Appetite for Destruction

Appetite for Destruction
Studio album by Guns N' Roses
Released July 21, 1987
Recorded March–April 1987
Studio Rumbo Studios, Canoga Park, CA; Take One Studio, Burbank, CA; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA and Can Am Studio, Tarzana, CA
Genre
Length 53:51
Label Geffen
Producer Mike Clink
Guns N' Roses chronology
Appetite for Destruction
(1987)		 G N' R Lies
(1988)
Singles from Appetite for Destruction
  1. "It's So Easy"
    Released: June 15, 1987
  2. "Welcome to the Jungle"
    Released: October 3, 1987
  3. "Sweet Child o' Mine"
    Released: August 17, 1988
  4. "Paradise City"
    Released: November 30, 1988
  5. "Nightrain"
    Released: July 29, 1989

Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records to massive commercial success. It topped the Billboard 200 and became the best-selling debut album as well as the 11th best-selling album in the United States. With about 30 million copies sold worldwide, it is also one of the best-selling records ever. Although critics were ambivalent toward the album when it was first released, Appetite for Destruction has since received retrospective acclaim and been viewed as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Background

Axl Rose stated that many of the songs on the album were written while the band was performing on the Los Angeles club circuit, and a number of songs that would be featured on later Guns N' Roses albums were considered for Appetite for Destruction, such as "Back Off Bitch", "You Could Be Mine", "November Rain" and "Don't Cry". It is said that the reason for not putting "November Rain" on it was because they had already agreed to put "Sweet Child 'O Mine" on it and thus already had a ballad on the album (however, both Use Your Illusion albums would contain more than one ballad).[1][2]

The band started searching for someone to produce their debut, mostly recommendations made by Geffen executive Tom Zutaut. Demos were recorded under both Manny Charlton and Spencer Proffer, with some work made with the latter being issued in the EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide.[3] One of the interviewed prospects was Kiss' Paul Stanley, rejected after insisting on changes to Steven Adler's drum setup and the songs. The band considered Robert John Lange, but he proved too expensive to hire. Eventually Mike Clink, who had produced several Triumph records, was chosen,[4] for being the first to record the band exactly the way they wanted.[3]

Recording and production

After some weeks of rehearsal, the band entered Daryl Dragon's Rumbo Recorders in January 1987. Two weeks were spent recording basic tracks, with Clink splicing together the best takes with his razor blade. Clink worked eighteen-hour days for the next month, with Slash overdubbing in the afternoon and evening, and Rose performing vocals. Slash struggled to find a guitar sound before coming up with a Gibson Les Paul copy plugged into a Marshall amplifier. He spent hours with Clink paring down and structuring his solos. The total budget for the album was about $370,000.[2] According to drummer Steven Adler, the percussion was done in just six days, but Rose's vocals took much longer as he insisted on doing them one line at a time, in a perfectionism that drove the rest of the band away from the studio as he worked.[5] Final overdubs and mixing were done at Mediasound Studios, and mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City.[6]

Many of the songs on Appetite For Destruction began as solo tracks that individual band members wrote separate from the band, only to be completed later. These songs include "It's So Easy" (Duff McKagan) and "Think About You" (Izzy Stradlin). "Rocket Queen" was an unfinished Slash/McKagan/Adler song that was written from their earlier band Road Crew, whereas "Anything Goes", written by Hollywood Rose and included in their compilation album The Roots of Guns N' Roses, was later re-written for Appetite. Most of the songs reflect the band's personal experiences and daily life, such as "Welcome to the Jungle", some of the lyrics of which Rose wrote after he encountered a man in New York shortly after arriving there from Indiana in 1980,[7] and "Mr. Brownstone", which is about the band's problems with heroin. Lyrics to some of the songs focus on the band members' younger years, like "Out ta Get Me", which focuses on lead singer Axl Rose's constant trouble with the law as a youth in Indiana.[8]

Artwork

The artwork originally planned for Appetite for Destruction

The album's originally planned cover art, based on Robert Williams' painting "Appetite for Destruction", depicted a robotic rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After several music retailers refused to stock the album, the label compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with an image 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. In a 2016 interview, Billy White Jr. explained, "The cross and skulls that looked like the band was Axl’s idea, the rest was me. The knot work in the cross was a reference to Thin Lizzy, a band Axl and I both loved.”[9]

