Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction
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Free Music Notes for Appetite for Destruction
Free Music Review: 'APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION' - And what it gave the world....
Hit: 5 Stars
'Guns N'Roses'... By all accounts terrible when they first started out in 1985, since attitude alone will only take you so far,touring the US toilet circuit....But this was all soon to change.... In August '86 after the initial 10000 copies of their limited edition EP 'Live?!@LIke A Suicicde' sold out in a matter of days, records lables swarmed around them like moths to a lamp. And so it was Geffen who released their full length debut the following year...And what a debut...From Axl's first wails in the opening track 'Welcome to a Jungle' to Slash's heart rending finishing guitar riffs in 'Rocket Queen' the glamour and ambition that was to be Guns N'Roses reared its head for the first time and took its place amongst the stars.
This may give the initial impression that 'Appertite' was to be packed with tales of extravegance and excess in glitzy Hollywood.
In reality this would be very much not the case as through Axl's ruthlessly clear eyed honesty a very different portrait was to be painted.
Taking a blue print of sex, drugs and good-time rock n'roll filled out with the day to day realitites of a struggling small time band in downtown L.A and it certaintly wasn't to be a pretty picture... In fact, it was more akin to lifting a big stone and watching all the pale insects beneath squirming around in the light rather than the so called glitz and glam of Hollywood.
This album is frantic and sensational from start to finish with no filler songs... with opener 'Welcome to the Jungle', Axl treats us to a breackneck guided tour of Los Angeles while promising,"Your gonna die...!"
There are songs about getting loaded-'Nighttrain and the hymn to heroin 'Mr Brownstone'- and Axl at his most paranoid in 'Out Ta Get Me'. But equally women draw the short straw on Appetite being seen largly as stupid and rapacious sex objects ('My Michelle', 'You're Crazy'). In fact the initial artwork for the cover of the album, featuring a badly drawn cartoon where a women had apparently been raped by a robot (?!) was withdrawn after a barrage of protests.
However, women deffinetly come of best in the tender ballad 'Sweet child O'mine'. In contrast to what surrounds it this adds a whole extra dimension to the album, as Axl reveals his tendar side in quite possibly the most sensitive lyrics he has ever written: "Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place/Where as a child i'd hide/And pray for the thunder and rain/To quitely pass me by.....I'd hate to look into those eyes/And see an ounce of pain." With its distinctive warbling guitar intro, courtesy of Slash, it has become one of the most popular rock ballads of all time. Appetite quickly became the most influential album of the 80s and spawned hundreds of imitators (Take a bow Sea Hags) but none ever achieved the success or lived to the excess and weaved the legends of their fights, extravagances, tantrums, short lived marriages... the general over the top lifestyle, the ongoing XXX rated soap opera littered with needles, booze, tatts,busted heads,law suits fueding band members and the greatest rock songs the world has ever heard..... This is the best album ever recorded, period.... Appetite is a must buy, period....A real pity it lasted only one more double album....:-(
Free Music Review: My Favorite Hard Rock Album of All Time.
Hit: 5 Stars
As I write this, I am 26 years old. I have been listening to music for an extremely long time. When I was in the 6th grade, a friend of mine got me into this album. It would change my life forever. As a person who grew up listening to rock and now who is interested in mostly jazz music, the evolution of my musical tastes has caused most rock to not age well. I can still listen to some rock and metal albums non stop without ever getting bored though, and 'Appetite for Destruction' is the first album that comes to mind.
Guns 'n Roses go back to the town of Lafayette, Indiana, where Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar) and Axl Rose (a.k.a. Bill Bailey) (vocals) grew up as friends. They didn't fit in well in Lafayette, though they did have another hometown friend named Shannon Hoon (vocalist from Blind Melon). Rose and Stradlin moved to L.A. and when Axl got off the bus, there was a little black guy standing there and he said to Axl: "You know where you are? You're in the jungle!" and these became the lyrics to the song "Welcome to the Jungle". This early GNR material was written by a bunch of drunk bum rock musicians who lived the lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock n roll - the lifestlye guys like me could only dream of. Their experiences were then reflected in the songs.
The rest of the band features Saul Hudson a.k.a. Slash on lead guitar, Duff McKagen on bass, and Steven 'Popcorn' Addler on drums. Addler would later go on to suffer brain damage after a failed attempt at suicide after being kicked out of the band because he had a drug problem - and a drug problem by GNR standards is really bad!
