There have been only a handful of “perfect albums” issued in rock history, meaning that there was not a single stinker song included, the production doesn’t sound dated at all, the artist in question was at the peak of their powers, etc. And many would agree that Guns N’ Roses‘ 1987 full-length debut, “Appetite for Destruction,” was one such album.
While the quality of the material is exceptional, producer Mike Clink wisely rejected the era’s production hallmarks, tops being those awful canon-sounding drums, and kept things more live-sounding and raw, a la an early to mid-’70s Aerosmith LP. And despite such hits as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” and “Paradise City” remaining the album’s best-known tracks, even such lesser-known selections as “It’s So Easy,” “Nightrain,” and “Mr. Brownstone” are just as great.
But a little-known fact is that before G n’ R settled on Clink to produce “Appetite,” they were considering others, including Kiss‘ Paul Stanley, which ultimately did not work out. During an interview with Booked on Rock, Martin Popoff, the author of the book Guns N’ Roses at 40, discussed whether Stanely producing the album would have been a good thing…or a bad thing.
“Who knows,” Popoff admitted. “Number one, Paul is no producer. I mean, Paul would be in there…he’s not an engineer-producer. He hasn’t produced much. New England [an obscure rock band from the late ’70s that he produced], and I don’t think the Kiss albums sound particularly good. I don’t think any of those sound particularly good. But judging how great [‘Appetite’] sounds and how great it sold, you could only go down from there.”