Vintage Album Review presents: Guns N' Roses "Appetite for Destruction"

Unleash your inner rock god as we journey through the explosive beats and riffs of Guns N' Roses' "Appetite for Destruction," with our special guest Hock, a die-hard fan of the iconic album. Prepare to discover the nitty-gritty stories behind each track, from the controversial background vocals on "Rocket Queen" to the unforgettable hits that have us headbanging decades later. Our trip down memory lane isn't just about nostalgia; it's an exploration of the album's raw power and the indelible mark it left on the music world.

Feel the electric charge of the Sunset Strip as we unravel the tale of Axl Rose's metamorphosis and the band's rise from the ashes of Hollywood Rose and LA Guns. We swap stories of our own musical awakenings, tracing the chords that led us from other genres to rock's doorstep, courtesy of GNR's gritty authenticity. From the cheesy heights of 80s hair bands to the genuine rock persona that GNR embodied, we debate, we laugh, and we celebrate the sounds that shaped our guitar-playing dreams.

Cap off your audio adventure with a behind-the-scenes look at the band's tumultuous recording sessions and spontaneous moments that crystallized into rock history. We'll analyze the band's evolution from their rebellious roots to the creation of ballads that swept the airwaves, and dissect the cultural milestones they set with their raucous anthems. As we geek out over the astronomical success of their debut masterpiece, join us for an electrifying homage to the heart of classic rock.

Chapters

• 0:00 Vintage Album Review
• 13:17 Musical Influences and Rock Bands
• 18:31 Origins of Guns N' Roses
• 30:16 Album Art and Band Money
• 34:45 Guns N' Roses Albums and Songs
• 38:04 History and Evolution of Guitar Sounds
• 46:26 Geeking Out Over Classic Rock Album
• 54:00 Guns N' Roses Album Reflection
• 1:01:33 Discussion on Guns N' Roses Songs
• 1:09:19 Guns N' Roses Album Analysis

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:00

Hey man what are you listening to, man? I'm listening to the vintage album review in the old dirty basement.

Speaker 1: 0:14

Well, turn it up, man.

Speaker 3: 0:25

Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of Vintage Album Review.

Speaker 2: 0:31

I cherish these moments.

Speaker 3: 0:32

Yeah, we have a very special one today with one of our rock classics. We have a good old friend of ours here, hawk. Welcome Hawk. Thanks gentlemen, what are we calling Hawk today? Is it just Hawk?

Speaker 2: 0:44

Do you want to go by Hawk Hawk's fine, Hawk Hawk is good. We're protecting the innocent Hawk. You've been mentioned more times than possible. You might be the second most mentioned person on this podcast, right after Nutley Nick.

Speaker 3: 0:54

Yeah he's up there, but we mention him as Hawk, correct, correct, it's always Hawk. Okay, it's always Hawk.

Speaker 4: 0:59

I believe so. Any time I've ever heard a reference, it was always Hawk Hawk, which is simple, it's easy to remember and it rhymes with rock.

Speaker 1: 1:08

Speaking of which Rock?

Speaker 3: 1:11

and roll yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:12

What album we got today, hawk, so you picked an album.

Speaker 4: 1:15

We are going to discuss a phenomenal, classic Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Hell, yeah, yeah for destruction by guns and roses. Hell, yeah, you know we do these. Uh, our our first one and I think our our mainstay with this is to to review these albums that truly made and broke the band, like really broke them into the mainstream. Now, granted, this was their first, you know, full release, but I mean, appetite was obviously for damn sure broke guns and roses into the mainstream globally. Globally, a tremendous album, absolutely tremendous yeah worldwide huge, huge hit.

Speaker 3: 1:50

Huge album songs are all hits. Uh, we'll learn more about that, though maybe only one number one hit, who knows?

Speaker 2: 1:57

maybe who's to say yeah, but hawk, you know we uh, you know, as you're our special guest here and you're the one who picked this album, you know why did you pick this album. There's a few albums in life that you know, as you're our special guest here and you're the one who picked this album, you know why did you pick this album.

Speaker 4: 2:06

There's a few albums in life that you hear that rock you this hard and consistently and all these years later it still holds up, Hell yeah. At the time period we were like 11, 12 years old. We were kids. Yeah, it was like 87. Yeah, and to this day and age I think everybody can still air guitar. Every single note, almost every song on the album changed everybody's perspective of what rock was at the time. So I thought it was a great, great album to pick amongst the theme of vintage, classic and just rocking.

Speaker 2: 2:44

Awesome. Man Could not agree more.

Speaker 1: 2:46

So let's get into this, I guess. So guns and roses, appetite for destruction. Release date july 21st 1987. Like you guys said, that puts us 11, 12 years old. Something like that, recorded january 18th through june 23rd of 1987 and the studio was rumbo canoga park. Take one burbank record plant, los angeles, and, uh, the budget on this 370 000 estimated. So I don't know in comparison if that's a lot of money or not that was a lot.

Speaker 3: 3:21

It sounds like a lot.

Speaker 1: 3:21

86, 87 yeah, for an album when you guys were what, what was your band? Screw face.

Speaker 2: 3:27

That is correct, yeah there's two members here I think that I think that album might have cost a thousand dollars, thousand dollars.

Speaker 1: 3:33

Okay, just wanted to get an idea but hawks been.

Speaker 3: 3:36

You've been on the music scene since then. You played in a couple bands, right, yes, sir, slapping the bass slapping the bass bending fre nice, bend and fret nice was that one of the bands I like that so, uh, producer on this was mike clink.

Speaker 1: 3:51

I don't know that name. Anybody know that name, anything he might have been attached to he wrote some songs for him I think or helped out with some that's pretty much all I have for those facts on the album. I'll turn it over to zap for the uh for the band members sure thanks, man.

Speaker 2: 4:05

So band members and album contributors include, but are not limited to in the band the original full band. We know the lineup, we know of guns and roses, w axl rose on lead vocals and the synthesizer on Paradise City. What is?

Speaker 3: 4:26

the W. What is that for?

Speaker 2: 4:27

William, william, yeah, okay. Slash on lead guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, talk box and backing vocals, izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals and percussion, duff Rose McKagan on bass guitar and backing vocals and Steven Adler on drums. There was an additional musician credit that goes to Adriana Smith for the background vocals on Rocket Queen.

Speaker 3: 5:01

I like what you did there I really enjoy that.

Speaker 2: 5:03

Oh yeah, that's a story in and of itself. Yes.

Speaker 1: 5:05

That fun fact. I know we'll get to later, but I did not hear that until about two months. Actually it was in October.

Speaker 3: 5:11

I never knew that and I can't wait until we get into that later, but all these years I never knew about that fun fact I can well, going like to be or one of those weird um stations like that and it was a whole thing on like axle rows and they had a lot of cool like thing and that was what I was like. Oh, is that what that's from? I did not. Yeah, I was kind of like dave, I did not know that for a couple nice, did you know that I did not till just this minute oh, awesome, there she is, your rocket queen.

Speaker 2: 5:40

So dave mentioned mike clink. Uh, he was certainly uh lead production and engineering. We also had steve thompson mixing, michael barbiero also on mixing, george marino on the lp and cassette mastering, barry diamond on the cd mastering, and I'm not going to go through the names, but there were about a half dozen other assistant engineers. So a lot of people, a lot of people. All right, it takes a village.

Speaker 4: 6:09

That's awesome it does.

Speaker 3: 6:10

There's so many hands in a cookie jar Shit yeah, then they take all your money, that's where it is you got to tour all the time You're playing small clubs.

Speaker 2: 6:19

How are you going to buy heroin with all these engineers taking your money?

Speaker 3: 6:21

Well, the heroin's free.

Speaker 4: 6:24

When you're a rock star.

Speaker 3: 6:24

Yeah it was all the real money that they took. That's true, that's fair.

Speaker 1: 6:27

That explains the $370,000,. I guess these guys aren't cheap.

Speaker 3: 6:31

So I guess I'll get into a track listing synopsis. That's very nice. This is the Appetite for Destruction. These are the songs. The first side was side g and there was a side r instead of what on an album a and b very cool and I guess they decided to do that. Or was it one of these guys like mike clink or whatever one of them was like it'd be cool if we did g and r yeah, somebody came up. Yeah, obviously it was a good idea. We'll get into it.

Speaker 3: 6:56

Oh, you know, it's in here, oh shit it's, it's, it's in the sauce, nice, but we have a side G, uh, number four. No, I'd say the first song, welcome to the jungle, written by guns and roses. The second song is it's so easy, guns and roses. Then you have night train out to get me, mr Brownstone, and paradise city, all written by guns and roses.

Speaker 1: 7:23

Nice.

Speaker 3: 7:23

And the longest. The longest track on that side was Paradise City at 6 minutes and 46 seconds Yep.

Speaker 1: 7:30

Yeah, I didn't know it was that long. I didn't know it was that long either. Oh yeah, is there a rate? The radio edits probably less, maybe.

Speaker 2: 7:36

That outro is a long outro. Do you think they cut it down?

Speaker 4: 7:45

They just take some of the outro out.

Speaker 1: 7:45

Of it, I believe. So they outed the outro. I mean, some stations will still play it entirely right, right, right, like mtv for the videos and stuff.

Speaker 3: 7:48

They probably cut it, they definitely cut it we'll get it with a sweet child of mine. Remember too when you were like growing up trying to listen to it on the radio. They always cut the solo and everybody's like what the?

Speaker 3: 7:57

hell yeah remember that, just so they could fit it in on the radio and that was like a big, I think what slash hated that, but another one we'll probably get into later on. On the side r we have my michelle. Think about you, sweet child, oh mine, you're crazy, anything goes. And rocket queen, all written by guns and roses, anything goes, had chris webber helping out on that and the longest I thought, sweet Child of Mine was longer than Rocket Queen no, I thought it was longer yeah well, it is but they oh, no, no, no, yeah, they have Rocket Queen at six minutes and 13 seconds.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Yeah, I'm thinking of Paradise City.

Speaker 3: 8:33

I'm sorry which great song. It should be longer, but so yeah, there you have the track listing of Appetite for Destruction so we were all talking about this.

Speaker 2: 8:42

You know this is an a level of excitement for all of us. You know, when we look back and I mean so July of 87, I was going on 11 years old this came out, this hit, but we didn't really experience the joy of it. No one did until a year later, say in 88, when I mean these guys really finally finally hit. So we're 11, 12 years old. Whenever that is, that puts us in, what so 88?

Speaker 4: 9:13

we're in sixth grade.

Speaker 2: 9:14

I remember and I'm just look like right now I'm looking at, you know, just story, personal stories, memories. I remember in sixth grade talking to this one girl who had gotten this album I'm looking at the album, the cassette and Matt. You know, you and I have talked about this before where you see these, these images and you're, you know, coming up Catholic and go into Catholic school and stuff like like you see skulls just ingrained these things that just are ingrained in your brain.

Speaker 2: 9:39

Wow, these guys are like raw and ruthless and evil and oh man, man, this is just like not devil stuff, but wow, this is just forbidden.

