Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite For Destruction by Marc Canter with Jason Porath and Jack Lue
(Shoot Hip Press)

The mythologizing of Guns N' Roses and their "party til you croak" attitude began almost immediately when their debut album Appetite For Destruction started selling in a big way. This was certainly nothing unusual for a 1980s hard rock band with a major label deal and suitably lurid videos lighting up MTV.

But while GNR could have fallen into an abyss of of Spinal Tap clichés like so many of their metallic brethren--thye had something that set them apart. With Appetite they had slammed together a ferocious set of songs that took good old rock'n'roll standby's like alienation, boredom, horniness and misogyny and made them seem fresh, dangerous, and engagingly sinister. Most intriguing of all, these sudden arena titans seemed to rise out of nowhere.

Of course behind any great "overnight" success story is the real story of how it all came together. Author Marc Canter has been friends with Saul "Slash" Hudson since childhood and the amateur shutterbug began snapping away at Slash's live gigs with various bands in the early '80s when the future rockstar was just another high school kid with a BC Rich guitar. Canter fixed his lens on Slash's entire pre-Guns live history, as well as nearly all of GNR's performances as a local LA club band before their ascension into into mega-stardom. And these revealing photos comprise the bulk of his new book "Reckless Road".

It's all there in photographs: the strippers; the debauchery; the kinetic live shows; the Hanoi Rocks/New York Dolls style high-hair and make up; show flyers; and more. With transcriptions of stage patter and a compelling oral history of the band provided by friends, former management and the band themselves. One of the biggest surprises here is the sampling of Slash's drawings which reveal him to be a witty and talented artist.

Canter (along with Jason Porath) has put together an undeniably eye-popping, jaw-dropping tome that reeks of the salacious good times and relentless ambition that rocketed Guns N' Roses into the rock'n'roll stratosphere. Highly recommended.

BONUS INFO: If you go to www.RecklessRoad.com you can purchase the book and get a limited edition print from the book for free. This offer isn't available anywhere else.

CP