The Styrous® Viewfinder: Steven Adler

The record cover of the debut album, Appetite for Destruction, by Guns N' Roses, released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records, was immediately censored.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Uncensored" vinyl LP record album cover
painting by Robert Williams

Art Direction ~ Michael Hodgson

photo of album cover by Styrous®

The album's original cover art was based on the Robert Williams painting, Appetite for Destruction. It depicts a robotic rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. The band stated the artwork is "a symbolic social statement, with the robot representing the industrial system that's raping and polluting our environment.

After several music retailers refused to stock the album, the label compromised and used the controversial art inside as the record sleeve.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Uncensored" vinyl LP record sleeve
painting by Robert Williams

Art Direction ~ Michael Hodgson

photo of record sleeve by Styrous®

The cover art was replaced with an image depicting a Celtic cross and skulls of the five band members with (designed by Billy White Jr., originally as a tattoo), each skull representing one member of the band: Izzy Stradlin, top skull; Steven Adler, left skull; Axl Rose, center skull; Duff McKagan, right skull; and Slash, bottom skull. My collection includes both versions of the album.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Censored" vinyl LP record album cover

Art Work ~ Guns N' Roses & Robert Benedetti

photo of album cover by Styrous®

The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John, Marc Canter, Jack Lue, Leonard McCardie, and Greg Freeman.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Uncensored" vinyl LP record album back cover

photo by Robert John

photo of album back cover by Styrous®

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Uncensored" vinyl LP record sleeve front

photos by Marc Canter, Jack Lue,
Leonard McCardie & Greg Freeman
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record sleeve back w/lyrics
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®

The original group was comprised of Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The story goes the group was so out of control that the making of the debut album turned into a lengthy and expensive saga. In 1986 the brief tenure of Arnold Stiefel as GN’R manager ended after the band’s pre-recording sessions at a rented house on the former estate of Hollywood producer Cecil B DeMille resulted in a $22,000 bill for damage to the property.

Two producers failed to get the record made: Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton (who couldn’t even get the band into the studio at the same time) and Paul Stanley of Kiss (who fell out with Rose after he suggested that one song, Nightrain, required an extra hook: Rose never spoke to him again).

Alan Niven, who also managed Great White, and record producer Mike Clink, who had engineered Strangers in the Night by UFO, and Eye Of The Tiger, by Survivor, worked with Mötley Crüe, Megadeth, Jefferson Starship, The Babys, Heart, Eddie Money and many others came to the rescue.

With Clink working 18-hour shifts, Appetite For Destruction was recorded in one month over January and February 1987 at Rumbo Recorders studio in the LA suburb of Canoga Park. The total budget was $370,000.

Rumbo Recorders
photographer unknown

The success of Appetite astonished everyone. It was the antithesis of corporate rock – raw and obnoxious, full of bad attitude and uncensored swearing. In the PC climate of the mid-80s, this was precisely the kind of record that ‘parental advisory’ stickers were made for, with nine out of 12 songs making explicit reference to sex, four to drugs, four to drinking (link to lyrics below).

In the hard rock world, few bands ever reached as great a height in as short a time as Guns N' Roses. Appetite for Destruction has sold over 30 million copies and is the best-selling debut album ever in any genre.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Uncensored" vinyl LP record album cover detail
painting by Robert Williams

Art Direction ~ Michael Hodgson

photo of album cover by Styrous®

This is one of the few albums whose big hit from it, Paradise City, was also a favorite of mine. It is the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer; perhaps that's why I like it

Rocket Queen is my favorite from this album. It does everything I like quite nicely. At the time I didn't know the story behind the song; According to frontman Axl Rose:

"I wrote this song for this girl who was gonna have a band and she was gonna call it Rocket Queen. She kinda kept me alive for a while. The last part of the song is my message to this person, or anybody else who can get something out of it. It's like there's hope and a friendship note at the end of the song. For that song there was also something I tried to work out with various people—a recorded sex act. It was somewhat spontaneous but premeditated; something I wanted to put on the record."