Speaker 3: 9:47

it is forbidden well, the, the, the cross and the skulls is one thing too. I remember like these guys are so badass, yeah yeah like how can you like I thought that was like illegal in some states, like I bet you couldn't.

Speaker 1: 9:57

Like you know you take it to school. You gotta hide it. Yeah, exactly, or like the teacher would grab it, especially she looked inside on the cover, you're in deep doo-doo.

Speaker 3: 10:06

I grew up with parents that, uh, I'm glad we all did.

Speaker 2: 10:09

Yeah, that's awesome. I grew up with parents that would would go through cassettes or you know at the time, cassettes that would if they didn't like the way it looked or they heard this out of the other thing about they would throw it away oh yeah, well see, I remember listening to live crew like back around that time and I'd turn it down way low, be so horny and all that.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Sure you know, and that cover was like girls, if I remember correctly, like bent over on the cover and all that. I mean, really, my parents probably wouldn't have cared that much but still didn't feel comfortable being that age to have that. You know what I mean. But there's gnr, for sure that regular or the original cover is the one you're talking about too, right uh, yeah, yeah, the.

Speaker 2: 10:47

So what became the insert? None of us. I can't believe that any of us would have been able to purchase the original cover no, not at all. I wonder what that's worth I don't know if they ever released that it wasn't.

Speaker 3: 10:58

It was not. I don't think that was ever out as an original cover right, there was so much backlash right away when they tried to put that out.

Speaker 2: 11:03

You weren't going be going to the wall and buying that original cover oh, I thought they pulled it, or something.

Speaker 3: 11:07

Yeah, talking about the album, I remember my pap bought it for me and I went and I was like, can I get this tape? And it was I think my seventh grade year and he bought the actual tape for me because I don't think like I. I heard stories about it, I knew of it going into that and I knew that I I wouldn't my mom or whatever would be like I'm not buying this with a cross and skulls on it.

Speaker 1: 11:27

How about you Hawk what happened back in the day?

Speaker 4: 11:29

Absolutely forbidden.

Speaker 1: 11:30

You weren't allowed to have it A million percent.

Speaker 4: 11:32

yeah, and it wasn't so much the music itself. It was like my mom understood the imagery behind the band and what they presented. So her like that was real sex, drugs and rock and roll. Right right Not just like old rock and roll, with an image Like these guys were living it. So it was a big taboo, no-no. So I ended up getting a copy of it from a friend of mine in grade school. It just you know.

Speaker 1: 11:53

What about, like other bands at the time, were you allowed to listen to like Poison or whatever? I don't know wise, or was that just the one that they got singled out?

Speaker 4: 12:03

like poison was big. I think deaf leopard was big at the time that was all good, you're probably allowed.

Speaker 3: 12:06

That was fine.

Speaker 4: 12:07

Yeah, that wasn't an issue. Like I said, it wasn't so much the music, it was the imagery, the idea of like axl and slash and the cigarette and all that other stuff.

Speaker 2: 12:17

Yeah, it was. It was sex, drugs and rock and roll personified correct.

Speaker 3: 12:22

Much like us in in high school. We pretty much were just like guns and roses, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2: 12:26

All we had to do was play instruments cigarette hanging out.

Speaker 3: 12:29

You guys did.

Speaker 2: 12:29

You went on like you had a band spitting image, so it's interesting that you should say that. So when I look back on personal stories or memories about this album, it is in fact 100 true that this album is what inspired me to pick up the guitar oh for real I saw. I saw the video for sweet child of mine and I said I want to do that now. This is after seeing the video countless times and asking myself is that guy black or is he white? You're talking about slash. Yeah, he was half correct.

Speaker 1: 12:59

He's half and still remains half right uh, but I at the time I just, I mean, I grew up in high school change, I couldn't see him under the hat half the time, correct?

Speaker 3: 13:09

well, there was no white dude. I know that run around with that hair, which was amazing, that's the thing.

Speaker 2: 13:12

So the hair throws you is he black or is he white? But I don't care, that guy can crush it on guitar. And I wanted to play guitar and so I bought a guitar and I bought an amp hawk. You vividly remember that Squire and you remember that Washburn microstack I had. So back in the day, and I guess you still can do it. But there were these books. They were guitar tablature books. So instead of reading the notes, tablature puts numbers on where the notes should be and that tells you what your fingers are and what fret you're at and all of that shit. So the first tab book I ever bought was appetite for destruction.

Speaker 3: 13:46

Nice, yeah, I wanted to play every guns and roses song I thought you were more of a zeppelin zeppelin guy my second book was led zeppelin four but no, I um, I remember a friend of mine called me from up the street. His name was. It was robert dilla, I don't know if I can say that. But um, he's like dude, are you by a tv? And I'm like, yeah, well, what's up? He's like, put on mtv right now. And I put it on. He's like there's this dude with like this hair and he's just shredding man. He's like you gotta see this. So I put it on. I was like what in the world is this amazing shit going on right now?

Speaker 1: 14:16

you were into it, yeah, but I was like wow, these guys are insane, incredible see I had a different like I remember welcome to the jungle and liking that song and all that. But I would like I said I wasn't really into rock back then. I mean it was okay, but I would never go out and buy like a rock album I was just about to say that's the idea.

Speaker 4: 14:34

You're a hip hop guy, you know yeah, I'm sorry, I know a million percent and like it was always a thing like and I've shared that with you in the past yeah and even you remember that, when I saw the entry song to this kick-ass album I remember seeing the video and and just being very like, wow, this is like different.

Speaker 1: 14:51

And I was, you know, I definitely dug it. But it wasn't until high school. Um, a mutual guy we all know, joey. We were in ninth grade and he gave me I think I referenced it before on a podcast gave me the cassette. And then I went, heard the rest of it and I was like, wow, this is like really good. There was many albums like that I discovered later on, just because at that time I wasn't into it.

Speaker 3: 15:10

But that's cool how that inspired you to play guitar 100 and, and you guys were on board with it who was from the get-go, so who inspired you, hawk, when you wanted to pick up the bass? Was that like towards high school? Were you still in grade school it?

Speaker 4: 15:21

was like a collection of stuff. No, I was in grade school oh nice we just listened to like a lot of metallica yeah gnr yeah you know, and even some of the 80 hairband stuff, that like you can't help but say, yeah, okay, I didn't wasn't primary, but yeah, you're definitely influenced but the hair bands were like kind of the big thing in la and people were kind of getting like tired of that sound, I think.

Speaker 3: 15:42

And then when g and orchid like wow, this is freaking rock and roll, man. Like these guys, like the way they wore like the the pants with the shirts and they had like rings on like they were playing with like it was, it was cool to see and that stuff that wasn't really going on right, that was like real rock and roll for when we were growing up.

Speaker 2: 15:57

Yeah the the hair bands, if and you know, hawk, help me out here if I'm wrong but but the, the the hair bands that you hear about, or that we, we came up with, so many of them were manufactured in the studio like that. They pulled this guy and that guy and the other guy together and say, okay, look, you're the band we wrote all these songs for. You Just play these songs Cause you have great hair or you have great stage presence or you know how to twirl a drumstick in your fingers. So it's so much of it was manufactured and shitty and bullshit, and you could, I mean, every other song sounded like every other song. When, when this album came out and I'll still to this day say this is probably one of the last great hard rock albums, without a doubt it just it resurrected the idea of hard rock and I mean, like gritty, these guys lived it. Everything was written from experience and they, it was just awesome well, that's what I.

Speaker 3: 16:48

I agree with you. With their songs, like they, they took what out of their life there in in la and how they were like trying to make it on the scene, and they just took different events of things that happened and made actual songs about it. I think that's what zap was saying.

Speaker 1: 17:01

It just was gritty, raw to the point and it was different I can see where you're saying that too, like these seem like the type guys if you saw them out at a bar off hours. They're dressed the same way 100 versus like there's no costumes versus like maybe poison or somebody, not to call them out, but any band that's like, and maybe not with all the makeup and all the you know I get all that. That's all part of their stage presence, but these guys seem to be real.

Speaker 3: 17:28

But even like Motley Crue, like I was kind of in a couple of Crue songs but I thought of them as a kind of like a glam rock. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 17:31

Absolutely yeah, like they really but then I liked, you know, being that you're all pretty much rock fans. So, if you would put GNR as probably one of the coolest legit rock bands. Who would you say was one of the cheesiest corniest 80s?

Speaker 4: 17:54

rock bands Like 80s hair bands.

Speaker 1: 17:57

Like just any band, like rock bands.

Speaker 2: 17:59

The cheesiest hair band, or let's go with the cheesiest hard rock band or the cheesiest hair band, or the let's go to the cheesiest hard rock band, or the cheesiest rock band, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 18:07

Trickster, trickster, would you put up there?

Speaker 4: 18:08

yeah, I definitely put trickster out there I haven't heard that name in a long time yeah that's that, that jumps up to trickster white snake white snake I mean coverdale was a man coverdale was cool and right play it. A white snake did have some like players, you know, but yeah, as far as like the cheeseball image, of rock but I'm saying like cheesy, like I think white snake was kind of cheesy.

Speaker 3: 18:27

Any band white line poison was cheesy.

Speaker 4: 18:29

I love poison yeah but they were cheesy, they're local. Well, like how we talked about.

Speaker 1: 18:33

Sorry sorry how we talk about like nickelback and we say people hate nickelback and all that it's a pennsylvania thing it's a pennsylvania thing, but like I'm just trying to think of, like in that era, like who was a band that if you're a metalhead and you're in the rock, that you're like man, screw these guys I would definitely go with.

Speaker 2: 18:48

Yeah, I would definitely go with trickster or even enough is enough oh, okay, I remember that, that name yeah enough is enough was pretty fucking cheesy who were the guys that?

Speaker 3: 18:57

I don't even know if it was rock and roll, but they're like once there was a kid crash test, yeah, crash, they don't count. Okay, I don't know if they were rock, I don't know what the hell they were that was 90s that was 90s pop, was it okay? No, so we're going to 80s.

Speaker 1: 19:10

I don't know when they were from um it was kind of like a type of negative type voice.

Speaker 3: 19:15

Oh yeah, like different you know?

Speaker 4: 19:17

but uh, yeah, I was just curious because metalhead would say any of that hair band, shit is corny yeah, but looking back.

Speaker 1: 19:23

Looking back, though, or during that time, were you like?

Speaker 4: 19:25

oh, winger was corny, don't you dare but they would take whichever one was popular at the time and that would be the hated on one oh, I got you there would be no particulars. It's an umbrella. Oh like yeah, poison's number one screw them.

Speaker 1: 19:38

Yeah, yeah, I got you oh, winger has a hit.

Speaker 3: 19:40

Oh man, I'm a metalhead but if you see gnr, they would definitely kick all the other hair bands' asses at that time. Sure, you don't want to mess with them.

Speaker 2: 19:48

The original iteration of GNR, for sure, for sure. And by original I mean the five that we knew Not to be confused with the previous guys. I mean there's a whole history behind Guns N' Roses.

Speaker 3: 19:59

You're talking about the other bands. When we get to it eventually, if, you guys want to hear about it.

