But still - dag nab it all, only about half of their songs really pop me in the jalopy.

But dude. Most of the others just don't do a whole slew for me. Though certainly more interesting than all this faceless "alternative" crap that MTV is tossing at us in '96, these catchy choruses surrounded by barely-noticable verses just aren't enough to satisfy my hungry musical libido. It's not heavy enough to kick the crap out of my poinsettia, and only a few songs are infectious enough to make me smile real big. Strangely, the poppy, oft-ignored "Think About You" is one of those; I like that song a lot. But "My Michelle?" "Anything Goes?" The last two minutes of "Rocket Queen?" No thanks. This might be the best hard rock album recorded in 1987, but what was the competition?

Still, I certainly respect those of you who love the album, and I invite all of you to write in with your own opinions. I'm sure that this classic album is better than I've made it out to be, but I'm just not sure what it is about it that's so appealing to so many kids. Is it rebellion? The cool melodies? Whassup?

Reader Comments

jnw@iglobal.net (Jim Hull)
An album from a band who took the sound from Aerosmith's Rocks, and Never Mind The Bollocks... by the Sex Pistols, and called it their own. Hmmm. Got a tape of this from my little brother in 1989 to see what all the hubbub was about...cursing, stomping, some cheese, some screaming... It's been done before, and better, but I really have only one thing to say negative about this group: (And I base this on not only Appetite, but the rest of the catalog) W. Axl Rose. Jeez. Can you hear the absolute arrogance in this guy's voice?? Even to his own bandmates? Why does he have to hold every ending out to doodle around vocally? Slash plays a fairly kick-ass/Joe Perry solo...who cares?? Axl Rose is "singing", by God--AND YOU'D BETTER LISTEN!! The guy is unique in that he has an instantly recognisable voice, but wow, does he ever stomp on the rest of the band. Embarrassing. But hey, it's just my opinion.

dave@mgagray.com (David Aurand)
I got ahold of this album before it was "in". In fact, I saw these guys OPEN for Motley Crue in Lakeland, Florida back in 1987. They stole the show with their short time on stage (30 minutes). This album/disc has some extremely jammin' tunes on it, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, I never thought anything they did as a whole matched this first load..... Apparantly Axl....got a little too big for his britches.......and the rest of the guys did too much booze and shooting to thrill......that they couldn't regain the momentum.

HDVW143@aol.com
Good cd. The only Guns cd I own. I love "Welcome to the Jungle" and "It's so easy".

SMxMS@aol.com
I can beat your "I Saw Them When..." story by a long mile.

I saw them when they OPENED for The Lords Of The New Church! (circa 1986?'87?)

G.H.A. vanHagen@kub.nl (Gilbert van Hagen)
Great album. My personal favorites are (the lyrics of) "It's so easy" and, of course, "Sweet child o' mine". The album lacks a little in diversity, but I'd still give it nine out of ten. Axl Rose has always struck me as a strong personality who seems responsible for much of the success of this band. Still, it is a shame that his ego problems seem to cause the huge delay in the recording of new material.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
What can i say? This album does kick major ass. And Axl Rose's sometimes very annoying voice doesnt sound bad in this album at all. I really like "Welcome To the Jungle"....but who the fuck doesn't? "Its so Easy" is great...it's a great album...the only song that sucks is "Paradise City"...but nothing else is bad..its well worth your money.. and the best album i have from GNR.

Michael.Stewart@esstech.com
I can't believe that in your review of Appetite for Destruction and in the emails added on there was no mention of Nighttrain. If you don't get the album's appeal, when you're really plastered blast Nighttrain and then you'll know. I'm telling ya right now. By the way, great sight, lotsa good reading on here.

Paulst@wfs.co.uk (Paul Stewardson)
I agree with "HDVW143". The first two songs kick ass but then it all goes a bit gay.

apazoo@hotmail.com (Andrew Pazulla)
The first side of this album is one of the greatest moments in hard rock. My one complaint would be that there's no variation in mood, and the songs are a bit immature. But

1. Welcome to the Jungle ("You can have anything you want, but you better not take it from me")
2. It's so Easy ("I make a fire but I miss the firefight/I hit the bullseye every night")
3. Nighttrain - 2nd favourite
4. Outta get me
5. Mr. Brownstone - my favourite
6. Paradise City

are all great. Listen to the twin guitars... The band seems pathetic now, but at the time no one else was even close. I'd agree that the second side is weaker (aside from Sweet Child) but the first side more than makes up for this. In my opinion, the most exciting hard rock record of the the 80s (sit down Back In Black fans, I agree that that album is great, but this is better in my mind due to stronger songwriting.) Certainly not perfect, but their best album BY FAR....

9/10

jtcable@tir.net (Josh Cable)
Hey, I had this album for a year and didn't review it. So ok.

The last few minutes of Rocket Queen, and Think About You suck worst on this album. And it's pretty damn bad. Sweet Child O Mine is boring now, so I'll never bother listening to it ever again.

Every other track is just awesome rock and roll heaven. The songs are all perfect evil asskickers from HELL. Plus, it's constantly walking the line bewteen hard rock and metally death metal. Anything Goes is fast as hell, meaning awesome. My Michelle is so mean, it's just wonderful.

I paid $30 for this. It was gold, and ultra remastered or something. Well worth it. Think About You is just gay though. It is mowtherfukking GEY.

foland_ratzl@hotmail.com (Roland Fratzl)
Not bad...certainly refreshingly dirty and slimy amidst the over-produced hair metal poseurs who had a vise-like grip on MuchMusic (that's right! I said MuchMusic, cuz it's Canadian and far superior to your inferior MTV wannabe music station!!!! :P). I still think it's way overrated, the same way Nevermind was. Neither of the two are truly brilliant classics at all, but they were in the right place at the right time, and their fate in hard rock history is nonetheless sealed, ensuring maximum exposure to this stuff for the rest of our natural lives, while the truly great albums of all time continue to go unnoticed! I'll admit though that "Welcome To The Jungle" may be one of the catchiest gritty hard rock songs of the 80's. I first remember hearing it playing in the background of the tv ad's for the fifth (and so far, final) Dirty Harry movie, the Dead Pool, in 1988, starring the great Clint Eastwood! I was a kid and it was the first hard rock song I ever remember actually liking, although I didn't really admit to that until years later. I think it plays in the movie while filming a music video with a then unknown Jim Carrey who plays a drugged out rocker...great flick, go rent it! I always liked the other big hits "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child 'O Mine", but the rest of the album never impressed me much, and I haven't listened to it in about 2 years because these songs still get played on the radio every five fuckin minutes.

bunfluf@hotmail.com (Fluffy Bunny)
I wish them all to be buggered by imigrants.

These guys are to Rock what Mad cow is to Beef.

Oi!

DinoSergakis@aol.com
Thso os the only good album...yet it still sucks somehat.

WBinder007@aol.com
Well, there's two things that come to mind here.

1.) This release is incredibly dated despite being a fairly recent release.
2.) Nick Sergakis is really, really stupid.

