Appetite for Destruction
| Appetite for Destruction | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Guns N' Roses | |||||
| Released | July 21, 1987 December 9, 2008 (re-release on vinyl) |
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| Recorded | Rumbo Studios, Canoga Park, California; Take One Studio, Burbank, California; Can Am Studio, Tarzana, California[1] | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock | ||||
| Length | 53:50 | ||||
| Label | Geffen Interscope (2008 re-release)[2] |
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| Producer | Mike Clink | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Guns N' Roses chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
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The original cover
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Appetite for Destruction is the 1987 debut album by Los Angeles-based hard rock band Guns N' Roses. The album combines elements of heavy metal, hard rock, blues-rock and punk.
Appetite for Destruction reached number one on the US Albums Chart, and on September 23, 2008 was certified 18x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America[3]. The album has accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 28 million.[4]
Contents |
Origins
Axl Rose stated in 1988 that many of the songs featured on the album had been written while the band had been performing on the Los Angeles club circuit, and a number of songs that would be featured on later Guns N' Roses albums were considered for Appetite for Destruction, such as "Back Off Bitch," "You Could Be Mine," "Don't Cry" and "November Rain." [5].
While the songwriting credits are indiscriminately credited to all five band members, many of the songs began as solo tracks that individual band members wrote in the pre-Guns N' Roses era, only to be completed by the band. These songs include "It's So Easy" (McKagan), "Anything Goes", and "Think About You" (Stradlin). "Rocket Queen" was an unfinished Slash/McKagan song that was written from their earlier band Road Crew.
Other songs on the album reflect the band's reaction to the debauchery of the L.A. rock and roll underground, such as "Welcome to the Jungle" (Rose wrote the lyrics while in Seattle about an incident in New York City)[6] and "Out ta Get Me", as well as their assorted female companions, reflected in the songs "Sweet Child o' Mine," "Think About You," "My Michelle," "You're Crazy," and "Rocket Queen."
Cover art
The album's original cover, based on the Robert Williams painting "Appetite for Destruction", depicted a robot rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After several music retailers refused to stock the album, they compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with a cover depicting a cross and skulls of the five band members (designed by Billy White Jr., originally as a tattoo), each skull representing one member of the band: Izzy Stradlin, top skull; Steven Adler, left skull; Axl Rose, center skull; Duff McKagan, right skull; and Slash, bottom skull. The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John. However, the cover art will appear on the 2008 re-pressing of the vinyl.
Achievements
- In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked Appetite for Destruction as the 20th best album of the 1980s.
- The same magazine later ranked it at sixty-one on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[7]
- In 2001, Q magazine named Appetite for Destruction as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.[8]
- In 2003, VH1 named Appetite for Destruction the 42nd Greatest Album of All Time.[9]
- In 2002, Pitchfork Media ranked Appetite for Destruction 59th on their Top 100 Albums of the 1980s[10].
- It was ranked 18 in Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005".[11]
- Kerrang! magazine recently compiled a 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever list of which Appetite for Destruction was ranked #1.[12]
- In 2004 the album was voted number 1 by fans in Metal Hammer magazine's greatest albums of all time list.
- Rolling Stone recently devoted their cover to the album's 20th Anniversary, July 2007.[13]
- The album was ranked 32 on Rock Hall of Fame's 'definitive 200' album list, developed by the NARM, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers. .[14]
Track listing
| # | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Axl Rose | Rose, Slash | 4:34 |
| 2. | "It's So Easy" | Duff McKagan, West Arkeen | McKagan, Arkeen | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Nightrain" | Rose | Slash, Izzy Stradlin, McKagan | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Out ta Get Me" | Rose, Stradlin | Stradlin | 4:24 |
| 5. | "Mr. Brownstone" | Stradlin | Stradlin, Slash | 3:49 |
| 6. | "Paradise City" | Rose, McKagan, Slash | Slash, Stradlin, McKagan | 6:46 |
| 7. | "My Michelle" | Rose | Rose, Stradlin | 3:40 |
| 8. | "Think About You" | Stradlin | Stradlin | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Rose | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | 5:56 |
| 10. | "You're Crazy" | Rose, Stradlin | Slash, Stradlin | 3:17 |
| 11. | "Anything Goes" | Rose | Chris Weber, Stradlin | 3:26 |
| 12. | "Rocket Queen" | Rose, Stradlin | Slash, McKagan | 6:13 |
Personnel
The band members' musical contributions, as stated in the album's accompanying booklet, are as follows:[15]
- Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, synth
- Slash - lead, rhythm, and acoustic guitars
- Izzy Stradlin – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals, percussion
- Duff McKagan – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Steven Adler – drums
Additional personnel
- Mike Clink – producer
- Michael Barbiero – mixing
- Steve Thompson – mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- Victor Deyglio – assistant engineer
- Dave Reitzas – assistant engineer
- Micajah Ryan – assistant engineer
- Julian Stoll – assistant engineer
- Andy Udoff – assistant engineer
- Jeff Poe – assistant engineer
- Robert Williams – paintings
- Michael Hodgson – art direction, design
- Robert John – photography
- Jack Lue – photography
- Greg Freeman – photography
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
| 1989 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak position[16] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1988 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #7 |
| 1988 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Billboard Hot 100 | #7 |
| 1988 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #37 |
| 1988 | "Nightrain" | Billboard Hot 100 | #93 |
| 1989 | "Nightrain" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #26 |
| 1989 | "Paradise City" | Billboard Hot 100 | #5 |
| 1989 | "Paradise City" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #14 |
References
- ↑ ""Appetite for Destruction"". GN'R Source.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ "Billboard announcement on Chinese Democracy, also mentions Appetite For Destruction". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-10-10.
- ↑ "Diamond Awards". RIAA. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ↑ http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Guns-N-Roses-To-Release-New-Album---Axl-Rose-Is-The-Only-Original-Remaining-Member/Article/200810415127112
- ↑ Axl/Slash Interview, 1988 [1]
- ↑ Ellin, Doug (2007-07-27). ""Welcome to the Jungle"". TV.com.
- ↑ ""Appetite for Destruction - Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"". Rolling Stone (2003-11-03). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ "In our Lifetime #2". Q magazine (2001-10-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ "VH1 Ranks 100 Best Rock Albums". The Associated Press (2001-01-04). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36736
- ↑ Barger, Al (2005-07-03). "Spin magazine's 100 Greatest Albums 1985-2005". Blog Critics magazine. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ "Guns N' Roses news:". Here Today Gone to Hell (2004-03-04). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ Hiatt, Brian (2007-07-27). "How Guns N' Roses Mixed Drugs, Punk, and Classic Rock to Make 'Appetite for Destruction'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ↑ http://www.rockhall.com/pressroom/definitive-200
- ↑ Appetite for Destruction booklet, p3
- ↑ "Artist Chart History - Guns N' Roses - Singles". Billboard 200. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
| Preceded by Hysteria by Def Leppard |
Billboard 200 number-one album August 6 - August 12 1988 September 24 - October 14 1988 February 11 - February 17 1989 |
Succeeded by Roll with It by Steve Winwood |
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