APPETITE
FOR DESTRUCTION (1987)
The
first full-length album from Guns N Roses, Appetite for Destruction
became one of the most popular hard rock records in history. Selling more
than 20 million copies worldwide with certification of 15-times platinum
in the U.S. the disc was ranked among the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties"
by Rolling Stone. Appetite was a street-level success; it
took 10 months to break into the Top 100. When it reached #1, it remained
there for five weeks. The album landed three Top 10 singles: the gold #1
"Sweet Child O Mine" (GNR became only the fourth hard rock group to have
a #1 Pop single), "Welcome to the Jungle" (#7) and "Paradise City" (#5).
It also resulted in two MTV Video Music Awards: Best New Artist (1988)
and Best Metal/Hard Rock Video (1989) for "Sweet Child O Mine." In July
1990, Appetite for Destruction finally dropped from the Billboard
charts
after a reign of nearly three years (147 weeks).
G
N R LIES (1988)
Comprised
of songs from the groups independently released 1986 EP, Live?!*@Like
a Suicide, plus 1988 live performances, G N R Lies followed
Appetite
for Destruction up the charts. Zooming to #2, the Grammy-nominated
album (for Hard Rock Performance) was certified five-times platinum and
claimed a gold single, the #4 "Patience."
USE
YOUR ILLUSION I (1991)
USE
YOUR ILLUSION II (1991)
Amid
intense anticipation, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion
II debuted simultaneously on Sept. 17, 1991. The tandem release was
the first by a contemporary artist. The albums featured three gold hits:
"November Rain" (#3), "Dont Cry" (#10) and the previously released "You
Could Be Mine" (#29), heard in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
"Live and Let Die" rose to #33. Each of the Use Your Illusion discs
was certified seven-times platinum. Use Your Illusion I reached
#2 on the Billboard chart; Use Your Illusion II went to #1.
These positions represented the first time a single artist had occupied
the top two spots since 1974. Use Your Illusion II was Grammy-nominated
for Best Hard Rock Performance, as was "Live and Let Die." The video for
"November Rain" won three MTV Video Music Awards, for Special Effects,
Editing and Cinematography. Guns N Roses was also honored with the prestigious
Video Vanguard Award for lifetime achievement.
THE
SPAGHETTI INCIDENT? (1993)
A collection
of covers, The Spaghetti Incident? paid homage to songs that had
long influenced the members of Guns N Roses. It reached #4 and was certified
platinum. Included was material by The Misfits, The Sex Pistols, Fear,
The Damned, The New York Dolls, Iggy and The Stooges and The Dead Boys.
Spin
said the album "demonstrates GNRs conviction that early-70s metal and
its sworn enemy, punk rock, were essentially the same beast, connected
through glam and testosterone" (January 1994). Musician called the
set "a good album for ambivalent G N R fans" and remarked, "Kudos [to
the band] for being faithful to the spirit of the originals" (January 1994).
Welcome
To The Videos (1999)
Thirteen
of the greatest videos in GN'R history, 10 of which have never been available
on video before. Featuring "Welcome To The Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine,"
"Paradise City," "Patience," "Don't Cry," "Live And Let Die," "November
Rain" (an MTV Video Vanguard Award-winner), "Yesterdays," "The Garden,"
"Dead Horse," "Garden Of Eden," "Estranged," "Since I Don't Have You."
