Guns N' Roses
Appetite For Destruction

The other day I was browsing through my records and I found "Appetite for Destruction" by Guns'N'Roses, abandoned on the shelf for a long time, the debut album that has sold the most of all time.
I remember them from when I was a kid, listening to the Guns, and I still like them a lot, they seem more genuine in this first CD of theirs compared to other bands (who said Metallica?), although they later got lost in various crap over time. Coming back to the CD: I find it, listen to it, and everything else, so I head over to DeBaser looking for a review and find only that abomination that doesn't do justice to this great hard rock CD. But let's get back to MY review.

The album was released in 1987 and its success was driven by the movie Terminator, which featured one of the most important songs by the 5 American rockers: "Welcome to the Jungle". And it's precisely with "Welcome to the Jungle" that Appetite begins, what can I say.. It’s definitely a masterpiece of hard rock, decisive riffs, Axl Rose's vitriolic voice, a solo as technical (even if Slash's scales are always the same) as rude, raw, street-smart, introducing us hopefully to the listening. They're definitely good; you immediately understand that they have that something extra compared to other bands of the same era, the lyrics are always the same but they have something extra that hits straight in the face like a punch: the music.

Musically, the Guns are impeccable, riffs at the right point, bass lines that serve to pump the song, Duff & Izzy's backing vocals placed at the right spot. And all this is understood only from the first song, undoubtedly the most beautiful of the entire LP. The second song (let's globalize) is the classic song for a satisfying blast in the car, "It's So Easy" is indeed a fast, short song, with dirty riffs and guitars blasted to the max, with an initial bass line for an immediate pogo. A nice song, the lyrics are also amusing, and seeing Axl live making the jerk-off gesture when singing "Bull eyes every night...." is really cool. Moving on to the third song: "Nightrain". I find it very underrated; I must say I really like the start with Matt Sorum's four-four beat and immediately the entrance of Slash and Izzy with the guitars, right into a solo. The lyrics are confusing, chaotic, like almost all those in "Appetite", but in the end, the song is catchy and pleasant. That’s not the case with the fourth track, "Out ta get me": there's nothing to do, I hate this song. Boring, predictable riffs, irritating voice. A candidate for the worst on the CD. Then comes "Mr. Brownstone", the fifth track. The start of drums and whistling guitar is a delight, the song talks about drug problems (of the band?), then the rhythm is what it is, certainly exciting and frenetic. The sixth is "Paradise City", a masterpiece by Guns N' Roses according to many, in my opinion, just a nice hard rock song, nothing more. After a few listens, this song bores me. I skip the various "My Michelle" and "Think About You" and go straight to "Sweet Child o' Mine", the masterpiece. Melodic, sweet, clean. The Pink Floyd-style solo is something spectacular, towards the end it becomes hardened, with Axl's voice turning from melodic to harsh, once again scratched. I skip again "You're Crazy" (nice song, anyway) and "Anything Goes" and reach "Rocket Queen", another decent song, first fast, then slow, then fast again, then a slow ending.

General considerations about the CD: after dwelling more or less on all the songs, I can say that this CD might have sold more than warranted thanks to the Guns' image, but it certainly does not deserve less in its genre. Apart from 3 off notes, "Out Ta Get Me", "Think About You", and "Anything Goes" the CD showcases all songs absolutely above average. Five seemed exaggerated, maybe I'll get some criticism for giving it 4/5, but other CDs are a 5, like "Back In Black", just to name my all-time favorite. The fact remains that the Guns have certainly written an important page of hard rock, with their strange mixture of rock, punk, blues and above all the cross and delight of the Roses, 5 members all 5 charismatic, which probably led to their partial breakup.