APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION (Guns N’ Roses, 1987)
Artist: Guns N’ Roses (D+)
Recording Date: 1987
Release Date: July 21, 1987. USA
Record Label: Geffen
Producer: Mike Clink
Rating: 10 (MUST HAVE, ICONIC ALBUM)
Era: Hard Rock (1968-???)
Subgenre: Hard Rock
Best Song: Welcome to the Jungle or Sweet Child of Mine
Tracklist: 1) Welcome To The Jungle; 2) It’s So Easy; 3) Nighttrain; 4) Out To Get Me; 5) Mr. Brownstone; 6) Paradise City; 7) My Michelle; 8) Think About You; 9) Sweet Child Of Mine; 10) You’re Crazy; 11) Anything Goes; 12) Rocket Queen.
Guns N' Roses was formed in Hollywood in 1985 by the merger of two bands: Hollywood Rose, which already included Axl Rose (vocals) and Izzy Stradin (rhythm guitar), and L.A. Guns, from which Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Ole Beich (bass), and Rob Gardner (drums) emerged. The name Guns N' Roses came from combining the original names of both bands, which, curiously, were made up of the surnames of each band's leader ( how much ego can you get? ). The Guns N' Roses lineup was unstable from the very beginning: Ole Beich left almost immediately and was replaced by Duff McKagan. Shortly after, Tracii Guns had a major falling out with Axl and left the group, being replaced by Saul Hudson, a friend of Duff's, half African American, half British, very skilled on the guitar, and better known today as Slash. With this lineup, they embarked on their first tour , starting in Sacramento and ending in Seattle. During the tour, drummer Rob Gardner quit and was replaced by Slash's friend, Steven Adler. The group kept the name despite Tracii Guns' departure, and they also retained several of L.A. Guns ' original songs , even though no members of that band remained. They continued the tour, and later they would say that the trip to Seattle forged the bonds of friendship and musical connection that would take them so far in '87.
In 1986, they caught the attention of Geffen Records, with whom they signed a contract. That year, the label recorded their EP, Live ?! @ Like a Suicide, and released it through its subsidiary, Uzi Suicide Records. The EP contained four songs supposedly recorded live, but they were actually demos with added crowd noise. The EP included the songs "Reckless Life", "Nice Boys" (originally by Rose Tattoo), "Move To The City" (originally by L.A. Guns, which they had taken over), and "Mama Kin" (by Aerosmith). It sold fewer than 10,000 copies. Interestingly, those original recordings are now priceless.
In early '87, the band went into the studio to record their first LP. Axl got the name from a card he saw in a store. The original cover was a design by Robert Williams, depicting a girl lying against a wall as if she had been raped, a robot in a trench coat, and a fanged monster about to exact revenge. MTV refused to air the band's videos because they considered the cover offensive, so the band changed it to the one we know, featuring a Latin cross with five skulls, each representing a member of the group. It's rumored that this album was the first to use the "Parental Advisory / Explicit Content" warning.
What's truly important is what happened in the studio. They had gained a wealth of experience on tour, developed a strong rapport as a band, and managed to fuse a multitude of influences in the best possible way to create an album that, regardless of individual opinions about the band, must be acknowledged as tremendous. The band had a rebellious and brash attitude, which seems to me more a vestige of the Rolling Stones' audacity in the '60s than of punk. They were influenced by the raw sound of AC/DC, both in the guitars and in Axl's sometimes exaggerated, screamed vocals, but also by a good guitarist, capable of delivering elaborate riffs and solos in the old-school blues-rock style, without ruling out Aerosmith influences. And finally, they had a touch, just enough, of the Californian glam metal movement. You can't deny some influences from Skid Row, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, or Poison, but with a much more serious and intelligent approach to the music. And a much more authentic rebellious attitude. While Glam Metal bands were all about makeup and showmanship, Guns N' Roses truly had an intrinsic and authentic rebelliousness, a greater audacity and disregard for the law, which throughout their career led to them being kicked out of hotels, having shows canceled, being arrested, some deaths at their concerts, etc.
