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Amazon.co.uk Review
This is a glimpse of the future--and not because of its huge influence and umpteen million sales. The poor-little-rich-boy protest "Out ta Get Me" intimates that Axl Rose's egotism and martyr complex were soon to grow bigger than his head; still, Appetite's night-train wreck of punk and metal sounds and sensibilities make it more than just an emblem of its time. Whether GN'R are dancing with "Mr. Brownstone", penning a callow kiss-off letter to some chick named "Michelle", or passing out on somebody else's sofa, this was and remains a savage journey to the heart of the American--or at least the Hollywood--dream. --Rickey Wright
Review
G n' R were formed in 1985 and eventually signed to Geffen records after two years of hard graft (and, one suspects just as hard playtime) in the rock clubs of LA. It was these two years of bawdy experience that would be the inspiration for their first album, Appetite For Destruction. This is what makes Appetite such an oddity. It inhabits a strangely hermetic place, concerning itself as it does with the scene in which the band were born, whether it be the band's girlfriends (Sweet Child O'Mine, My Michelle), their chemical intake (Mr Brownstone, Rocket Queen) or just LA, itself (Welcome To The Jungle). Even the band's appearance verged on the parodic. While they were at odds with the prevalent glam metal stylings of bands like Motley Crue (with whom they toured) or Bon Jovi, the band themselves - all cowboy boots, bandanas and leather - hardly broke the mold. Yet they traded on a dynamic that balanced them between the lifestyle they portrayed and the no-nonsense kick-ass aesthetic of their sound. Punk metal was born.
And let's make no bones about it, this band after two years of club dates on the Strip could play. Steven Adler's drums sound huge, while Slash's riffs had yet to descend into cliche; his snarling Les Paul force fed through a growling wah-wah. Axl Rose's cartoon squeal of indignation was the perfect summation of the band's philosophy of good times to be had living on the 'edge'. Appetite... never lets up... Never had hedonism sounded so good.
But perhaps the real innovation about this band was the way they were marketed. Having lost touch with their grass roots support while recording this album, it was David Geffen's intervention at MTV that saw their video for Welcome To The Jungle put on strict rotation, opening the wallets of middle America and eventually, the rest of the world. This was, then, metal for a new age in media.
Of course, the band couldn't make a move without courting infamy. The original sleeve by hot rod icon, Robert Williams, had to be withdrawn after right wing protesters (and record stores) began to boycott the album. Re-sleeved it finally racked up sales of 25 million. It remains their crowning glory. The soap opera that now sees the band reduced to Axl and some session men continues, but on Appetite... they were still hungry, still capable of turning on the fireworks and, most importantly, still making a noise that your parents would detest. --Dennis O'Dell
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'd give this album twenty stars if I could, it's that important to me.
With the ubiquity of music TV these days, it's actually quite hard to remember that heavy metal was hard to get a hold of in the late 80s. Pop and dance ruled the airwaves, you only had TOTP, The Chart Show and The Tube (I hadn't heard of Later, or The Old Grey Whistle Test; was but a nipper in those days). I hadn't even heard of MTV - that was an American thing. But one day a music shop opened in my little hometown, which showed MTV, and that's where I first heard and saw "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine". A real epiphany; nothing was the same for me ever again, after getting in in 1988 for my 9th birthday. (The only real comparison has been hearing The Beatles' 67-70 album, and "Smell Like Teen Spirit"). I'm 27 now and have never ever tired of it.
GN'R might have lived the life, but musically they knew exactly what they were doing; they knew their musical history, and had a breadth of taste which "Appetite" only hinted at. Their forebears were, as they well knew, were Aerosmith, so much so that they explored Aerosmith's own influences, so that they are far more than 'Smith ripoffs, even on their first album.
GN'R were melded together in the deperate struggle for recognition and success that was the LA rock scene. Then dominated by Motley Crue and lesser bands like WASP and Ratt, GN'R came along and blew them away. Where Motley Crue had acheived success by having a crossover appeal (covering "Helter Skelter", a Beatles song, even on their heaviest album, "Shout At The Devil"), GN'R did it by tapping into an older, heavier tradition. They weren't pop-rock, they were hard-rock - much more visceral, with punk-rock's attitude, rock music's musicanship and with a live show of extraordinary magnetism.
"Appetite" is their purest statement. "Paradise City" is a metaphor for their ambition to be the biggest band in the world - "Take me down to the paradise city". "Sweet Child O' Mine" might have been their crossover moment, but rather than being a schmaltzy soft-rock anthem (as Poison etc had managed), it's a yearning, tender opener which modulates to a storming finale, with I think the most hair-raising guitar solo eve recorded. "It's So Easy" is the ultimate expression of young-man arrogance and testosterone, with Axl singing at the bottom of his range and the riff exploding out at you like a Molotov Cocktail of belligerent intent. "Nightrain", a song about a cheap tonic wine (like Buckfast) tells you about their days - "Said I'm a mean machine, been drinking gasoline and honey you can make my motor hum". "Rocket Queen" is a superb closer, starting with a brilliantly sleazy riff (and supposedly verite sounds in the middle), but ending on a storming, rousing, optimistic closer.
Axl sings brilliantly throughout, Slash's solos are magnificent, Duff's bass sounds much better than on "Use Your Illusion" - but the songs are never dominated by one band-member as they are on UYI. It's always a coherent, band album. It's the greatest metal album I know, and I've been into metal ever since I got this album.