Speaker 2: 20:04

I'm happy to regale you with the tale of how Guns N' Roses came together. Let me hear it. Here it goes. How did they begin?

Speaker 3: 20:11

Yes, I want to know this history.

Speaker 2: 20:12

Well, since you ask, back in 1983 in the West Hollywood section of Los Angeles, two guys, Chris Webber and Izzy Stradlin, teamed up and began writing songs. They recruited a locally known singer by the name of Bill Rose to join them. The three went on to form the band Axl and later changed their name to Hollywood Rose. Bill, in fact, was so enamored with the name Axl that he took it as his own stage name.

Speaker 1: 20:43

That's cool. That is cool, chris.

Speaker 2: 20:44

Webber, sorry, no, please go ahead.

Speaker 1: 20:46

Sorry, no, I was going to say I didn't know that about Axl the name, and I did see that earlier today when I was looking stuff up. So his name is Bill Rose, William Rose.

Speaker 2: 20:56

William Rose, in fact, his birth name. It is interesting. His birth name is Bill. Yeah, it is interesting, his birth name is Bill Rose. But his mom and his dad got divorced and his mom got remarried to a guy named Bailey, so for a while and it had adopted Axel.

Speaker 3: 21:19

He was adopted. Yes, legally.

Speaker 2: 21:22

So he changed his name from Bill Rose to Bill Bailey Not Beatle Bailey, but Bill Bailey.

Speaker 1: 21:28

Axel Bailey, that's right.

Speaker 3: 21:30

Every Rose has its own was actually after Bill.

Speaker 2: 21:32

Rose, oh wow. And he later found out in life of this Rose guy he took the name Rose. So that's when he became. Instead of William Bailey, he became William Rose. Back to his original name.

Speaker 2: 21:50

Cool, that's crazy His name was Slash, who at the time was in a band called Road Crew with two other guys, stephen Adler and Duff McKagan. Stephen Adler would soon thereafter become Hollywood Rose's drummer. Now, hollywood Rose didn't last too long. It disbanded, with Bill Axel Rose going on to become the lead singer for another local band, la guns, which had been started by a local guitarist, tracy guns. They were not that good, dude. Dude, you're welcome. You are welcome that they were phenomenal.

Speaker 4: 22:36

I mean, la guns might not have been everybody's thing and we're going to get into the whole they were a little glammy and thing, they were glammy but Tracy guns.

Speaker 2: 22:43

Shit, they were a little glammy thing. They were glammy, but tracy guns shit. Yeah, play dude.

Speaker 4: 22:45

Oh my god yeah, I imagine I'd like to get a hold of something early on and see how that was yeah, honestly, oh yeah, I didn't know that, so you're probably only going to find bootlegs.

Speaker 2: 22:53

I don't think he had ever recorded an album as the front man, but I for goddamn sure know that axl rose was the front man for la guns for a minute for a minute.

Speaker 3: 23:02

That's what I'm saying. If you look under any la gun songs, which I you know took a deep dive a while back, we were talking about, you know, gnr um, I don't know who their singer was, but they were not, they were just glammy like. A lot of songs were like pop glam weirdness, but they they might have been cool at one time when they had those players, but from what I know of them, we weren't growing up on the scene though in LA in the eighties, which could have been no, and these guys change looking crazy High time, right, yeah, it was.

Speaker 2: 23:27

It was a very incestual relationship amongst between Hollywood, rose, la guns and hell. A number of the LA road crew Like there was. They were just swapping members back and forth, consistently all of the time.

Speaker 1: 23:39

This is like Kaiser, so Say Shit, shit, shit.

Speaker 2: 23:41

You can see all the names coming together yeah, axl LA Guns, that's right.

Speaker 1: 23:46

I think something might happen here.

Speaker 2: 23:47

Something might Well. Hollywood Rose, despite having disbanded, would later have a reunion show on January 1st of 1985. Almost immediately afterwards, Hollywood Rose merged with the then iteration of LA Guns. The two bands became known as guns and roses. Oh yeah yeah, there it is and its initial lineup consisted of axl rose, izzy stradlin, tracy guns old beach and rob gardner is uh sorry, real quick tracy guns female tracy guns is a dude okay.

Speaker 1: 24:22

Tracy Guns is a dude. He's a dude.

Speaker 2: 24:23

He is a dude, gotcha, he's all man.

Speaker 3: 24:26

So who Old Beach was what?

Speaker 2: 24:29

Bassist I'm gonna say bassist, and Gardner was on drums, gardner Beach, and even Tracy Guns had either quit or been fired from the band within less than two months of the merger. They are replaced by the entire core band of road crew, which included slash, steven adler and duff mccagan. Thus you got axel, you got stradlin and now you got slash adler and mccaagan so this guy's name's gun, or uh, yeah, guns and he quit the band and then they kept the name, and can you imagine that, though?

Speaker 3: 25:06

how that would suck if your name was like frank beatles, so you were playing with them, guys, and then you quit so you were stuck with la guns, and then there's guns and roses so that's the thing.

Speaker 2: 25:15

So so when you have guns and roses, right, that was the merger of the then at the time, hollywood rose I'm sorry la guns and hollywood rose. All tracy guns did is he quit this band and he restarted la guns oh, he went to la yeah, I mean because hell, I can remember like it's a shame what happened to jane. Whatever that song is by la guns, it was like a significant uh hit for them it was a video video, everything.

Speaker 4: 25:39

Yeah, uh, that came. That came out well after appetite. Yeah, that was their big hit yeah so so they had commercial success sure, that's it.

Speaker 2: 25:47

Thank you, hawk. The ballad of jane that's right.

Speaker 1: 25:48

So they made some money. At least he got something not really.

Speaker 2: 25:51

No, he didn't get guns and roses money.

Speaker 1: 25:53

Yeah, he got money that would be the thing. Like you know, I I would think well that that did to a guy from the Beatles. Right, there was a guy that was in a band.

Speaker 2: 26:02

There was a fifth beetle. He quit. He quit where they started. Damn. The Beatles were started as a five piece, they went to a four piece.

Speaker 3: 26:07

Well, that's what I was part of Maroon six.

Speaker 1: 26:11

They cut back, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:22

Times. Yeah, fun fact, I know we were talking about them earlier. Uh, did you know that while hollywood rose, while they had been broken up, that slash actually tried for a then up-and-coming band named poison? They ended up choosing cc deville instead?

Speaker 2: 26:32

yeah, it worked out for him they hated uh, poison hated cc deville's attitude that they thought that guy was just an asshole, just a complete asshole. But they wanted an east coast band, so cc was from new york and all the other guys were from from there as well. You got the guys from mechanicsburg right so yeah they. They just wanted an east coast feel and, despite not liking cc and his jerk off attitude, they picked him up over slash, but wasn't that pretty much axl, with la guns being the asshole?

Speaker 3: 27:01

yeah, wasn't he like complete, like even like the band members when he got, when he got together with gnr, they were like axel was always axel yeah, so that's a another thing yeah, we can get into that later.

Speaker 3: 27:11

Well, no hell I'll get into it right now so perfectionist he is slash will tell you interviews but there was times where he wouldn't get on stage, like if his uh, his headband wasn't right or if he couldn't find like um, like he didn't feel right at the time, like there'd be like like dude, actually you got to get on I did hear a thing today I listened to.

Speaker 1: 27:28

Uh, it was a producer or something on this album did an interview and he said that when axl would sing he'd come like 7 30 at night and to record but he'd show up late. He was supposed to be there but he, because he had to be angry to sing like he had to be in that mindset because I can see where he was.

Speaker 2: 27:44

Like he had everything had to be perfect you know well, not just perfect for his first fully like, significantly paid for album now. So this wasn't their first album. They did put out an ep called live like a suicide. So again, that was just an ep, was what hawk four tracks I think, so four tracks on that album, maybe a fifth, it's just a ep, correct that lp.

Speaker 2: 28:07

Lp is this would no appetite was the lp live like a suicide, was their ep. They just extended play. So with those four or five tracks, they put that out. They had already signed to geffen like geffen paid for no, that was on uzi, but I mean they had already signed with geffen. But they put that out. They had already signed to Geffen, like Geffen paid for or no, that was on Uzi, but I mean they had already signed with Geffen. But they put that out to appease Geffen, like, look, we're just going to put this out really quickly so we can really devote time to working on appetite. So for appetite, back to the concept of Axl being whatever Axl is for this album, he was already a diva, like a huge diva. He insisted that each line of each verse, pre-chorus and chorus, be recorded on separate tracks. This was simply so listeners wouldn't hear him breathing in. Essentially, each exhale sung was its own track.

Speaker 1: 28:57

Is that that chocolate rain that you guys do?

Speaker 2: 28:59

Chocolate rain.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Just like that.

Speaker 3: 29:00

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 29:01

Just like chocolate rain. I mean, that's a guy that I mean I don't know. I lose my fucking mind over that. Like I can think of 8 and 16 tracks, but god damn, the number of tracks this guy would have had to use for every song is insane. Yeah, it's a lot of work it is.

Speaker 4: 29:17

That's why uh n-word singing was created n-word singing what can you elaborate on that?

Speaker 1: 29:23

what's inward singing? It's not tenacious d the d? Uh tenacious d?

Speaker 3: 29:27

you can't stop the metal they recorded the greatest song ever yeah tribute. Yeah, it was just a tribute. You can never have, or never what. Never play the greatest song, something like that.

Speaker 2: 29:39

I don't know, that's a whole another album review, which is a worthwhile album review for sure. Uh, let's see. So, uh, who wants to get into, uh, some song and album fun facts?

Speaker 1: 29:48

oh, I do yes, sounds like fun if they're facts, yes, hit me anybody want to.

Speaker 2: 29:55

Does anyone know anything about the cover art? I do, oh, share with us, matt please do.

Speaker 3: 30:01

Um, well, the cover do you have? Oh, you also have it here. Appetite for destruction was actually it was supposed to be the cover art of the alien type, uh, robotic rapist about to be punished by an even larger, savage robot. That's what, what's written here. But actually, uh, robert williams was a guy that did kind of like that, that art that you would see on the inside cover, yep, and I guess nobody could. They couldn't do that art and it couldn't be put out with that art on it, so they had to go to what it was Axl's tattoo, right.

Speaker 2: 30:30

The tattoo, I believe came later. Yeah, oh, it did, it was a tattoo artist, I think.

Speaker 1: 30:35

But I did hear something about that, robert Williamss. They went over to band, went over to go through his artwork and, uh, he, they picked that one, like collectively, they picked it and he was like you don't want to probably use that because it's not gonna like I've already had issues with putting it out and they didn't care because they loved it.

Speaker 2: 30:49

They're like it's perfect look, it's tough to sell an album when you have a cartoon drawing of a chick with her one boob hanging out and her panties are down around her knees. Right, that's, that's a tough sale, maybe just back in the day, correct?

Speaker 1: 31:02

yeah, was this before tipper gore and all that shit no, this already had the label on it explicitly it was going to be labeled one way or another.