Interestingly, the band's sound and attitude became more closely associated with Californian glam metal, and even gave the movement a huge boost at the end of the decade when it seemed to be running out of steam, although Guns N' Roses was truly an isolated case of excellent hard rock in the 80s. Later, many would categorize them as metal because of the massive tour they undertook with Metallica, but in my opinion, Use Your Illusion doesn't stray too far from well-crafted hard rock either.
Despite the album cover change, MTV maintained its stance of not airing any of the band's videos. Then Clint Eastwood agreed to include them in a very brief scene in his film "The Dead Pool," for which they also contributed their song "Welcome to the Jungle " to the soundtrack. This would change their fortunes forever, as the public began requesting the song from MTV, to such an extent that the network agreed to air the video at 3 a.m. Despite the unusual time slot, within 24 hours it became the most requested song on the channel, and Guns N' Roses skyrocketed to superstardom, selling over 33 million copies.
The album opens with “Welcome To The Jungle”, which kicks off with a massive, flawless burst of glam rock power. A guitar laden with delay delivers a legendary riff, followed by another guitar that joins in to create tension, along with a siren, all of which combine to build an impressive, furious, and adrenaline-fueled crescendo that explodes into the intro at the :30 mark. The song then launches into another excellent riff (Slash's British heritage is evident in the superb craftsmanship and his knack for riffs) and a great beat. The band's sound is bold, powerful, and fresh, and even Axl's vocals work beautifully in songs like this, making the verses sound perfect, topped off by choruses that, while perhaps not the loudest, are melodic and memorable. At 1:35 comes a brief, playful, and fun solo, based more on chord progressions than fingerpicking, in which Axl takes the opportunity to make sounds and moans, very much in the style of Robert Plant (the band oozes 70s vibes). At 2:18 there's a bridge where they play slow chords and again generate a crescendo to explode with a scream from Rose and a more elaborate guitar solo, with changes in tone, rhythm, and a complex structure. No, this is definitely not Glam Metal. At 3:20 there's another time signature change, where it's practically just Adler on drums at a dizzying pace while the other instruments join in for another orgasmic crescendo, finished off by Axl with the phrase a homeless man in LA said to him after robbing and shooting him, which inspired the song: “You know where are you? You're in the jungle baby, you're gonna Dieeeeeee" explodes with the chorus and a powerful ending. Even though the song is almost 4:30 long, it flies by, with so many changes, so much energy so well used, and so many perfectly structured and analyzed musical resources that make for a powerful and incredibly intelligent track. Not to be the best Hard Rock song in history, as VH1 would have us believe, but perhaps one of the best of the 80’s. Guns N' Roses decided to open the album with everything they had, and this gives the album a lot of points.
Next up is “It's So Easy”,which begins with a clean, strummed guitar, immediately joined by another heavily fuzzed guitar and a powerful drum intro to create a colossal three-note riff that forms the impetuous verses. Axl sings in a lower register, but at full speed, giving this song a much faster and heavier feel than the previous one. Slash adds some subtle arrangements that might go unnoticed, but contribute significantly to the song, and after a minute, we get a bridge with arpeggios at a slower tempo to refresh the track, which works well as a prelude to Slash's Gibson Les Paul-driven bridge. The lyrics tell of a time when Duff was penniless, but several women were after him, and he took money from them to survive and feed his vices. The song is simply good, not particularly structured, but it manages to work thanks to the low vocals, the enormous power, and the frenetic feel from beginning to end. Slash in the coda, when Axl goes up an octave, sounds huge.
Then there's "Nighttrain" with another great riff, and Axl hitting mid-range notes that seem to suit him better than the high or low ones. The song is upbeat, but with great power in the verses and superb work from Slash, who takes full advantage of his guitar's feedback. The bass line is also deep and precise, showing that while Duff isn't one of the instrument's great virtuosos, he knows how to work the four strings very well and EQ them to make them shine. The backing vocals this time are much stronger, more harmonic, and powerful, making the song stand out. The band, as on almost the entire album, knows how to use harmonic interplay of tones very well to avoid making the songs sound flat, while at the same time creating guitar harmonies, with Izzy's guitar carrying the riff and creating a wall of sound for Slash to perform countless interesting arrangements and solos. The song may not be one of the band's classics or a masterpiece, but it showcases the group's creativity and their remarkable musical synergy. The lyrics are a tribute to a Californian wine brand called "Night Train", which the band enjoyed for being cheap and high in alcohol.
