Released in July of 1987, the bands major label debut was the closest thing to a perfect time capsule of the Sunset Strip in the late 1980's. The band formed only two years earlier as pieces of two different bands (LA Guns and Hollywood Rose) came together. From the first gigs played by the band it was apparent that there was little anything could be done to stop super stardom. Record labels were courting the band within months of their first show and the album was one of the most anticipated releases of the year.
Lead singer Axl Rose was one of those dynamic front men that commands the attention of the whole room. Combine that with the fiery playing of lead guitarist Slash and you had a duel attack on the crowd that usually was hard to ignore. When you add in the debauched lifestyle and attitude (and isn't that what rock n' roll is all about?) and more than a little songwriting talent and you ended up with the product delivered as promised.
The album reached the #1 spot on the US album charts and sold over 18 million copies (that buys a lot of Jack Daniels). Lets take a look at the songs that made up this amazing debut.
1. Welcome To The Jungle - Sounding like a decent into the depths, this semi-autobiographical song sets the tone for the whole album. As a teenager, a young Axl exited a bus in New York City and was yelled at by a homeless man, "you know where you are? You're in the jungle baby, you're gonna die". When he later moved to Hollywood, he felt that statement applied just as well to the Sunset Strip area.
2. Its So Easy - Describing the sad state the band found themselves in during the early days when they had to live off the groupies and hangers-on that surrounded them. Kinda sad, really.
3. Nightrain - Written as a tribute to cheap alcohol, which the band used to fuel its creativity and generally survive on.
4. Out Ta Get Me - A general complaint about authority figures, the police in particular, keeping poor Axl down......but lets face it, Axl probably wasn't a choir boy when it came to his dealings with the law.
5. Mr. Brownstone - We've had abuse of their fans (mostly the female kind), alcohol abuse and defiance of the law.....guess we need a song about drugs. This is about heroin. Interestingly, the song doesn't celebrate drug use but instead points out the negatives of heroin use.
6. Paradise City - Another song about Hollywood and longing for the more idyllic lands of their upbringing.
7. My Michelle - Written for a friend that said she wanted to be immortalized in song. The first version of the song was some sappy love song. Axl rewrote the song to more accurately reflect her actual life....she apparently loves the song.
8. Think About You - Its an attempt at a love song. But not as good as the song that comes after this one.
9. Sweet Child O' Mine - What originally started as a guitar picking exercise, would become the bands only #1 hit. Happy accidents are the lifeblood of rock musicians. While Slash insisted it wasn't a song, the rest of the band encouraged him to continue while they all added their instruments to the song and Axl quickly scribbled down a few lyrics about his girlfriend at the time. Fame and stardom was never more unintentionally stumbled upon. Its always fun to think about how the song would have changed if GPS had existed back in 1987. Listen to the lyrics after the guitar solo and you'll understand.
10. You're Crazy - All things considered.....I'm sure he wasn't a joy to live with either.
11. Anything Goes - I spent a little bit of time on the Sunset Strip, this probably worked with a few of the groupies....not that its ok, but still.
12. Rocket Queen - The tale of two women. Written about another female friend of the band who is also proud of being the subject of this song.....but its the girl heard having sex during the guitar solo whose tale needs telling. That's actually the drummer's girlfriend having sex in the studio with Axl (she also wanted to be immortalized on the record).
Lets take a look at the first video from the band, Welcome To The Jungle....please enjoy.
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