Fuck what everyone else says, there's a decent amount of great songs on this one. Obviously "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" are awesome, but so are "Mr. Brownstone," "Out Ta Get Me," "It's So Easy," "My Michelle," (fuck you, Prindle), and my favorite, "Nightrain." Maybe an eight, maybe a nine. Doesn't matter, though, because "Sweet Child of Mine" is so fucking overrated it's not even funny...

bigred40009@mac.com (Scott Campbell)
appetite for destruction was yes, an average debut album...MAYBE FOR ABOUT 1984....if this album wasnt realeased so much later i probly wouldnt have cared...but by the time guns n roses became on the scene, hair bands were already on the verge of falling. gnr had no visible originality AT ALL! yea, ill admit they are VERY catchy and axl could actually write...god for bid a metal frontman a good lyricist? *cough* brett micheals *cough*...see what i mean? but god damn it he should have just written. his voice ruins the whole thing. when my school does a talent show i put a mouse in a blender and play a totally backwards revision of knockin on heavans door and the dean says it sounds just liek guns n roses! wow! first prize! and yea, slash had quite a few memorable riffs, but could he try any more to be liek joe perry? all in all this album..4 maybe 5..a few good tracks...they shoulda stopped whi;le they were ahead...they ruined themselves in the 90s... i would have had a little more respect for them if they didnt try to change their style so frikin much to result in 4 more horrific albums.

uglytruth@hotmail.com (Hossein Nayebagha)
For those of us who were bigtime G'N'R fans as kids, it could be difficult to know whether some of these songs are way overrated or it's just about how much we've listened to them in our lives. I used to think "Sweet Child O'Mine" was one of the best songs ever, but what ten year old kid wouldn't like that famous melody? But unfortunately it ends in the same tiring way many other Guns N' Roses tunes did, more and more pointless solos, more and more pointless screaming fron Axl Rose...it just goes nowhere.

What I wonder though is, in way is it a metal ballad? It gets more and more hardrock towards the end, but the main part is really western-ish rock.

I like "It's So Easy" and "Mr Brownstone"..."Nighttrain" is also cool. Me and my pals used to laugh so much over all the somewhat provocative lyrics...but living in a non-english speaking country, there's hell of a lot more to be amused about when listening to it as adults.

You definitely hit the nail on picking the crappiest tunes of this album. 7/10.

gag05@bigpond.com.au (Louise Gagliardi)
This album is so cool compared to all the gay ass nu metal today that try to sound like fuckin “Nevermind”. How the fuck can “Nevermind” get a 10 and this get a 7? I’d take “welcome to the jungle” over the entire Nirvana catalogue any day Guns N Roses shit all over Nirvana and then some.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: How fuckin cool is the opening duel riff between Slash and Izzy?. 10+/10

IT’S SO EASY: immature, offensive, misogynist, what more do ya want? 10+/10

NIGHTRAIN: Perfect song to drive to late at night while drunk. 10/10

OUT TA GET ME: Punk Rock at its best, excellent chorus. 9.5/10

MR BROWNSTONE: Catchy song all about drug abuse. 10/10

PARADISE CITY: epic song as good as “stairway” and “a day in the life” starts out as a country western song then the awesome riff kick in and the last 2 minutes rocks like anything. 10+/10

MY MICHELLE: Again starts out country until the awesome riff kicks in and its all hard rock. 10/10

THINK ABOUT YOU: good straight forward rocker. 8.5/10

SWEET CHILD O’ MINE: nuff said. 20/10

YOU’RE CRAZY: catchy hard rock song. 8/10

ANYTHING GOES: all about fucking so of course it’s good. 8.5/10

ROCKET QUEEN: starts out as sleazy hard rock then completely changes to a fuckin heartbroken love song. This song rules. 10+/10

JffBrns@aol.com
I agree with gag05: Appetite for Destruction is one of my all-time favorite albums - EVER. I can't even drink a beer while it's playing because I'm too busy singing and being a rockstar on my air-guitar. For you fags who complain about the singing and lyrics, WHO CARES? I listen to music FOR THE MUSIC, not the words. Why don't you try listening to those KICK-ASS guitar solos, or those pounding drums. Axl's screaming voice is just another instrument that makes for Guns N' Roses' complete sound. If you like words, then go listen to some chick music where the rest of the band is just back-up noise for the singer. Welcome to the Jungle - if the beginning of this song doesn't give you chills, then you better check your pulse. It's So Easy, Nighttrain, Out to Get Me, Mr. Brownstone, Paradise City...the whole "front side" of this album absolutely KICKS-ASS...10/10. There are one or two songs on the back that are less than perfect (Anything Goes), but I still love to listen to all of them...10/10. As perfect as Appetite for Destruction begins, the ending is pretty tough to beat too. Rocket Queen is cool as hell, it's like the end of a good movie or something. This is one of few albums that you can put in your player and actually use the RANDOM (or SHUFFLE) button, kick back or get fired-up, and not worry about a GAY song coming on.

[to the public audience] IF YOU DON'T LIKE APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION, YOU SUCK

amcquill@shaw.ca (Andrew McQuillan)
This album is one of the best of the 80's or of all time. It would easily go in my all time top 10. So yeah, it is considerably better than you made it out to be. A 7 doesn't do it justice, and you told us to write in our opinions.

All the songs are very catchy, and the album has a tremendous amount of charisma. A lot of this is due to Slash's gritty guitar work, obviously, and Axl's crazy and easily recognizable vocals and great songwriting. Straight out exciting rock 'n' roll.

Aww, 'it's so easy' to listen to anytime, start to finish.

11/10

lindad@dccnet.com (Diggens)
strap yourself in for the gates of hell gig. accept their invitation to jump on board this lightning bolt and they'll eat you alive.

JohnnyB8@aol.com
yeah, welcome to the jungle opening riff is kinda cool, but not at all a "duel" between slash and izzy. its a delay effect that just loops and gradually fades a tone. slash wasnt the first to discover delay effect however, so theres nothing really too impressive about this song (or album for that matter), except for the fact that axl was so fucking pompous and gratuitous with his words. but just because its unimpressive, it doesnt mean i dont like it. how can you hate sweet child o' mine?

mark.traill@thinstore.net
I’ve got an appetite for destructing this steaming pile of LA dog shite. I loved it when I was 12 but I grew up; protracted solo’s, derivative riffing (except for SCOM, which is just nauseating) and that terrible Axl EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE scream which sounds childish.

0/10

satellitepro@ureach.com
I am 37 and I fucking look back and remember guns and roses and it brings me back to yesterdays. I met Axl Rose in Hampton VA in 1991 and he was very cool and I felt a kinda kinship to him because I grew up on the streets of LA and Phoenix AZ. I most likely knew him in the early 80s and we shared many of the same ideas of what the wold should be.

Axl the true bad boy of Rock

bri.hyndman@sympatico.ca
Processed cheese. These guys were personally responsible for prolonging the '80s hair metal scene well beyond its sell-by date, which is nothing to be proud of. Axl Rose's voice is the epitomy of two hundred years of inbred, white trash arrogance.

elhefe@optusnet.com.au
Well theres been a lot of shit thrown at this record here so I thought I'd drop my 2 cents worth of opinion into the mix.

I love this album, I'd consider it to be one of the best hard rock records of the 80's, sure"Welcame To The Jungle" and "Sweet Child Of Mine" have been heard so much that they've become trite and cliche, the same with "paradise City". But tracks like "It's So Easy" with it's nihilistic attitude and "Out Ta Get Me" and it's drug induced paranoia along with the Hollywood sleaze of "My Michelle",the broke down drunk classic "Night Train" and the ode to Heroin addiction "Mr Brownstone" all make up for the rest, there are some trully great lyrics on this record each song tells a story of life in the concrete jungle that was LA in the 80's.

Sure, Axl Rose has a voice that is an aquired taste, similar to the way people feel about Knig Diamond and his whiny nasal vocals but they work for me on this album, although I think Axl's more reserved vocal delivery on "It's So Easy" is preferable to the nasal whine on most of the rest of the record.

I bought this record back in 1988, I'd never even heard of Guns N Roses at the time, I was attracted to the record cover and bought it. When I got home and put the tape in the stereo and "Welcome To The Jungle" kicked into gear I was banging my headd and jumping around the bedroom like a madman. In the last 17 years this record has lost very little of the impact it had on me as a 13 year old kid.

chodbin@tiscali.co.uk
Two reasons to like rock in the 80s - Back in Black and Appetite For Destruction. Three if Nothing's Shocking fits into the same rock niche (I hate that word niche). Four if you include New Day Rising. Five if Margin Walker was 80s... yes it was. I'd take AFD over Nevermind and that grunge slop any day of the week. In fact I saw Nirvana in 1991 at the Wolverhampton Civic and they sucked very long and hard. I bought AFD on cassette in August or September 1987, and then on CD a year later. Still love it. What were they thinking afterwards though? 9/10 for me.

