So why is Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
In the best 1,000 albums ever piece on G N’ R Lies (#572), I relayed this little nugget from my high school years:
I have a clear memory of overhearing a few guys having a conversation while I was in high school. It was a debate about the merits of The Beatles versus Guns N’ Roses. One guy was adamant that Guns N’ Roses’ legacy would surely surpass that of The Beatles, while the other guy’s attitude was more “it’s totally possible but let’s wait and see.”
I’m starting there to illustrate the sway that Guns N’ Roses held over my early high school years on Long Island. Appetite for Destruction was released in the summer of 1987, just before my freshman year.
It was a year when bands like Whitesnake, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Poison, and Cinderella were dominant amongst my peers. I mostly “rejected” these bands at the time – partially because I didn’t relate to my classmates who were into that stuff, and because I instead embraced the “classic rock” of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The Beatles, and soon enough, The Doors.
Years later, I would come to appreciate both the excess and the real musical chops of the best bands from the hair metal era, but even as a kid I had to admit that this new band from LA’s Sunset Strip called Guns N’ Roses had something special going for it.
Even though the sound and vibe echoed the other hair metal bands, there was a grittiness and slightly dark and grounded authenticity that those other bands lacked.
And meanwhile, the combination of Slash and Izzy Stradlin’s blues rock and Jimmy Page-modeled heavy metal guitars – a surprisingly intelligent blend of metal, hard rock, and power pop – and Axl Rose’s sneery, theatrical vocals gave it a sound that placed the band in its own unique tier.
While G N’ R would go on to produce several strong subsequent albums, nothing would match the heights that Appetite reached – those dudes I overheard in high school were slightly overblown in their predictions, as it turns out.
Reassessing Appetite for Destruction with fresh ears, I’m blown away by how across-the-board strong the album’s 12 tracks remain.
I don’t think it’s overblown to say that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is one of the best and most popular songs produced in the 20th century – and its 2.4 billion and counting plays on Spotify as of this writing back up this notion. There are very few songs that are so instantly recognizable from its opening guitar melody.
It’s one of the gentler tracks on Appetite, with a mid-tempo pop/rock feel that put it right in the sweet spot (to borrow the term) to earn heavy radio and MTV rotation while also slotting in effortlessly at bars and sports arenas worldwide. I’ll also add that Slash’s guitar solo is beautiful and perfectly structured. Very few guitarists can craft solos and rock riffs both that are as exciting or memorable.
Post-solo, the way the song quiets down as Axl sings where do we go… where do we go now… and then picks back up for an electric conclusion is yet another example of how Appetite sits miles above its hair metal competition – and most other competition too for that matter.
Speaking of effective musical dynamics, the way in which “Paradise City” shifts from gentle ‘70s-flavored jam-out mode (with one of the catchier choruses thrown in that you’ll ever hear in a rock and roll song, period) to all-out hard rock assault, gloriously grimy Sunset Strip glam metal, is simply breathtaking.
And that guitar riff is one for the ages.
Bonus points to whoever figured out to drop that whistle sound in right before the song fully takes flight, just great stuff.
While we’re on a tour of Appetite’s iconic hits, our last stop is obviously the leadoff track, “Welcome to the Jungle.” This was the toughest one for me to come at with fresh ears, mostly because I was forced to endure the opening guitar riff ad nauseum while enduring both a hellacious Bay Area commute many years ago and the only sports radio show I could tune into to distract myself (the not all that good Jim Rose show, he of the “have a take, don’t suck” catchphrase).
Anyway, it was the perfect song to introduce the band to the U.S. audience (“It’s So Easy” was actually released first as a single in the UK, interestingly enough), both from an attitude and mission statement standpoint.
And it’s also an Axl Rose showcase – no one else can hit lines like Watch it bring you to your sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-knees as he can.
Now, with all of that being said, it’s actually other songs on Appetite that turn me on most these days. For example, I’ve had the dark, driving guitar riff and overall metal-punk vibes of “My Michelle” in my head for days while ramping up to write this piece.
There are aspects of “My Michelle” that flat out feel “grunge,” years before that term was applied to music, though of course there’s a bright, sneering, glam-and-dirt Sunset Strip attitude implanted deeply in the song’s DNA at the same time.
“Mr. Brownstone,” a harrowing tale of heroin addiction, is a towering achievement – expertly crafted and exquisitely executed. And the chorus is deceptively smart – I’d even throw the word brilliant out there here – while being all-time catchy.
I used to do a little, but a little wouldn’t do it, so the little got more and more
“I just keep tryna get a little better”, said a little better than before
This is a good time to note that producer Mike Clink captured a raw sound on the record that holds a live and analog feel that helps to make Appetite sound both fresh and timeless nearly 40 years after it was recorded.
I noted that the analog, tactile feel was also important to making the Foo Fighters’ debut album (#32) sound as good as it does.
I do wonder how many bands head into the recording studio and say, “I want our album to sound like that.”
Not many do though, as it turns out. Not many at all.
Some stats & info about Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, SoCal Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #62
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Appetite for Destruction released? 1987
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #25 out of 1,000
Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Welcome to the jungle.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.