With the ubiquity of music TV these days, it's actually quite hard to remember that heavy metal was hard to get a hold of in the late 80s. Pop and dance ruled the airwaves, you only had TOTP, The Chart Show and The Tube (I hadn't heard of Later, or The Old Grey Whistle Test; was but a nipper in those days). I hadn't even heard of MTV - that was an American thing. But one day a music shop opened in my little hometown, which showed MTV, and that's where I first heard and saw "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine". A real epiphany; nothing was the same for me ever again, after getting in in 1988 for my 9th birthday. (The only real comparison has been hearing The Beatles' 67-70 album, and "Smell Like Teen Spirit"). I'm 27 now and have never ever tired of it.
GN'R might have lived the life, but musically they knew exactly what they were doing; they knew their musical history, and had a breadth of taste which "Appetite" only hinted at. Their forebears were, as they well knew, were Aerosmith, so much so that they explored Aerosmith's own influences, so that they are far more than 'Smith ripoffs, even on their first album.
GN'R were melded together in the deperate struggle for recognition and success that was the LA rock scene. Then dominated by Motley Crue and lesser bands like WASP and Ratt, GN'R came along and blew them away. Where Motley Crue had acheived success by having a crossover appeal (covering "Helter Skelter", a Beatles song, even on their heaviest album, "Shout At The Devil"), GN'R did it by tapping into an older, heavier tradition. They weren't pop-rock, they were hard-rock - much more visceral, with punk-rock's attitude, rock music's musicanship and with a live show of extraordinary magnetism.
"Appetite" is their purest statement. "Paradise City" is a metaphor for their ambition to be the biggest band in the world - "Take me down to the paradise city". "Sweet Child O' Mine" might have been their crossover moment, but rather than being a schmaltzy soft-rock anthem (as Poison etc had managed), it's a yearning, tender opener which modulates to a storming finale, with I think the most hair-raising guitar solo eve recorded. "It's So Easy" is the ultimate expression of young-man arrogance and testosterone, with Axl singing at the bottom of his range and the riff exploding out at you like a Molotov Cocktail of belligerent intent. "Nightrain", a song about a cheap tonic wine (like Buckfast) tells you about their days - "Said I'm a mean machine, been drinking gasoline and honey you can make my motor hum". "Rocket Queen" is a superb closer, starting with a brilliantly sleazy riff (and supposedly verite sounds in the middle), but ending on a storming, rousing, optimistic closer.
Axl sings brilliantly throughout, Slash's solos are magnificent, Duff's bass sounds much better than on "Use Your Illusion" - but the songs are never dominated by one band-member as they are on UYI. It's always a coherent, band album. It's the greatest metal album I know, and I've been into metal ever since I got this album.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Before Appetite For Destruction, the metal scene was populated exclusively by bouffant bozos wielding pointy headstocked Jacksons and hiding behind thousands of dollars worth of rack-mount gear. Then suddenly, there was Slash, reeling off breath taking leads with nothing but a Les Paul and a minimal backline. Here it was at last: Guitar music the way God intended it.There was always something faintly "punk" about Guns n' Roses- A sneer and a swagger that meant songs like It's So Easy were always more Pistols than Poison and more Clash than Crue. A riotous collision of attitude, image and raw talent, Guns n' Roses were a phenonemal band.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This for me is the very best album i own and i would advise anyone to get it. There simply isnt a bad song. Its badass rock n roll at its bestkiller riffs from slash N Axls awesome vocals shine and the quality of the material is fantastic. This and lies for me is the best of GNR with this being the best they have ever done. Axls ego hadnt yet kicked into overdrive spliting original members apart leading to the monstrousoty in 2002 and they were not yet falling apart due to excess but reveling in it. They sticked to what they were good at rather than trying pure crap like My World in the illusions. There is NO filler and every song is 9+ for me. The best songs would have to be Mr Brownstone, Paradise city, Sweet Child and Night Train yet the albumns throughout high quality could allow any to be your favourite depending on taste. If you love music youll love this album.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hmmm...finest rock album ever or just of it's era?
I was listening to rock/metal, or whatever label this sits in, when this first hit the shops and nightclubs. Read more
Published 19 days ago by GAH
One of the very best rock albums
This is where the phenomenon started. Say what you like about G 'n' R but they know how and when to put the foot down. This is a rollercoaster ride of an album. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Duncan McDonald
guns and roses cd
thank you for sorting out the problem. great product at a great price. have wanted this for ages and you delivered a good deal
Published 8 months ago by darren
Big Gun!!!
It is in my opinion the best album of the band. Some of the most powerful and well known songs in a balanced album. Amazon MP3 download could not be any more practical and easy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by T. Lazaro
i wish i can give this album more stars on amazon
back in 1990 i bought this album by mistake a nagging ex pal was on the door of the record shop wants to leave and the shop owner was not knowing the differ between iron maiden and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Nawaf Ahmed Albardooli
Timeless...
This album never dissapoints whenever you listen to it, always lightening the mood with Slash's power riffs and variating. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Loz
Creme de la creme of Epic Perfection!
What can I say about this here more than I have already said in the title of this review?
This album is a simple MUST HAVE for any rock fan. Read more
This album is a simple MUST HAVE for any rock fan. Read more
Published 17 months ago by SamboMambo
Best Album Ever
No other album has had such an impact on me than this album has. From the moment i heard the chorus of Paradise City on the radio i knew i had discovered something magical. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Ed
awesome!
this is rock music at its best! an old classic that will never outdate!!! guns 'n' roses ROCK!!!!!
Published 20 months ago by liverbird
Excellent
Classic album delivered in great condition as promised. Pay attention people, this is how Amazon should work
Published 20 months ago by Chewybaco
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