Guns N' Roses -
Appetite for Destruction
The first time I heard Guns N' Roses, I was watching TV. An ad for the Dirty Harry flick
The Dead Pool came on, and "Welcome to the Jungle" played under the imagery from the movie. It was unlike anything I had ever heard to that point. I don't recall hearing any vocals, but I do remember the music. It sounded like about a billion guitars and they all sounded pissed-off. They weren't angry like the guitars in other metal bands. Most metal guitars I'd heard up to that point were loud, crunchy, and angry, but they also sounded precise, controlled. The guitars on "Jungle" sounded sloppy, chaotic, capable of anything. Even without Axl Rose's sociopathic rantings, Guns sounded dangerous.
By the time I got around to picking up a copy of Appetite for Destruction, GNR's full-length debut, the band had already become a big deal. Critics and journalists were praising them as the one rock band on the face of the planet the wasn't full of it. They sang about being from the gutter, and there was no doubting that's where you'd find them. While other bands sang about the glamorous side of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Guns stripped away the glamour and showed you what was underneath. It was simultaneously butt-ugly and absolutely beautiful. Or so the critics said.
Listening to
Appetite now, it's hard for me not to think GNR's a bit over-rated. While so many folks were trumpeting how original they were, I hear punk rock, Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith, among others. Still,
Appetite sounds vicious, mean, and it still gets my blood pumping. For me, it has nothing to do with Axl. Axl sounds like a hostile male version of Janis Joplin, and while that's pretty cool, sometimes I just think he's trying a bit too hard to be confrontational. The music, on the other hand, is never fake. It starts with drummer Steven Adler. He beats the skins with near-caveman bashability. He's one of the hardest-rocking drummers I've ever heard. Now, add in Duff McKagan's bass. Duff's one of my favorite bass players, and it's because his sound is just so bad-ass. I can't describe it any other way. Then come the guitars. Everybody knows about Slash. The top hat, the bare chest, and the Les Paul. Slash blew away every other guitar player on the scene when Guns came out, because he actually sounded like he had guts. He couldn't blow through sweep arpeggios like all those Yngwie clones, but he had the blues, the grit and the soul all those other dudes were missing. But the key to GNR's awesomeness was rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. Izzy created the greasy, sleazy riffs that gave Guns their personality. He was the guy that made them sound dangerous and, at times, beautiful. Slash was awesome, but without Izzy, he just didn't have the right riffs to work off. Izzy made that band work.
Appetite is a pretty sweet record. It roars out of the gate with "Jungle". "Paradise City" rocks so hard, it'll shake your fillings loose, thanks to the heaviest GNR riff ever. "Mr. Brownstone" is groovy fun, with a beat that'll make your jiggle like a bowl full of Jell-o. "Sweet Child of Mine" is a very pretty tune, and Axl's finest moment one the record. "You're Crazy" is straight-up, speed-of-light hard rock perfection. Every song on the record is worth listening to, something that's getting harder and harder to say about CDs.
Appetite for Destruction is metal enough for metalheads, punk enough for punk rockers, and infectious enough to get everybody rockin'.