Cswhatwhat15@cs.com
I thought that this cd was great i love all the songs on it like rocket queen and out ta get me , its to bad that the band doesn't do much of anything now .

ddickso2@uccs.edu
Say! Would you like to hear some comedy? A little HUMAN comedy, perhaps??

Q: What reason did the famous 19th-century French writer give for being a homophobe?

A: "Honor, DUH. Balls? ACK!"

See, its reasons like this the world isn't funny anymore. I'M NOT WRITING THEIR FRENCH WRITER JOKES. But while we're on the subject of kickass fuckin' hard fuck rock, let's discuss Guns And Roses massively oversold first album.

Ass. That's what it is. I will go on record as saying this is the most overrated album in the history of time. MOST. Oh sure, I've heard worse "classics," but they didn't sell 23,000,000 copies and are regularly cited near the top of every Best Albums Of All Time According To Some Guy Who's Not Me list. This one is. Fie on it.

I count three great hits ("Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child Of Mine," "Paradise City"), two great non-hits ("Think About You," "Out Ta Get Me"), and a sea of loud, bluesy, gnarly, tubular, bodacious, grungey, un-hairy, non-Def-Leppard, putting-the-rock-back-into-rock. . . UNWRITTEN, UNCATCHY, UNMEMORABLE filler. This album was never meant to be a blockbuster OR a masterpiece, and it shows. It's got attitude, balls, moxie, chutspah, five good songs, and nothing else. Those five songs ARE good, though. Pity they couldn't write any more than that for their first album. Pity Def Leppard kicked their ass in the year in question. My Lord. . . did I just blaspheme? Oh hell. (literally.)

The worst "classic" ever. I reduce Mark's rating to a 6 and dodge the flaming Nighttrain puring my way. Fuck (a duck).

stephendfall@yahoo.co.uk
Awful, awful dross. Lifeless, horribly cliched, overwrought, dreary, empty, self-obsessed and ugly-sounding. But not in a good way. And why did they always insist on taking off their shirts? Vile tripe of the worst kind. If you were ever tempted to throw away your hard-earned £$ on this band (I can't say their name: it makes me cringe), I advise you to buy a Led Zeppelin album instead.

One of the absolute key tracks in the GNR catalogue, "O.I.A.M." pairs a threatening four-chord riff with an explosive, angry, racist, homophobic, xenophobic set of lyrics that make it clear exactly where Axl Rose stood (and probably still stands) -- his hateful spiel against "niggers," "immigrants" and "faggots" intended not as a neo-Nazi agenda, but merely the honest statements of a young white man fed up with feeling threatened and alienated in his own environment. Unfortunately, as we all know, Axl was (and IS) a willfully ignorant, paranoid, near-insane redneck, so his "honest statements" come out as almost delusional in their aimless vitriol. "Don't wanna buy any of your gold chains today"? As a reader just pointed out in an email to me, how is a black man selling gold chains a threat to anybody at all? (Anybody besides a complete nutjob who is scared shitless of everybody that isn't exactly like him?)

In my original review, I pointed out that I admired his complete honesty in this song, even if I don't agree with his point of view. I even said that the song 'kicks ass in a ridiculously non-PC manner that the mainstream music world both needs and deserves.' That was probably going a bit far; ignorant hate speech isn't 'needed' or 'deserved' simply because I prefer honestly to dishonesty. I mean, I still do prefer honesty to dishonesty, if only because it makes it easier to know how people really think. But I guess we don't really need a bunch of race hate idiocy influencing our young people through the radio waves. Regardless, what I like about the song even more now in retrospect is how this very 'honesty' is so clearly an early indicator of Axl's complete mental imbalance. He's not just a dumbass -- he's a NUTJOB DUMBASS!

Reader Comments

ronin2@email.msn.com (Dave Weigel)
Lies is my favorite Guns and Roses album, too, but for a different reason. Sure, it's probably their strongest set of tunes (though Use Your Illusion could have been a masterpiece were it only edited into one album), but that's not really why I love it. I play Lies for the memories, as it was the theme of the greatest summer I've yet experienced.

I had moved to England and spent a year there pining away for my old friends. At the end of the school year, I flew back and we were reuinited. The posse now in full effect, a month and half of cruising up and down the Atlantic coastline in a 1990 Ford jeep ensued, and Lies was invariably stuck in the tapedeck. From the opening "Fuckers! Suck on Guns and fucking Roses!" of "Reckless Life", the 35 glorious minutes of this EP became deeply ingrained in my memory. To this day, the mention of the intro to "Mama Kin" ("This song's about your fucking mother!") or the scatting in "You're Crazy" brings me to tears, and I can spout the lyrics of "One in a Million" as students in 15th century Florence once spouted Demostothenes.

Memories; that's what music is all about. Lies gets a 9 from me.

uglytruth@hotmail.com (Hossein Nayebagha)
Fuck Axl Rose or William Bailey or whatever the fuck he chooses to call himself. We did hear about the accusations of racist remarks in "One In A Million", but since Lies was the album that gained least interest, we never got to check what it was all about anyway. Maybe I didn't even want to know since I'm ethnically and to a certain extent culturally Iranian (mini-Iran?) and even though I'd only heard about the thing about black people...well, it's racism all the same. Some would say that I'm misssing the point? I don't know...where the hell did Axl and his fuckin' fans stand anyway? Maybe the immigrants and faggots were tired of being fucked with by his type of people. Fuck him and fuck his little territory wherever the fuck that is.

"Reckless Life" starts off promising only to be half ruined by Axl's screamings, that barely worked in the early days. The same thing goes pretty much for the rest of the first half, they're all decent bluesy rock n' roll that don't fit Axl's hardrock vocals... "Mama Kin" being the possible exception.

The rest? "I Used To Love Her" is a bore, "Patience" loses some that charm that Axl's usual "love songs" have on later albums, or on the live versions. "One In A Million" starts alright but it gets worse and worse again. Acoustic version of "You're Crazy"- cool. But I must say the solo doesn't kick ass the way the original did on Appetite. 5/10.

pedroandino@msn.com
my first memory of g'n'r was 1989. fucking synths and dance crap was not the way to go for me and all the one hit wonder shit is died out! i did have a nintendo back then i do have games oh my god like i got them all: mario bros/duck hunt laser invasion renegade! and tmnt! plus i got a bike! kawasaki 986! a bad ass jacket and my long hair! chicks dig dudes with long hair! okay my sister loved all that bullshit like full house! ack! too sweet! i got two or 3 metal mags! there is one about metallica's master/justice era! then it was the crue motley crue! then i got ozzy posters! acid washed jeans and two joe satriani albums! surfing with the alien and flying in a blue dream! anyhow back to guns! this is an ep! this was pre illusion! and i do loved the covers of live and let die and mama kin! then patiance! ladies adore patiance! i do know why this has like a love song type of feel like sweet child of mine. i hated one in a million because of just what he said faggots! i'm about like 34 but i still rock! i play patience to my ms.lockheart in the fire side! guns did not lie they rule!

okeydoke0@yahoo.com
i completely agree with your review of axl roses rampage of "one in a million" . im from the south like you and not only do i agree with complete free speech, i really get tired of liberals who say "only stupid people vote for bush", well that might partly be true but in my opinion liberals are supposed to protect such people. if the democratic party wouldve taken better care of what they call "white trash",which is a term that is just offensive as nigger, g dubya wouldnt be in the white house. but in my part of the country, people are angry without a reason. and i blame the democratic party for that. they never pointed a finger towards why these people were poor. poor white people blame black people for their current standanrds. the basic fact is the democratic party is made to help poor and stupid because like people of the homosexual persuasion they didnt decide theyre own surroundings.so ! stop being such an elitist, which is the exact opposite if what a liberal is supposed to be. these days a liberal isnt much better than a facist. kill the stupid is the mantra i seem to hear from college capuses, which strangelt seem to vote almost 80% democratic. strangely enough this started out as a guns n roses review. sorry.like the band by the way.

