Vinyl of the Week - 13 DECEMBER 2020

Appetite for Destruction, Guns N Roses

1991 was a great time for me. I was 19 with a steady job and enjoying life more than was healthy or wise. Like we do when we’re 19. The soundtrack of my life at the time certainly consisted of a big dose of this week’s featured band. Guns N Roses had become one of the biggest rock acts of all time, and after the huge success of Appetite For Destruction, I was counted among their legions of fans. I loved everything about the gunners; the huge sound, the in-your-face attitude and the wonder of the man in the top hat with the Les Paul guitar with a sound I was in awe of. Many a night was spent bent over my guitar, trying my best to emulate the riffs of Paradise City or Sweet Child Of Mine. When the band released Use Your Illusion I & II, I lined up on the Saturday morning of the release and got my copy on cassette tape. It was the most I had ever forked out for an album, but despite the $39.95 price tag I was totally enthralled with my purchase. To say that these two tapes were in constant rotation for 6 months straight would not be an exaggeration. These albums are epic. The band was a more mature one and they had a magic that comes from living (and nearly dying) from the ultimate rock and roll lifestyle. The longest track is Coma, written by Axl and Slash about their experiences with drug overdoses, complete with sounds from the ER and a real defibrillator. The most successful single is arguably November Rain, a ballad written by Axl and performed at the ‘92 Grammys with none other than Sir Elton John doing his thing on the piano. But my favourite thing about these brilliant albums is Slash and his guitar. Throughout these recordings, the riffs just keep coming, the electrifying sounds produced by a true master of rock guitar. I recently obtained these albums on vinyl and the second on I put on the first track I was 19 again, cruising around in my little blue Toyota Celica, smile on my face and the gunners on the stereo. Long live Rock n Roll 🤘- DS