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The Original Appetite Cover Axl Wanted Was The Challenger...


afterthebath

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Very glad that didn't happen. Part of me thinks he may have been joking since Led Zep's first record was the Hindenburg crash. Plus wasn't the original cover suppose to be appetite painting that was deemed to vulgar?

The rape cover was the actual first pressing artwork...I think Axl meant his idea for the cover was the Challenger.

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I think it would have been hilarious. Axl has a very twisted sense of humor. I can relate.

Yeah because a photo of people being killed in order to sell a record is awesome isn't it (newpapers/magazines can't be lumped in because they're just reporting the news)?

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Axl is also very immature. Bet you can relate there, too.

Right, and insulting people on the internet is the height of maturity. What, was your mother on the Challenger or something? If so, my condolences. If not, lighten up pal.

I said it would have been hilarious, not that it would have been in good taste. I agree that the actual cover is better.

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Axl is also very immature. Bet you can relate there, too.

Right, and insulting people on the internet is the height of maturity. What, was your mother on the Challenger or something? If so, my condolences. If not, lighten up pal.

I said it would have been hilarious, not that it would have been in good taste. I agree that the actual cover is better.

I can think of a lot of words to describe the Challenger picture, but "hilarious" isn't one of them. Matt13's reply on the other hand... :thumbsup:

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Axl said in the TMS Interview is that he wanted a Picture of the Challenger explosion to be the Famous Appetite Cover? ... What are your opinion's on that?

It would've looked like a cheaply made punk rock album.

I wouldn't be surprised if they toyed around with this idea, which was urban legend stuff around that time:

stock-photo-2723616-welcome-to-the-world-of-aids-urban-legend.jpg

Or the first Rage Against the Machine cover, the burning Buddhist... which is way more shocking.

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I can think of a lot of words to describe the Challenger picture, but "hilarious" isn't one of them. Matt13's reply on the other hand... :thumbsup:

It's not the picture itself that's funny, it's the idea of putting it on the cover of an album called "Appetite for Destruction". Like I said, it requires a twisted sense of humor to appreciate. And it would have been in bad taste. But a lot of humor is in bad taste, taste being subjective. It's not all that different from thinking a song called "I Used To Love Her But I Had To Kill Her" is funny. Or the robot/rape scene that was also an alternate cover of AFD. Or the lyrics to "It's So Easy". Or a whole lot of things having to do with GNR, if you think about it.

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I can think of a lot of words to describe the Challenger picture, but "hilarious" isn't one of them. Matt13's reply on the other hand... :thumbsup:

It's not the picture itself that's funny, it's the idea of putting it on the cover of an album called "Appetite for Destruction". Like I said, it requires a twisted sense of humor to appreciate. And it would have been in bad taste. But a lot of humor is in bad taste, taste being subjective. It's not all that different from thinking a song called "I Used To Love Her But I Had To Kill Her" is funny. Or the robot/rape scene that was also an alternate cover of AFD. Or the lyrics to "It's So Easy". Or a whole lot of things having to do with GNR, if you think about it.

To me it just sounded like he wanted to get some publicity, not to get a laugh. Maybe he was thinking of Tipper Gore going on TV telling people not to buy it or the PMRC crap at the time.

The cross cover is iconic like Dark Side of the Moon. I don't think any of them regret changing it.

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It's not the picture itself that's funny, it's the idea of putting it on the cover of an album called "Appetite for Destruction". Like I said, it requires a twisted sense of humor to appreciate. And it would have been in bad taste. But a lot of humor is in bad taste, taste being subjective. It's not all that different from thinking a song called "I Used To Love Her But I Had To Kill Her" is funny. Or the robot/rape scene that was also an alternate cover of AFD. Or the lyrics to "It's So Easy". Or a whole lot of things having to do with GNR, if you think about it.

But you do know that "Appetite for Destruction" was the name of the original cover art, right? So if they had used the challenger photo, the album more than likely would have had a different name.

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But you do know that "Appetite for Destruction" was the name of the original cover art, right? So if they had used the challenger photo, the album more than likely would have had a different name.

They changed the cover art to the cross without changing the name.

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But you do know that "Appetite for Destruction" was the name of the original cover art, right? So if they had used the challenger photo, the album more than likely would have had a different name.

They changed the cover art to the cross without changing the name.

Yes, but the point is that the name came from the painting. If they decided on the Challenger picture BEFORE the painting, which is how I see Axl's comment, then the album would have likely carried a different name.

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Yes, but the point is that the name came from the painting. If they decided on the Challenger picture BEFORE the painting, which is how I see Axl's comment, then the album would have likely carried a different name.

If that's the case then it's hard to form an opinion about it one way or the other. Depending on the title used, it could be anything from a tribute to a twisted joke. Axl didn't mention an alternate title in the interview so I just assumed it would have remained AFD, and took it as another of many examples of Axl's twisted sense of humor.

The idea that he was just trying to piss off the PMRC is interesting, but I think the lyrics on AFD were more than enough to accomplish that. :lol:

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Very glad that didn't happen. Part of me thinks he may have been joking since Led Zep's first record was the Hindenburg crash. Plus wasn't the original cover suppose to be appetite painting that was deemed to vulgar?

Axl said when the challenger idea was shock down, he just threw a picture of the other cover. I think that might have been the one that was also banned.

I think that any artist should be allowed whatever they want for an album cover or words to a song or whatever, but I guess some people would be upset because people did die in that challenger explosion.

I remember back in the 70's, the band Humble Pie actually had a vagina on their cover before that was pulled. I saw the original cover and thought it was gross. it was very graphic and as a woman I took offense to it, but I think the bands have the right to put what they want out there.

Same with David Bowie's Diamond Dogs. The original cover was to have the testicles of the dog on it, but that was banned too. I did however have a graphic poster like the original idea. It was Bowie's upper body with a dog's lower body. That was crazy.

I actually like the Appettite cover and I love Axl's tattoo. That cover has become iconic for the band.

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I read in an old article the original CD book had their logo on the cover, the album had the Williams artwork, and the tape had the cross, and the CD & vinyl changed to the cross in later printings. Not sure about the GNR logo on the first run of CDs.

Edited by dalsh327
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