A woman named Adriana Smith had been with drummer Steven Adler for around a year. Smith later claimed in a TV interview that, after Adler insisted that she was not his girlfriend, she went to the mixing sessions at Mediasound Studios in NYC. Rose and Slash were there. Rose propositioned Smith that they have sex in a vocal booth so that the sounds that Smith made could be recorded and put over the bridge of the song. Smith replied that she would do it, "For the band, and a bottle of Jack Daniel's." Hooray for Jack!

Steve Thompson, an engineer of the album, said:

"Axl wanted some pornographic sounds on Rocket Queen, so he brought a girl in and they had sex in the studio. We wound up recording about 30 minutes of sex noises. If you listen to the break on Rocket Queen it's in there."

On the casually misogynistic It’s So Easy, Axl sneered, ‘Turn around bitch, I got a use for you…’ On Rocket Queen the singer was taped having sex with stripper Adriana Smith – the then-girlfriend of drummer Steven Adler!

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

"Uncensored" vinyl LP record album back cover detail

photo by Robert John

detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®

The two sides of the record were not conventionally labeled "A" and "B" or "1" and "2", but "G" and "R". Tracks 1–6 which compose side "G" all deal with drugs and hard life in the big city ("Guns" side). The remaining tracks, which compose side "R", all deal with love, sex and relationships ("Roses" side).

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record album back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

The songs I love

Welcome to the Jungle, the second single released from the album, has a great, echoey but fast guitar intro that is joined by a howling Axel Rose. It goes into a hard driving dance beat that steamrolls over your senses. Axel declares, "I wanna hear you scream!" And you do! In 2009 Jungle was named the greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record sleeve detail
detail photo by Styrous®

The first single released from the album, It's So Easy, not to be confused with the Buddy Holly song of the same name, goes full-throttle with momentary breaks to let you catch your breath. Nightrain picks up where Easy has let you off.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record sleeve detail
detail photo by Styrous®

I love Mr. Brownstone for its Bo Diddly, "hambone" beat. Its a fun, energetic song that bounces along with exuberant joy. Group guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin wrote the tune while they were sitting around Stradlin's apartment complaining about being heroin addicts. They began by improvising lyrics and music ("Brownstone" is a slang term for heroin). They wrote the lyrics on the back of a grocery bag. In the US, it was used as the B-Side of Welcome to the Jungle.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record sleeve detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Paradise City is, well, Paradise City; it was a giant hit, so, not much to say about it that hasn't been said already other than I like it a bunch.

Sweet Child O' Mine is a terrific rock 'n roll song. It is the album's third single. The guitar intro is sublime, the beat is sensual and driving with some great guitar work. It may be my favorite song on the album. It was the band's only number 1 US single.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record sleeve detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Appetite for Destruction debuted at number 182 on the Billboard 200 the week of August 29, 1987. It did not top the chart until August 6, 1988, after the band had toured and received radio and music video airplay with singles such as Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City and Sweet Child O' Mine. The album spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one and a total of 147 weeks on the Billboard 200.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record album back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

By September 2008, Appetite for Destruction had been certified 18x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped over 18 million copies in the United States, making it the country's 11th best-selling album ever.

According to Billboard in 2008, it is also the best-selling debut album of all time in the US. That year, Sky News reported the album's worldwide sales to be approximately 28 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Appetite for Destruction was voted the 26th best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual critics poll run by The Village Voice.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record album back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

On June 29, Guns N' Roses commemorated the 30th anniversary edition of the group's landmark album, Appetite for Destruction – and it will cost a whopping $999 (link below). The Locked N' Loaded, $999 edition, is a box set that comes in a faux leather and wood cabinet. It contains everything in the "Super Deluxe Edition" and lots more: The package will include numerous mementos such as logo patches, guitar picks, never-before-seen band photos and posters.

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record sleeve detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record, "G" side
detail photo by Styrous®

Guns N' Roses ~

Appetite for Destruction

vinyl LP record, "R" side
detail photo by Styrous®

Originally there was an oval sticker that came with the album but my version has a rectangle, not sure why that is.