Hister333@aol.com
I was actually thinking about this recently.  "One in a Million" is a truly lousy song.  Not for the obvious reason (because I love David Allan Coe to death), but because it's a poorly written rant about some dude that gets sick of the way everything's boring in his hometown, and goes somewhere with diversity, and bitches about it.  And the way he juxtaposes the imagery?  Police and Niggers?  Immigrants and Faggots?  What the hell do they have to do with each other?  Since when do faggots "come to our country"?  Last I checked, a lot of them were born here.  Boo-fucking who, Axl.  You want your privacy, so you do the only logical thing: become a rock star.  

As for the rest of the album, I don't remember the electric side, I just remember not being able to connect with it.  Patience is a cute piece of cheese, You're Crazy is redundant, and "Used to Love Her" is probably my favorite Guns 'N Roses song ever.

Just so you'll know, though, the CDs are different. In fact, even their weaknesses are different!!! The problem with this one is simple; there are just two many lousy songs. Yeah, you've got some nifty buttkickers like "Right Next Door To Hell" and "Double Talkin' Jive," and plenty of swell epics like "Coma" and the classic "November Rain," but then you've got a bunch of generic Stones rip-offs like "Bad Obsession" and grotesque riff rock like "Bad Apples" and "Perfect Crime" crammin' up the laserwaves like some kinda fiddly-diddly. If you liked Appetite For Destruction, though, this is probably right up your a-hole. The most creative, well-planned songs are terrific; the padding, alas, is pretty dreadful.

You know what I really like? Just so you'll know that I actually DID listen to the album a few times? I love the main chord sequence of "Coma," which, combined with the hospital sound effects, is extremely reminiscent of Bloodrock's infamous "D.O.A." (which I adore - at one point in my life, I actually became so frightened by the song that I couldn't stand to hear it anymore - weird child, I was....), the strange acoustic opening and coda in "Dead Horse" (which is about sixty jillion times better than the actual song), the neat Paul McCartney cover, the Metallica rip-off that they call "Double Talkin' Jive," and, of course and for always, that ridiculously anthemic guitar line at the end of "November Rain."

Honestly, some of their best work can be found here. Then... there are those other songs....

Reader Comments

dave@mgagray.com (David Aurand)
I would really have to stretch my imagination to say I loved this. Certainly, it was good, but I don't think the hype surrounding it was justified. Like you, I do love the long, long "Coma"........but, Appetite... was, in my opinion, a much better work of art than this disc or its counterpart.

But, regarding Lies.......I have a personal favorite..."I Used To Love Her.....", which is pretty amusing....poignant.....and the way many guys feel at times.....but, not a classic disc in overall terms...

G.H.A. vanHagen@kub.nl (Gilbert van Hagen)
The four acoustic tracks on the Lies EP are nice. In particular, the hit single "Patience" and the song-with-the-provocative-lyrics "One in a million" are great. The four live tracks are not so great.

I found Use your illusion I, overall, fairly disappointing. The fast tracks are nowhere nearly as good as the songs on Appetite for destruction. If it wasn't for the beauty of "November rain" and "Coma", and a cute guest appearance of Alice Cooper, this album wouldn't be worth mentioning.

pmtapia@worldnet.att.net (The Chameleon)
Ahhh Van Hagen you don't like anything. "This album wouldn't be worth mentioning"..you sound like a fucking asshole!!! You guys are making it sound like this album only has like 3 good songs on it ...and all you guys are doing is comparing it to other GNR albums.And yes this isn't like the other GNR albums..but why is that bad?? "Bad Apples" sucks..that dumb Paul McCartney song they did sucks and so does "Bad Obsession"...but the other songs ain't bad at all. What about "Don't Cry" that's a cool song or "Back off Bitch"...how can anyone not like "Back off Bitch"? Hmmm i just thought of the answer....anyway..."Dust N Bones", "You ain't the first", "The Garden", "Don't Damn Me"...they're all great. If you guys think this album isn't good then why the hell did it do so damn well?

tedaldi@acsu.buffalo.edu
Dammit, Beavis! Why do these dumbasses make these really long double albums when, like, they have the perfect CD in half the songs? And how come bands that make tons of EPs don't realize that they could make *gasp!* the perfect album if they added a few MORE tunes to the mix? The great American professional music paradox continues...

jim.morrison@montego.com (Michael Rohm)
Definately more mature than Appetite. Starts off pretty strong with "Right Next Door to Hell" and "Dust n' Bones," then has one of my fave cover songs (and the only other band whose cover songs I've ever really liked were the Ramones, who can do no wrong in my eyes anyway :) ). "Don't Cry" has never been one of my faves, quite possibly because it was constantly on MTV (along with "November Rain," which was constantly on Top 10 Video Countdowns), but "Perfect Crime" is is pretty good. I've always liked "Bad Obsession;" is this wrong? And "Back of Bitch" is great too; the last 6 songs of the album are all terrific (well, maybe not "Bad Apples," but I like it, so there). Still a strong album, even if somewhat dated. Hey! Maybe G n' R should release a CD full of midtempo rock that, while catchy and rather good, isn't nearly as good as their earlier stuff. Then they could go on another world tour with Metallica! Sigh.. that is, of course, if the band ever DOES put together another CD. BTW, Killing Joke fans, rumour has it that former KJ bassist Youth will be producing the new Guns release.

By the way, Spaghetti Incident, while certainly not a flawless album, was pretty much my first introduction to any sort of "punk rock" when I was but a metalhead teen, so it still gets points for that. Stooges, UK Subs, early Soundgarden (pre Badmotorfinger) and Fear are all covered here, along with the Pistols, Misfits, etc, etc.. not innovative, but not bad either.

DABaker@cadet.vfmac.edu (Darryl Alan Baker)
I enjoy every song on here. I even enjoy the two weak songs ("Bad Apples" which I caught my grandmother dancing to and "Dead Horse"). I LOVE that little crackling noise in "Dead Horse" and I kinda like that little tape-winding sound at the end leading into the awesome "Coma." "Coma" is one of my favorites on here. Other favorites include (but are not limited to) "The Garden," "Don't Damn Me," "Dust and Bones" and "You Ain't the First."

jason_a@earthlink.net (Jason Adams)
You know how everyone says The Beatles should have made the White Album into a single record. Well they shouldn't have, you miserable prick, but GNR (pronounced Gnurrr!) should've done so here. I don't need, you see, turgid rockers like "Back Off Bitch" and "Live And Let Die". I do need "Coma", "Dead Horse", "Garden Of Eden", "Dust and Bones" and "The Garden". Yeah, and "November Rain" can stay too, but only because of the awesome coda.

