Appetite for Destruction
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Appetite for Destruction is the 1987 debut album by Los Angeles-based hard rock band Guns N' Roses. The album combines elements of heavy metal, hard rock, and blues-rock.
Appetite for Destruction reached number one on the US Albums Chart, and has since certified 15x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2] The album has accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 28 million.[citation needed] Appetite for Destruction is ranked the fourth best-selling debut album in the United States.[3]
Origins
While the songwriting credits are indiscriminately credited to all five band members, many of the songs began as solo tracks that individual band members wrote in the pre-Guns N' Roses era, only to be completed by the band. 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" (Rose wrote the lyrics while in Seattle about an incident in New York City)[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".
Cover art
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 several music retailers refused to stock the album, they compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with a cover depicting a cross and skulls of the five band members (designed by Billy White Jr., originally as a tattoo), each skull representing one member of the band: Izzy Stradlin, top skull; Steven Adler, left skull; Axl Rose, center skull; Duff McKagan, right skull; and Slash, bottom skull. The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John (photographer).
Achievements
- 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.[5]
- In 2001, Q magazine named Appetite for Destruction as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.[6]
- In 2003, VH1 named Appetite for Destruction the 42nd Greatest Album of All Time.[7]
- It was ranked 18 in Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005".[8]
- Kerrang! magazine recently compiled a 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever list of which Appetite for Destruction was ranked #1.[9]
- In 2004 the album was voted number 1 by fans in Metal Hammer magazine's greatest albums of all time list. Rolling Stone recently devoted their cover to the album's 20th Anniversary, July 2007.[10]
Track listing
# | Title | Length | Music by | Lyrics by |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | 4:34 | Duff McKagan, Slash | Rose |
2 | "It's So Easy" | 3:22 | Duff McKagan, West Arkeen | |
3 | "Nightrain" | 4:28 | Izzy Stradlin, McKagan, Slash | Rose, McKagan |
4 | "Out ta Get Me" | 4:23 | Stradlin, Slash | Rose, Stradlin |
5 | "Mr. Brownstone" | 3:48 | Stradlin | Stradlin |
6 | "Paradise City" | 6:46 | Stradlin, McKagan, Slash | Rose, McKagan |
7 | "My Michelle" | 3:39 | Stradlin | Rose |
8 | "Think About You" | 3:51 | Stradlin | |
9 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | 5:56 | Stradlin, Slash | Rose |
10 | "You're Crazy" | 3:17 | Slash, Stradlin | Rose, Stradlin |
11 | "Anything Goes" | 3:26 | Stradlin, Chris Weber | Rose, Stradlin |
12 | "Rocket Queen" | 6:13 | Stradlin, Slash | Rose |
Personnel
- Axl Rose – lead vocals, synthesizer
- Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
- Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals
- Steven Adler – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- 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
Chart positions
Album
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1988 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
1989 |
Singles
Year | Song | Chart | Peak position[11] |
---|---|---|---|
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 |
References
- ^ ""Appetite for Destruction"". GN'R Source.com. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ "Diamond Awards". RIAA. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ "Featured artist - Guns N' Roses". Billboard 200. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ Ellin, Doug (2007-07-27). ""Welcome to the Jungle"". TV.com.
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ignored (help) - ^ ""Appetite for Destruction - Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"". Rolling Stone. 2003-11-03. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ "In our Lifetime #2". Q magazine. 2001-10-01. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ "VH1 Ranks 100 Best Rock Albums". The Associated Press. 2001-01-04. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ Barger, Al (2005-07-03). "Spin magazine's 100 Greatest Albums 1985-2005". Blog Critics magazine. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ "Guns N' Roses news:". Here Today Gone to Hell. 2004-03-04. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ Hiatt, Brian (2007-07-27). "How Guns N' Roses Mixed Drugs, Punk, and Classic Rock to Make 'Appetite for Destruction'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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(help) - ^ "Artist Chart History - Guns N' Roses - Singles". Billboard 200. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
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