Speaker 2: 31:10

I got you. I mean again you talk about parents or whomever gives a shit. But yeah, that's not gonna say that thing comes in the door, that's not gonna make one step in before it gets burned or thrown away.

Speaker 3: 31:21

Right Anyway, poor Catholic school kids.

Speaker 2: 31:24

And so, yeah, they ended up having to come up with that image, and I guess I think it was Dave. You're pretty sure you're right that a tattoo artist had come up with that idea of that, that Celtic cross with each of the five skulls and the spaces they were.

Speaker 3: 31:36

That was a Billy white. Billy White Jr was the one that made. That. Is that white.

Speaker 2: 31:40

Yes, or is that right?

Speaker 1: 31:42

Either way. I saw a cool shirt. I was hoping I couldn't get it in time, but it's the GNR logo here. Appetite for Destruction with a Cross, but it says Golden Girls Thank you for being a friend. And it's the Golden Girls' faces in there. You know what I mean. That's awesome. I want to get that, but too late can we just don't get it though.

Speaker 3: 32:02

Odb like that, we can just put hocker in the middle, sure we should do that.

Speaker 1: 32:05

Yeah for a new logo. Yeah, that we vintage album vintage album review nutley nick on there we, yeah, we gotta get you know, speaking of which I, well nutley, will be like it'll be like the full face around the whole thing. True, like god in the middle he could be like a puppeteer above us with strings and stuff.

Speaker 3: 32:20

Master of puppets, yeah, Nice.

Speaker 2: 32:25

I saw a similar t-shirt Instead of Golden Girls, it was the Constructicons. What's that?

Speaker 1: 32:30

The Transformers. Transformers.

Speaker 2: 32:32

What's a Constructicon? Come on, they formed Devastator the neon green guys.

Speaker 3: 32:37

They were huge, they formed that one, they were like Voltron, but for Transformers.

Speaker 1: 32:40

And then the good guys were Autobots.

Speaker 2: 32:42

Autobots. So the Constructicons were a group of five or six. I think it was actually six, it was six, they had that whole thing Little robots that merged together, that became Devastator. Now, sure, if they're picking sides, they were Decepticons. For damn sure they're bad. Okay, but the group was called the Constructicons, like you had the Aerialbots, or you had the Stunticons, or you had the whatever GoBots, gobots was awful.

Speaker 1: 33:04

Yeah, they weren't as good.

Speaker 2: 33:06

Damn terrible. Anyway, it had five heads of the Constructicons on there and at the bottom it read Appetite for Construction.

Speaker 1: 33:12

That's awesome.

Speaker 2: 33:14

Yeah, pretty good. Fun fact did you know that the band received a $37,500 advance on this album from Geffen records?

Speaker 1: 33:22

Is that? Is that a lot?

Speaker 2: 33:24

I mean you're talking 87. Now it's 37, five split between five dudes.

Speaker 1: 33:30

Right.

Speaker 2: 33:30

So I guess it's like look this'll, this'll put you up for a bit until you guys go out. This is, this is like money. So you can pay to live, we'll pay you to live. Money so you can pay to live, we'll pay you to live. So you don't have to go out touring, you don't have to do shows, you don't have to do this, that and the other thing, so you can just focus your efforts on this album. Dude, that was drug money for like two months 100 that went to buy drugs

Speaker 1: 33:48

that's what I'd like to know. What, like in 87, what, uh, let's say, like bon jovi was getting for. You know, I don't know if they were, as they were probably bigger by now than guns and roses right, like, let's say, a band like that, I wonder what they were getting for. Oh yeah, like an album like I mean that I'm a mathematician.

Speaker 4: 34:06

But that seems low considering how expensive it was to record the album exactly you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 34:11

They're already planning on recouping that so they had to spend on the album. Let's say they spent 370 grand on the album, but that was split between 12 people working on the goddamn thing just to make it working insane hours. Hell, what's his name? Was working 18 hour days putting that together. That, uh, mike clink I read someplace like he was putting in insane overtime for months putting this together. He was splicing it with razors himself instead of using machines and whatever.

Speaker 1: 34:39

Just he just kept going and going and going would Would have been smart to do like Batman and say, like you don't have to pay me, I want the backend. Sure, you know, give me a percentage if you cause. They had to know this was going to be a special album, yeah.

Speaker 2: 34:49

I mean the advance again is just like look man, we'll album. Like don't go on the road, don't do whatever, don't worry about a part-time job, this is your money to pay you to record.

Speaker 3: 35:03

But that was I, I think like geffen was the one that put him up in like the hotels gave him whatever they needed for you know, do you guys need some, some food, what do you? Whatever? Like I don't understand how, in advance, at 37.5, they were kind of like cool with that I think screw face made more on their debut album.

Speaker 2: 35:19

It's possible I'd have to check with the accounting on that one. Okay.

Speaker 4: 35:22

We did. Zap was a minor when we signed a contract, so he was only 17?

Speaker 3: 35:27

That's true, he's only 17 again.

Speaker 1: 35:30

My God Indeed, he was only 17. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 35:34

So there have been subsequent albums to Appetite for Destruction. But, as chance would have it, there are at least three songs that were later featured on the User Illusion albums User Illusion 1 and 2, that had already been available at the time when they were making Appetite for Destruction. So, like the first one, don't Cry that was the first song that they'd ever written. As Guns N' Roses and I, with absolute specificity, say that because again there was Ellie Guns, there was Hollywood Rose, surely they had their own songs. Don't Cry was the first song ever written by Guns N' Roses.

Speaker 3: 36:10

They said Axl would perform that at the Roxy actually the keys and everything he would perform. It wasn't what we know of Don't Cry as of now, but it was pretty spot on.

Speaker 1: 36:19

Pretty spot on. This surprises me this list here.

Speaker 2: 36:22

Yeah, november Rain. Of course that came not long after. Actually, if I recall correctly, there was a trilogy of songs written. There was Don't Cry November Rain and Estranged.

Speaker 1: 36:34

Is that slower? Like these two too? Yeah.

Speaker 2: 36:36

So November Rain is, for damn sure, one of the most expensive music videos ever made. It definitely is Uh that song was available at the time that appetite was coming out, like they had that in their repertoire. But sweet child, for this hard, hard, hard rocking appetite for destruction, album producers had said look man, you get one slow song, love songs. They called him. I think they get one slow song, love songs, they called them, I think. They get one and they chose Sweet Child of Mine, which, I mean, I think they chose wisely.

Speaker 1: 37:05

Yeah, that's a good one.

Speaker 2: 37:05

Now they use the term ballad. So again the producers are saying you get one ballad. I would not call Sweet Child of Mine a ballad. You know what I mean? Yeah, hawk, help me out here. That's not a ballad. It's a slow poppy song. It's catchy, but it's not a ballad. It's a slow paced rock song, isn't it? I mean, yeah, you can't slow dance to your with your old lady.

Speaker 4: 37:26

No, no that to me is a ballad, or maybe to me, but I don't know what definition of a ballad agreed.

Speaker 3: 37:33

But that would be like there's like a love reference to it, you know I think that's how it was marketed at that time, because that's what got the radio play.

Speaker 4: 37:40

It did get the radio play. That was a good song.

Speaker 2: 37:44

Almost as good as, in my opinion, one of the best songs off of the User Illusion albums. The third song that was available at the time, appetite, came out. You Could Be Mine.

Speaker 1: 37:55

Yeah, that was from Terminator right For damn sure that was from Terminator. Again gave.

Speaker 3: 37:59

GNR. A huge boost, huge boost. Who are these guys? I got to get that album.

Speaker 2: 38:04

And you know that this song was available at the time, or at least one could conclude that you know that, because if you had purchased the cassette or maybe the CD in the 80s but I'm guessing you were only purchasing the cassette, I don't know how far CDs went back. I know that when I I purchased the cassette and I'm opening up and I'm looking at the liner notes, there is a blurb underneath the photo of the band, all you know, all five of them, and they just look trashed uh. And it just reads you know, with your bitch slap wrapping in your cocaine tongue, you get nothing done. That that's there and I remember being a kid and reading that, thinking wow, man, how provocative how cool is that what's the cocaine tongue?

Speaker 3: 38:40

what does that mean?

Speaker 1: 38:41

that's insane what's cocaine.

Speaker 2: 38:43

So that's a line from you could be mine that is in fact, that's one of the the the lines in every chorus okay so that's a there's a fun fact, that's a cool fun fact that is cool.

Speaker 3: 38:55

When was spaghetti incident?

Speaker 2: 38:57

that was the last one. That was the last one with all well, I guess what's his name was gone, uh, adler. But okay, yeah, that was the last one before was the last one with all well, I guess what's his name was gone, uh, adler but okay, yeah, that was the last one before guns and roses went off the rails and, like decades later, chinese democracy.

Speaker 2: 39:09

Oh, that was a winner. So yeah, that was her last one and it was all covers and fun fact about that album, they recorded that entire album separately. At no point did the band get together. It even laid just the basic tracks. Everything was just FedExed back and forth. And it showed Zapp, it did it and it showed I don't know.

Speaker 3: 39:28

Did you ever hear any of that stuff from them? Remember they tried to release a single from that album? It was just horrible.

Speaker 2: 39:33

It was no good, I don't know. There's one or two good tracks on there Name one one.

Speaker 4: 39:38

They were just contractually obligated to something at that point. To have to do it because it it. Yeah, why do a cover album? Yeah you have a library of like some of the best rock songs ever done ever.

Speaker 1: 39:51

Is that what that was? A cover album, chinese democracy? Yeah, it was all covered.

Speaker 4: 39:54

Chinese democracy was just axles I'm sorry, end project.

Speaker 1: 39:57

Yeah, spaghetti, I'm sorry, spaghetti incident was covers oh, is that what that when Civil War's on and all?

Speaker 2: 40:02

that no Civil War's on. Use your illusion too, oh okay.

Speaker 4: 40:06

Okay, gotcha Crazy. They have a whole arsenal of stuff At that time. Any one of these songs, sorry Matt.

Speaker 1: 40:13

Go ahead.

Speaker 4: 40:13

Could have been put on that. But what do you take off, correct? Where's the trade-off? I could see why they didn't want to do don't cry in november. Rain on it, because they really didn't want those three instead of.

Speaker 3: 40:24

You said earlier, one slower tune, a true ballad on that album was too edgy and I don't think the ballads went with the persona that they were really trying to push with these guys I agree with the black and the jack and but I think they knew they had two, two huge hits off with those right and they were like we can release those whenever next and still build on the steam we have from Appetite.

Speaker 2: 40:45

They had to make a name for themselves as a I don't give a shit, I am the definition of sex, drugs and rock and roll band. They had to do that and once they did that, they could do whatever they want. Now there was, for the longest time, inner fighting within the band. Like look, axl, we're not here to write operas, we're not here to do these huge, incredible pieces of music. We're a five-piece rock and roll band. Man, let's put out some hard rock and shit. So that's another reason. At least two of those songs got canned or put in the back burner for the next album. Just, it's too much.

Speaker 3: 41:20

Nobody needed an opus, let alone two opuses right, oh pie uh, on their first album, mr axel's opus mr axel's opus precisely, precisely um, oh.

