Album Review — Guns N Roses

Guns N Roses — Appetite For Destruction (Deluxe Edition)

I like reissues, especially when they come with stuff I didn’t have before. I really like reissues of albums that I love. So I was hoping that the reissue of Guns N Roses’ classic “Appetite For Destruction” was going to be awesome.

I’ll start by saying I have the 2 Disc Deluxe Version. There is a much larger version that was also released that has a lot more on it, so that’s out there if you have the $100 to shell out.

The first disc is just the classic album remastered. It sounds great 31 years after it’s original release. I can’t believe it’s been 31 years.

The second disc is a combination of stuff already released, a few “unearthed” tracks, some live tracks and some demo tracks from the original recording sessions.

The second disc starts off with what was originally titled “Live Like a Suicide” which was a 4 song live EP and then was released as the second “side” to GNR Lies. This is where the first gem is found. “Shadow of Your Love” is an “unreleased” song that may or may not have been recorded live. Some folks say it just has piped in crowd noise. Either way, it’s a cool song that fits in to their early catalogue. The song pops up again a little later in the second disc sans crowd noise.

Sandwiched between the two “Shadow of Your Love” versions are 5 Sound City versions of songs that were on Appetite. Each song is slightly different from the original and it’s cool to see how the songs evolved once the band got into the studio for the final recording session.

Three live songs are next including covers of “Whole Lot of Rosie” and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”. Then three of the four acoustic songs from Lies and finally an acoustic version of “Move to the City”.

For diehards of the band, I could see how this would be a fun addition to your collection. But in the end, there’s really only one new song here. I would assume most diehards would already have similar versions of everything else on this second disc.

For me, I like having the couple of live songs and I like the acoustic version of “Move to the City”. The three live songs don’t sound that great and although it’s cool to hear the demo versions of songs we now know and love, I’m not sure it’s something I’ll listen to that often.

I have quite a few re-releases of favorite albums and this one falls short for me. There’s a couple of nice tracks here and it’s always great to have a remastered version, but I’d probably stick to buying the few songs individually that you like and pass on the rest.

Overall — 70 out of 100

Track Listing

CD 1 — Appetite For Destruction (Remastered):
01. Welcome To The Jungle
02. It’s So Easy
03. Nightrain
04. Out Ta Get Me 5.
05. Mr. Brownstone
06. Paradise City
07. My Michelle
08. Think About You
09. Sweet Child O’ Mine
10. You’re Crazy
11. Anything Goes
12. Rocket Queen
CD 2 — B-Sides N’ EPS (Remastered)
01. Reckless Life
02. Nice Boys
03. Move To The City (Live)
04. Mama Kin
05. Shadow Of Your Love (Live)
06. Welcome To The Jungle (1986 Sound City Session)
07. Nightrain (1986 Sound City Session)
08. Out Ta Get Me (1986 Sound City Session)
09. Paradise City (1986 Sound City Session)
10. My Michelle (1986 Sound City Session)
11. Shadow Of Your Love
12. It’s So Easy (Live)
13. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Live)
14. Whole Lotta Rosie (Live)
15. You’re Crazy (Acoustic Version)
16. Patience
17. Used To Love Her
18. Move To The City (1988 Acoustic Version)