The moment I heard the opening riff of "Welcome to the Jungle" I knew this album was different from the other rock albums popular at the time. It was an album I had to have. Unfortunately, there was one stumbling block: Mom.
Appetite for Destruction was marked with a parental advisory sticker for explicit lyrics. (Thanks a lot, Tipper Gore!) So, my Mom would absolutely not buy it for me. Well, I did what any kid would do: I had a friend copy it for me. And I wore the tape out from listening to it over and over and over.
Appetite is a provocative album indeed. The album was filled with references to heroin, rape, pornography and binge drinking. I can understand why parents would be reluctant to allow their children to listen to such an album. This album did push me in a new direction of music. My rock days began with artists such as Bon Jovi, Poison and Scorpions. The discovery of Appetite began my journey towards acts such as Motley Crue, Metallica and Twisted Sister.
To me, Appetite for Destruction was the best album of the 1980s. (Sorry, MJ.) Not necessarily for how great it was, but for what it was. It was an album which redefined rock music. In an instant, the landscape changed from "Armageddon It" to "Paradise City". Granted, Appetite did include the more hairbandesque "Sweet Child O' Mine", but the other tracks on the album totally kicked the shit out of anything Poison or Bon Jovi had to offer at the time. (Bon Jovi is still my all-time favorite band, so keep that in mind when digesting the previous statement and just how great Appetite truly is.)
Guns N' Roses' debut album shocked, inspired and revolutionized hard rock. With songs such as "Out Ta Get Me", "Mr. Brownstone" and "Rocket Queen" (Which has one of my favorite lines of all time: "I can turn on anyone just like I turned on you.") it was, and still is, miles beyond Hysteria or Open Up and Say Ahhh. Even though I wrote in an earlier blog post GnR did not deserve R&RHOF induction, a belief I still stand by 100 percent, they did release the best album of the 1980s and one which is in my top five of all time. (Coming attraction alert!) It is one of the few albums I can listen to from start to finish without skipping a track. So all you rock fans out there, dig out this GnR classic and satisfy your appetite for great hard rock.