Speaker 2: 41:31

So just one thing I had written down here, just because it just the way I am, and as I had mentioned earlier about the, this album motivating me to start playing guitar uh, the, the actual sound of slashes guitar from this album, uh, didn't come about until the the the album was being recorded, so that tells me that he's playing through he. He had a completely different sound than the sound we've all come to know and love as slashes guitar. Uh, he'd actually found his way to a night for this album. Uh, he had found his way to a 1959 gibson les paul replica oh, not even a real, a replica which he himself outfitted with seymour duncan pickups, and he played through a marshall tube amp that was happened to be sitting around the recording studio so what?

Speaker 3: 42:13

who made the? Who made the replica?

Speaker 2: 42:15

the guy who made the replica, chris derrick. Oh, uh, yeah, uh. Sadly he actually died two months before the album was released. He was only in his 30s. I forgot.

Speaker 3: 42:24

He had some kind of aggressive cancer or something so he was playing a chris derrick, not a, not a gibson at all correct.

Speaker 2: 42:30

Chris derrick was a luthier and luthier luthier luther, luther, luther.

Speaker 3: 42:35

I've seen him at church.

Speaker 2: 42:36

He wasn't pentecostal he wasn't baptist, he was luthier. So as a luthier he made guitars, and he made guitars that looked like Les Paul. So it happens all of the time. Hell, even some of the majors are doing it. It's a good look, people like that look.

Speaker 1: 42:51

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 42:52

Didn't Bruning have that black Gibson? I don't know what you're talking about.

Speaker 3: 42:57

No, he had one, I think yes about no, he had one, I think yes, I'm sure he did. Was it a gibson, though?

Speaker 4: 43:03

yes, that was a nice guitar, it was a gibson, it was lovely. That's interesting. You say that about the guitar, john, because the tone of the guitar used that he got whatever. However they did it and whatever combination, is one of probably the most sought after, like wanting to duplicate, to be able to, because it's very unique what they get out of that. That configuration with that tube amp, it's just not the same anymore. You can't go. Of course you can emulate it and you can get this and that, but at the time it's like that Les Paul with that half steady, you know, whatever, everybody man went for it.

Speaker 1: 43:32

I'd say probably that guitar tone and then like some early Metallica stuff, like master puppets that they have off of that so when you record an album, no matter who you are, you plug your guitars into an amp and then microphones to the speaker and that's how you get your sound. They don't plug right into like a recording it could go either way oh, you can do that, you can you can have an amp.

Speaker 2: 43:52

So let's say, in slash's case, like since we're talking about this so slash found slash used a makeshift guitar that he put in different pickups and he used a Marshall tube amp that happened to be on site. That's what he played through. I mean, I'm sure he had some effects pedals and did whatever, but that's what he played through. And at the base of that cabinet he there was a little mic on the floor and that's what they're recording.

Speaker 1: 44:15

That's how they pick it up. There is interesting.

Speaker 2: 44:16

There is an other way that you're just playing directly into the board. You're just plugging right into the board just like our microphones are going right into the board.

Speaker 4: 44:24

Same thing, and then they can use a digital thing definitely a modern way of doing it yeah with everything that you can, not to kill the word, but emulate that sound digitally but even even now, most recently, I've been in the studio in the past few years, even when I played the bass.

Speaker 1: 44:40

Right right.

Speaker 4: 44:41

So they, even with the bass, would run a direct line in and go ahead and mic a cabinet in a separate room and combine the sounds.

Speaker 1: 44:50

Put them together to get the sound.

Speaker 4: 44:51

Yeah, to get what they needed out of it. So it's usually a combination. It's one or the other, or both at the same time.

Speaker 1: 44:57

But in the 80s, that had him like right up to the yeah for sure, rooms.

Speaker 4: 45:02

It's like you, it's a different warmth in the air that you get and depending on the room and stuff, just just like car stereo, I mean you're an audiophile, you know.

Speaker 1: 45:10

Yeah, yeah, true in certain rooms to perform certain ways you know sound can like, depending on like. I know there was one rock band I think it might have been like creed that recorded an album in the bathroom a lot of bands I think.

Speaker 3: 45:22

Yeah, in the 50s that was like big 60s. It's natural reverb in the shower, yeah outcast.

Speaker 4: 45:28

That's how andre and them always were rapping and tell you in the shower because it was a natural reverb that's cool I remember seeing that on documentary that was cool.

Speaker 1: 45:38

That's pretty cool. Look what I learned. We should do this podcast in the bathtub. See how it comes out. Hell yeah, are you looking at me, bum?

Speaker 3: 45:45

That'd be good visual yeah right. Like for the fans. That'd be good for YouTube. Yeah, that'd be funny. Somebody burst on the toilet Bubbles and stuff On the toilet strumming the guitar yeah, because of the sound condenser mics back yeah, too, there's a whole you know, the whole room, which I'd like.

Speaker 4: 46:12

Man, I don't know how they do it now really yeah, I'd be curious everything's pro tools? Yeah, everything is so.

Speaker 3: 46:17

So mixed in now, like you, can you? I mean they did that back in the 40s, 50s too, where they cut everything. You just hear one thing, but you could adjust everything right there. It's not even the real sound coming out anymore.

Speaker 1: 46:29

This isn't our real voices. I mean, let me turn this off once. Hold on. Hey guys, what's up? Okay, let me put it back on. There we go. Hey, this is the best show ever.

Speaker 3: 46:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Like who are these nerds?

Speaker 1: 46:42

You take it all out.

Speaker 3: 46:43

Yeah, just drop the whole sound board. Everybody sounds like Urkel and we suck.

Speaker 1: 46:47

We're actually Russian. Matt's voice really is not that basic. It translates to English Sneaky fucking Russians.

Speaker 2: 46:52

Damn. Oh. One last fun fact, really quickly, about this album. You know Hawk is not alone. This is one of the best albums of all time. I think it's actually ranked seventh best. This is, globally, of all time.

Speaker 3: 47:07

This is her debut album that's insane, it is the best selling debut album of all time okay, there you go.

Speaker 2: 47:14

This debut album of theirs sold over 30 million copies.

Speaker 4: 47:19

Damn, 30 million and that's up to date. Is it not like the release year? It was some astringent, 17 times platinum or something. In a year's time it went like superstar reed donkins.

Speaker 3: 47:31

Now these guys. I don't know that for a fact, not even, but then once once like the germans and like the russians, get their hands on stuff like this shit goes nuts kazakhstan yeah right, yeah, it just played, it dropped correct, so maybe be up to 33 million.

Speaker 2: 47:45

Yeah it's interesting this uh, as, as hawk mentioned, the like first year sales and stuff this album actually stalled when it first came out yeah, I heard that yeah, when it first came out it only sold x number of thousand copies and actually gevin was ready to just throw in the towel, say, well shit, I just lost my money on that one Uh. But they kept pushing and pushing and pushing, uh like local radio, to play it. Uh, I think one of the biggest obviously the the biggest one was the release of sweet child of mine as their first video uh on MTV. Once I got play hit, I mean, these guys skyrocketed the their second video, uh, welcome to the jungle.

Speaker 2: 48:24

They actually had to convince and I mean beg, borrow and steal mtv to play that song, like they did not want to play it because that song the video was like for the time it was a little shocking, it was a little risque. You're showing a guy getting off of a tour I'm not a tour bus. You're seeing a guy getting off basically a greyhound bus and some guy who was actually izzy stradlin uh came up to him, is trying to sell him drugs and then he's in an electric electric chair yeah, I mean that's at the time in the 80s.

Speaker 2: 48:48

That was a scary image. So you know the band slipknot you heard of them, of course.

Speaker 1: 48:51

The guy cory taylor yeah, he, he was. Uh, I saw a thing, I watched a documentary thing they were talking about this album and he said that he remembers like when he was younger, him and his friends, headbangers ball was on. Yeah and uh, I don't forget if it's a two hour, three hour block of videos ricky rackman yeah, and they played this.

Speaker 1: 49:10

Uh, I think it was welcome to the jungle at the very end, like it was. Like we're early in the morning, you know what I mean. But they saved it till the very end, I guess, probably because of those things you're talking about there. Like we don't want to put this on during the day, but after it played a little while the reaction was through the roof. People were like play that video, play that video.

Speaker 2: 49:28

I read that too. Yeah, I definitely read that too, that's wild and like what's that was saying, did you say fact?

Speaker 3: 49:40

and then it was on the charts for 147 weeks, god damn, but with only number one, number one single sweet child of mine. Yeah, just one number one, single so they was sleeping on it but that's the thing I mean. You had the people that knew gnr that loved them for what? Like the couple songs they heard on the radio. But then the people that hear the album were just like nah, man, that song's. That song is good, but you need to hear the rest of this. You need to hear that, hell yeah.

Speaker 4: 50:02

Is that the suffice it to say that without MTV, this may have never really shifted gears?

Speaker 2: 50:08

I agree A hundred percent. I would agree with that. I could see that. I remember all three of those videos distinctively Like yeah sure for them to play paradise yep, yeah, oh, I remember those days like they would play a rotation and you just knew once an hour, so you can see it somewhere until they came out with the box.

Speaker 1: 50:26

Remember that, yeah, you call the box and order the video oh my gosh, I remember that the box was a tv station.

Speaker 4: 50:32

Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah early 2000s.

Speaker 2: 50:35

I think late 90s, early 2000s it was video on demand, and by on demand, you're using the telephone, giving them a credit card number and they will play a song, your video, play your video when I worked at the pizza shop.

Speaker 1: 50:47

Uh, so this is 95. Uh, I remember us calling to play videos and stuff and, uh, while we were working, we're there nine, ten hours. So it's like, even if you call and it takes two hours to get your video on, at least you get to see it.

Speaker 3: 51:00

I would call Delilah.

Speaker 4: 51:03

I try to make up stories.

Speaker 2: 51:04

Hey there, delilah, like my mom's real sick and I don't know where my sister's at.

Speaker 3: 51:09

She'd be like oh, Matt, I'm sorry to hear that. Like, can we play something? That's funny.

Speaker 2: 51:17

I think she's still on right. No, maybe.

Speaker 3: 51:19

Maybe, Is she? That's awesome. She's got to be like 87. Hey there.

Speaker 4: 51:22

Delilah, my lady long A couple months back and I said, wow, this lady's still on.

Speaker 3: 51:28

But do you think it's the real Delilah, or did they switch her up?

Speaker 1: 51:31

They might have switched her up Like Buckethead.

Speaker 3: 51:33

Yeah, how many Bucketheads, hey, actually. I mean honestly he really is. I have to go check it out.

Speaker 2: 51:43

Look into it.

Speaker 1: 51:45

So what's 4-4?

Speaker 2: 51:46

Oh yeah. So now, if we would like, we don't have to go Again. If you haven't already guessed, I'm geeking out over this album, just because I love it so damn much.

Speaker 1: 51:55

Well, I like it, but explain that.

Speaker 2: 51:57

All songs. Every single song on this album is the classic 4-4. It is is, by far and away it is, the most common time signature of of all rock songs. So it is four, four.

