Hello,
I have done 5 CD reviews and so far only one of them has been complimentary, that CD being R.E.M.'s "Accelerate". Some people might begin to think I am really a music hater. To show that I am not a music hater I am going to review Guns 'N' Roses classic debut "Appetite for Destruction". This obviously is one of the greatest CD's of all-time. It is because of this CD in why I am holding out out hope that their "Chinese Democracy" will actually see the light of day and maybe even be half as good. I am hoping for close to perfection just like "Appetite for Destruction" is.
"Appetite" starts off with one of the most classic riffs of all-time in the rocking "Welcome To The Jungle". This is a classic song and not even the best song on the CD. Following that blast of testosterone we have three classic rockers back to back to back. They are "It's So Easy", "Nightrain" and "Out Ta Get Me". All three of these songs absolutely kick butt. They are setting the stage for the greatest Guns 'N' Roses song of all-time, "Mr Brownstone". I don't know what more can be said about this song. Everything about it is perfect. One of their concert highlights. What a great song. How many CD's have started out with 5 great songs as good as these? Maybe 7 or 8 other CD's, maybe. And this CD still hasn't even reached the halfway point. I am sure when people first bought this CD back in 1987 and heard these first five songs, their worlds were rocked. I wish I could experience that with a 2008 CD, I just don't think that is going to happen though. Probably back in 1987 they thought the quality would be going down soon. Logically, how could it not? There are so many CD's that have 5 or 6 great songs on them but the rest of the CD is filler. However in this case the sixth song is "Paradise City" of course. So far 6shots of testosterone and probably 3 of the 100 greatest rock songs of all-time. So far 6 for 6 on great songs so the seventh song has got to suck right? No the seventh song is "My Michelle". Another great shot of testosterone rock and roll.
All 7 songs so far have kicked butt. I know I keep on writing this line but what a great CD. The next song is "Think About You". Are you kidding me, another great song. The ninth song is "Sweet Child O' Mine". Probably another one of the Top 100 rock songs of all-time. This is not my favorite song, but I know a lot of people love this song. Then this CD doesn't take a rest for the final three songs. It closes out on the rocking notes of "You're Crazy", "Anything Goes" and "Rocket Queen". Have I already mentioned what a great CD this is? As I write this review I am listening to this CD. Now some things that seemed so great in the 80' have not done so well since then. They have not stood the test of time. (For instance, "Legal Eagles" and I heard two people say that "Star Wars" hasn't stood the test of time. What insanity!) However I don't think anyone can argue that "Appetite For Destruction" hasn't stood the test of time. If this CD was released now what a fresh breath of air it would be. It would blow away so much of the crap that is considered "rock" music now. One more note last year Rolling Stone had a big article about the 20th year anniversary of this CD, you should definitely check it out at rollingstone.com. I also would like to thank my brother for bringing this CD to my attention.
After a review of "Appetite for Destruction" the only way I can go is down. So here are the mixed bag of 4th place finishers of "American Idol". Season One: Tamrya Gray, she released a CD shortly after that first season. It is called "The Dreamer". and it is a pretty good CD. I bought it a couple of years ago. Out of the 12 songs on the CD, 7 of the songs are fantastic. (Not as good as "Appetite For Destruction" but still pretty good.) Season Two: Josh Gracin, he has went on to have a quality country music career. He had a big country hit with the excellent song, "Nothin To Lose". So the first two fourth place finishers have actually done pretty well for themselves. Season Three: LaToya London, if she has done something since the end of Season Three, I am not familiar with it. Season Four: Anthony Federov again not much going on from him. Season Five: Daughtry, out of all the fourth place finishers here he is the superstar. For the 2007 year he sold the most CD's of anybody. Not only does that CD have a lot of sales, it is fantastic as well. (How did he lose out to Elliot Yamin and Taylor Hicks?) Finishing in fourth place might have been the best thing to happen to him. He was able to make his style of CD and it paid off magnificently. Season Six: Lakisha Jones, another great singer who has appeared in "Rent". Season Seven: Jason Castro, it is going to be interesting to see what kind of career he is going to have. I think he will be in the middle of the pack of all "American Idol" contestants. The fourth place finishers have had a lot more success than the fifth place finishers as well as more success than the third place finishers.
A few more brief notes, last night I was able to watch "The Great Debaters". A good movie and Denzel Washington is fantastic in it. He both starred and directed it. It is a "Hoosiers" like show about debating though instead of basketball. It is an enjoyable movie, but nowhere as good as "Hoosiers". Last week there was a flurry of Lil' Wayne news. Now I don't understand all the hype, but somebody sure likes him. Apparantally he sold 425,000 units of his latest CD on the first day of release. Also within the first week it is estimated he will sale 850,000 to 950,000 units of this CD. We will know final sales tallies Wednesday. That just blows me away that he is doing so well, and I couldn't tell you the name of any of his songs. I guess that's the price of being 41.
Band of the Day: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Again thanks to my friends at Rhapsody, I listened to their Greatest Hits CD this morning. There are 4 or 5 great songs on here with the rest of the material not being that inspiring. Although it is very strange to hear her version of the Mary Tyler Moore theme song. This is one of those CD's where it makes more sense just to buy the 4 or 5 good songs than the whole CD. Speaking of Rhapsody, I am really loving them right now. I can listen to almost any song I want. Just this morning I have listened to Whitesnake's "Live-Living In The Shadows of the Blues" and Joan Jett's "Greatest Hits". I also listened to Jakob Dylan's debut CD "Seeing Things". It is a pretty dreary CD. Currently I am listening to "Appetite for Destruction" for the second time. Also I suggest if you don't have the Whitesnake or Guns 'N' Roses CD's you should definitely pick them up asap. In addition if you are a collector of mycokerewards.com points you can actually listen to Rhapsody for free. It is great to have access to all their songs, especially if one is a music blogger. Also thanks to Rhapsody I was able to listen to five hours of Eraykah Badu before seeing her in concert. That helped make the concert all that much better.
One final note, Pearl Jam started an 11 date tour on the East Coast last week. As with their past few tours you can go to pearljam.com and buy these bootlegs. They come in three different formats, MP3, FLAC (if someone knows what that is, I would appreciate an explanation) and you can get the actual physical copy of the CD as well. The MP3 and FLAC will be available about two weeks after the actual concert, and you should be getting the physical CD about 3 weeks after the actual concert. You can preorder now. For more information, go to pearljam.com.
That is it for now, I will be back Wednesday. themusicaddict
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