Paul.Leach@rxsol.com
Don't get me wrong, I love the Illusions, but there is one thing I'm not too crazy about. His name......Dizzy Reed. Who the hell is that fag anyways? I mean, for songs like Novermber Rain, the piano works, but when they try to rock out with the piano, it just doesn't seem to cut it. Actually in II, the piano is often louder than the guitars! Aside from Dizzy Reed being an absolute degenerate prick, not to mention a dopey fuckin' queer, the Illusions are very good, and I highly recommend them.

deadguy1213@yahoo.com (Daniel Miller)
Well yep, here's another double CD that should have been a single, along with Mellon Collie, The Fragile, and well, fuck it, The Wall also (it shoulda been a single CD anyway... seeing how the double CD comes out to like 81 minutes). That said, this is the only G n R i can stand (the only other album is Appetite but still). There's a few songs I like, along with a few on Use Your Illusion 2... this and Metallica was probably the first music I listened to back in '92 (I was probably into Depeche Mode by this time too). I hate to say it, but November Rain is my favorite song on here. Axl behind the piano like Elton Joel or Billy John, Slash soloing away, and the orchestra, gotta love it.

The lack of direction you expect from 75 minute albums is definitely present, along with the unneeded McCartney and Dylan covers. And what's up with having a song called "The Garden" followed by one called "Garden of Eden." Actually I like "Garden of Eden" a lot, except that it has the words "rock and roll." I usually can't stand stuff about "rock and roll." Mainly cause I started as a mainstream metal and mainstream alterna-dork in the mid 90s and got into underground metal and earlier alternative stuff by the end of the 90s, so I'm a big "metal" and "alternative/indie/whatever" elitist dick.

"Garden of Eden" is a good song though. "Something something Garden of Eden, something something Garden of Eden, blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah, ROCK AND ROLL!" 7/10 for both albums.

andrew.moncrieff@virgin.net
"Back off Bitch" is, much like "One in a Million", a great example of how stupid this fucking band is. The band itself sounds good on a lot of tracks, but really only before you started to believe Axl meant half the bollocks he sang, and misogyny just isn't cool. I know it's basically just another example of something AC/DC does a lot (to more harmless effect) in songs like "Big Balls" and "What do you do for money (honey)" where they sing boring verses as pretexts to anthemic and sleazy choruses, except this time the message is:

Back off, back off bitch
Down in the gutter dyin' in the ditch
You better back off, back off bitch
Face of an angel with the love of a witch
Back off, back off bitch
Back off, back off bitch

I don't know if she hexed him or not, but does she really deserve all that? Wouldn't any (sane) woman leave Axl Rose?

Fuck I'm suprised the band didn't abandon him sooner.

In a nutshell or twain, this second Use Your Illusion is a nice enough record, full of different moods and styles, but I'll probably never listen to it again.

Reader Comments

ggal2@student.monash.edu.au (Greg)
Yeah well, Appetite was pretty good. I didn't like "Sweet Child of Mine" that much. Too nice, too much like pop. But the rest was pretty good. "Welcome To The Jungle" rocked, "Paradise City" likewise. I don't know why you're giving so much shit to "Rocket Queen" and "My Michelle" 'cause they're pretty good. There's a whole story behind "My Michelle" that Axl once told a journal: "I wrote a nice pop single about her, then looked at it and decided that it just doesn't represent the truth. She's so messed up with drugs and sex that you don't know if you're gonna see her tomorrow. Every time I see Michelle I feel relieved and glad. I showed her the lyrics and she was fine with it. She liked the fact that I didn't just paint a pretty picture."

GNR Lies was also quite good. I liked "Patience" and "One in a Million" the best. I also liked the fact that Gunners put in their first LP Live Like a Suicide, 'cause it's pretty hard to get.

Use Your Illusion I was OK. "November Rain" I guess was the major highlight as far as Top 40 was concerned. I liked the version of "Don't Cry" on this album better than the one on Use Your Illusion II. Other songs I liked were "Garden of Eden" and "Bad Obssession". Gunners used the latter in their "Get in the Ring" tour in '92. I also liked "Coma", that was really good. The use of hospital equipment like chestpads etc. was sensational.

Use Your Illusion II was better than the first one, with more kickass guitar riffs and lyrics. The whole album except "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "Don't Cry" and "My World" is really worth a listen. "You Could Be Mine" was the highlight as far as Top 40 was concerned because it was in the Terminator II soundtrack. "Civil War", "Get in the Ring", "Shotgun Blues", "Breakdown" and "Pretty Tied Up" is full of killer guitar riffs. For something mellower, "14 Years", "Yesterdays", "So Fine" and "Estranged" are excellent. The latter two are maybe better, but they're all very good.

The Spaghetti Incident?! didn't live up to much of the hype it got here in Australia. "Down on the Farm" and "Ain't It Fun" were pretty good. But the rest was pretty ordinary by G'n'R standards (and that means pretty good). (By the way, I only listened to The Spaghetti Incident?! once, so it may not have gotten to me yet).

That's been "My Two Cents" on G'n'R. (Sorry, Simpsons joke. Doesn't belong here).

SAKIRBY@vax6.dlsu.edu.ph (Kirby L. Yap)
Guns N' Roses was a big hit here in Manila back in the early 90's, from 1991 up to 1993.....I have 3 of the 5 albums they released, but unfortuna- tely, I lost 2 of them...anyway, i like Appetite for Destruction and the two Use Your Illusion albums better than the rest for they have the right kind of songs -- heavy on guitars, "mellow" rock sometimes, and the dis- tinctive voice of Mr. Axl Rose really blend on those songs...I've been looking forward for the new album they said they are releasing this year... I hope it's true...as for Spaghetti Incident....well, just forget it, the album's a big crap, all covers...Hey wait, Are the group on the brink of disbanding...they've been doing a lot of gigs and jams separately and I guess maybe the group's gone...Duff has a solo album as well as Gilby Clarke and Slash...Well for you AXL....straighten up your life so you could be in mainstream again...stop bitching around AXL, If you love the music, fix your group and do an album....thanks! Maraming Salamat Po!

toasty@capecod.net (Nate Eckstrom)
Guns and Roses (i mean guns "n" roses)? Why would you even bother reviewing this terrible band? This is just a hair (puns intended) better than reviewing other cock rock bands like Warrant and Poison. I can't even listen to one of their songs without picturing that dumbass Axel (What the hell is his real name anyway? Does anyone care?) running around with his shirt off, laughing as pictures of girls' breasts in the audience are displayed on a big screen on stage. This guy is joke, and any band he's in is also a joke.

goodall@smudge.netkonect.co.uk (Katie)
I love all of Guns and Roses' music. The only song i dislike is "My World."

mattias@diariodopovo.com.br (Alexandre Linhares Matias)
Why GNR? They steal that thing that Aerosmith had stolen from the Stones. A real fake band - they fool themselves. Good gosh!

mcauburn@iinc.com (Soul Madness)
Funny how the person above calls GN'R a hair band and a pointless band. What the FUCK is Pearl Jam and all that shit? Grow the fuck up! Eddie Vedder's a fucking asshole too so is half the other alterna-shit like Marilyn Manson (fun to suck your own %#&@), Nine Inch Nails (ditto), Soundgarden. I didn't mean to come down hard on Pearl Jam because I like them but what the fuck- the music of the 80's is the same as the alternative...only alternative is more pointless than the 80's music so in conclusion, FUCK YOU!

cos@syrinx.com (Caress Of Steel)
The only fucking good thing about this lameass band is their guitarist, Slash. He's the only one in the band with real talent. The solo to "Sweet Child O'Mine" kicks ass!!!!! The rest of them can bungee jump into hell. Lameass motherfuckers.

dencap@caribe.net (Dennis Costa)
Use Your Illusion 1 was the first hard rock record I bought, so these guys will always have their place in my list of favorite bands. I've always thought the B side on the cassette was creepier than the A side, especially with the weird voice at the end of "The Garden" and the last song, "Coma", which is just a classic. If these guys ever reunite, this is the song they gotta play first. Anyway, after a couple of years without buying another GNR album (don't ask me why) I finnally bought UYI 2, and I must say that I still think #1 was better. I'm planning to buy Appetite for Destruction, so my opinion will maybe change as to what GNR album is the best. The only "song" I despise of the two albums is "My World". If this is what Axl wants to do for the next album (if there ever will be one) then count me out.