Speaker 2: 52:09

So the first number is the number of beats in a measure the second number is the duration of the beat, of the, the duration of each beat. So in this case, if that makes sense, so in this case there are are four notes in a measure, and that's the first number. Four. The second number indicates that they are all quarter notes. So it's one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four versus like a waltz, which is a great comparison. It's that is three, four. There are three notes in a measure, but they're all measured at quarter time.

Speaker 2: 52:46

So waltz is one two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two. But they're all quarter notes, right? So first number is the number of notes. Second number is the, the measure of each note. Again, quarter note, half note, whole note, whatever, but in this case it's all quarter notes and zap and hocker will be holding music lessons here at the basement every tuesdays and thursdays at four o'clock there you go.

Speaker 2: 53:08

So matt had indicated earlier there's a g side and an r side of this album and the. What? What's the word? It's the sequencing, the. The sequence of the sequencing of these 12 songs was done with absolute purpose, the, the first six. If you're looking at cassette, the first six on that on that first side, on the g side, was like the, the, the guns side, right that's the drugs and the hard rock life and the living in the city kind of life. The r side, the roses side, the flower side, is all those songs are about. Now, they're not all lovey-dovey songs but they're. Each one of them is about either love, sex or relationships I didn't even know that you don't even know, I don't even know.

Speaker 3: 53:49

Is there a difference?

Speaker 2: 53:50

isn't there so like as a, for example and I'll go through this as quickly as I can, but anyone, please jump in when you're ready. So like, welcome to the jungle. Which, as we talked, was their second single off the album at at least in the United States. That song was inspired by life in LA and and just this, this hard living Like you're in the jungle. In fact, axl had heard that phrase from a homeless man At one point. He and a buddy his had run away from home. They got on a bus and they they took the bus to New York, took the bus to New York. These two get off the bus and they see this homeless dude, this crazy old, cracked out whatever, crazy eyed dude. He comes out, he says to Axl he's like you know where you are? You in the jungle, baby, you gonna die, axl's like I love this place.

Speaker 2: 54:35

Yeah, that's exactly where he got that from. That's probably CC DeVille that to him. Yeah, was he from new york? Cc was absolutely from new york. Yep, yeah, uh, second song on the album it's so easy. So, all of again, this is the hard life side of the album. This was actually inspired by the band's life. Uh, before even their first at that ep, before live like a suicide, was released. Uh, they had no money. They were just living off of groupies and other people who loved the band. So for them, it's so easy. Like they, all they had to do was play money and people would throw their vaginas at them, their, their money at them, booze, whatever. That's simply the the song it was.

Speaker 4: 55:13

It was so easy they're um, everybody's trying to please me, that's right baby um did you know that?

Speaker 3: 55:20

uh, there was a video to it's so Easy. That came later on.

Speaker 2: 55:23

I did not.

Speaker 3: 55:24

Yes, and the video featured Aaron Everly, who was Axl's girlfriend From Sweet Child O' Mine, which was Sweet Child O' Mine was written about and Aaron Everly was whose child.

Speaker 1: 55:34

From the Everly brothers.

Speaker 3: 55:35

Exactly One of them. Yeah, Yep. So actually at the time, David Bowie was dating Slash's mom Dang and he showed up drunk to the video David Bowie did. He was all like hello, actually you know what you're doing, Like that, Like he was all fucked up. That sounds like Dave Bowie eating a pudding pop.

Speaker 1: 55:52

Right.

Speaker 3: 55:54

I don't know, I really couldn't. It's like a. I guess that was a Cosby Bowie type thing, but um, so then he was going over there and I guess he was coffee what's that oh god it's about cosby and the coffee that's good but, um, yeah, so he he was hitting on, um, he was hitting on aaron everly.

Speaker 3: 56:17

Uh, david bowie was, and I guess uh axel like was kind of seeing it while he was trying to do the video because they were over there on the side and I guess Bowie was rapping to her. So like Axl like threw a fit and came over and started like throwing punches at Bowie and they were holding. Axl back.

Speaker 1: 56:30

Yeah, yeah, surprise.

Speaker 3: 56:32

So, um, yeah, so I guess Axl was throwing some blows at Bowie. Bowie was like being Bowie, like acting, all cool Like these people like you know right because he didn't want to get involved right, yeah, don't you know who I am. I'm dave bowie yeah, he's like, I'm david freaking bowie man fighter like bowie no, I don't think bowie was fighting anybody dude axel will throw down like he gets nuts, yeah, oh I can see there was I.

Speaker 2: 56:54

Well, there were things like something way back when, like he might have thrown a bottle at somebody in the, in the crowd, or someone just taking pictures.

Speaker 3: 57:00

Remember he like jumped in the crowd and, yeah, started beating the shit out of him.

Speaker 1: 57:03

Yeah, he got, he gets or at the time he got really pissed off about copyright and his image and all that shit like yeah if you're if you're seeing me, you're gonna pay for it I just picture him like like a flannel blur just going across the screen, like he's always running around on the stage, and he just seems like a wild man well, he was when they were actually really good yeah.

Speaker 3: 57:21

Like when they were guns and roses until they you know a little older. He's not the same axle.

Speaker 2: 57:26

No, he's 62 now, I think.

Speaker 4: 57:28

Dear God, this is 88. Yeah, man, I mean he's old dude.

Speaker 2: 57:33

That's true, that's true. Oh yeah, so, matt, as you had mentioned, this was in fact, that it's so Easy song was supposed to be the fourth video off the album and they did shoot the video, but the video never aired. Yeah, you can find it on YouTube. You absolutely can't find it on YouTube, but it was a sick. It was a very graphic video, like what was the name of that chick, matt Aaron Everly, aaron Everly. So she's involved with Axl in this video in a lot of BDSM, say I'm saying is a masochism, bondage, shit like that. So that didn't, that didn. Uh, hey, I sound like the rocket queen video yeah be too savory, wasn't too savory, uh, let's see.

Speaker 2: 58:12

Oh, third out, uh, third song night train. So for the, this was the fifth actual single off this album. This was released as a single. I did not know that off. Also, I thought night train for the longest time was another euphemism for heroin drugs.

Speaker 3: 58:26

That's what I thought too, until I read this.

Speaker 2: 58:29

Indeed, it is not. Night train is actually the shortened named for night train express, which is a cheap fortified wine with a high alcohol content and a low price.

Speaker 3: 58:40

It was a dollar twenty nine a bottle.

Speaker 4: 58:41

Correct, it's like, it's like bad, are you?

Speaker 3: 58:42

Yeah, correct. What was that other low price? It was a dollar 29 a bottle, correct? It's like?

Speaker 2: 58:44

it's like mad dog, are you? Yeah?

Speaker 4: 58:48

for loco.

Speaker 3: 58:48

Yeah, very similar. Yeah, yeah, but uh crabby um thunderbird, thunderbird they had an interview with uh duff mckagan and he was talking about, um, the way they they would pound this shit. This was the stuff that they did like before every show, every concert. That whole song is like spot on of like. If you listen to it now, you know like exactly what they're going through. Yep, but um, he said, everyone loves a job done on a budget.

Speaker 3: 59:15

So that's what he's saying about g and r, sure so they would get so effed up on this stuff and they just loved it. I wonder if that's still around.

Speaker 4: 59:22

I'm gonna have to look that up I wonder we should get some night train for the odb have some hot now, md, still some hot now it's relabeled his mogan david 20.

Speaker 3: 59:32

Yes, it is mogan david it is.

Speaker 4: 59:33

It's all fancied up wait, what is?

Speaker 3: 59:36

mad dog 22 I think, oh my god, I don't know if you, uh, I've just seen it in the past month or two at the liquor store. I think well, how do you say this? Kelly B? I don't know how you would say her name.

Speaker 1: 59:46

You can say Kelly B.

Speaker 3: 59:47

Yeah, kelly B like ran into her a while and she was the one that actually told me that she's like do you know that Mad Dog was like Mogan David actually, and I was like I did not.

Speaker 2: 1:00:01

I did not know that crazy husband, her husband slangs the bottles Slangs. Fourth song off the album Out to Get Me. Couldn't care less. I mean, it's a fun. I don't want to say it's a throwaway song, but it's a throwaway song.

Speaker 3: 1:00:13

It's alright.

Speaker 4: 1:00:16

I don't feel like the band wrote it, I just, I'm just not. You're saying somebody from like one, somebody wrote it and it's like here do this one and he's like oh, I put some lyrics to I don't know, but just didn't have the same panache the rest of them did.

Speaker 2: 1:00:30

Agreed.

Speaker 4: 1:00:31

It was like a filler, agreed.

Speaker 3: 1:00:33

What did? Oh, actually something on that Like it being a filler. They said it was a very delinquent child and he would always say everybody's out to get me and you know he's gonna end up in jail if he didn't move by the time he's 18. So he said he kind of scribbled that song down real quick and makes sense, interesting, it's.

Speaker 2: 1:00:54

So what is their fifth song on this album, mr brownstone? This is the one that is about heroin, for sure, uh, yeah, uh, in fact, I know we were talking about this earlier, but for sake of everyone else who wasn't in the driveway as we were talking about it, this song was written, uh, almost exclusively, but certainly primarily, by slash and uh izzy stradlin, as they were writing about their addiction. Like these two were just sitting around complaining about being addicted to heroin. Uh, this was the first song they wrote after having been signed to gevin. Uh, actually, uh, slash and izzy wrote this that they composed the music and then they, uh they wrote after having been signed to gevin. Uh, actually, uh, slash and izzy wrote this that they composed the music and then they, uh they wrote the lyrics, uh, actually, on the back of a brown paper bag that's phenomenal and just handed it.

Speaker 4: 1:01:33

Oh my god so riff all of it dude.

Speaker 2: 1:01:35

It's a great song look, I can tell you the ending of that song too it's great dude when this when I started playing guitar and I bought that tablature book, this was my first song. This was my go-to song. Not even sweet child of mine. I wanted to. This is of any song, I'm sorry, of any song on this album. Yeah, the the verses to this are just so dark and the the guitar mastery on it just sounds so good like it. It sounds like I'm watching a horror story. It's just awesome.

Speaker 1: 1:02:06

It's a really good song.

Speaker 2: 1:02:07

Love the verses to this, the music behind the verses. Leave it all behind man.

Speaker 1: 1:02:10

This might be my second favorite song on this album. Oh, okay, I have another favorite.

Speaker 3: 1:02:16

We say Brownstone is your favorite.

Speaker 1: 1:02:17

Second favorite. I have another one for another reason.

Speaker 2: 1:02:29

We passed my favorite song on this album, so which was? Which was night train?

Speaker 4: 1:02:31

night train is your favorite okay, I don't know, I see I like again. I like this song for the verses, but I could not care less about the choruses.