Guns N' Roses ~ Appetite for Destruction sticker
photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

    G
A1 - Welcome To The Jungle - 4:31
A2 - It's So Easy, written by [Co-Written With] – West Arkeen - 3:21
A3 - Nightrain - 4:26
A4 - Out Ta Get Me - 4:20
A5 - Mr. Brownstone - 3:46
A6 - Paradise City - 6:46

Side 2:

    R
B1 - My Michelle - 3:39
B2 - Think About You - 3:50
B3 - Sweet Child O' Mine - 5:55
B4 - You're Crazy - 3:25
B5 - Anything Goes, written by [Co-Written With] – Chris Weber - 3:25
B6 - Rocket Queen - 6:13

Companies, etc.

    Mastered At – Sterling Sound
    Manufactured By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Copyright (c) – The David Geffen Company
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – The David Geffen Company
    Recorded At – Rumbo Recorders
    Recorded At – Take One Studio
    Recorded At – Can-Am Recorders
    Mixed At – Mediasound
    Published By – Guns N' Roses Music
    Pressed By – Allied Record Company – B-27799
    Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix – Δ16875-X

Credits:

    A&R [Coordination] – Teresa Ensenat, Tom Zutaut
    Art Direction, Design – Michael Hodgson (2)
    Artwork [Cross Concept] – W. Axl Rose*
    Artwork [Cross Tattoo] – Bill White Jr.
    Artwork [Tattoo Redrawn By] – Andy Engel
    Artwork [Tattoos At Sunset Strip Tattoo] – Robert Benedetti (2)
    Band [Guns N' Roses Is:], Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Duff "Rose" McKagan*
    Band [Guns N' Roses Is:], Drums – Steven Adler
    Band [Guns N' Roses Is:], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Slash (3)
    Band [Guns N' Roses Is:], Lead Vocals [All], Backing Vocals, Synth, Percussion – W. Axl Rose*
    Band [Guns N' Roses Is:], Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals, Percussion – Izzy Stradlin'*
    Engineer – Mike Clink
    Engineer [2nd] – Andy Udoff, Dave Reitzas*, Jeff Poe, Julian Stoll, Micajah Ryan, Victor "The Fuckin' Engineer" Deyglio*
    Management [Business Affairs] – Boulevard Management
    Management [Career Affairs] – Alan Niven, Stravinski Brothers
    Mastered By [Album & Cassette] – George Marino
    Mastered By [CD] – Barry Diament
    Mixed By – Michael Barbiero, Steve Thompson
    Painting [Front Cover] – Robert Williams (15)
    Photography By [Back Cover Photograph] – Robert John (4)
    Photography By [Inner Sleeve Photos] – Jack Lue, Leonard McCardie, Marc Canter, Robert John (4)
    Producer – Mike Clink
    Written-By, Arranged By, Performer – Guns N' Roses

Notes:

© ℗ 1987

Recorded at: Rumbo Studios, Canoga Park, CA. Take One Studio, Burbank, CA. Can Am Studio, Tarzana, CA.
Mixed At: Media Sound, NYC.
Album and Cassette Originally Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC.

All songs © 1987 Guns N' Roses Music BMI.

First catalog number on label; second on spine.

The initial pressing came with an oval sticker.
The original sticker from 1987 is the oval one only.
Copies with the square "The Dead Pool" hype sticker have been issued a year later (1988) because "The Dead Pool" is a 1988 American action film (in which the song "Welcome to the Jungle" was used).

Some copies have a promotional gold print on the bottom left of front jacket reading "Lent For Promotional Use Only Any Sale or Unauthorized Transfer is Prohibited and Void Subject to Return Upon Demand by Owner Acceptance of This Record Constitutes Agreement to the Above" (see detailed pic).
Some copies with this promotional gold print on jacket have vinyl that are translucent, if looked in backlight with a heavy light on back.
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode: 0 7599-24148-1 4
    Matrix / Runout (Side "G" runout, etched): GHS-24148-A-SRI-DMM SP1-2 SP-AR B-27798-SRI-DMM Sterling 0- Δ16875
    Matrix / Runout (Side "R" runout, etched): GHS-24148-B-DMM-SRI SP1-2 SP-AR Sterling 0- Δ16875-X B-27799-SRI-DMM
    Rights Society: BMI

Viewfinder link:

Appetite For Destruction lyrics

Net links:

Amazon ~ Appetite For Destruction (Uncensored cover)

Rolling Stone ~ Banned in the U.S.A.: Censored Album Covers