It goes without saying that the legendary Guns N’ Roses debut offering known as “Appetite for Destruction” is one of the greatest albums of all time. Seldom has a debut record by a young and hungry band sounded as wild, reckless, and passionate as this one. In many ways, it has become larger than life and attained a wider cultural recognition due to it having seeped into mainstream media and popular culture as the songs have appeared in everything from popular movies to TV series and further on to musicals and video games.

This lavish and expanded deluxe edition of said masterpiece contains an astounding 73 tracks (51 scattered across 4 CDs and 12 on the Blu Ray) that are culled from various sessions, live shows, and the studio album. Anything that you could possibly want and desire is located within this neat-looking treasure trove of kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll be they demos, outtakes, unreleased recordings, alternate versions of album tracks, and so on and so forth. This is without doubt the kind of stuff that GnR fans’ dreams are made of. The remastered version of the studio album sounds superb and the raw quality and grit of the original has been retained. There is very little point in elaborating on just how fiery, vibrant, and muscular the tunes sound, because you all know that “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Nightrain”, “Out Ta Get Me”, and “My Michelle” (just to list a few examples) all rule beyond belief. Nearly all the bonus tracks are interesting for one or more reasons. While the second disc consists of remastered B-sides and EPs, the most captivating parts of this release sans the remastered original album are perhaps discs three and four as they contain scorching hot, riveting, and previously unreleased recordings from the 1986 Sound City Session. The rough diamond that is “Shadow of Your Love” as well as the energetic rendition of Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”, the two different versions of the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, and Aerosmith’s immortal “Mama Kin” are incredibly entertaining and rewarding to listen to. The work-in-progress “New Work Tune” and “Move to the City” on disc four are also noteworthy and of interest, but then again, all the discs are compelling and it seems somewhat daft to start singling out favorite cuts given that pretty much each track is marvelous. In short, there is both musical quality and historical value to “Appetite for Destruction: Locked N’ Loaded”.

There is plenty of material to immerse yourself in here and I would wager that “Appetite for Destruction: Locked N’ Loaded” could potentially keep you occupied for weeks. The original record is a glorious and magnificent gem that still resonates with us today because it is so goddamn memorable and timeless. This box is basically more of the same and oozes class, excitement, and musical greatness, and one could argue that Guns N’ Roses have improved upon perfection by unearthing this massive release and putting all of it out there for the fans to enjoy.

 

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