The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John, Marc Canter, Jack Lue, Leonard McCardie, and Greg Freeman. The original cover was supposed to be on the 2008 vinyl reissue, though the record label replaced it with the "Skulls" art at the last minute.[10]

The band stated the artwork is "a symbolic social statement, with the robot representing the industrial system that's raping and polluting our environment."[11] In albums which were issued on double sided media (vinyl records and audio cassettes) the two sides were not conventionally labeled "A" and "B", but "G" and "R". Tracks 1–6 which compose side "G" all deal with drugs and hard life in the big city ("Guns" side). The remaining tracks, which compose side "R", all deal with love, sex and relationships ("Roses" side). In an interview with That Metal Show in 2011, Axl stated his original idea for the cover art was to be the photo of the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding, which was on the cover of Time magazine in 1986, but Geffen refused it saying it was "in bad taste".[12]

Reception and legacy

Appetite for Destruction debuted at number 182 on the Billboard 200 in the week of August 29, 1987. It did not top the chart until August 6, 1988, after the band had toured and received radio and music video airplay with singles such as "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City".[13] It spent four nonconsecutive weeks at number-one on the chart,[14] and a total of 147 weeks on the Billboard 200.[15] By September 2008, it had been certified 18× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped 18 million copies in the United States,[16] making it the country's 11th best-selling album ever.[17] According to Billboard in 2008, it is also the best-selling debut album of all time in the US.[18] That year, Sky News reported the album's worldwide sales to be approximately 28 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.[19] More recent figures have it at approximately 30,000,000 sold worldwide.[20]

When Appetite for Destruction was first released, music critics complained that its massive success with consumers was fostered by the taboo of "sex, drugs and rock & roll" during the 1980s, when much of the cultural atmosphere in the US became informed by the Reagan-Bush Administration, the AIDS crisis, and the popularity of MTV.[21] In a contemporary review, Dave Ling from Metal Hammer dismissed the album as an inferior mix of elements from bands such as Aerosmith, Hanoi Rocks, and AC/DC.[22] On the other hand, Billboard magazine's Christa Titus later contended that Appetite for Destruction appealed to rock music's various listeners because the band incorporated metal's forceful playing, punk rock's rebellious themes, glam metal's aesthetic, and bluesy guitar riffs that appealed to purists.[13] Nonetheless, it was voted the 26th best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual critics poll run by The Village Voice.[23] In a 1990 review, the poll's creator Robert Christgau graded the album a "B–" and said that Rose's effortless, convincing vocal abilities are undeniable and set him apart from his contemporaries. However, he found his performance undermined by questionable lyrics that reveal darker ideas: "He doesn't love Night Train, he loves alcoholism. And once that sweet child o' his proves her devotion by sucking his cock for the portacam, the evil slut is ready for 'See me hit you you fall down.'"[24]

In a retrospective review for The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Ann Powers gave Appetite for Destruction five stars and wrote that Guns N' Roses produced a unique mix of different rock values such as "speed and musicianship, flash and dirt", on an album that changed hard rock's sensibilities at the time.[25] Stephen Thomas Erlewine also viewed it as a "turning point for hard rock" in his five-star review for AllMusic and felt Rose's singing and songwriting are enhanced by Slash and Stradlin's dual guitar playing, which helped make Appetite for Destruction "the best metal record of the late '80s".[26] According to Jimmy Martin of The Quietus, as the 1980s' best hard rock album, Appetite for Destruction had an unrefined, punk quality that marked a shift away from hair metal bands commercialized by MTV.[27] Nonetheless, Chuck Eddy named it one of his essential hair metal records and wrote in Spin, "[It was] the greatest album ever made about how you can't run away from yourself",[28] while BBC Music's Dennis O'Dell said the engagingly hedonistic album remains the band's best,[29] as did Ric Albano of Classic Rock magazine: "this band would never again reach this level of importance and breakthrough originality."[30] In a 2000 list, Q named it one of the greatest metal albums ever and hailed it as "a riotous celebration of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll".[31] On the other hand, Sputnikmusic believed the album has been somewhat overrated and that most of the songs suffer by comparison with the highlights "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Paradise City", "Mr. Brownstone", and "Rocket Queen".[32]

