APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION.GUNS N ROSES. - Blogspot

APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION.GUNS N ROSES.................

In 1987, Guns N' Roses exploded onto the national scene with "Appetite for Destruction." It was their low and best album. On the low track, "Welcome to the Jungle," Slash's beginning riffs and Axl's eerie howl set the point for the remainder of the songs.

"Jungle" is a no-holds-barred look at the dark, drug-infested world below the glitz-and-glamour exterior of Los Angeles. "It's So Easy" shows the spirit of the band: Axl's interplay with Whip and Izzy Straldlin. "Night Train" is another exploration of the sex, drug, and alcohol-fueled world of an L.A. club band at the clock that Guns was coming up. "Out Ta Get Me" is the first glance of Axl's paranoia and self-absorption, which would ultimately leading to the band's downfall. "Mr. Brownstone" is a call about (surprise! heroin, and with the lyrics "the evidence usually starts around 7. We go on stage around 9," it would prove prophetic about the chaotic nature of Guns N' Roses and their last concerts. "Paradise City" begins in (and the choruses return to) a Southern-Rock style, but is generally the blues-and-punk-flavored hard rock that made them famous.
"My Michelle" is the darkest song Guns N' Roses ever produced. It's the semi-true history of a girl trying to get up in L.A. without any funding from her family, and then falling prey to the demons of wanton sex and drugs. "Think About You" is one of the most under-rated Guns songs. It's a sweet ballad about first love, but set to a hard-rock beat. Not a power-ballad, but a great song that never got the acclaim it deserved. "Sweet Child O' Mine" is another love song set to a rock beat, and showcases Slash's unique talents as a guitarist probably better than any other song on the record. "You're Crazy" shows the band's punk influences. "Anything Goes" is a straight rocker about a mutually self-destructive relationship. The show ends with "Rocket Queen," one of their best, and least appreciated. Slash and Izzy's guitar greatness are on display here probably better than anyplace else in the album. "Rocket Queen" also shows Axl's vocal and vocal writing talent. It starts as a rocker about a virile young stud (probably Axl) and an old woman. But later the famous interlude, (if you don't acknowledge what I mean, find out for yourself, the song switches gears seamlessly, to a mellow ballad about friendship and passion through hard times. It's a really amazing song.

The cassette edition of "Appetite" is the inaugural album I ever bought. Time has not weakened the touch of these songs for me. Guns N' Roses are my personal favourite band, and "Appetite" is their high point. As they say, once you make a peak, it's all downhill, but that's not important. What is significant is to think them as what they were: a definitively groundbreaking band. Bulldog 51.