Guns n Roses-Appetite for Destruction

Happy Memorial Day!!

For my latest post I'm going to review one of the greatest rock albums ever written and it is also the biggest selling debut album, Appetite for Destruction by the one and only Guns n Roses. The first time I ever owned this album I got it by finding it on cassette on the floor of my high school locker room. The wheels of the tape, well one of them, was loose so I had to adjust it so it would fit into my walkman. A small price to pay to listen to such a great album.

Guns n Roses is my 2nd favorite band of all time and it is because of the music on this album. This album is so gritty and raw its just unbelieveable. From the first track "Welcome to the Jungle" to the very last track "Rocket Queen" is just an amazing array of grooves and hooks and solos that you just can't keep your ears off the music. One of my all time favorite songs is "Sweet Child O'Mine" which is just a great great song what more can you say. Other fav's of mine are "Nighttrain", "Out to Get Me", "Mr. Brownstone" and "Paradise City". This whole album just embodies what rock music is all about. Many tracks can still be heard today on modern and classic rock radio. This album is still a top seller in record stores everywhere. I don't think theres one person whether there into hard rock or not that doesn't like at least one song from this album. It is a timeless classic that will never go out of style. The screeching vocals of Axl Rose and the amazing guitar work of Slash has and will continue to influence musicians around the world. Appetite for Destruction may very well be the top album of my youth.

Album Quote:

"Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide, and pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me bye"

Poison-Flesh & Blood

One of the first 2 or 3 music videos I ever saw was "Unskinny Bop" by Poison. Right from there I just loved this band. When I got my first CD player in 1990 I bought several cd's, one of which was Poison "Flesh & Blood". This album and this band mean a whole lot to me. For one thing I remember the time I was watching the video for "Unskinny Bop" for like the hundreth time and there was a moment during the guitar solo when I just felt embraced in the music so much that I nearly jumped off our couch and started rock'in out. It was like a switch was flipped on in my head that started my passion for music. There is now a lock over that switch preventing anyone from turning it off for the rest of my life.

This album was my first exposure to Poison. One song that really sticks out in my mind is track # 11 "Something to Believe In". This song was the first song to ever touch my soul. It reached me on levels of emotion that you don't even know you have when your as young as I was at the time. To this day I get goose bumps whenever I hear it. This album features lots of great songs like "Ride the Wind","Flesh & Blood Sacrifice" "Life Goes On" and the previous songs I mentioned. It also has lots of great deep cuts. One song I always loved when I was a kid was track # 8 "Come Hell or High Water" a great rebellious rock song that really spoke to me. Other great deep cuts are "Let it Play", "Valley of Lost Souls" and "Life Loves A Tragedy". Theres actually not one bad song on this album.

Album Quote:

"When I hear the music all my troubles just fade away"

Motley Crue-Decade of Decadence

Now I wouldn't normally review a greatest hits album, mostly because they are basically a collection of songs from several other great albums the artist put out. This one however holds dear to my heart.

In 1991 80's rock group Motley Crue put out a greatest hits album spanning their first 10 years together. This was the first Crue album I ever owned. I remember asking my mom for it as an X-mas present when I was 12. I remeber getting it on cassette and just listening to it almost non-stop for like the next 4 years to come. This album featured songs which I was already in love with thanks to MTV who actually played videos at the time. Those songs were "Home Sweet Home" which may have been the first power ballad I ever got into, "Dr. Feelgood" and a great live version of "Kickstart My Heart" a couple of kick ass rock songs. It also introduced me to some of the Crue's stuff prior to the Dr. Feelgood album. One of the most fun songs to listen to was "Smok'in in the Boys Room". This song was just a blast to listen to because I was right at that age of rebellion where I just hated school and homework and all that crap. It also intoduced me to great songs like "Girls,Girls,Girls", "Wildside", "Livewire", "Piece of your action" and "Shout at the Devil". There were also 3 awesome bonus tracks, a cover of the Sex Pistols hit "Anarchy in the UK", "Angela" and "Primal Scream". Now typically when a band puts out a hits album with bonus tracks those songs are more like album fillers and not usually very good. With these 3 songs it was the exact opposite. The Crue's version of "Anarchy in the UK" is simply the best version of this song in existence,"Angela" was just a kick ass song which Nikki Sixx wrote for his wife at the time. "Primal Scream" is just one of the most bad ass songs ever written. All 3 songs remain some of my all time fav's from the Crue.

This album is now unfortunatly out of print. You can find it at some used record shops, I know I did. and even if ya don't the Crue has put out 2 other hits collections including a dvd of all their videos. This album is the reason for me being a super huge Motley Crue fan.

Album Quote:

"If you wanna live life on your own terms you've gotta be will'in to crash & burn"

Van Halen-For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

I was at work today and this guy was singing a song I haven't heard in like 10 years from in album that I haven't listened to in probably the same amount of time. That song was "Runaround" from the album "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" by Van Halen.

This album was there with me from the beginning of my rock music interests. Although the first Van Halen song I ever heard was "Hot for Teacher", which I saw the video for like the first day I ever watched MTV, the first full length album I ever owned from Van Halen was what many refer to as the "F**k" album. I bought this album because of the hit song "Right Now". To this day I still find that song to be very inspirational. This album although it was a hit unless your a diehard Van Halen fan you probably only know the hit song I just mentioned. This album is just another real showcase of how great Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing is and how Sammy Hagar can really belt out a song.

The singles chosen for this album were all great. "RunaRound" which is a little corny but still a lot of fun to listen to, "Right Now", "Poundcake" was the albums first single and just a real solid rock song. One song which I really found to be one of my favs on this album is "Top of the World, just another great inspirational rock song that makes ypu feel like you can do anything you set your mind to. Other more deeper tracks which I would recommend are "Judgement Day","Pleasure Dome" and "The Dream is Over". Overall this is a real solid rock record which I highly recommend. This album reminds me of when I used to sit in my room as a kid playing nintendo or sega genesis and listening to great music, this album included.

Album Quote:

"Catch a magic moment, do it right here and now"

Led Zeppelin 4

Picture it....I'm 11 years old stuck right in between my musical interests being MC Hammer & what would soon be some of the greatest music ever written. An older cousin of mine says to me that he will give me his tape of Led Zeppelin 4, since he has 2 copies giving one away won't hurt. When I first listened to this album it was probably only 15 years old or so. I found the distinct quality in the sound of the 1970's recording studio mixed in with classic guitar licks,screeching vocals and tremendous song writing to hold a feeling which was just indescribeable to an impressionable kid.

The album starts off with the song "Black Dog", which as I said already possessed a sound that just made you feel good right from Robert Plants opening vocal. Following that song was "Rock n Roll" which just kept the feeling go'in. The album also features classics such as "Misty Mountain Hop" and of course what many feel to be the greatest song of all time "Stairway to Heaven". When I first heard Stairway I was so impressed by the length of the song and the power held by the lyrics. It quickly become one of my favorites.

Led Zeppelin 4 is indeed a classic album with songs that to this day can be heard on many rock radio stations. It is also an album that to this day when I think of it brings me back to a time when my life was a lot simpler. It will forever remain a symbol of my youth.

Album Quote:

"And as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller than our souls, there walks a lady we all know, who shines white light
and wants to show, how everything still turns to gold, and if you listen very hard, the tune will come to you at last, when all are one and one is all to be a rock and not to roll"