G.H.A. vanHagen@kub.nl (Gilbert van Hagen)
Now, this is a different story all-together. Whereas I find Use your illusion, part I disappointing, I regard part II as the best Guns N' Roses release to this date. In contrast to Mark Prindle, I generally like hard rock ballads, and the epic songs on this album are just right for me. Especially "Estranged" and "Civil war" are brilliant, while "Locomotive" is the best of the faster tracks on the two Use your illusion albums. I'd rate this album nine out of ten.

The Spaghetti incident is not really worth buying, except to make your collection complete. I noticed that afterwards, GnR released a cover of the Rolling Stones' classic "Sympathy for the devil" as their next single, but I suspect that they have also messed up that one. Anyway, it was already the fourth or fifth time they released a cover song as a single, which may be taken as evidence of Axl's declining creativity.

Jim05150@aol.com
its ok for some of these other people to dislike Guns N' Roses, but you HAVE to give them credit. they are one of the top 5 bands of ALL-TIME, and in my opinion the best ever. they are not just another hair band, they are the best group of all time. Axl's lyrics are unbelievably great and clever, also I'd like to give credit to "Locomotive", cause not enough people are mentioning it. there is no such thing as a bad GN'R recording, but my least favorite is the semi-recent Rolling Stones cover called "Sympathy For The Devil". i'd also like to wish Axl luck on making a new album SOON, and do yourself and everyone else a favor, and get Slash back. but if you can't, the next GN'R album will still kick ass!

mhking@worldnet.att.net (Michael King)
Don't shaft The Spaghetti Incident?. It's got punk covers (Misfits, Iggy & Stooges, UK Subs, NY Dolls...). It's got metal-ish covers (Nazareth). Overall, I think it's one of their better efforts. Better than UYI I and II anyway. And, Mr. Prindle, sir, yousa mighta like it.

jason69@sprynet.com (Jason Carter)
Yadda yadda yadda.

The whole problem was that the band's collective drug abuse lowered their resistance to the peurile tyranny of Axl. Granted, the guy had some ideas in video department, especially the flawed but beautifully overwrought dinosaur masterpieces "Don't Cry," and "November Rain." Whether Abuse Your Illusion I or II was better is negligible - who didn't buy both at the same time?

After that the band released a bunch of unwatchable shit, including "Estranged" which had poor misunderstood, clinically depressed, woman-beating, child-abused, hopelessly rich Axl jumping in the ocean off a luxury liner and being carried to safety by dolphins (!).

The Spaghetti Incident? is probably an inside-jokey reference to some sexual exploit with groupies and contained no original songs. The damn thing unbelieveably went platinum, with one stupid video featuring Gary "Dracula" Oldman as the devil and Axl again immersed in womb-like water.

So now Axl is by himself. Of the original band, the one responsible for Appetite for Destruction, here's who's left: NO ONE. The drummer was "fired" due to "creative differences" (how the fuck do you have creative differences with a drummer?; Pearl Jam pulled the same shit) then Izzy Stradlin and Slash left. I'm sorry, there's still the bassist. Great: a singer and a bassist. Christ on a shit stick, what is Guns and Roses without SLASH? What's the fucking point?

zvi@softhome.net (Alligator)
Guns N' Roses, I like only 2-3 of their songs, somehow I don't like that guy Axel Rose, therefore I don't listen to them that much, "November Rain" and I don't remember the name of the song used in Terminator 2, that's all.

jim.morrison@montego.com (Michael Rohm)
It's been a long time since I've listened to any G n' R, considering I used to listen to them *constantly* during my rebellious teenage years (15-17 or so) but I've been relistening with the wisdom of a 20 year old (yeah right) and I still like them. As Prindle points out, this CD's songs are all (with the exception of "My World") pretty good, but none of them really stand out. "Shotgun Blues" is pretty damned catchy, but "Pretty Tied Up" and "Get in the Ring," while both interesting and (especially for "Ring") amusing, they're not really incredible songs, per se (especially for "Ring," again). The rest is pretty good, though, especially the song from Terminator ("You Could Be Mine," one of my G n' R faves) and "Estranged").

jose.neto@eurorscg.pt
question: couldn't these guys exchange bands names with the dirty rotten imbeciles? bye now and thank you for your support.

uglytruth@hotmail.com (Hossein Nayeb)
Well,i've been listening to this for a few days.And it's not as bad as i thought.Of course once upon a time i loved this,when Guns N Roses was by far my favourite band.Of course back then,music wasn't my passion.Then i started to laugh at this band as i grew up and i still do...but really this one is not too bad.It's really catchy,if that's a compliment.. and does have it's moments in Pretty Tied Up (lame chorus but amazing solos and rest of itcool),Estranged,Locomotive, Yesterdays etc. And we have those lyrics with attitude on Get In The Ring and Shotgun Blues.I mean really it's not everyday you hear a guy go "...And that goes for all you punks in the press that want to start shit by printin' lies instead of the things we said..that means you Andy Secher at Hit Parader..Circus Magazine..Mick Wall at Kerrang!.. Bob Guccione Jr. at Spin What you pissed of cuz your dad gets more pussy than you ? Fuck you, suck my fuckin dick ..You be rippin off the fuckin' kids while they be payin' their hard earned money to read about the bands they wanna know about..printin' lies startin' controversy..you wanna antagonize me..antagonize me mother fucker..get in the ring motherfucker and I'll kick your bitchy little ass...punk.." in such a short space of time....and follows more stuff that cracks you up.

So this is afterall one of the best hard rock albums a kid can get hold of.AND KNOW TO THE IDIOT WHO FEELS THREATNED BY CERTAIN BANDS WHO SKIP THE EGO OF HAIR BANDS..SOUNDGARDEN,WHO YOU MENTIONED WERE FORMED EARLIER THAN GUNS N ROSES ! HAHAHAHA...HAHAHA... ('Garden-'84- Guns-'85)

Guns and Garden toured together in 92 and ironically my at that time favourite band's support act would become my all time fave band years later.

Nick.Walford@nettec.net
frankly, they should have been shot for their bastardised mutilation of a bob dylan tune. it's a crime against humanity, and the deserve to have their tender undersides smeared with extra hot chili sauce and barbecued gently over a slow fire. however, 'civil war' rocks like a bastard, so I'll have to forgive 'em

hippiekiller@woodstock.com
I totally agree with Mark: There are too many ballads! I think they just wanted to top "November Rain", but they couldn't....well okay, it's not very original to say it is a great ballad, but....it's certainly gnr's best one and if you got ONE why do you need another one? They are supposed to rock and 10 minutes of hands waving in the air is enough for one concert! really! noone needs to write more than one ballad in his life. write a good one and it's done. except of, of course, tom waits.

oh yes: gnr never were my favorite band but i like some stuff on this album. they are assholes, but they still wrote good songs.

beggaranthony@hotmail.com (Anthony Saywell)
I know it's weird but these guys, with these albums, got me into music when i was a kid. A lot of it is nostalgia but if you can get past Gnr's image and Axl's sometimes irritating (and arrogant) lead vocals it's pretty obvious that this is a top band with some great writers.

I suppose a few of the songs on the illusion albums could be classed as padding, but most of em kick arse. Where Gnr's writing really shines is in their epics, November Rain, Coma, Locomotive are great and Estranged is one of the most beautiful, poignant songs ever written. Notice that unlike in a lot of other bands' longer pieces, Gunners actually vary the sound and style within these songs, not using constant repetitiveness and endless guitar solos to make up the time. Hell, Coma could be 3 seperate songs! Obviously each part connects and they'd be weaker by themselves, but it's a good example of the varation the makes a lot of Gnr's stuff great.

