Here is perhaps the most well-known and best-selling album in all of GNR's career.  This selection contains twelve tracks with various styles, themes, and tempo; yet the background musical instrumentation and the lead singer's voice provide the indication that all of these songs belong to GNR.  Each one of these tunes is performed with genuinely expressed feeling and determination, which sets the mood for that particular song.

Fast-beat and high-energy tunes are "Welcome To The Jungle", a vivid illustration of the tough life in the inner city, and which was one of the singles (in the USA) released from this album; "Nightrain", a portrait of a man depending on booze to help him experience the wild nightlife; "Out Ta Get Me", a story about a boy who is determined to avoid arrest because he is convinced that he is innocent of any wrongdoing; "My Michelle", a song presented to a girl whose father is involved with pornography and whose mother died of a drug overdose; "Think About You", a love song; "You're Crazy", in which the boy criticizes his girl for wanting to leave him; and "Anything Goes", a piece with a very explicit description of man/woman interaction.  The last track on this album, "Rocket Queen", starts out fast, hot, and heavy in expression, but slows down midway through the song and becomes relatively mellow sounding, where the guy is more romantic, gentle, and understanding of his girl.

Somewhat less forceful in vocal volume and drive is "Mr. Brownstone", a story about a guy addicted to drugs; and "It's So Easy", an illustration of a young man who is quite rough with his girlfriend.  In these two tracks, Axl Rose sings in a smoother, calmer voice which is in contrast to the screaming or shouting in some of the other songs.

A memorable and popular track is "Sweet Child O'Mine", a love song which sounds quite melodic, and demonstrates the singer's vocal range.  Another highlight of this album is "Paradise City", which has a nostalgic feel to it; the lyrics, the melody, the harmony in the vocals, and the background music give the chorus in this piece a semi-country flavor.  Both of these items were released as singles in the USA and became quite well-known on the general pop radio stations and on the music charts.  They appealed to a wide audience, not just those listeners who only like hard music.

Overall, this is an excellent piece of work that shows the talent of the singer and the band.  The songs are well-performed and the words are generally well-written in many of the songs.  These are the strengths of this album, which probably contributed to its exceptional sales numbers and nearly classic status (in the USA, at least).

However, there are some features here that may be of concern to many listeners, or to the parents of younger listeners.  First of all, some of the songs (not all of them) in the original unedited version of this album contain a "bad" word that may offend some listeners and cause them to "hate" this record and not acquire it or keep it in their possession.  It certainly may motivate some parents to forbid their children from purchasing the CD, or prompt them to insist that their youngster immediately return the product to the store.  In response, the record producers came out with a "clean" version of this album to please those who do not like the bad words.  The other issues that bother some listeners are the reference to drug addiction or alcohol dependence (in "Mr. Brownstone" or "Nightrain", respectively), physical and verbal abuse of a woman (in "It's So Easy"), and the raw explicitness (as in "Anything Goes" or the earlier part of "Rocket Queen").

If it weren't for these issues, this album might have had even better sales and higher reputation than it already did.  Then this album might have attained rankings among the super popular and well-known albums produced by some other groups.  For example, some of the very explicit songs on AFD could have been reworded in a more metaphorical way, sort of like in one of the songs from an extremely popular and fast-selling album by another hard-rock band from another country.  That other album made it into the top 5 selling albums of all time; and GNR's AFD album could have become equally or almost equally popular if the lyrics in a couple of their songs were more subtle.  At least in the USA, many people have felt bothered by references to drugs, violence, and innuendos in songs like GNR's.

Probably, the other factor that kept this otherwise great album out of the top ranks are the reputation of the band and its members.  Personal conflicts among the band members caused them to split apart, and this prevented them from continuing making albums, which could have reached high status.  The lead singer and other members also had to deal with "issues" that may have led to some turmoil on and off stage.  Otherwise, this band may have had a much better rating and popularity among the general listening crowd.