“Out To Get Me” has a blistering start, clearly influenced by AC/DC's sound, kicking off with a killer Angus Young-esque guitar riff, the drums laying down a colossal beat, and exploding into a guitar solo intro that launches us into the verses at the :30 mark. Again, Axl sounds more comfortable in the mid-range and with a raspy voice than when he raises his pitch. But the song itself is packed with dynamite, featuring the perfect fuzz tone, Axl moving from one octave to another, great arrangements by Slash, and playful lyrics in the bridges: “They won't Judge me, you can't tell me…” and a catchy and powerful chorus: “They’re outta get me, They won't catch me, I'm Innocent , they won’t break meeeeeeee,” shouted in true Bon Scott style. The rebellious lyrics refer to Axl’s run-ins with the law during his youth in Indiana. He ends with the following lines in a clear sign of defiance: “I’m innocent, So you can Suck me, Take that one to heart” and Slash closes with a screeching feedback that will be more typical in Use Your Illusion.
“Mr. Brownstone” kicks off with a great opening percussion section and a muffled guitar following the rhythm. Then come some power chords, leading into a more complex and playful riff. Duff's bass playing is solid, somewhat funky at times, and he introduces some off-beat elements in the verses. The backing vocals add more power to the song; they're catchy and slightly more pop-oriented, but they work well. The subsequent bridge features a devilishly intricate and difficult-to-understand phrasing, but the guitars complement each other perfectly, allowing Slash to deliver another incendiary and memorable solo, capped off by a fun drum roll. The lyrics are a cover for heroin, which they call Mr. Brownstone, but the underlying message is clear: they need more and more of it. One of the band's lesser-known classics.
Next up is “Paradise City”, one of the simplest yet most effective and powerful songs on the album. It begins with a fairly tranquil acoustic intro that gives the false impression of a ballad. Adler joins in, driving the rhythm with a kick drum and snare while the band launches into that classic intro: “Take me down to Paradise City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty ..." before launching into the Power Chords and a synthesizer effect (the only one used on the entire album) and the guitar mimicking the vocal lines. At 1:20, a whistle sounds as a signal for the band to double the tempo and the song to speed up, featuring Axl's powerful phrasing and a more complex guitar riff, which Hanoi Records accused of plagiarism. The song has a good rhythm, and although the chorus melody is more commercial and has a Glam influence, and the song itself is less complex than the rest, it cannot be denied that it is another of the album's great tracks and already a classic for the band. I particularly love the bridge at 3:25 where Axl sings "So far away” while Slash plays a crunchy, fun scale. Interestingly, this song was written in the back of a van when the band was more about getting drunk than jamming with acoustic guitars. Slash came up with the intro arrangement by chance, and Axl started with the first line, " take me down to Paradise City". Slash finished it off with "Where the girls are fat and they've got big titties", but they eventually corrected this line for the final version.
Then there's "My Michelle", with a much darker and more bitter arpeggiated intro that explodes at 0:25 into a colossal riff, this time featuring a Gibson SG. Axl screams in very high and irritating tones on this track, and the chorus speeds up too much without much melody, making it forgettable. The bridge at the two-minute mark seems even more out of place. I like the main riff, but I think they could have worked on the song much better to make it stronger and more memorable. While not a bad track, I think it's very messy and the weakest on the album.
Then comes “Think About You", whose riff isn't as memorable as the others, features another somewhat irritating performance by Axl. The song is full of energy, but again sounds disorganized and lacking in detail. The highlights are Slash's solos after the choruses and the hooks created with cleaner, plucked guitars in the second chorus, which make it stand out more. The rest sounds very raw and unfinished, and frankly, it would have been better with the inclusion of these cleaner guitar contrasts throughout the song. Even the solo at 1:40 is quite bland, for the simple reason that it's Izzy who plays it.