A very good group and some great songs. Brings back a lot of memories.

ddickson@rice.edu
Ah, the infamous Use Your Illusion duo. It's a fairly common thing to comment nowadays: "Dude, TWO CD's?? What the hell. They shoulda pared it down to ONE CD. Then it would have Not Sucked."

Personally, I happen to disagree. I think there's just too many good songs on both albums to fit onto one CD. In fact, I would go so far as to say that only three songs on the entire set explicitly suck: "Breakdown" (where's the chorus?), "My World" (just sick and disturbing), and "Don't Cry (alt. lyrics)" (dangit, we already got one.) Even as disorganized as they are, I think both albums are, in fact, better than Appetite for Destruction.

Say, wouldn't it be cool if this had been released as a DOUBLE ALBUM? Think about it--it woulda been the longest album in world history at the time (two hours and thirty-two minutes), and all the critics would be raving about the "next Exile on Main Street." In fact, the subsequent alt-rock craze might NEVER HAVE TAKEN PLACE! Think about THAT!

Oh, well, I guess THAT's too much to hope for. But here's my idealized rundown of Use Your Illusion, the double album. Those of you with CD burners, take note.

DISC 1:

1.) Civil War
2.) Perfect Crime
3.) Pretty Tied Up
4.) Live and Let Die
5.) Don't Cry
6.) You Ain't the First
7.) Bad Apples
8.) Breakdown
9.) So Fine
10.) Back Off Bitch
11.) The Garden
12.) Double Talkin' Jive
13.) Knockin' on Heaven's Door
14.) Garden of Eden
15.) November Rain
16.) My World

DISC 2:

17.) Locomotive
18.) Yesterdays
19.) Get in the Ring
20.) 14 Years
21.) Dead Horse
22.) Estranged
23.) Shotgun Blues
24.) Don't Damn Me
25.) Bad Obsession
26.) Right Next Door to Hell
27.) You Could Be Mine
28.) Dust 'N Bones
29.) Don't Cry (alt. lyrics)
30.) Coma

Hell, this might have even outsold Appetite. Funny how a little detail such as "song order" can change everything.

Yes, I DO have lots of time on my hands.

Hister333@aol.com
I know I've already posted on this page, but...I really think the most significant thing about Guns 'N Roses is how quickly they were forgotten. I saw them once in concert (I got there three hours late, and STILL had to wait two hours...), and listened to the Use Your Ilusions constantly, before giving up, and assuming they were over my head. I heard the Spaghetti Incident, and officially stopped caring (To this day, I still don't understand how you can cover all of my favorite bands, and STILL be boring), and I don't think I even knew Duff and Slash weren't in GN'R anymore until the Woodstock show (and I don't even know if Axl and friends even showed up).

And don't forget the videos...I went back over them on youtube, MY GOD they were excessive, but they bring out the vitality of GN'R's music. Every two minutes Axl's rambling gets dull, and Slash has to leave the church, or climb on a dolphin, or drive his bitch off a cliff before saving the song. My favorite video is "Breakdown," which is a fan-made video which basically collects all of the footage of Axl having temper tantrums onstage, and comes off like Axl genuinely trying to apologize for being such an asshole, he couldn't even get heroin addicts to keep hanging out with him.

One last thing: I REALLY love the new Guns N' Roses. You know, the one they call "Velvet Revolver"?

Oh yeah - and the Charles Manson song at the end. Not only was it a stupid and sophomoric stunt on the band's part, but the song sucks ass too, ending the CD on a bitter note. This record was designed to tide fans over until the next GnR studio release, but that was, umm... over five years ago!!!

Reader Comments

Impedyment@aol.com
i once listened to this one time when i was somewhere and found a copy. the only reason i was interested in the slightest, was of the song that they covered by the dead boys...which really isnt a dead boys song at all, since the dead boys actually covered it. "aint it fun" was written by a guy named peter laughner who was a member of pere ubu for about a month or two a long long time ago. although i guess cheetah chrome helped cowrite it or something, its not a dead boys song at all. but basically, my point is this, guns and roses did not put any heart behind this song at all.....in order to hear the real passionate version of this incredible song, you have to find a copy of a cd called take the guitar player for a ride by peter laughner. its not easy to find but damn well worth it just for that song, but dont expect a lot of songs identical to that, but you will discover a great unknown talent. by the way, peter laughner died when he was 24, eerie aint it??

Gaekwar756@aol.com
This album sucked balls... 'nuff said.

jltichenor@earthlink.net (James L. Tichenor)
everything they did fucking sucks .they suck they shuld all die.

urbanstruggle@excite.com (Ahnsu Adennorsn)
I disagree with a lot said of the album. I've read that this was supposed to be one of the most unemotional take on punk rock tunes ever. That's a pretty lame comment if you ask me. Guns N' Roses might have been lame hairy cock arena rockers, but damn did they have some good influences and damn do they do some of those influences right. The Dead Boys cover sounds almost as good as the original and worth the price of admission alone (BTW, the Dead Boys version can be heard on their amazing sounding [only non-bootleg Dead Boys live release] live album Night of the living Dead Boys, since the album that had this cut has long been out of print), the cover of the Damned's "New Rose" is the best of the many covers of that song ever waxed and although they turn the Misfits "Attitude" into a Hollywood like production, that song manages to get pulled off with Duff's awesome vocals (i.e., you know, the bass player that was the only reason to listen to the band in the first place). The Fear cover is bad ass as well. The Bottom line: Would I purchase this album new? No, but then again, you don't have to. If you can't find this CD used for under $4 in any used CD store or in the bargain bin of a new record store, then you must live high in the mountains of Tibet. I paid $2 for this and it's worth every penny.

Impedyment@aol.com
I just want to post a correction to my statements. "ain't it fun" words were written by Laughner and the music by Cheetah Chrome. So I'm wrong in saying it was not a dead boys song. I just want to apologize to anyone who read that and was bothered by my inaccuracies. Obviously, I wasn't there and do not know and I should not have assumed anything about who wrote what and where. That was my mistake and I'm sorry.

philip_nunez@hotmail.com
Hi, I've never heard anyone admit this but this was their best album by far. When I first got into music, I felt really cheated if more than two or three songs were filler on any CD I got (I had no idea this junk to hit ratio was the norm). So appetite for destruction was a real disappointment (oh hey this is the song I heard on the radio, then what is this crap? rocket queen? when is this over?) So this was great -- nearly every song was great, even if they didn't rock each one. and the songs they did rock -- hair of the dog , rather their recording of it, is far better than any guns-n-roses song ever and even the nazareth version, which just sounds slow and tepid by comparison. really.

I really wanted to like guns-n-roses, but this and all the other albums revealled them to me as just a competent bar band. But even a bar band can rock it sometimes -- and this album was where they rocked it the most -- and frankly this was the first time I'd heard these songs -- so their ridiculous conceit of introducing fans to punk actually worked. Rock!

Bouldgentile@aol.com
To further clarify the origins of "Ain't if Fun," it was indeed written by Laughner and Gene O'Connor (aka, Cheetah Chrome) back when they were in the short-lived, and never officially recorded band, Rocket from the Tombs. There is a kick-ass cd (of so-so sound quality) that was released in 2002, called, The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs, which consists of demos and live recordings. On it, you can hear early versions of future Dead Boys songs, including "What Love Is," "Ain't it Fun," "Sonic Reducer," "Down in Flames," and the music for "Caught with the Meat in Your Mouth," here as "Never Gonna Kill Myself Again." This band later split into two factions: The Dead Boys, and Pere Ubu (future Ubu songs on here, as well). A great disc for Prindle to review. For that matter, what about a Dead Boy review?

(No hang on - not ready yet)

(hee heee hehehHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAH

Fuck you the establishment.

