It’s been at least 30 years since Guns n’ Roses released their major label debut “Appetite For Destruction.” It was almost the same time I started leaning towards rock and roll and listening to this album pushed me all the way there. Guns n’ Roses’ I was an impressionable 14-year old kid, quite into playing guitar, and looking for a role model (after original The Dawn guitarist Teddy Diaz died, but that’s another story) when lo and behold, shining in all its ragged glory is Guns n’ Roses. A hard knocking blues rock band with punk at its core and dangerous as rock should be. I was looking for something new and, of course, heavily guitar-driven and Guns n’ Roses was the answer. The five-member band had the tandem of Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar and Slash on lead, bass player Duff McKagan, drummer Steve Adler, and, of course, vocalist W. Axl Rose. “Appetite” was actually one of two “heavy metal” records I bought. The other was Bon Jovi’s “New Jersey.” But somehow it was Guns n’ Roses who made the bigger impression. Well, for obvious reasons. One, they were heavier, louder and more blues and rock and roll which appealed to me totally. Second, they had great songs. For a budding player, you can’t have a song that screams lead guitar than “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” As my high school friend said, “Unang bagsak pa lang, umiiyak na!” It was the riff every kid wanted to play. My fingers were a proverbial pretzel trying to learn it that first few months and basically didn’t know what I was doing then. But it was alright. It was the feeling that you get listening to it which made you want to be a better player. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was an angular, arpeggiated riff on an open D chord that was so deceptively simple. I didn’t know it then of course. Years later, I read the riff originated from a hand exercise thing that Slash did to warm up. Cool. Official album art There were other good tracks, of course. “Welcome To The Jungle” is one of the best side one-track one album openers there is. Immediately after that is the cool McKagan bass lick that opens “It’s So Easy.” Everybody naturally gravitated towards Slash because obviously he’s a great lead guitarist and siren voiced Axl because, well, he’s Axl. But it can be argued that the coolest cat on the band is Izzy. While Slash went sideways on his slinky guitar solos, Stradlin was channeling Keith Richards as he tickled the bones of the rhythm on “Nightrain,” and “Out Ta Get Me.” Stradlin was also a competent songwriter who co-wrote most of the songs with Axl on their debut. Closing side A of the record is Gun n’ Roses signature song “Paradise City.” You know, “where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.” And I dare you to not see in your mind’s eye, Axl Rose as he struts and sashays across the stage as you sing these lines. Other standout tracks from the 1987 debut album is Side B-Track 1 opener “My Michelle,” the Pistol punked rock of “You’re Crazy,” and “Think About You,” the song you know only because it preceded “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (and because I always over rewound the cassette tape). Then there’s my personal favorite “Rocket Queen.” A heavy pounding funk rock metal extravaganza that eventually transitions to a glorious outro. And flash trivia, the moaning sounds just under Slash’s slide guitar solo track is Adler’s girlfriend being, er, pounded to bits by Axl. Right, boys will be boys. Even after all these years, “Appetite For Destruction” is still a great sounding record because it fused raw punk fervor with the immediacy of rock and roll. That combo is just dynamite. Ah, it’s good to go back to your roots every now and then.