Use Your Illusion 1 & 2

Recently revisited these heavyweights and, yes, I'm still of that rare breed in love with damn near every song. I'm curious what others here think of them. They get a lot of flak--which I do admit is somewhat deserved--for being bloated, self-important, excessive, and pretentious. But for me the songs rock hard and the ballads--save for the awful Estranged--are gooseflesh-inducing. I even enjoy it when Axl bows out of vocal duties. Better than AfD? Not quite in my mind, but almost. What say you HoM?

I would give each album a 7. Lurking in those two albums is a killer single disc that I would rate a 10. None of the material is better than anything on Appetite, which is a perfect album to me. I wish these albums had more songs like "You Could Be Mine" and less of the Elton John epics like "Estranged."

I always liked part 2 the best.If you trimmed them down to one album it would be great.Still wouldn't top Appetite but that album is perfection.

I agree that one brilliant album could have been culled from the two, but I've never understood the complaints, really. You have two albums with good songs and great songs. What's to complain about?

I actually like both albums, and like them quite a bit. Great songs, great production. I can see why people say its bloated and excessive, that it is in spots, but overall very solid albums.

I'd have to echo the opinions so far.
Bloated - yes
still good - yes
AFD better? - hell yes

Never heard 'em, except for the radio singles.

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Never heard 'em, except for the radio singles.

Same.

I never really had a problem with them. There are a lot of good to great songs on them. I suppose a couple of unnecessary things do appear like Don't Cry with alternate lyrics and the annoying My World (which fortunately are at the end of part II and easily avoidable) but nothing to hinder my enjoyment of them.

I got "II" at a thrift store about a year ago and it's OK, but not a frequent player. I'll get around to picking up "I" eventually cuz my O.C.D. will not allow me to have only half the set.

There's gold in those records but it was just all too different and self indulgent compared to Appetite which is such a tight record (and even the love song blew anything of Illusions away)

There are some fantastic songs though.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I got "II" at a thrift store about a year ago and it's OK, but not a frequent player. I'll get around to picking up "I" eventually cuz my O.C.D. will not allow me to have only half the set.

And people still wonder why bands release albums with a number in the title.

Lari wrote:

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Never heard 'em, except for the radio singles.

Same.

Same

Eyesore wrote:

I agree that one brilliant album could have been culled from the two, but I've never understood the complaints, really. You have two albums with good songs and great songs. What's to complain about?

I've got to second this viewpoint. Estranged is also a favorite, so I'm probably in the minority there. Maybe it's got something to do with catching these albums after they'd been out for a while (I don't think I really listened to GNR until my 20s, by which point they were not a going concern), but I can't think of the Illusion band as the same band that did Appetite. Aside from Axl, the players had moved on to different ways of doing things, there was more money, more time in the studio, etc. That first album is lightning in a bottle. Expecting ANY band, no matter how good, to repeat that was going to be a disappointment.

007 wrote:

I never really had a problem with them. There are a lot of good to great songs on them. I suppose a couple of unnecessary things do appear like Don't Cry with alternate lyrics and the annoying My World (which fortunately are at the end of part II and easily avoidable) but nothing to hinder my enjoyment of them.

That about sums it up for me as well. Could I cut a song or 2? Probably. But I'm fine with them the way there are.

After A.F.D - I bought a few ep's - 'Paitence' - 'Reckless Life'
'Moma Kin' - ' Whole Lotta Rosie' - etc - whatever - checkin em out -
by the time they put out these two releases - I was done with them -
It's too bad they just couldn't get their #@&^% together - uh duh -
They weren't the smartest, in that regard. Aerosmith didn't do that.
AXL rose didn't help matters. What a disaster it was for rock n roll. Time.
There was no more lightning in a bottle ....ha ha...just years in the studio -
whenever - occasionally -
and I'm sure add about 200-300 overdubs and tweaks - %$#@ band.

I started a kinda thread about these a while back here: http://www.heartofmetal.net/t19256-combining-use-your-illusion-1-and-2-into-one-album?highlight=use+your+illusion

My main point in the thread was combining your favorites from both into one awesome single disc. Here is the tracklist I went with:

1.Right Next Door to Hell
2. Perfect Crime
3. Back off Bitch
4. Double Talkin' Jive
5. Garden of Eden
6. Don't Damn Me
7. Yesterdays
8. Get in the Ring
9. Shotgun Blues
10. You Could Be Mine
11. Pretty Tied Up

There are other songs I do like, but for the sake of putting together a nice, shorter, rawer version, I didn't really include those. I love "Civil War" and "The Garden", but damn do they slow down the pace of an album. I feel like a Civil War EP would've worked, with like CW and then Live and Let Die, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Sympathy for the Devil (not from the same year, but you know) and My World (Axl's gotta rap, man).

Also, what happened to those live shows, the Ritz, etc, that were supposed to come out officially recently?

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Also, what happened to those live shows, the Ritz, etc, that were supposed to come out officially recently?

I think that was a case of wishful thinking. I can't find anymore info online about it.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Also, what happened to those live shows, the Ritz, etc, that were supposed to come out officially recently?

I think that was a case of wishful thinking. I can't find anymore info online about it.

That's a bummer. Maybe I will just find a bootleg, particularly of The Ritz show.

Also, for the record, regarding UYI...I don't think any of the songs come close to touching the sheer greatness of every track on Appetite. That's just about impossible, in my opinion.

I have no problem listening to both the albums, but I wouldn't say they are exceptional - but a good listen nevertheless.

Those two albums bring back so many high school memories. Haven't heard them in such a long time. Good, but way behing when compared to the mighty appetite.

I was so utterly burnt out on everything GNR by the time these albums were released I never paid any attention to them. Hell, the last time I listened to Appetite was probably 1991...until about a year ago when one of my co-workers played it while we were resetting the ballroom for another event. Can't say that inspired me to run out and get a copy of it...I'll wait another 20 years and see if I like it then.

If you combine the best songs from both albums together, you have something pretty decent. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of bloated filler.

What money can do to great rock n roll bands.