Reader Comments

family.davies@cwctv.net
after reading ur page on guns n roses , umade some fair points , but some of the pricks who said axl sucks id just like tosay FUCK YOU SUCK MY FUCKING DICK , axl's back now so u can stress his new album all u want cos it will be one of the greatist albums ever , ps=welcome 2 the jungle,nighttrain,paradise city, sweet child of mine ,civil war,estranged,u could be mine,dont cry,and november rain r the best songs ever from a diehard gunner

johncarson@ntlworld.com
Shit , shit shit shit shit shit shittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt. This music is crap.

lanhamk@hotmail.com (Kelly Lanham)
anyone who says anything by G'N'R is bad is a fucking faggot

bococho@hotmail.com
Ok, first of all, I know they had a huge influence on countless bands today, and yes, they did have some cool songs now and then, but Axl...not only is he a prick, but his voice is godawful. It used to be tolerable back when they first started out, but after seeing Guns and Roses (if you can call them that anymore) perform at the MTV awards...I must say that I hope to god that their new album never gets released. Axl could barely hit the notes in Welcome to the Jungle, and halfway through the song, HE RAN OUT OF BREATH! For fuck's sake! He didn't even get through the first song before you could see him sweating and messing up because he couldn't keep up with the rest of the band, yet he thinks that he's the one

TheHitman413@aol.com
Guns and Roses sucks the large flaccid penis of a rabid horse. Axl Rose is seen as the kick ass ROCKER HERO YEAAAAAAHHHHHH! Axl Rose is a complete and utter cow tit. Or,utterwise known as an utter. I am a singer in a much less succesful band, but we are ass over face better than GnR. There are just a lot of ignorant common folk that are taken with anything loud and hard. Mr. Brownstone is the only audible GnR song I know of. I saw a picture online recently of a recent shot, from left to right, Slash arm in shoulder with Joe Perry, arm and back with Jimmy Page. At a James Brown Concert. Can you imagine if a gay 3some could somehow produce a child? It would be the antichrist as far as I am concerned. And How can Jimmy Page mingle with two fucks who he KNOWS have made their mark by rubbing off of Jimmy's mark? How can he sincerely smile with them when you know they trash him and use his material like hes some whore. Well Page has become a whore. And Axl Rose wishes he was as good as he tries to think he is. But i drew the line at the Freddie Mercury Tribute where he tried to sing one of Freddies songs. Axl, you are not a singer, you are a vocalist. Mercury was a SINGER. I hope that Axl rose gets raped by a large African American male with a 12 inch dinger, and then he stumbles home but never makes it there because a heart condition that he had overlooked all this time decided to act up right then and there and he dies a horrible death as his black heart explodes in his paisley chest.

mtlhead@mchsi.com
I’ve never heard this album, but I’m a big fan of the band. What I was really wondering is what the hell Hitman413’s parents did to him, ‘cause that is one messed up e-mail entry. And now, for the sole purpose of amusing myself, I will write the funniest/weirdest parts of his e-mail, and write super-witty comments about them, despite the fact that I’m not really a funny person.

“Guns and Roses sucks the large flaccid penis of a rabid horse.” How does he know that horses penises get flaccid when their rabid? And also, do the members of GNR all suck it at the same time, or do they have to take turns pleasuring the horse?

“I am a singer in a much less successful band, but we are ass over face better than GnR.” I’m not even sure I have to comment on that one, but I will: ass over face? Sounds like that band’s having one wild homosexual orgy.

“I hope that Axl rose gets raped by a large African American male with a 12 inch dinger, and then he stumbles home but never makes it there because a heart condition that he had overlooked all this time decided to act up right then and there and he dies a horrible death as his black heart explodes in his paisley chest.” Ok, this one I definitely don’t have to respond to, but what the hell: dinger? I’ve never heard it called that before, but is that better or worse then pleasuring a horse? You decide.

And on one final note, Slash is an awesome guitarist.

LingaMrt@aol.com (MSL)
My child found GNR and she loves them from the way they sing to the way they use to perform it's just ashame that Lash and Axel could not stop the rows. SO AXEL OR LASH COME ON YOU GOT TO DO SOMETHING JUST FOR OLD TIME SAKE !!!!!!

akshaythefire@yahoo.com
Hi

Well what a great band man axel rose well really a striking voice it make me feel happy to hmmm.... so i thi ng this is the best band after mettalica n slash woh really a freaky guitarist no doubt about it

bi

lztj@hotmail.com
Just read through the reviews or should I say peoples whining about Guns N’ Roses. They came out in the late 80’ s at a perfect time when people were tired of polished glam bands. Either way you put it GNR was one of the best and talented bands in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Sure Axl was an idiot that alienated the other members, but just listen to some of the lyrics and Slash’s beautiful riffs, they still stand the test of time. So shut the fuck up and don’t listen to the music if you don’t like it, and most of all stop whining.

thetrevormobile@gmail.com
Hey man im a die hard rock fan too but your a little lost. Slash made all his own solos and of course Guns N' Roses is going to sound like aerosmith or black sabbath. Thats what hard rock is! And I saw what you said I think Pink Floyd is a little over rated...Doesn't sound to much like rock really at all...I own the wall but Led Zeppelin kicked there ass back in those days. But all in all Guns N' Roses is my favorite band still they had so much talent. And im sick of poseurs listening to Guns N' Roses like you said "all the metal heads buying up appetite for destruction" its like that now but now everyone is buying up greenday for this modern age...(Green day sucks) Like this guy that commented your site " after reading ur page on guns n roses , umade some fair points , but some of the pricks who said axl sucks id just like tosay FUCK YOU SUCK MY FUCKING DICK , axl's back now so u can stress his new album all u want cos it will be one of the greatist albums ever , ps=welcome 2 the jungle,nighttrain,paradise city, sweet child of mine ,civil war,estranged,u could be mine,dont cry,and november rain r the best songs ever from a diehard gunner" As he said "Fuck you suck my fucking dick" Didn't Axl Rose say that in the "Get in the ring" Song? And to Bon Jovi? And im sure there are other times I can't remember. See most are poseurs! And Guns N' Roses is such a good band too. Not to mention this guys insanely fucking stupid lack of spelling. Basically the majority of Guns N' Roses fans are poseurs. I remember going to see Velvet Revolver in concert in Manchester next to me there were some fucking kids thinking there bad ass punks with mohawks and Korn shirts show up laughing randomly and trying to head bang. Sad real sad. Also people that make tribute bands out of them they suck so bad every Guns N' Roses tribute band I ever listened too. That and after some dip shit hears one track of "Welcome To The Jungle" And goes out to buy a guitar. And start a band, And all those bands end up sucking if you want to know where you find them just go to www.purevolume.com or www.myspace.com bands these days are just loser kids in high school playing power chords in like every song that are so untalented. Music basically went to hell with all we got out now, and you got to be fucking kidding me about rap that is so bad that and ghetto. I hate it especially in class fucking kids bringing in rap and make the teacher put it on. Ghetto is the retard version of the mafia. That and there dialect is so fucking stupid "Homie yo dis dat" So I have like no respect for black people and no im not racist. Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley kick ass. That and all this green day, Korn, Nin, Fron first to last, disturbed, my chemical romance, I hate it just hate it. And also emo I can not stand emo or gothic people they all pretend to have problems have horrible bands and always cut and feel they need to be depressed to get attention its shit. And punk these days are poseurs. Bring back fucking Sex Pistols! All in all Guns N' Roses is a great band and was and still is abused by loser kids. Same kids that keep buying out "Use your illusion" I look in stores its sold out everywhere! I had to come down to ebay as a result. Stop buying GNR CDS! Your making it hard on the people who are real rock fans that like good music and actually have talent!