In the summer of 1987, the hard rock and heavy metal landscape changed forever. Whether any of us knew what was about to happen is still a subject of debate, but the fact is this: GUNS N’ ROSES dropped a bombshell on the world that year with Appetite for Destruction.
Now, I was initially resistant to this band. The first time I saw the video for “Welcome to the Jungle,” I wanted to do some bad things to people. I hated it that much. Several of my friends tried to turn me around once school started, but I was still mega-resistant.
Eventually, one of my Catholic school cronies convinced me to listen to the tape — yeah, that’s right, TAPE! — and when I did, I was like, “WOW!” Next thing I knew, I was high-speed dubbing myself a copy, one that didn’t leave my trusty Walkman for weeks.
I even grew to love “Jungle.”
It was my freshman year at Chaminade High School, a place I hated more than anything on Earth, and during my 40-minute bus ride to and from school, I listened to the shit out of this record.
This was raw, unbridled rock ’n’ roll carefully packaged to appeal to the hair metal demographic. But there was no gimmick here. Oh, no. This band was loud and in your face. Arena-ready hooks crossed with punk-rock swagger and a “Fuck you, I don’t care if you ARE important!” middle finger made GUNS N’ ROSES dangerous on every level.
Anytime girls heard them, there was guaranteed turbulence in the underwear, and every guy wanted to play and sing like them.
Axl Rose might be a fucking asshole [maybe he’s changed, as some say], but on every song on this disc, he is absolute gold. Slash played guitar like a gladiator in the fighting pit across all 12 tracks, as if he might never get another shot if he didn’t nail this one. Yet somehow, he made it look effortless with that ever-present top hat and cigarette.
Steven Adler was imperfect on the drums, but he had a heart and groove you simply can’t manufacture. Duff McKagan sometimes made his bass sound like the biggest instrument in the room. Izzy Stradlin also played his ass off, and together, these five guys made magic that was thankfully put to tape and preserved forever.
“It’s So Easy” is one of those songs I listened to over and over, especially during Christmas break from school. The attitude of this fucker made me wanna take on the world.
“Nightrain” is a booze-soaked journey into the unknown, and I loved every second of it, while “Out Ta Get Me” was absolutely dirty, sleazy, and fucking larger than life when the whole band came together.
I can remember sitting at the island in my old kitchen back in Massapequa, New York, trying to do my homework but constantly air-drumming with my pens or strumming my imaginary guitar.
Then “Mr. Brownstone” comes on, and all fucking bets are off.
This is still one of my favorite numbers by the band. It’s sexy as fuck and totally embodies that we-don’t-give-a-shit attitude.
But none of this could prepare me for what came next.
“Paradise City.”
Six minutes and 46 seconds of pure perfection.
This song became my anthem, the one I had to cue up in the Walkman every morning before school and every afternoon when it was over. I couldn’t NOT walk to music, and this tune was my theme for longer than I can remember.
Even though radio stations, sports arenas, and just about everyone else have beaten it to death over the years, when “Paradise City” comes on, I still turn that dial all the way to the right.
You do, too. Don’t act like you don’t.
“My Michelle” opens side two in fine fashion, and any girl in our area named Michelle had to deal with all kinds of teenage boys warbling the chorus at them.
Poor ladies.
Then we come to one of my absolute favorites on the record. It was a favorite in 1987 and ’88, and it remains one to this day.
“Think About You” is wonderful because it’s a heavy rocker, but during the choruses, you can hear the acoustic guitar driving the point home. Thank you, Tom Zutaut, for fighting to have that in the mix.
I also dedicated it to my ninth-grade girlfriend, Jessica. I’m sure she wanted something slow and ballad-like, but this was the one that always made me think about her.
See what I did there?
We all know what a mega-smash “Sweet Child O’ Mine” became, and there’s no disputing it. The song took GUNS N’ ROSES to another level and gave Slash one of the most recognizable guitar parts of his career.
Did it get overplayed? Absolutely. These days, I still can’t make it through the whole thing without turning the dial, but at the time, it was pure magic.
“You’re Crazy” and “Anything Goes” are further testaments to the band’s hell-raising attitude, packed with more dirty riffs and sleazy grooves. Then closer “Rocket Queen” arrives and remains, to these ears, one of the sexiest songs ever recorded.
When I was learning to play drums that year, this was one of the songs I tried — and failed — to play along with. It’s an amazing way to close an album the likes of which we’ll probably never see again.
I hated GUNS N’ ROSES when I first heard them. They made me sick.
But that’s the thing about music: Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper.
I spent the entire fall of 1987 and most of 1988 listening to Appetite for Destruction over and over again. And even though I have no desire to see or hear the band in its current incarnation, I’ll forever treasure the memories tied to this landmark album: first kisses, first shots of Canadian Club, and good times with the boys and girls I still see to this day.
And that’s why Appetite for Destruction will forever be one of my Classic Albums.
—THE MAESTRO
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