The sound on this record is raw - with roots in rock like Aerosmith and the Stones mixed with punk music like the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, and The New York Dolls. The main songwriters on the record are Axl and Izzy Stradlin and mixed with the amazing solos from Slash, this proves to be an album for the ages. There's a song about heroin - "Mr. Brownstone." There's a song about sex - "Anything Goes." There's a song about getting wasted - "Nightrain." There's a song about cops - "Out to Get Me." Every single track is worth mentioning - 'It's So Easy,' 'Paradise City,' 'My Michelle' (another song about heroin), 'Think About You' (which is a good Stradlin tune), 'Sweet Child O'Mine' (which was written when Slash was just warming up in the studio one day), 'Rocket Queen', and 'You're Crazy' which would appear as an acoustic version on their LIES record.
The three big singles on this record were 'Welcome to the Jungle,' 'Paradise City,' and 'Sweet Child O'Mine' - the last one was written by Axl about his longtime girlfriend...who he abused. This would happen again when he beat up Stephanie Seymour. What an idiot. That's what's so cool about Axl Rose - his immaturity is just a continued reflection of him sticking to that crazy lifestyle.
I remember a time when I used to watch MTV and there would be at least one Guns video played every hour and sometimes more. Do you? If you're reading this review, and you don't own this, then please buy it. Even if you're only going to purchase 2 or 3 rock albums in your life, make sure this is one of them.
Free Music Review: The Best Album from the BEST BAND EVER!
Hit: 5 Stars
So maybe you don't agree with me. Maybe Appetite for Destruction isn't the best album of all time, but it comes damn close! Whose standards are these anyway? Rock N' Roll once took pride in the fact that the music is all about showmanship and performance by nobody else's standards. This is exactly what Guns N' Roses did here, they didn't care. Hailing from Sunset Strip sleaze bars, GN'R became the biggest band in the world for an arguable 4 years (1988-1992 approx.), although some will say 6 ('87-'93). Regardless of the current formation of the band, music is what lasts inevitably. Appetite For Destruction will continue to remain in rock n' roll history as one of the greatest albums of all time by one of the best bands of all time. Why? Because Guns N' Roses held the perfect formula for rock stardom. They were loud, rude, aggresive, ... sensitive and had superior musical talent. Surpassing ladie's men Motley Crue, speed demons Slayer, and one-time metal monsters Metallica, Guns N' Roses perfected a winning musical combination. Although the style would broaden with successing releases (Use Your Illusions), Guns N' Rsses had a plan with Appetite and stuck to it...Opening with rock classic "Welcome To The Jungle," the album is kicked off with dueling riffery by Slash and Izzy, followed by thumping drumming into the song. Next came "It's So Easy," a bass driven number that runs rough. Axl's voice is considerably lower for this song and is highlighted since it follows the high-pitched Jungle. The solo is kicked nicely, seemingly intertwined and Axl snarls at the bridge. Nightrain followed suit as another hard-hitting jam. The chorus is repetative and burrowing, with always-amazing crisp guitars. The infamous "Out Ta Get Me" came next. Known for Axl's constant ranting, the song is great in all accounts. The masterful drug ode "Mr. Brownstone," is next on the list. One of the catchiest songs around, Axl once again sports a lower voice. The crowd-pleasing "Paradise City" followed, beginning with an almost folky intro, blended with harmonica, the song quickly kicked into gear and rocked HARD, ending with a hard hitting jam, the perfect concert encore. "My Michelle," about a crack addicted low-life, another powerful track, starts out slow but builds into one of the hardest rocking songs on the album. "Think About You" introduces the listener to the softer side of Guns N' Roses, and is lead into the ever popular "Sweet Child O' Mine." Their breakthrough hit, Child is entered by an amazingly precise Slash and lead through by one of the most reknowned hooks in rock history. "You're Crazy" is next, fast and hard-hitting, (the acoustic version of this song is available on GN'R Lies). The one track I could do without is "Anything Goes." The album closer is "Rocket Queen," my favorite Guns N' Roses song. Starting with a drum to bass intro, the song kicks right into gear and stands out among the rest. From a fully angry state-of-mind, Axl relaxes into an affectionate tone for the latter half of the song and closes on a great note.
For these reasons and however you feel after YOU have your first listen to this album is what it was made for. Rock N' Roll FOREVER!...
Free Music Review: Stands the test of time
Hit: 5 Stars
What's the 4-1-1?
I'm not going to go into the history and present of Guns N' Roses. If you're reading this, chances are you know the deal. L.A. band comes out of nowhere and hits one out of the park with their debut release Appetite for Destruction. They garner fame and fortune, release several more successful albums, self-destruct due to personality clashes, and break-up just as fast as they arrived.
Now the singer is crazy, locked-up in an asylum (his mansion), claiming to release the damn near eight-years-in-the-making new Guns N' Roses album with a completely different line-up (even different from the last time he teased you with it). The rest of the group goes on to do their own thing, while most notably Slash goes on to guest on every album that will have him, and then forms Velvet Revolver. Now you're up to speed if you forgot.