Overall, this album deserves about 3+1/2 stars.  If detailed ratings were possible, the subject variety would get 5 stars, music quality and sound get 4 stars, but the indecency of language (in the explicit version) and behavioral conduct displayed in some of the tracks receive only one star.  If it were not for those last issues, this album would have earned 4 or 5 stars.
Here is perhaps the most well-known and best-selling album in all of GNR's career. This selection contains twelve tracks with various styles, themes, and tempo; yet the background musical instrumentation and the lead singer's voice provide the indication that all of these songs belong to GNR. Each one of these tunes is performed with genuinely expressed feeling and determination, which sets the mood for that particular song. Fast-beat and high-energy tunes are "Welcome To The Jungle", a vivid illustration of the tough life in the inner city, and which was one of the singles (in the USA) released from this album; "Nightrain", a portrait of a man depending on booze to help him experience the wild nightlife; "Out Ta Get Me", a story about a boy who is determined to avoid arrest because he is convinced that he is innocent of any wrongdoing; "My Michelle", a song presented to a girl whose father is involved with pornography and whose mother died of a drug overdose; "Think About You", a love song; "You're Crazy", in which the boy criticizes his girl for wanting to leave him; and "Anything Goes", a piece with a very explicit description of man/woman interaction. The last track on this album, "Rocket Queen", starts out fast, hot, and heavy in expression, but slows down midway through the song and becomes relatively mellow sounding, where the guy is more romantic, gentle, and understanding of his girl. Somewhat less forceful in vocal volume and drive is "Mr. Brownstone", a story about a guy addicted to drugs; and "It's So Easy", an illustration of a young man who is quite rough with his girlfriend. In these two tracks, Axl Rose sings in a smoother, calmer voice which is in contrast to the screaming or shouting in some of the other songs. A memorable and popular track is "Sweet Child O'Mine", a love song which sounds quite melodic, and demonstrates the singer's vocal range. Another highlight of this album is "Paradise City", which has a nostalgic feel to it; the lyrics, the melody, the harmony in the vocals, and the background music give the chorus in this piece a semi-country flavor. Both of these items were released as singles in the USA and became quite well-known on the general pop radio stations and on the music charts. They appealed to a wide audience, not just those listeners who only like hard music. Overall, this is an excellent piece of work that shows the talent of the singer and the band. The songs are well-performed and the words are generally well-written in many of the songs. These are the strengths of this album, which probably contributed to its exceptional sales numbers and nearly classic status (in the USA, at least). However, there are some features here that may be of concern to many listeners, or to the parents of younger listeners. First of all, some of the songs (not all of them) in the original unedited version of this album contain a "bad" word that may offend some listeners and cause them to "hate" this record and not acquire it or keep it in their possession. It certainly may motivate some parents to forbid their children from purchasing the CD, or prompt them to insist that their youngster immediately return the product to the store. In response, the record producers came out with a "clean" version of this album to please those who do not like the bad words. The other issues that bother some listeners are the reference to drug addiction or alcohol dependence (in "Mr. Brownstone" or "Nightrain", respectively), physical and verbal abuse of a woman (in "It's So Easy"), and the raw explicitness (as in "Anything Goes" or the earlier part of "Rocket Queen"). If it weren't for these issues, this album might have had even better sales and higher reputation than it already did. Then this album might have attained rankings among the super popular and well-known albums produced by some other groups. For example, some of the very explicit songs on AFD could have been reworded in a more metaphorical way, sort of like in one of the songs from an extremely popular and fast-selling album by another hard-rock band from another country. That other album made it into the top 5 selling albums of all time; and GNR's AFD album could have become equally or almost equally popular if the lyrics in a couple of their songs were more subtle. At least in the USA, many people have felt bothered by references to drugs, violence, and innuendos in songs like GNR's. Probably, the other factor that kept this otherwise great album out of the top ranks are the reputation of the band and its members. Personal conflicts among the band members caused them to split apart, and this prevented them from continuing making albums, which could have reached high status. The lead singer and other members also had to deal with "issues" that may have led to some turmoil on and off stage. Otherwise, this band may have had a much better rating and popularity among the general listening crowd. Overall, this album deserves about 3+1/2 stars. If detailed ratings were possible, the subject variety would get 5 stars, music quality and sound get 4 stars, but the indecency of language (in the explicit version) and behavioral conduct displayed in some of the tracks receive only one star. If it were not for those last issues, this album would have earned 4 or 5 stars.