Appetite at 30: Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction

 Pitchfork writer Maura Johnston retrospectively reviewed it, rating it 10 out of 10, saying, The debut from Guns N' Roses was a watershed moment in '80s rock that chronicled every vice of Los Angeles led by the lye-voiced Axl Rose and a legendary, switchblade-sharp band.

1987 was a conundrum of music. We had INXS, U2, Metallica, Poison, and Motley Crue. Then out of the LA club scene came a sound that was different than anything else on the radio . The opening notes of Welcome to the Jungle, the first chords of Paradise City, and the unforgettable power of Sweet Child O' Mine ushered in a band that would scare our parents and made us all wish we could party like Guns N Roses. 

The first play through the cassette of course gave most of us youngins a surprise with its not suitable for radio songs like Mr. Brownstone, It's So Easy, and of course, Rocket Queen. It was shocking and dangerous and a perfect getaway from the safety net of pop rock and hair bands. 

Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, and Steven represented all the debauchery that LA could offer and lived up to the rock and roll lifestyle. The album is an amalgam of each member contributing to the debut album, now ranked as one of the best albums of all time. 

But what was it that made Appetite such a memorable album? It covers a wide spectrum of music influences, from punk to rock. It pushes boundaries (still). But in the end, no offense to the rest of the band members, it was the uniqueness of Axl and Slash. Axl's unmistakable voice and side to side sway delivered a performance that could not be matched. Slash's iconic hair and top hat only caps unmatched guitar solos.

30 years on and Appetite for Destruction still remains an iconic album for a generation that had yet to see the Berlin Wall fall and communism end. It was the Reagan era and the excess wasn't ready to be tossed aside. Guns N Roses gave us sex, drugs, and rock and roll with no apologies. 

Welcome to the Jungle

It's So Easy

Nightrain

Out Ta Get Me

Mr. Brownstone

Paradise City

My Michelle 

Think About You

Sweet Child O Mine

You're Crazy

Anything Goes

Rocket Queen

 

May 18th ...

I give this blog post over to dear friend Jeff Buckner. His similar pain I felt with loss of David Bowie. Chris Cornell's sudden and tragic loss still stings. Why - so many ask. Jeff hits home with music. Music, to some of us, is family. They are an older brother, sister, lover, friend ... music can give you peace, make you think ... music can give you a friend in time of need. Thank you Jeff for sharing - may we all find peace soon with our losses, something I fear, Chris never found with the loss of Andrew Wood, Layne Staley, or Jeff Buckley.

May 18th

By Jeff Buckner 
Let's go back to May 18th, 2017. I had just awoken to the news of Chris Cornell passing. it hit like a thunderbolt, so unexpected, so quick, so much pain entered my heart. a sledgehammer to the soul. As much as I love music, really only two bands stand above the rest. Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden. Chris Cornell's music had got me through so many dark times. His lyrics we're jumping off the records into my brain into my soul..... his voice went through me like a supernatural being. I look up to many a musician, John Bonham, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones, Bon Scott. But then there was Chris Cornell, there was just always something about his music and his lyrics and just the person that he was that appealed to me from a very early age. The character that he was, the swagger, the voice, the poet. Not since Jim Morrison had I heard another human being speak so beautifully in songs. And then to find out his death was from suicide. I mean this is Chris fucking Cornell that's why it's so deep! Every musical artist is tortured in some way. That's what makes their art so beautiful. But if Chris Cornell, a father of three a husband, a son, a brother, a Rockstar can be taken down by depression.... a disease that affects 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. That's beyond heavy, it hits home. This is a guy who had everything to live for and yet couldn't beat the demons Inside of his head. That's some heavy shit. Here we are almost 7 weeks later. I can't shake it, I can't get over it, it's a bereavement so fucking heavy. I lost a brother.... an older brother. Growing up all of my brothers were shit. Friends sucked. But there was always my music, there was always Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, always Chris Cornell. 

I write this now in memoriam to a man I never personally met, but to a man who saved my life more than once. Continuing to do so each day I get up to listen to his songs, albums. So I guess, in short, thank you Chris Cornell for being a brother and a friend. 

Whenever Chris lost a friend, and he lost a lot of friends, he would make art for them in words and song. So I wrote this for him. Thank you for your beautiful gift of creating listenable art. Rest in Paradise, Chris Cornell.