When this album first came out there was so much mystique and hype behind it. I remember hearing crazy stories of each member. I can recall hearing that Slash was wanted in seven states and that was the reason why he wore the hat, had the hair in his face, and changed his name. Yeah, it's ridiculous, but I we were in fifth grade.
In a time when pop and dance music controlled the charts, when you hear the opening riff and the main riffs that dominate "Welcome to the Jungle" it made you want to say, `to hell with pop music, this is where it's at!' "Jungle" more or less became the anthem of the rock culture at the time, and it still remains powerful today. Axl switches up his vocals to a more deep tone for the dark rocker "It's So Easy." As a kid it was a thrill to hear the F-word in a song. It wasn't something that happened a lot. Even though it was harmless, to an eleven year old, it was sort of taboo.
Slash & Izzy lay down some great riff patterns for the ultra heavy "Nightrain." Let's not forget Steven Adler's crazy cow bell action either. The sweet chugga-chugga guitar tones of "Mr. Brownstone" still ring out loud and clear today. I had no idea what this was about when back in the day, but as the years progressed, it made more sense. "Paradise City" was the track that really broke Guns N' Roses into the mainstream. Looking back it doesn't surprise me either; it has a real pop-vibe to appeal to the non-rock crowd, but still manages to stay heavy enough to captivate their core audience.
"My Michelle" has one of those choruses, that for some reason, you're compelled to sing along with; even trying to match Axl's odd voice inflections. Now most rock bands appeal to a predominately male audience, but to combat that tactic, Guns delivers "Sweet Child O' Mine." I can't even begin to tell you how many girls in my class fell in love with that song and Axl Rose because of it. I've always thought that "Rocket Queen" never got the praise it deserved. It really displays each member's expertise during various parts of the six minute composition.
The Verdict
Appetite for Destruction still blows me away. You can't deny that this nearly twenty year old album stands the test of time, no matter what the musical climate, or what generation is listening to it.
Free Music Review: Can a band be HoF material based on 1 album?
Hit: 5 Stars
In a few more years, this may be a legitimate debate, as GNR becomes eligible for the RnR Hall of Fame. And though the band put out about four more albums (Lies, Use Your Illusion I and II, Spaghetti Incident), this is the definitive piece of work for this band. And with good reason! Unlike most of the other "Hair Metal" bands that were more about glitz (a certain New Jersey pretty boy comes to mind), this band was simply supersonic, nitty gritty, raw rock! Twenty years later, and this album is just as hard hitting! I first saw them open for Motley Crue on the Girls, Girls, Girls tour in 1987 (thanks to Google, I found the actual date!) ... we had camped out (back in the days when you could do that!) for Crue tix, and had never heard of GNR; I remember wondering WTF 'cause Aerosmith had been opening for Crue on an earlier leg of the tour. Then we went to the show, and it was definitely WTF ... as in, OMG, who the HELL are these guys, they ROCK!! Slash was on stage trashed, carrying a bottle of Beam. To this day, I still remember them performing most of these songs, particularly "Mr. Brownstone" and "Paradise City", which was simply incredible. Also, they did their "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" cover. After the 45 minute we were already exhausted. My best friend went to the store the next week and bought the tape; he couldn't stop talking about them
Over the course of the next few years, as the band blew up big time, I remember telling people about that show. I think it still stands as my favorite to this day, with maybe Pink Floyd competing! But this was sheer decadence, and it felt GOOD!!!
It is shame that this band imploded, since this could have been truly legendary band along the lines of The Who, Zeppelin, etc. Then again, what made them great is what destroyed them (alcohol, coke, smack), although the aforementioned bands somehow survived, at least for a while. Alas, I digress ... this album is one of the all-time greats of rock; the balance between Slash's lead and Issy's rhythm is superb, Duff (bass) and Steve Adler (drums) created a pounding rhythm section that is comparable to Jones and Bonham. And so much has been said about Axl, but what truly amazes me is that he has the scratchy, shrieking voice, but is able to sing in three octaves with ease. And even on this first major label release effort, the production is stupendous, with Axl providing his own backing vocals in different octaves, which is probably the signature part of the sound! Check out "It's So Easy", especially the bridge and, of course, "Paradise City". It all made for incredible melodies and harmonies at a sonic decibel level.
All in all, this was no "hair band"; this band was as loud and raw as it got. As the last salvo to the '80s, they provided a terrific bookend with Brian Jone's incarnation of AC/DC for the decade that came in loud and went out loud, even if there was a lot of mush in between! Even as the band was collapsing of its own stature, grunge was on the rise (ironically, Nirvana would repeat this brief but iconic story arc with an even more tragic ending). When the time comes in a few more years, I hope this band is given its due!