Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (LP) Vinyl

Appetite For Destruction is the debut studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on 21 July 1987 by Geffen Records. It arrived with little fanfare and went on to become the best-selling debut album in United States history.

The Album

The album was recorded between 18 January and 23 June 1987 with producer Mike Clink, at Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park, Take One Studios in Burbank and Can-Am Recorders, and was mixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero at Mediasound in New York City. Most of its themes reflect the band's own experiences and daily life, including their youth. All twelve songs are credited to Guns N' Roses, with West Arkeen co-writing "It's So Easy" and Chris Weber co-writing "Anything Goes".

Mainstream attention was slow in coming. The record entered the Billboard 200 at number 182 in August 1987 and sold only around 200,000 copies in its first months, to the point that Geffen considered walking away from it. Constant touring, and the label persuading MTV to air the "Welcome to the Jungle" video, changed that. The album eventually reached number one on the Billboard 200, spending four non-consecutive weeks at the top, and peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart. Five singles were taken from it: "It's So Easy" backed with "Mr. Brownstone", "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Paradise City" and "Nightrain". "Sweet Child o' Mine" went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Certified 18 times platinum in the United States, the album has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

The Artwork

The sleeve was originally to carry Robert Williams' painting Appetite for Destruction. After several music retailers refused to stock the album, Geffen moved the painting inside and replaced the front cover with a Celtic cross and five skulls, one for each member of the band: Izzy Stradlin at the top, Steven Adler on the left, Axl Rose in the centre, Duff McKagan on the right and Slash at the bottom. The image came from a tattoo drawn by Billy White Jr., who explained in a 2016 interview: "The cross and skulls that looked like the band was Axl's idea, the rest was me. The knot work in the cross was a reference to Thin Lizzy, a band Axl and I both loved." Art direction and design are by Michael Hodgson, with the band photography on the rear sleeve by Robert John, Marc Canter, Jack Lue, Leonard McCardie and Greg Freeman.

On double-sided formats the two sides are labelled G and R rather than the conventional A and B. The six songs on the "Guns" side deal with drugs and hard life in the big city; the six on the "Roses" side deal with love, sex and relationships.

This Pressing

This is the Geffen reissue on 180 gram black vinyl, a single LP carrying the catalogue number 00720642414811 on its labels and made in the EU for Universal International Music. It comes in a standard single-pocket sleeve with the cross and skulls artwork, the Parental Advisory badge incorporated into the front cover design, and a printed inner sleeve holding the lyrics and credits on one side and the original Robert Williams painting on the other. The runouts carry the Sterling Sound stamp along with the 4241481 lacquer number of the European remaster; the album was originally mastered for LP by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York City.

Tracklist

Side G

1. Welcome To The Jungle (4:31)
2. It's So Easy (3:21)
3. Nightrain (4:26)
4. Out Ta Get Me (4:20)
5. Mr. Brownstone (3:46)
6. Paradise City (6:46)

Side R

1. My Michelle (3:39)
2. Think About You (3:50)
3. Sweet Child O' Mine (5:55)
4. You're Crazy (3:15)
5. Anything Goes (3:25)
6. Rocket Queen (6:13)