Accolades

According to Acclaimed Music, Appetite for Destruction is the 61st most ranked record on critics' all-time lists.[33]

Track listing

Credits via the album's liner notes.[6]

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Welcome to the Jungle"  Guns N' Roses 4:31
2. "It's So Easy"  
 3:21
3. "Nightrain"  Guns N' Roses 4:26
4. "Out ta Get Me"  Guns N' Roses 4:20
5. "Mr. Brownstone"  Guns N' Roses 3:46
6. "Paradise City"  Guns N' Roses 6:46
7. "My Michelle"  Guns N' Roses 3:39
8. "Think About You"  Guns N' Roses 3:50
9. "Sweet Child o' Mine"  Guns N' Roses 5:55
10. "You're Crazy"  Guns N' Roses 3:16
11. "Anything Goes"  
 3:25
12. "Rocket Queen"  Guns N' Roses 6:13
Total length:
 53:52

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]

Guns N' Roses

Production

Design

  • Robert Williams – "Appetite For Destruction" painting
  • Michael Hodgson – art direction and design
  • Robert John – photography
  • Jack Lue – photography
  • Greg Freeman – photography
  • Marc Canter – photography
  • Leonard McCardie – photography
  • Tom Zutaut – A&R coordination
  • Teresa Ensenat – A&R coordination
  • Stravinski Brothers – career affairs
  • Alan Niven – career affairs
  • Boulevard Management – business affairs
  • Bill White Jr. – cross tattoo design
  • Andy Engell – cross tattoo redrawing

