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Marc Canter is the childhood friend of guitar legend Slash. He was the ‘fifth Beatle’ to the band that would become Hollywood’s greatest rock sensation – Guns N’ Roses. Over 20 years since the band’s debut release, Appetite for Destruction, Canter has now decided to release what he saw...
From his behind-the-lines position in the band’s seminal days Canter managed to document firsthand every step the band took prior to the release of their debut album Appetite for Destruction. Reckless Road is the painstaking documentation of the actions of what would become rock’s hot property.
This full colour 348 page book is a tome of rock 'n’ roll delight: documenting pre-fame live performances, unofficial photo shoots and hand drawn gig flyers as well as throwing in a few present and past interviews with the band and those surrounding them. The latter offer insights into exactly what you see in the pictures right down to the finest details: Slash admitting at one point that “my Mom made those leather pants … and I traded them for smack!”
The whole article is a testament to leather, booze and debauchery. With its unrelenting loyalty to the early GN’R experience, it pays specific attention to the nitty-gritty details of what song debuted each gig, exactly what was said on stage and provides full set lists for the groundbreaking gigs that led to the release of the band’s debut album and set the ball rolling for their world conquest.
90 million album sales later, with the original line up now in tatters and Chinese Democracy scraping the horizon after 12 years of setbacks, now is a good time to look back into the archive and revive the spirit that lit the fuse on what has been a runaway train of fame, excess and in some cases ridicule.
Despite a few editorial mistakes - it’s rock n’ roll, tidiness isn’t what you’re paying for – Reckless Road comes across as a deliciously executed portal into the hard-working but ever insane world of the pre-fame rock legends. Canter’s unfailing obsession with the band has spawned what is ultimately an over-indulgent Guns N’ Roses picture book that lives and breathes every minute of the band’s rise to fame.
Over indulgence is what rock n’ roll is all about and in this case Canter’s fix offers the perfect treat to fans tired of waiting for the next installment. “You get nothin’ for nothin’”, and in this case Canter’s hard work paid off. Long live Rock n’ Roll!
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