362) Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction

We are back to the coolest indie kid in Glasgow in 1987 for this one. That cool indie kid let’s not forget is me. Which as we have all worked out from these reviews, I was a dick who knew everything and bugger all at the same time.

In college I met a girl called Kirsty who had long red hair, when my mates met her, they called her Carol Decker, yep, they were as original as me.

Now Kirsty was brand new, a good laugh, fun on nights out and generally an easy going person, we were just friends and if I had made a move it would have been pointless as she made it clear she only fancied men with long hair who like her were into heavy metal 

She really liked Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Metallica. Now I have never heard an album by any of these bands and nearly forty years later I still have no desire to. I used to see people with bands like these and Iron Maiden, Judas Priest sewed onto their denim jackets and shake my head at their music choices. I am sure they were really wanting to wear my Primitives and Clash T-shirts and listen to my superior knowledge on music.

We were at a party, and she had a tape she said she could put on and promised me it was good. A wonderful riff started, and the drums followed and a voice came on that was a bit whiny for my liking, but this wasn’t Bon Jovi. The riff never let up and the solo with the band coming back in was good, I’d already worked out that the song was called Sweet Child of Mine, so I asked her who the band were. Who the hell were Guns N’ Roses?

Within six months we all knew who Guns N’ Roses were and Axl, Slash and Duff we didn’t even need their second names they were that famous as this debut album, Appetite for Destruction sold millions and stayed on the charts forever.

We would later learn that Axl had his issues shall we say, Slash liked drugs and Duff enjoyed a drink or two as they slowly descended into a soap opera but no matter what they became they made a classic debut album.

There are twelve tracks on this, anyone who was around in the 80’s will have heard, Sweet Child, Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City, you may not like them, but they were everywhere and still nearly forty years later instantly recognisable. Welcome to the Jungle is a classic with Slash and Izzy Stradlin opening for us before drummer Steven Adler decides to hit drums as hard as he can and Duff underpins it all. Axl is pure aggression and delivers a not so annoying vocal and Paradise City is one of those perfect rock moments with the riffs, drums and chorus coming together to deliver a timeless rock anthem.

This is not all about the hits with the punk rush of It’s So Easy, a warning of heroin addiction with Mr Brownstone, fast paced rock of You’re Crazy and the never let up six-minute plus of Rocket Queen.

The early album cover cannot be defended and some of their actions were certainly questionable and they haven’t released a record in nearly twenty years even though Slash and Duff have been back for nearly ten years but for a brief period they were the biggest band in the world and Kirsty was right, they were pretty good.

7/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Welcome to the Jungle