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Appetite for Destruction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Appetite for Destruction | |||||
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| Studio album by Guns N' Roses | |||||
| Released | July 21, 1987 | ||||
| Recorded | Rumbo Studios, Canoga Park, California; Take One Studio, Burbank, California; Can Am Studio, Tarzana, California[1] | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 53:49 | ||||
| Label | Geffen | ||||
| Producer | Mike Clink | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Guns N' Roses chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
The original, banned cover
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Appetite for Destruction is the 1987 debut album from Los Angeles-based hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which combined elements of heavy metal, punk rock, and blues-rock. The album reached #1 on the Billboard 200, and is certified 15x platinum by the RIAA.[2] Worldwide sales exceed 26 million. This album is the fourth best-selling debut album in the United States.[3]
Contents |
While the songwriting credits are indiscriminately credited to all five band members, many of the songs were solo tracks that individual band members wrote in the pre-Guns N' Roses era. These songs include "It's So Easy" and "Nightrain" (McKagan), "Mr. Brownstone", "Anything Goes" and "Think About You" (Stradlin). "Paradise City" and "Rocket Queen" were unfinished Rose/McKagan and Rose/Stradlin demos respectively that the band wrote in their early career.
Other songs on the album reflect the band's reaction to the debauchery of the L.A. rock and roll underground, such as "Welcome to the Jungle" (ironically, Rose wrote the lyrics while in Seattle)[4] and "Out ta Get Me", as well as their assorted female companions, reflected in the songs "Sweet Child o' Mine","Think About You", "My Michelle", "You're Crazy" and "Rocket Queen".
The album is among the best selling albums in history; at least 15 million copies were sold in the United States alone. However, one year after it was released in 1987, the album had sold only 500,000 copies.[5]
The album's original cover, based on the Robert Williams painting "Appetite for Destruction", depicted a robot rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After MTV refused to play any videos by the band, they compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with a cover depicting a cross and skulls of the five band members, each skull representing one member of the band:
- Top skull – Izzy Stradlin
- Left skull – Steven Adler
- Center skull – Axl Rose
- Right skull – Duff McKagan
- Bottom skull – Slash
In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked Appetite for Destruction as the 27th best album of the 1980s. The same magazine later ranked it at sixty-one on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[6] In 2001, Q magazine named Appetite for Destruction as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.[7] In 2003, VH1 named Appetite for Destruction the 42nd Greatest Album of All Time.[8] It was ranked 18 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005".[9] Kerrang! magazine recently compiled a 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever list of which Appetite for Destruction was ranked #1.[10]
Rolling Stone recently devoted their cover to the album's 20th Anniversary, July 2007.[11]
| # | Title | Length | Music by | Lyrics by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | 4:31 | Axl Rose, Slash | Rose |
| 2 | "It's So Easy" | 3:21 | Duff McKagan, West Arkeen | McKagan, Arkeen |
| 3 | "Nightrain" | 4:26 | Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, McKagan | Rose, McKagan |
| 4 | "Out ta Get Me" | 4:20 | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | Rose, Stradlin |
| 5 | "Mr. Brownstone" | 3:46 | Slash, Stradlin | Stradlin |
| 6 | "Paradise City" | 6:46 | Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan | Rose, McKagan |
| 7 | "My Michelle" | 3:39 | Rose, Stradlin | Rose |
| 8 | "Think About You" | 3:50 | Stradlin | Stradlin |
| 9 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | 5:56 | Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan | Rose |
| 10 | "You're Crazy" | 3:15 | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | Rose, Stradlin |
| 11 | "Anything Goes" | 3:25 | Rose, Stradlin, Chris Weber | Rose, Stradlin |
| 12 | "Rocket Queen" | 6:13 | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | Rose |
- W. Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer, percussion
- Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar
- Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals, percussion
- Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals
- Steven Adler – drums
- Mike Clink – producer
- Michael Barbiero – mixing
- Steve Thompson – mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- Victor Deyglio – assistant engineer
- Dave Reitzas – assistant engineer
- Micajah Ryan – assistant engineer
- Julian Stoll – assistant engineer
- Andy Udoff – assistant engineer
- Jeff Poe – assistant engineer
- Robert Williams – paintings
- Michael Hodgson – art direction, design
- Robert John – photography
- Jack Lue – photography
- Greg Freeman – photography
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak position[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1988 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #7 |
| 1988 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Billboard Hot 100 | #7 |
| 1988 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #37 |
| 1988 | "Nightrain" | Billboard Hot 100 | #93 |
| 1989 | "Nightrain" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 26 |
| 1989 | "Paradise City" | Billboard Hot 100 | #5 |
| 1989 | "Paradise City" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #14 |
- ^ "Appetite for Destruction". GN'R Source.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Diamond Awards. RIAA. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ Featured artist - Guns N' Roses. Billboard 200. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Ellin, Doug (2007-07-27). "Welcome to the Jungle". TV.com.
- ^ Wiggins, Keavin. "Antisocial - Appetite for Destruction". Antimusic. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ "Appetite for Destruction - Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone (2003-11-03). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ In our Lifetime #2. Q magazine (2001-10-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ VH1 Ranks 100 Best Rock Albums. The Associated Press (2001-01-04). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Barger, Al (2005-07-03). Spin magazine's 100 Greatest Albums 1985-2005. Blog Critics magazine. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Guns N' Roses news:. Here Today Gone to Hell (2004-03-04). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian (2007-07-27). How Guns N' Roses Mixed Drugs, Punk, and Classic Rock to Make 'Appetite for Destruction'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Artist Chart History - Guns N' Roses - Singles. Billboard 200. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
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| "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" |