to the album “Appetite For Destruction” on Spotify
Watch more music related videos
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