The next song is the legendary “Sweet Child O' Mine”. The song originated as a joke while Slash and Steven were warming up. Slash was using the main riff as finger drills and started playing the circle, thinking of something a bit circus-like. Adler was waiting for the rest of the band on drums and started keeping the beat. Izzy returned and liked how it sounded, so he went to find Axl, who had some unfinished love lyrics. When they recorded it, they thought it was just filler and wouldn't attract attention. This song is currently perhaps the most well-known and emblematic of Guns N' Roses. As I mentioned, the opening riff is circular, with a cleaner guitar sound than the average Slash uses. It's not overly complicated, but it's absolutely charming without being cheesy, and it's as catchy as bubblegum. The song really kicks in around the :45 mark, with an excellent melody that doesn't sound too forced or shouted by Rose; Again, the verses are catchy and commercial, but full of energy and fit perfectly into the song. The riff is repeated in the choruses, followed by a short solo, using the same notes as the longer guitar solo at 2:35. It's simple, almost cheesy, but that "almost" is what makes this song sound great. At 3:20, another guitar solo comes in with a key change, predominantly minor keys, until a section with a different time signature arrives, a huge and majestic coda, " Where Do We Go…" which was added because when they were putting it together, everyone suddenly seemed lost at this point, and Axl started asking, "Where do we go now?" The producer loved it, and it was eventually added to the song, giving it greater drama and intensity at the end. It's simple, but it features excellent guitar work and is one of the most recognizable riffs in history.
Then comes “You're Crazy" features a very fast riff, perhaps the fastest in Guns N' Roses' catalog. It was originally intended to be an acoustic track, but they decided to electrify it, and the sound suits it well. It's a powerful, fun song, with those time signature changes for the bridges that work so well for the band. Around 1:50, there's a bridge with a chugga effect. A guitar riff that briefly reminds me of Queen, before giving way to a lightning-fast solo and then back to verses and choruses. The song was originally going to be called “Fuckin’ Crazy”, and they were going to present the acoustic version at Lies.
“Anything Goes” is another powerful rocker, one of the first they wrote back in 1981. It was originally going to be called “My way, your Way", as the chorus sings. The song is catchy and powerful, although it's clear it's a previous work, and this is perhaps where Aerosmith's influence is strongest. The guitar does a good job, daring this time to use different effects for the scraggly solo, including wah, and with constant rhythmic cuts, false endings, increasingly faster returns, and in short, a rollercoaster with a good beat and great explosiveness.
The album closes with “Rocket Queen”, where Duff delivers some solid bass lines and slapping . Again, McKagan 's technique isn't groundbreaking, but he modulates his instrument in a way I love, making each note sound like a behemoth that makes you jump out of your seat with every note. The vocal melody is one of the weaker tracks, and the chorus isn't particularly memorable either. It's a slightly lackluster closing track for the album, although the funky solo with that delicious riff in the middle section redeems the song.
Great album, a breath of fresh air that rock desperately needed in the 80’s amidst all the synth- pop and glam rock. Guns N' Roses doesn't completely abandon glam rock; in fact, it's easier to categorize them in this subgenre because of their attitude and image. The difference, I think, is that these guys had truly risen from the very bottom; they were genuine rebels and decadents who didn't respect the rules and weren't mere wannabes in makeup like the rest of the bands. Furthermore, as I've already mentioned, but I'll emphasize it, they weren't great virtuosos, but they stood out from most of the other glam rockers not so much for their technique, but for their cohesion as a band and their shared direction towards a more intelligent, more structured, and perhaps more complex sound—certainly more effective. Slash's guitar playing is in a league of its own. He's not one to put among the 10 greatest guitarists of all time; I think he's been greatly overhyped by the media. But you have to acknowledge his great technique and that his roots lie in 70’s hard rock, with that British influence giving him his own unique identity, great technique, speed, and formidable creativity for riffs. You can love Guns N' Roses or hate them, but you have to admit that this debut album is huge and absolutely necessary at that precise moment when rock had been languishing for some time. In a way, it was one of the first works that opened the doors to the Bronze Age of rock in the 90s. Many say this is the best debut album ever, and I don't agree. The best debut album that comes to mind is Led Zeppelin I, and this one still falls short. But hoping my words aren't misinterpreted, this Guns N' Roses album is the closest thing to Led Zeppelin that existed in the 80s. And that can't be a bad thing.
By Corvan
Mar/12/2010
