I had a little Christmas money and I found the Guns N’ Roses album ‘Appetite for Destruction: Super Deluxe Edition’ on sale of $89.99 which is down from the $124.99 on Amazon so I decided to bite the bullet on this 4 CD set.  Now, I didn’t have enough to the that $800+ Locked & Loaded Box Set so I had to pass on that one.

Now, lucky for you I will review this set and go through what it has to offer.  With 73 tracks and 49 Unreleased tracks, I am not going to go through each song in detail as we would be here for days reading and I would be dead from writing all those words. You will get a “Cliff Notes” version of the review.  I hope that is okay.  The set has a lot to offer.  Here is snap shot of what all comes with the set…(I used this picture from the web as I couldn’t get a decent picture – thanks Amazon).

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the beautiful book.   It is a 96-page Hardcover Book with Unreleased Photos and tons of pictures of posters and band memorabilia.  The book cover is all black and genuine fake leather embossed with the GN’R logo.  It is tough to see that logo, but it is there…

But the pictures are fantastic.  They are glossy, hi-def pictures and there are some really cool shots from Axl’s personal collection.  It was fun to flip through this and I have done it several times already.  Here is a little taste…

And if that wasn’t enough, you get this police record of the band (not a vinyl record)…

Inside this L.A.P.D. Case File is loads of collectible items.  First up is 3 replica concert tickets…

Wait, I said three, right?  Why are there four tickets?  Well, one is my actual ticket stub when they opened for Motley Crue in November 1987 as Guns was touring in support of Appetite for Destruction.  It was a strange show as the band only played maybe 3 songs before Axl jumped off the stage and got in a fight with someone in the crowd.  He was arrested and never came back on stage and the Guns’ show was done.  Classic Axl!!

You also got a set of 6 Tattoos.  Not sure why, but they will never be taken out of their package and never used…at least by me.  They are pretty cool and my youngest daughter wants to wear them, but sadly…NO!!!

You also get a “Welcome To The Jungle” Video Invite Flyer – Originally Drawn by Slash…

And if that wasn’t enough, which it isn’t for this price, you get 5 Previously Unseen Band Member Lithos…

And then you get a Robert Williams Painting Litho 12”x24” of the original album cover which was a really cool album cover and I hope to get it on vinyl soon…

And lastly, you get a huge 24″ x 36″ wall poster of the band.  Enjoy it as this will probably the only time it is unfolded.  It will stay in its little L.A.P.D. case file as the wife would not be happy if it was displayed in my home office.

And that is all the little goodies.  Now we move on to the music which consists of 73 songs, 49 which are previously unreleased, on 4 CDs.  You also get a Blu-Ray disc with the original album in 5.1 Stereo Surround Sound and comes with some music videos including the previously unreleased video for “It’s So Easy”.  All fantastic.

And here are all the tracks on the CDs & Blu-ray…

CD1: ‘Appetite for Destruction’

Let’s start with the first disc, the Remastered Version of ‘Appetite for Destruction’…

What can I say about this one that hasn’t already been said.  It is the original album with all 12 songs, remastered and sound absolutely amazing.  The album kicks off with a song that you instantly know on the very first note, “Welcome to the Jungle”.  Not many bands have a song that is this iconic. You can’t go wrong with songs like “Nighttrain”, “Mr. Brownstone”, “Paradise City”, “You’re Crazy” and “Sweet Child O’Mine”.  The albums is full of great songs about Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll.  It is gritty, dirty, heavy rock music at its absolute best.  There is nothing more I can say about that.

CD2: B-Sides N’ EP’s

I love this disc just as much as the first one.  The first four songs are from their first ever, self-released E.P. ‘Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide which were later released on GN’R Lies.  Next you get the B-Side for It’s So Easy/Mr. Brownstone which is a live version of “Shadow of Your Love” an old Hollywood Rose song.  The next three songs are from GN’R Lies album and the down side to this is they omitted the song “One in a Million” which I think is a load of crap. The original song is a very racist Axl song and in no way would fly today.  Although I don’t condone the song, I think it was a mistake to leave it off.  And for that the set score will get dinged.  The final 2 songs are great as they are more B-Sides and are a live version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” and “Whole Lotta Rosie”.  Both fantastic.

CD3: 1986 Sound City Session

Now we are to the good stuff.  The unreleased tracks.  First up is the 1986 Sound City Sessions with producer Manny Charlton.  These were some of the early sessions on their first album.  Mike Clink would come in later and give us the album we know and love.  This session has 9 songs from the album only missing “It’s So Easy”, “Mr. Brownstone” and “Sweet Child O’Mine”.  The songs sound different, but not terribly so.  It is a great listen.  This disc also gives us “Shadow Of Your Love” and covers of “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by the Rolling Stones.

CD4: 1986 Sound City Session N’ More

This one might be my favorite disc.  It starts off with the best and most kick ass version of “Shadow of Your Love”.  It totally rocks out and Slash kills it on the solo.  Then you get “Move to the City” from the GN’R lies session that wasn’t released.  A great little 1-2 punch.  You also get two instrumental songs, “Ain’t Goin’ Down No More” and “New Work Tune”, that show why this original band was so special as even their outtakes or demos sound great.  I also really love the early piano version of “November Rain”.  A great song from early on that didn’t see the light of day for a few years as it just didn’t fit on Appetite.  All these songs have a grit to them that is awesome.  I will listen to this disc the most out of the 2 Sound City Sessions.

And there you have it…It is something I am glad I now have in my collection.  Thank goodness for Sale prices or I might not have done it.  I wasn’t willing to pay over $100 for it, but this price was worth it.  My overall score for songs and presentation is 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars.  It doesn’t get 5 Stars because it left off “One in a Million” which I found to be a chicken-shit move.  Not a great song, but still.  The set isn’t really complete without it. Enough of the negative, it is a great set and you can’t go wrong with it.  The 2 Sound City Sessions are sensational and worth the price.  Go get it!!!