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[49] 7
Austrian Albums Chart[49] 3
Canadian Albums Chart[50] 7
Dutch Albums Chart[49] 3
French Albums Chart[49] 166
German Albums Chart[49] 11
Irish Albums Chart[49] 11
Italian Albums Chart[49] 58
New Zealand Albums Chart[49] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[49] 9
Swedish Albums Chart[49] 32
Swiss Albums Chart[49] 7
UK Albums Chart[51] 5
US Billboard 200[52] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[53] 3× Platinum 180,000*
Australia (ARIA)[54] 7× Platinum 490,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[55] Platinum 50,000*
Brazil (ABPD)[56] Platinum 250,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[57] Diamond 1,000,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[58] Gold 25,000[58]
France (SNEP)[59] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[60] Platinum 500,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[61] Platinum 200,000^
Italy (FIMI)[62] Gold 50,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[63] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] Platinum 15,000^
Sweden (GLF)[65] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[66] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[67] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[68] 18× Platinum 18,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ "''Axl/Slash Interview'', 1988". Hem.passagen.se. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Hiatt, Brian (August 2007). "The Making of 'Appetite for Destruction'". Rolling Stone Australia (1032). Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  3. 1 2 Slash; Bozza, Anthony (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment. pp. 151–153. ISBN 978-0-00-725775-1.
  4. ↑ McKagan, Duff; Mohr, Tim (2011). It's So Easy (and other Lies). Simon & Schuster. pp. 118, 120.
  5. ↑ Adler, Steven; Spagnola, Lawrence J. (2010). My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses. It Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-06-191711-0.
  6. 1 2 3 Appetite for Destruction liner notes. Geffen Records. 1987.
  7. ↑ Ellin, Doug (July 27, 2007). "Welcome to the Jungle". TV.com. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  8. ↑ Slash (2008), p.109
  9. ↑ Redding, Dan. "The Story of Guns N' Roses' 'Appetite for Destruction' Album Cover". Culture Creature. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Album cover info at". Musicstack.com. February 9, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  11. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (August 16, 1987). "Geffen's Guns N' Roses Fires A Volley At PMRC". LATimes.com. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ Sciarretto, Amy (November 12, 2011). "'That Metal Show' Recap: Axl Rose Talks Lateness, Slash + Original 'Appetite' Cover". Loudwire. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Titus, Christa (July 21, 2012). "Guns N' Roses, 'Appetite For Destruction' at 25: Classic Track-By-Track". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  14. ↑ Slash (2008), p.257
  15. ↑ "Billboard 200: Week of August 29, 1987 Biggest Jump".
  16. ↑ "Top 100 Albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Mike Clink". Guitar Center. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ask Billboard: Best Selling Debut Album, Dido, Australian Acts Trying To Crack The U.S. Market". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Guns N' Roses New Album Looms". Sky News. October 23, 2008. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  20. ↑ Bill Wyman (4 January 2013). "Did "Thriller" Really Sell a Hundred Million Copies?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Sons of Aerosmith". Musician (118): 35–45. August 1988.
  22. ↑ Martin, Jimmy (July 27, 2012). "Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction – 25 Years On". The Quietus. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  23. ↑ "The 1988 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. February 28, 1989. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 176. ISBN 067973015X.
  25. ↑ Powers, Ann (2 November 2004). "Guns n' Roses". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 351. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  26. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Guns N' Roses – Appetite for Destruction". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  27. ↑ Martin, Jimmy (July 27, 2012). "Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction – 25 Years On". The Quietus. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  28. ↑ Eddy, Chuck. "Essentials – Hair Metal". Spin. New York: 105. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  29. ↑ O'Dell, Dennis (2008). "Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction". BBC Music. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  30. ↑ Albano, Ric (October 1, 2012). "Appetite For Destruction by Guns n Roses". Classic Rock. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Best Metal Albums Of All Time". Q. London: 127. August 2000.
  32. ↑ Med57. "Guns N' Roses – Appetite for Destruction (album review 8)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Guns N' Roses". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  34. ↑ 100 best albums of the 80's: 27: Guns n' Roses, 'Appetite for Destruction' "Guns n' Roses play not so much pure metal as unalloyed hard rock that listeners who cut their teeth on the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls can appreciate."
  35. ↑ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Guns N' Roses, 'Appetite for Destruction' : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  36. ↑ "In our Lifetime #2". Q magazine. October 1, 2001. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  37. ↑ "Rocklist.net...Q & Mojo Magazine Special Editions Vol.1". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  38. ↑ "VH1 Ranks 100 Best Rock Albums". Associated Press. January 4, 2001. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  39. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". Pitchforkmedia.com. November 20, 2002. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  40. ↑ Barger, Al (July 3, 2005). "Spin magazine's 100 Greatest Albums 1985–2005". Blog Critics magazine. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  41. ↑ "Guns N' Roses news:". Here Today Gone to Hell. March 4, 2004. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
  42. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  43. ↑ "The 200 Definitive Albums Of All Time Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2007 at EIL.COM, home of Esprit International Limited". Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  44. ↑ Q August 2006, Issue 241
  45. ↑ "Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Albums Of All Time". Rate Your Music. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  46. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-20120524
  47. ↑ Slant Staff (March 5, 2012). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  48. ↑ Daultrey, Stephen (July 20, 2012). "Classic Albums: Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction". Clash. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  49. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Guns N' Roses – Appetite for Destruction" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  50. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums". RPM. September 17, 1988. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  51. ↑ Churchill, Michael. British Albums Chart – All Time Top 1000. Official Charts Company. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-291-56977-3.
  52. ↑ "Appetite for Destruction – Guns N' Roses: Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  53. ↑ "Argentinian album certifications – Guns – Appetite For D". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  54. ↑ NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for AUSTRALIAN CERTIFICATION.
  55. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Guns N' Roses in the field Interpret. Enter Appetite For Destruction in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  56. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
  57. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Guns 'N Roses – Appetite For Destruction". Music Canada.
  58. 1 2 "Guns N'Roses" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  59. ↑ "French album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  60. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Guns N' Roses; 'Appetite For Destruction')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  61. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1994年月 on the drop-down menu
  62. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Guns'N' Roses – Appetite for Destruction" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Guns'N' Roses in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  63. ↑ "Certificaciones – Guns N'roses" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas.
  64. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Guns N'roses – Appetite For Destruction". Recorded Music NZ.
  65. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  66. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Guns N' Roses; 'Appetite For Destruction')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  67. ↑ "British album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Appetite For Destruction in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  68. ↑ "American album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

Preceded by
Hysteria by Def Leppard
Hysteria by Def Leppard
Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown		 Billboard 200 number-one album
6–12 August 1988
24 September – 14 October 1988
5–11 February 1989 		Succeeded by
Hysteria by Def Leppard
New Jersey by Bon Jovi
Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown
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