Speaker 2: 1:02:33

We could pick favorites. We can, we can, yeah. Next song on the album, paradise city uh this was their third single in video in the us uh was written by excellent slash. Well, they were actually on their way back from a show with the rest of the band. Slash was humming his melody and Axl just sang along take me down to the paradise city. And then slash, just as soon as he heard that. Like somebody. This happens to us all the time. Right, somebody says something, then you try to chime in with something that rhymes. So as they're going and clicking along with the song, axl says whatever he says, and then he I'm sorry, axl says take me down to paradise city. And slash comes in. He says where the grass is green and girls are pretty and that that just stuck. But after slash had also made an attempt at saying something, and I'm 48 years old.

Speaker 1: 1:03:24

Yeah, and that's probably what I would have came up with. I'd still come up with that, yeah, right.

Speaker 3: 1:03:28

We don't change 10 to 48, we're still pretty much all the same.

Speaker 2: 1:03:31

It's all the same. So Slash had actually said that he did, in fact, like we would have done as well. And so the band said no iteration, nice, where the grass is green stuff. So he gives him radio play. Then, yeah, yeah, all right side r first song on the second side, my michelle good song. This was uh written about, actually a friend of the band, michelle song, uh, michelle song, uh, michelle young. Uh was the chick's name. Yeah, no, I'm wrong. I'm wrong. I'm wrong, I'm wrong when I said, mr brownstone, I like the verses. No, I like the choruses. My michelle is the one I like the verses.

Speaker 3: 1:04:05

Yeah, daddy works in porno.

Speaker 2: 1:04:07

Yeah, that's the dark.

Speaker 3: 1:04:08

That's the dark, that mommy's not around yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:04:10

So this is my favorite song, yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:04:12

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:04:18

I my song like for you mom, and she thought it was gonna be some sweet song. We started playing daddy works in porno. Now that mommy's not. And she's like why would you play? It's just like an ongoing joke for years, you know. That's like she's my michelle and this is your song this is your song, not my, michelle you should have played that.

Speaker 3: 1:04:36

You should have played that at your wedding.

Speaker 1: 1:04:37

It would have been our song, would have been great, but luckily for her her life didn't go this way as far as her dad works in porno and all that, but yeah this chick was really appreciative of this song.

Speaker 2: 1:04:48

Surprisingly, because at one point early on she had said to the to the band like, oh man, I wish somebody would write a song about me because, I mean, any chick would love that.

Speaker 3: 1:04:56

That's cool right yeah, this hotel wasn't free man right.

Speaker 2: 1:04:58

So axl writes this song that's just brutally honest about this chick's upbringing. She was addicted to heroin, her mom had died and then her dad got into the porno industry, for Christ's sake, and so he puts that in the song and he's like look man, you wanted a song, here it is. It's about you, and she actually appreciated that.

Speaker 3: 1:05:15

She likes it Like, hey, thanks for the honesty. She used to love her heroin. Now she's underground, that's awesome.

Speaker 4: 1:05:21

Yeah, it's quality.

Speaker 1: 1:05:23

It is a great song, my Michelle is a good song.

Speaker 3: 1:05:25

All kidding aside, I do like this song.

Speaker 2: 1:05:28

That's one of the top five. This is the one for the verses, not Mr Brownson. This one I love Again, the musical. The music behind the verse is so good yeah it is good. Think About you, second song on the second side. This, to me, is a throwaway song.

Speaker 3: 1:05:45

No, I, I, I don't agree. Okay, it's, look, go ahead, this open forum here. No, um, yeah, because when we were up, uh, I think out in the, out in the driveway, which we're gonna have the driveway tapes coming out in like 10 years, they're gonna they're out there somewhere pre-show. Yeah, you guys, you guys will find out about that my ring doorbell.

Speaker 3: 1:05:57

The microphone's not that good no, but uh listen yeah, whatever you want listening to this album, think about you is one of the ones I turn up. I just, I just I dig the beginning now could you hum the just because I can remember this song what is I think?

Speaker 1: 1:06:11

about you all the time, my heart said yes, my music was deep inside, I love you best.

Speaker 3: 1:06:19

I don't know, it's play the beginnings app. Nope, that's it.

Speaker 4: 1:06:22

That's it, yeah, that's pretty much it it's, I think about you.

Speaker 1: 1:06:26

Yes, I do, yeah, I have to hear it, I think about you.

Speaker 2: 1:06:31

Only you. I do Wow, Dave, you definitely need to hear it the right way Only you.

Speaker 3: 1:06:37

I mean the right way. I think about you.

Speaker 4: 1:06:45

I don you, I don't know it's a good song, dude, yeah good and terrible. Oh, you guys, you guys are wrong all right, well, so think about what's better. Uh, you're crazy, or think about you you're crazy, oh yeah, oh yeah, you have it right here, you know? Yeah, you're not even there yet.

Speaker 3: 1:06:56

Yeah, but I'm just saying what on this side? What would be a better song?

Speaker 2: 1:07:00

you're crazy you're crazy I'm saying you're crazy. No, I'm saying you're.

Speaker 3: 1:07:04

Then think about I'm saying you're crazy for thinking you're crazy is a better song well, we're gonna agree to disagree.

Speaker 2: 1:07:10

Yeah, go ahead. No hawk's here now.

Speaker 4: 1:07:13

The lies version is very good I was about to say the acoustic yeah crazy phenomenal the g and r lies the acoustic is good.

Speaker 3: 1:07:21

Yes, I'll give you that they didn.

Speaker 2: 1:07:22

I wonder why they didn't make an acoustic version of Think About you. Is it because they hated the goddamn song?

Speaker 4: 1:07:28

You set that up nicely for yourself.

Speaker 3: 1:07:30

Yeah, it was. I think it's a decent song.

Speaker 1: 1:07:32

They were waiting for Matt to cover it.

Speaker 2: 1:07:36

So, matt, in your defense, so Think About you was written primarily by Izzy Stradlin, right yeah?

Speaker 3: 1:07:40

he plays lead. You have that there.

Speaker 2: 1:07:44

I see that now he does it now izzy stradlin, his background, his love, his, if he goes, and he's going to listen to music. He's going to listen to like rockabilly stuff. He's going to listen to almost punk type stuff that like that's just what he's into. Slash is going to go back and listen to aerosmith rock's album well, no slash.

Speaker 3: 1:08:02

slash is very bluesy Slash this whole album is like blues, gritty rock, Throwing out the examples. Needless to say, I'm saying you guys said you hated this song. I thought it was a pretty cool song. I hate this goddamn song.

Speaker 1: 1:08:15

I don't even know the song, I don't even fucking know what you're talking about.

Speaker 3: 1:08:20

I'm impartial.

Speaker 2: 1:08:28

Listen to the album favorites. I have the. Yeah, it would definitely rank at the bottom of the album of the 12 yes, no, this is the judas of the 12 apostles on this.

Speaker 3: 1:08:32

Okay, I get, I get the judas. I'll take that, but I I'm. I'm just saying here you guys, I, we're agreeing to disagree. That's why I have a podcast, something you talk about that's right, I want to get some listener go on this.

Speaker 4: 1:08:42

Tell us your favorite songs.

Speaker 2: 1:08:44

Yes, please, yeah, man Look Chocolate, vanilla Strawberry.

Speaker 3: 1:08:47

I'm not saying it's my favorite song on the album. I'm saying it's a song that I enjoy. You like it, I like the song. Yeah, I mean, I don't hate any songs on this album.

Speaker 1: 1:09:05

There's a couple songs that I think are maybe maybe a year or two ago, because I never listened to it the whole way through, but we're gonna get to it, oh yeah, we're gonna get to it.

Speaker 2: 1:09:10

So let's, let's get to it. Man, we're dragging this on. So third song, second side, sweet child of mine, everybody knows this goddamn song. Everybody in the world knows this song. Epic perfection it was. It was something special, and the fact that it all started out with just a finger exercise, just a warm-up you know, it's like a, it's a three-chord song it is, it really is slash slash hates this song.

Speaker 3: 1:09:31

He does. Slash hates the song. He thinks it sucks, he does.

Speaker 2: 1:09:34

I agree with slash oh, fun fact, the breakdown at the end was actually a suggested edition by a music producer who'd been a part of the demo recording sessions, and that what we've all come to know and have heard thousands of times that where do we go? Where do we go now? That was actually just axel not knowing what kind of lyrics he was going to put in there, so he just recorded him like, where do we go now?

Speaker 2: 1:09:57

that's right, yeah, so what are we gonna do next? What's part of this breakdown that you want? What's part of this, whatever? And they, the guy, said you know, why don't you sing that?

Speaker 1: 1:10:04

and so he did. That's a cool fact. Yeah, I heard a similar thing with. That was system of a down that rick rubin had them do that in. Uh, that they're one of their big hits. He, he said, go grab a book off that shelf and he opened it, just opened it to a page and he had him read uh, father, why have I forsaken me? And all that.

Speaker 4: 1:10:22

You know that oh yes, it's a true story, man. Yeah, I did not know.

Speaker 1: 1:10:25

Chop suey song chop suey, that's what it was, yes, so it's amazing what comes out of that.

Speaker 2: 1:10:30

I mean. So that's what that's from the bible, right?

Speaker 1: 1:10:32

that's jesus I don't know if it was from a bible or. Rick rubin is amazing.

Speaker 3: 1:10:37

He's the man rick rubin is incredible. He's, he's like such. His producing level is above and beyond talk about versatility we should do a whole podcast about him. I would, because we could cover so many different things.

Speaker 2: 1:10:49

Wait a second. That is from the bible, because jesus says aloe, aloe, lama sabachthani father into your hands.

Speaker 3: 1:10:55

I know, or that's my spirit.

Speaker 1: 1:10:57

It's why have you forsaken that's right, it's my god my god, why have you forsaken me?

Speaker 2: 1:11:02

isn't that on the cross, yes, yeah as he is dying ps. Welcome back from the dead, jesus.

Speaker 3: 1:11:09

Yeah he's up and adam.

Speaker 2: 1:11:10

We just celebrated good to see you, jesus. Fourth song, second side. You're crazy, uh. This is a quick, simple and easy one. Lyrics were done by axl just his experience in volatile relationships. However, apparently Metallica, stone, temple Pilots and Seether like this song better than Think About you, because all of those bands have covered this song, live in varying performances, because it's so simple, just stupid.

Speaker 4: 1:11:40

Metallica shredded it. I've heard that version of it.

Speaker 1: 1:11:43

I have to check that out.

Speaker 4: 1:11:44

I've got to look that up they went back to their straight leg so you think anything goes is better than think about you I think anything on this album is better than think about you.

Speaker 3: 1:11:53

Anything goes tonight oh, uh.

Speaker 2: 1:11:57

So in fact anything goes second to last song on the second side that was kind of my intro.

Speaker 3: 1:12:01

I like what you did there.

Speaker 2: 1:12:02

I like your style, I like your moves. That was a good transition. This was written back in the Hollywood Rose days. It was just never released. Whatever, the lyrics reflect the lifestyle of the band and the whores who were hanging with the band at the time. In fact, to encapsulate and to try to capture that moment, uh, in one of the last choruses of, I should say, the last chorus of this song, as it's just repeating and repeating, there's actually a sound effect uh slash makes with his guitar.

