Best Album of the 1980s -- Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses

Associated Content ^ | March 13, 2009 | Loran Montgomery

[terabyte]

Nirvana didn't kill hair metal - Guns n' Roses did. With their explosive 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, Guns n' Roses burst out of the Los Angeles glam rock scene and permanently carved a spot in rock history.

This music review places Appetite for Destruction as arguably the best album of the 1980s. From the opening delayed guitar riff of "Welcome to the Jungle" to the incendiary "Paradise City" the the almost 50s flavored ending of "Rocket Queen," the album captures the reality of life on the streets better than any before or since.

Lyrically, the band completely avoided all the traditional trappings of heavy metal. The eccentric but brilliant Axl Rose ensured that there are no Zeppelin-esque Lord of the Rings references, no pseudo-Satanist posturing, not even any of the party-all-the-time silliness of their contemporaries. Instead, there is nothing but a raw dose of five young men living a virtually homeless, penniless existence on the mean streets of LA in the mid-to-late 1980s.

[autumnraine]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[MAD-AS-HELL]

eh, opinions are like aholes, everyone has one. I disagree. In fact, this album was out a long while before people caught on. Not saying the album is bad but hype has something to do with it. As for Nirvana, having been a fan of theirs PRIOR to their selling out, I’d say their first album BLEACH is their best. It’s classic grunge. They abandoned it with Smells Like a SellOut which does have some good songs on it.

But some of the best albums of 80’s come from THE REPLACEMENTS.

[j_k_l]

Axel Rose sings like Gonzo from the Muppet's.



GNR was nothing more than an MTV product. It was all packaging with zero substance.

[KevinB]

I’m waiting for Pissant and Razorboy to chime in and proclaim GNR the most influential band in rock and roll history.

[humblegunner]

Hell yeah!

[Cyber Ninja]

1984

[ETL]

"Appetite for Destruction"

This ought to be the Obama camp's new theme song. They can play it at his rallies.

[cripplecreek]

Yeah. The first Black Sabbath with Ronnie Dio (heaven and hell) was the real deal.

[lefty-lie-spy]

I think I preferred Anthrax’s Among The Living (or anything they did in the 80s) over GnR. I used to hate GnR, but gradually grew to tolerate them. Just because it was a popular album, does not make it “best”. Its really a stupid idea to put that label on one out of hundreds of thousands of CDs that were released over a ten-year span.

[dangus]

I absolutely agree with the first sentence. The moment Axl Rose and Slash appeared on the scene, Bret Michaels and the rest of the hair metal scene suddenly looked like a bunch of nerds, sissies, and lame-asses. What, you need to raid your aunt’s makeup desk to rock?

But best album of the 1980s.... Hmmm.... The Joshua Tree was pretty damned good.

[TnGOP]

NOT a G-N-R fan. However, I do like Velvet Revolver - most of the G-N-R band without Axl Rose.

Best 80's album? Man, I'll be thinking on that one all day.

[dangus]

Nah, I take it back... That was my opinion then, but I can’t say I’d picture having a mood come over me where I’d really need to listen to Joshua Tree. Appetite for Destruction, hell yeah. (Come to think of it, I was a liberal then, too...*)

(* Hey, cradle conservatives: don’t pick on me for having been a liberal. I’ve made an intellectual decision to adopt each plank of conservatism.)

[j_k_l]

"The eccentric but brilliant Axl Rose..."

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty

Such brilliance begs one question.



"is that Bill Shakespeare?"

[TurtleUp]

Speaking of destruction:

"Eve of Destruction" [Bob Dylan]

The eastern world it is explodin',
Violence flarin', bullets loadin',
You're old enough to kill but not for votin',
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin',
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Nn, Can't you feel the fears that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
Handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
And marches alone can't bring integration,
When human respect is disintegratin',
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
But when your return, it's the same old place,
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
Hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. mmm, no, no.
you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

[Guns]

“Take me down to Paradise City,
Where the girls are green
and the grass is pretty”

[dangus]

>> In fact, this album was out a long while before people caught on. Not saying the album is bad but hype has something to do with it. <<

I’m not sure that supports your argument. Successful hype usually means that the album is plastered all over Wal-Mart while people are still scratching their heads, asking, “who?” The truth that the record companie’s original pitch to lead with “Welcome to the Jungle” kinda flopped only supports the notion that the band made it on its own merits.

In a wierd way, the early flop helped them: DJs started picking up on “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” Ordinarily leading with something like that would make a band uncool to the headbanging core market, but I can just hear all the kids saying, “no, dude, they’re a real metal band; remember that song, ‘welcome to the jungle?’ That’s them too and their album has some real rocking stuff.” (OK, they don’t sound like such dorks in my head, but I’m keeping it family friendly.)

Then they RE-released “Jungle” and it, too, became a smash.
Or was THAT just brilliant marketing?

[Terabitten]

The moment Axl Rose and Slash appeared on the scene, Bret Michaels and the rest of the hair metal scene suddenly looked like a bunch of nerds, sissies, and lame-asses

Exactly. That's why I think of it as the most influential album of the 80s. Warrant, Def Leppard, Poison, Loudness, Racer X, Whitesnake, Autograph, Krokus... they all died the Sunday night that MTV finally played "Welcome to the Jungle" at 3:00am.

Here's something no other band can take credit for: the single handed resurrection of an iconic American corporation, Gibson Guitars. In 1987, you couldn't find a Les Paul in a music store. It was all pointy-headstock superstrats with Floyd Rose whammy bars, preferably in a neon pink or green, or with some goofy graphics. Slash & Company, not Henry J, are solely responsible for keeping Gibson out of bankruptcy. When GnR happened, suddenly it was COOL to play Les Pauls again. I got my first LP in 1988 (a 1974 Deluxe, I paid $400), and I play one to this day.

The irony that Slash was playing replicas of Gibson guitars and not actual Gibsons is a topic for another thread, though.

[misterrob]

That was a rock anthem song.....

Not supposed to be deep

I have heard their basic themes in many bands before them. Yeah, they boozed, drugged and partied but until your drummer or lead singer kills themself then you are a lightweight group of posers

[rollo tomasi]

"Instead, there is nothing but a raw dose of five young men living a virtually homeless, penniless existence on the mean streets of LA in the mid-to-late 1980s."

Bah! Their lyrics and music were nothing new or revealing. They sounded like late seventies/early 80's hard rock bands, reminiscent of Riot and of course Aerosmith as well as AC/DC.



is my pick. Helped get me in A in a English Lit. and History as well.