Guns N' Roses Unearth New Tracks from 'Appetite' Blockbuster
Guns N' Roses on Friday announced an expanded version of their blockbuster 1987 debut album "Appetite for Destruction" which includes unreleased tracks and in-progress demos.
The new edition of "Appetite for Destruction," which remains the top-selling debut album of all time, comes as the once notoriously turbulent band cashes in on a reunion tour that once appeared impossible but is entering its third year.
The new version, to go on sale on June 29, will come in multiple formats ranging from two CDs to a box-set packed with four CDs, one Blu-ray disc, seven 12-inch LPs, seven 7-inch records and a 96-page book of photos from singer Axl Rose.
Highlights of the collection include both recorded and live versions of "Shadow of Your Love," which was one of the first songs of Guns N' Roses but did not make the cut for "Appetite."
The collection also features two unfinished songs, "The Plague" and "New Work Tune," covers of songs including Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and two early attempts at "November Rain," the sprawling nine-minute power ballad that eventually came out in 1992 and remains the longest song ever to make the top 10 on the U.S. singles chart.
The new version remasters the original "Appetite for Destruction," which opens with the insurgent "Welcome to the Jungle" and rolls through the hits "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine."
Signed by Geffen Records in 1986 as the group made waves on the Los Angeles club scene, Guns N' Roses brought together the sweeping and intense vocal texture of Rose with the intricate guitar of Slash.
The two parted ways in 1993 in Argentina after a chaotic global tour but, following years of rumors and false starts, reunited in 2016 for the Coachella music festival in California.
The band has repeatedly extended the tour, with dates scheduled in Europe through July and the group hinting in the box-set announcement that it will continue into later in the year.
But the classic line-up is not completely back together as rhythm guitarist and key songwriter Izzy Stradlin has stayed away from the tour following disputes on compensation.
