Appetite For Destruction was Guns N’ Roses debut studio album. It was released July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records to massive commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 and eventually becoming the best-selling debut album in the United States. With more than 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.
Track listing
1. “Welcome to the Jungle”
2. “It’s So Easy”
3. “Nightrain”
4. “Out ta Get Me”
5. “Mr. Brownstone”
6. “Paradise City”
7. “My Michelle”
8. “Think About You”
9. “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
10. “You’re Crazy”
11. “Anything Goes”
12. “Rocket Queen”
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Guns N’ Roses debut studio album, Appetite For Destruction, was released on July 21, 1987. Axl Rose has stated that many of the songs featured on the album had been written while the band had been performing on the Los Angeles club circuit
The album's original 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
Paul Stanley Photo By: PRPhotos.com
One of the prospects interviewed to produce the album was KISS' Paul Stanley, only to be 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
$370,000 Budget Photo By: PRPhotos.com
Clink worked eighteen-hour days for the next month, with Slash overdubbing 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
Axl’s Perfectionism Photo By: PRPhotos.com
According to drummer Steven Adler, the percussion was done in just six days, but Axl’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
Rocket Queen Photo By: Tony Jordan / KSHE 95
The last song on the album, "Rocket Queen," was an unfinished song that was written by their earlier band Road Crew. The song made its live debut at the The Troubadour in West Hollywood in September 1985 and was the song the band was performing when the infamous Riverport Riot occurred on July 2, 1991
Best-Selling Debut Album Photo By: PRPhotos.com
The album has sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide, including more than 18 million units sold in the United States. It's the best-selling record released on the Geffen label and the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S.