Speaker 2: 1:12:31

it's meant to mimic the sound of a, of a camera taking like snapshots yeah, and it's like you hear the the real move and the click and the real as much.

Speaker 3: 1:12:40

Much like the randoran girls on film. Girls on Film yeah, like that thing. There you go, damn.

Speaker 2: 1:12:45

And finally, the sixth and last song on the second side and my personal overall favorite song on this album.

Speaker 1: 1:12:54

Rocket Queen. This is the one that I never listened to until a couple years ago and I'm like what the hell? I didn't know, it switched.

Speaker 3: 1:13:00

Yeah, great bass line in this too.

Speaker 4: 1:13:01

Layers man. Yeah, hell, I didn't know it switched. Yeah, great baseline in this. Two layers, man. Yeah, they did a lot. They did that, that cut and layer a lot with this album, but that one in particular is dramatic.

Speaker 2: 1:13:10

It's awesome song yeah, I mean, it really is an incredible song. And we mentioned her earlier, that woman named adriana smith, uh, who was a guns and roses groupie and a stripper at the time. Uh, she'd been uh in a relative, uh somewhat of a relationship with Steven Adler, the drummer, for about a year, but Adler would never admit that they were BFGF, he would never say that she's my girlfriend. So that's going to wear on her for a bit. So one day, while at the mixing sessions for this album, axl knowing this, he was free and clear. Adler, it's not his girlfriend, it's just some chick that's hanging out with him. So Axl says to her you know, hey, you know, why don't we just go have sex in the vocal booth so we can put these sounds down? You know, just to have it, we'll put it with the song. She said, sure, I'll do it for a bottle of Jack Daniels. And so these two banged in the vocal box for about a half hour.

Speaker 3: 1:14:04

It's basically audio porn they had going on.

Speaker 1: 1:14:06

Did she get royalties, I wonder.

Speaker 2: 1:14:08

No, she did it for a bottle of Jack Daniels, that was all, but that was verbal.

Speaker 1: 1:14:12

I wonder if she can go back on them Like hey, I'm on the album.

Speaker 2: 1:14:16

They could just as easily say we recorded somebody else.

Speaker 1: 1:14:18

Yeah, true, I guess you can't prove it to you. Nope, I guess you can't prove it to you.

Speaker 3: 1:14:21

Nope, they said that, I guess Adler. After one of the shows some girl came up. He was like making out with her and I guess this girl saw it.

Speaker 1: 1:14:28

And that's why she came out.

Speaker 3: 1:14:28

Yeah, and she was kind of like man, what the fuck? So I guess, yeah, axl, like she came on to Axl, axl was like I'm cool with it.

Speaker 1: 1:14:44

So that second part of that is a big Motown. He was big in the soul music but for some reason I never really knew why, like why he loved Guns N' Roses so much and Axl Rose. But he, axl Rose, is a soulful singer. I think he has a lot of soul in his. If you listen to him sing like on, this song in particular, is one where I really heard it and I never really heard that part of this song until until, like I said, a few years ago, I could see why my dad likes Guns N' Roses and Axl Rose in particular. He has soul in his voice, sure, and in this song. I really like this song, especially the second half.

Speaker 2: 1:15:12

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:15:12

Because of that, where it breaks down and he starts singing.

Speaker 2: 1:15:15

Yep.

Speaker 1: 1:15:16

At that part I can see why my dad really likes Guns N' Roses. Or did like Guns N' Roses, or did like. Guns N' Roses you know he's since passed, but I mean that's again.

Speaker 2: 1:15:25

In my opinion, that's their masterpiece for this album. It is the by far and away the greatest song. My own opinion right so did we go through everybody's favorite songs on the album well, I know I said mine was my Michelle.

Speaker 1: 1:15:38

Just cause of that, you know what I mean with my wife and all that yeah, so that's my wife's name. You have to say that a goofy reason, but like, yeah, just, but I do like the song. I would say, mr Brownstone, rocket, queen and my Michelle are probably my three favorites, that's where I'm at, oh how about you Hawk?

Speaker 2: 1:15:54

Hawk D no go.

Speaker 4: 1:15:56

Hawk Brownstone um the intro track of, you know, welcome to the Jungle on Rocket Queen.

Speaker 1: 1:16:04

I'll go with. Nice Good ones, matt, what you got.

Speaker 3: 1:16:08

I'd say what Night Train, rocket Queen and what would be my third Brownstone probably.

Speaker 1: 1:16:15

Brownstone, Nice and Zapp. You said this is your favorite Rocket Queen, but do you have other ones that are close?

Speaker 2: 1:16:22

Yeah, just overall. The overall song by far and away is rocket queen. From a verse perspective, it's my michelle.

Speaker 1: 1:16:28

From a chorus perspective, it's mr brownstone gotcha yeah so we're almost all on the same page for the most part, with ones that are like, stand out, but I guess, like, uh, welcome to the jungle has been played, so much that right, it burns on you some of those songs yeah, and I totally understand.

Speaker 4: 1:16:44

But from a perspective of when that opening riff starts and then that build up and an actual scream over the top, oh, that's insane. Kick straight down. That's where the album starts. And it does not stop punching in the face until you know bitch slapped in the face punch to the face punch to the face, I'll drive to the face uh even to the face. Pile, drive to the face, even out to get me pushes is not my favorite, but that whole first G side just goes, man.

Speaker 2: 1:17:09

Yeah, it does, it really drives, bro, it really drives.

Speaker 3: 1:17:13

And this was at a time, too, where we had tapes and you weren't. You know how it was hard to maybe fast forward. You didn't even have to with this tape.

Speaker 2: 1:17:20

It was you just played it and it was.

Speaker 3: 1:17:22

It was fun to listen to at the time. It still is. Yeah, until you get to think about you yeah I'm kidding, zap, you're crazy nice.

Speaker 2: 1:17:30

Well played, sir. Well played, touche, all right. Well, that's all I got on this and I I apologize. I'm sorry if I bogarted this too much, but this is just such a killer fucking album, man. It's just so awesome.

Speaker 1: 1:17:42

I can't stop talking about it well, no, no, you guys definitely know music, this type of music, definitely better than me. Like I don't know, like you just talking about the four, four, signature or whatever. I'm not a musician, I'm not going to know that or whatever. So I mean hearing that part or just knowing the. That one has a theme and the other one I never knew that, but now I will look for that when I'm listening and stuff. So, Hockey, you picked this one because this is one, would you say, out of the 80s, like the most important rock album of the 80s.

Speaker 4: 1:18:11

I mean that's a debate up to everybody's personal opinions and whatnot. I would say, yeah, it was a vital. It was a transitional time from the hair band to a little edgier. What they did musically wasn't any different of a recipe than anybody else was doing, but for some reason it was edgier and it just worked. It was 4-4, like John explained, it's rhythm and blues-based music and yeah, it was just like a modern take on that. I mean, most rock is. That's a whole different discussion, man. That'd be like two days worth of podcasting to discuss that we have time.

Speaker 1: 1:18:45

If you want, we got coffee but yeah, it's to me very important yeah, there's a whole genre of rock I think we talked about a long time ago. It's called math rock. You ever hear of a band, meshuggah?

Speaker 3: 1:18:59

Meshuggah.

Speaker 4: 1:19:00

I've heard of a lot of math rock like John and Tiffany and stuff well, Meshuggah is from like Sweden of a lot of math rock like Chon and Tiffany and stuff.

Speaker 1: 1:19:04

Well, meshuggah's from Sweden or something and they're one of the bigger math rock bands. They're a heavier band their drummer's pretty sick. But they talk about their time signatures. If you listen to it it sounds like it's off almost, but that makes sense.

Speaker 2: 1:19:20

Rush is notorious for that progressive rock, even the Alice in Chains. How's that makes?

Speaker 1: 1:19:22

sense if that rush is notorious for that progressive rock.

Speaker 4: 1:19:23

Uh, even the allison chains, yep, yep oh yeah, tool, yeah, I guess grunge is big on a three, four transition math rocks are like that six, eight crazy signatures where they jump back and forth yeah, do you guys ever hear animals as leaders? No, who's the?

Speaker 3: 1:19:39

time signatures on those are not me band.

Speaker 4: 1:19:41

Who's mike portman? Um fucking dream theater. Dream theater, oh my god so good man.

Speaker 2: 1:19:44

Yeah, that's, they're signature on those. The Portney band, who's Mike Portney? Dream Theater, dream Theater, oh my God, so good man.

Speaker 4: 1:19:47

Yeah, they're big on that Musically phenomenal you can start to hear it and what you're saying is when you hear it, you're like ah, it just sounds odd.

Speaker 1: 1:19:52

It sounds off Because it is Right.

Speaker 4: 1:19:57

Once you learn to look for it how it comes, because it's so freaking tight.

Speaker 1: 1:20:01

Their drummer of Meshuggah plays like down at his feet he's playing one rhythm and up here he's playing another rhythm.

Speaker 3: 1:20:09

Your mind. I don't know how he's even doing it Even with double bass. Just a I don't know, but he does some weird shit.

Speaker 4: 1:20:17

Those are players' favorites, the average music fan. I just can't know. It's too much.

Speaker 2: 1:20:24

I can't find the melody it messes up my toe tapping.

Speaker 3: 1:20:27

It messes up my head bobbing the 4-4 toe tap does not, does not coincide with with the 6-8-4, whatever I start thinking you're having a stroke or something.

Speaker 2: 1:20:38

Christ, did I miss one?

Speaker 1: 1:20:39

something's not right, yeah, but yeah, man, I definitely dig this album. I have it in my own personal collection, but you know that because I don't have a lot of stuff like that, but this is one album that I've grown to love over the years. So, um, I was really excited to hear about it.

Speaker 3: 1:20:53

And here you guys take on it well, thank you, hawk, for bringing this to us.

Speaker 4: 1:20:57

Yes, thank you, hawk appreciate it man this was fun um, no, thank you guys for allowing me to join in the discussion. Awesome, wouldn't have had it any other way.

Speaker 1: 1:21:05

For sure, yeah, and Hawk's going to hang out, I think, for a vintage cinema review, if we're lucky.

Speaker 2: 1:21:09

If we're lucky, if we're lucky If we're lucky.

Speaker 1: 1:21:12

So do you guys have anything in closing on this?

Speaker 2: 1:21:14

one.

Speaker 4: 1:21:14

No, we beat the shit out of this one we're going to get ready to break the ice here is standing still.

Speaker 1: 1:21:21

So, yeah, I guess that's it. Don't forget to find us on Facebook Instagram at Old Dirty Basement and on TikTok at Old Dirty Basement. I guess that's it for now, so we'll catch you where.

Speaker 2: 1:21:30

On the flip side If we don't see you sooner, we'll see you later.

Speaker 1: 1:21:35

Peace. Thanks for tuning in to the Vintage Album Review and the Old Dirty Basement. You can find us and our theme music from the Tsunami Experiment on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your music and your podcast. Don't forget to leave that five-star rating on Spotify, and I guess that's it for now, so we'll catch you where.

Speaker 2: 1:21:52

On the flip side If we don't see you sooner, we'll see you later. Peace.