Guns N’ Roses, Welcome To The Jungle | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 202nd edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 202^nd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Welcome To The Jungle” performed by Guns N’ Roses.

“Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games / We got everything you want, honey, we know the names.” WOO! Guns N’ Roses were ubiquitous ‘back in the day’ – one of the biggest bands. Among the biggest bands’ biggest songs is “Welcome To The Jungle”, the epic opener from their 1987 album, Appetite For Destruction. A sizable hit on the pop charts, “Welcome To The Jungle” peaked at no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single has been certified gold by the RIAA. Parent album, Appetite for Destruction, meanwhile, has been certified 18 times platinum, the rare diamond album.  What I’m saying is, this song is ‘kind of a big deal!’

“Welcome To The Jungle” commences with distinct guitar work. It features one of the most instantly recognizable riffs.  The tone is set by the dazzling instrumental.  Of course, the lyrics are infectious too, as evidenced by the first verse.  That doesn’t cease in the second: “And you’re a very sexy girl, who’s very hard to please / You can taste the bright lights, but you won’t get there for free.” Word, Axl Rose. The controversial but talented frontman is a big reason for the song’s success.  He infuses ample personality into his distinct, high-pitched singing performance.  Besides three colorful verses, the chorus is the centerpiece – the crème de la crème:

“In the jungle, welcome to the jungle

Watch it bring you to your sha-na-na-na… knees

Knees

Mwah, I’m gonna watch you bleed.”

Besides fun, silly multisyllabic words, and big vocals by Axl, the music rocks! After the bridge, there is a guitar solo (Slash) and an instrumental break of note. Following the break, the bridge returns, as well as an extended version of the chorus: “In the jungle, welcome to the jungle / Feel, my, oh my, my, my serpentine…” “Welcome To The Jungle” will forever be one of the preeminent rock songs of the 1980s. The jungle is lit 🔥 🤘!

Guns N’ Roses // Appetite For Destruction // UMG Recordings, Inc. // 1987

Guns N’ Roses, Welcome To The Jungle: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 202 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; UMG Recordings, Inc.; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]