Pat Angello Fan Club Music Blog

Random Monday CD Review

Guns N Roses: Appetite for Destruction

Sun Feb 19 21:20:40 2006

Yeah, we’re going back a ways here, but I did say this was going to be random, didn’t I?

I recall seeing the video for “Welcome to the Jungle” on MTV (honestly, they used to play videos on that channel and the ‘M’ stood for ‘Music’) and I immediately knew there was something special going on with this band. The sound was new and fresh, the vocals were everywhere, and the guitars were wailing! I purchased the CD in late 1987, and everyone else finally caught up in the spring of 1988.

GNR was listed as W. Axl Rose on vocals, Slash on lead guitar, Izzy Stradlin’ on rhythm guitar, Duff “Rose” McKagan on bass, and Steven Adler on drums. Axl was a scrawny redhead who loved to wear bandanas and had all the attitude a lead singer needs. Slash had the ultra-curly hair that hid his face and wore a ridiculous top hat that for some reason I thought was cool. Hell, we thought they were so cool that we lip-synched to “Jungle” as freshmen in college and called ourselves “Runs N Hoses!” Um, yeah, I was Slash!

Anyhow, “Jungle” opens the CD with a bag-of-cats-on-the-way-to-the-river scream from Axl. The drums sound a little like jungle drums, and the guitar comes in with what would later be known as a very distinct sound from Slash.

Next is “It’s So Easy,” a tune that is still rockin’ and features Axl warping his voice from screamy-whiney to low and bluesy. I remember thinking that it was actually 2 singers, and the lower voice was Slash. What a tool I was. (OK, still am!)

The CD just kept rolling and getting better with “Nightrain,” “Out ta Get Me,” and “Mr. Brownstone.” Each song would build off the last. “Paradise City” came next and was honestly not one of my favorites, simply because I thought it was a little too light at the chorus.

I really loved “My Michelle” because it just really flew, and I felt “Think About You” is probably the best song on the disc. It’s just got everything from hammering riffs to a sweet-hearted (at least as sweet as Axl can get) chorus.

The CD kind of went downhill from there. I know people loved “Sweet Child O’Mine” but I despised the tune. Probably because some kid that lived on my floor in the dorm tried over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over (are you getting the point) to figure out the guitar intro and simply screwed it up and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Oh, the humanity!

Finally, “You’re Crazy” and “Anything Goes” were OK, and I always felt like “Rocket Queen” was a filler – almost like they lost a bet and had to stick it in.

The CD really defined rock music in the late 80’s, and certainly will always be a classic in my collection. Bonus: the “Appetite for Destruction” drawing by Robert Williams in the CD liner notes is simply sick and wrong, and I love it!

4.5 out of 5!