There are several ‘versions’ of Guns N' Roses' iconic song, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’. However, this version is unique in that it is GNR’s very first recording of the track.

This song was recorded for the band’s demo tape at Mystic Studios in Hollywood, California, in August 1985. This was not long after the band performed the song for the first time at West Hollywood’s Troubadour on July 20th. Considerably slower than the Appetite for Destruction version, it also has a slightly different intro, as well as different vocalizations throughout. This version went unreleased until 2018 when Guns N' Roses added a hidden bonus cassette tape of five songs from their Mystic Studios session in their Appetite for Destruction: Locked N' Loaded Box Set.

The Appetite for Destruction version of ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ was the band’s first U.S single, released on September 28. 1987. ‘Mr. Brownstone’ appeared on the U.S. B-side, while ‘A Whole Lotta Rosie’ graced the U.K. B-side. The song hit #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

It was also the band’s first music video. The video depicts Rose arriving in Los Angeles as an innocent Midwestern farm-boy, complete with flannel shirt, bell bottoms, a rope belt, and chewing on a piece of wheat. Izzy Stradlin plays a sleazy drug dealer who greets Rose as he steps off a Greyhound bus, while Slash is cast as the local storefront drunk. Several bandmates appear in a hotel room where Adler is seen in bed with a gorgeous female companion, while bandmate Duff McKagan, casually strums guitar and Rose is glued to television news reports.

The video ends with Rose transformed into a wild-haired, tattooed, Hollywood punk rocker. Interspersed between the storyline, the band is seen performing to a live audience at then hard rock club, Scream. Former manager, Alan Niven, credits himself with the idea of blending A Clockwork Orange, Midnight Cowboy, and The Man Who Fell to Earth.