GUNS 'N' ROSES- APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
1987
The song is Paradise City. Enough said. It may be because the video was filmed during a summertime rock festival—or perhaps it was Axl Rose’s white suit—or maybe it’s ‘cause the song just plain RAWKS—whatever reason, this is my #1 summertime song. It’s a wonderful mixture of Foghat/Skynyrd classic rocking with a dingy late-80’s L.A. attitude. The lyrics are sung so nasty, the rhythm is so gritty, and the solos are so intense. Paradise City will forever be upon every “summertime mix” that I compile—but the rest of the CD is awesome too.
Start at the beginning. Welcome to the Jungle, yo. It’s been almost 20 years since it’s been written, but the song still serves as an incredible intro to a rockin’ time (note that the NFL still uses it for kickoffs—and it is not even close to being tired). Follow that with classics such as Mr. Brownstone, Night Train, Anything Goes, Rocket Queen… screw it—EVERY song is a classic.
Now, the other single, Sweet Child of Mine, is perfection in the way it’s pretty enough for the girls and rockin’ enough for the guys. Axl sounds sweet and nasty at the same time. Slash switches from a bluesy-sweet melody to a fuzzed-wha solo that builds and builds to a great climax. It’s no power ballad…
Guns ‘n’ Roses is in top form here--pretty rare for a debut album. Slash’s manipulation of blues and pentatonic scales are masterful as Izzy Stradlin' adds the perfect compliment on rhythm guitar. The bass and drums are solid while Axl Rose’s bipolar high-pitched shrieking vs. bottom-dwelling crooning serves as great frontmanship. Too bad it didn’t last. If you notice the songs' themes of drugs, booze, burning out, and getting all that you want—you can tell that the band was going to fizzle out fast. Usually songs about excess and burning out on drugs come after a band hits it big. Guns ‘n’ Roses started out living fast—so the fact that Appetite for Destruction was their only good album is not much of a surprise.
With that said, Appetite for Destruction will always remain in my top 5 best albums EVER list. With no “throw away” songs, with a unique mix of classic rock and modern attitude (with a hint of glam), with the absolute genius of Slash’s guitar, Appetite is an instant classic. The fact that Paradise City and other festival-esque songs fill each side of the cassette (okay… it’s a CD nowadays) makes it the ultimate summertime album.
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