Hello everybody and welcome to the Use Your Illusion Song by Song Thread, which was the runner up in the poll, and since Cloud Nine won't be happening for a while, this will be our thread in the meantime. Before we start, I'd like to know how you discovered this album and initial impressions.
Use Your Illusion I is the third studio album by American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on September 17, 1991, the same day as its counterpart album Use Your Illusion II. Both albums were released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts, selling 685,000 copies in its first week, behind Use Your Illusion II's first week sales of 770,000.[1] Use Your Illusion I has sold 5,502,000 units in the U.S. as of 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2] Each of the Use Your Illusion albums have been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1992.[3]
Background[edit]
The Use Your Illusion albums represent a turning point in the sound of Guns N' Roses. Although the band did not abandon the aggressive hard-rock sound they had become known for with 1987's Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusion I demonstrated a new-found musical maturity, incorporating elements of blues, classical music, heavy metal, punk rock, and classic rock and roll. This is exemplified by the use of piano on several tracks of this album by lead singer Axl Roseand keyboardist Dizzy Reed, as well as on Use Your Illusion II. Use Your Illusion I contains two of the three songs, "November Rain" and "Don't Cry", whose videos are generally regarded by fans as a trilogy.[4] The third song, "Estranged", can be found on Use Your Illusion II.Another factor in the different sound to this album compared to the band's earlier work is the addition of former The Cult drummer Matt Sorum, who replaced member Steven Adler. Adler was earlier fired from the group due to a serious heroin addiction.[5][6] Guitarist Izzy Stradlin said of the change, "Adler's sense of swing was the push and pull that give the songs their feel. When that was gone, it was just... unbelievable, weird. Nothing worked. I would have preferred to continue with Steve, but we'd had two years off and we couldn't wait any longer."[7]
A number of songs on the album were written in the band's early days. They were not included on Appetite for Destruction but can be found on the so-called 'Rumbo Tapes', a popular bootleg album of early demo tapes. "Back Off Bitch", "Bad Obsession", "Don't Cry" (referred to by Rose during the ensuing tour as 'the first song [they] ever wrote together'), "November Rain", and "The Garden" are considered part of this group. There is also a cover of Paul McCartney and Wings' "Live and Let Die".
Besides the stylistic differences, another new aspect seen in Use Your Illusion I was longer songs. "November Rain", an epic ballad, is nearly nine minutes long, and "Coma" is more than 10 minutes long. Another change was the presence of tracks sung by other members of the band (even though certain songs from Appetite for Destruction and G N' R Lies featured other members on duet vocals): lead vocals on "Dust N' Bones", "You Ain't the First" and "Double Talkin' Jive" are performed by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. In addition, "14 Years" and "So Fine" from Use Your Illusion II were sung by Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan, respectively.
The band had some difficulty achieving the final sound of the album, especially during the mixing stages of the production of both albums. According to a 1991 cover story by Rolling Stone magazine, after mixing 21 tracks with engineer/producer Bob Clearmountain, the band decided to scrap the mixes and start from scratch with engineer Bill Price of Sex Pistols fame.[8] Slash has stated that a great deal of the material for the album was written on acoustic guitars in a couple of nights at his house (the Walnut House), after several months of non-productivity.[9]
Artwork[edit]
Raphael, The School of Athens (detail)
Both albums' covers are the work of Estonian-American artist Mark Kostabi.[11] They consist of detail from Raphael's painting The School of Athens. The highlighted figure, unlike many of those in the painting, has not been identified with any specific philosopher. The only difference in the artwork between the albums is the color scheme used for each album. Use Your Illusion II uses purple and blue while Use Your Illusion I uses yellow and red. The original painting was titled by Paul Kostabi as Use Your Illusion and also became the title of both albums. The album's liner notes hide the message "**** You St. Louis" amongst the thank you notes, a reference to the band's Disaster near there at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in July 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour.[12]Release and reception[edit]
Released on midnight of September 17, 1991, the Use Your Illusion albums were among the most anticipated in rock history. Predictions in the industry were of sales reaching the likes of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., this despite the fact that major stores K-Mart and Walmart refused to stock the albums due to the profanity present. Estimates suggested that over 500,000 copies of the two albums were sold in just 2 hours.[20] Both albums ultimately underperformed expectations domestically but were still commercially successful, with Use Your Illusion I selling 5,502,000 and both being certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA.[21][22] Use Your Illusion I debuted below Use Your Illusion II mainly due to the fact that the second album contained the main lead single of the two albums "You Could Be Mine".Reception to Use Your Illusion I was mainly positive, and it is regarded as the more hard-rocking album of the two due in part to the influence of Izzy Stradlin.[13]Critics praised the highlights of the album such as "November Rain" and "Coma", the closing track, but criticized the amount of filler on the album. Asked if the wait was worth it, David Fricke of Rolling Stone said "yes".[17]
Track listing[edit]
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Right Next Door to Hell" Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Timo Caltia 3:02
2. "Dust N' Bones" Slash, Stradlin, Duff McKagan 4:58
3. "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney and Wings cover) Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney 3:04
4. "Don't Cry" (Original) Rose, Stradlin 4:44
5. "Perfect Crime" Rose, Slash, Stradlin 2:23
6. "You Ain't the First" Stradlin 2:36
7. "Bad Obsession" Stradlin, West Arkeen 5:28
8. "Back Off Bitch" Rose, Paul Tobias 5:03
9. "Double Talkin' Jive" Stradlin 3:23
10. "November Rain" Rose 8:57
11. "The Garden" Rose, Arkeen, Del James 5:22
12. "Garden of Eden" Rose, Slash 2:41
13. "Don't Damn Me" Rose, Slash, Dave Lank 5:18
14. "Bad Apples" Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan 4:28
15. "Dead Horse" Rose 4:17
16. "Coma" Rose, Slash 10:13
Total length: 75:56Personnel[edit]
Guns N' RosesAdditional musicians
- W. Axl Rose – lead vocals, piano, choir, synthesizer, programming, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, sound effect
- Slash – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, dobro, classical guitar, backing vocals, talkbox, six-string bass
- Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, lead vocals, percussion
- Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
- Matt Sorum – drums, percussion, backing vocals, choir
- Dizzy Reed – keyboards, backing vocals
- Shannon Hoon – backing vocals on "Live And Let Die", "November Rain" and "The Garden"; back-up vocals on "Don't Cry" and "You Ain't The First"
- Johann Langlie – programming on "Live And Let Die", "November Rain" and "Garden Of Eden"; sound effects on "Coma"
- Michael Monroe – harmonica and saxophone on "Bad Obsession"
- Reba Shaw – backing vocals on "November Rain"
- Stuart Bailey – backing vocals on "November Rain"
- Jon Thautwein – horn on "Live And Let Die"
- Matthew McKagan – horn on "Live And Let Die"
- Rachel West – horn on "Live And Let Die"
Production and design
- Robert Clark – horn on "Live And Let Die"
- Tim Doyle – tambourine on "You Ain't The First"
- Alice Cooper – co-lead vocals on "The Garden"
- West Arkeen – acoustic guitar on "The Garden"
- Bruce Foster – sound effects on "Coma"
- Mike Clink – production, engineering, nutcracker on "Dead Horse"
- Jim Mitchell – additional engineering
- Bill Price – mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- Kevin Reagan – art direction, graphic design
- Mark Kostabi – album artwork
- Robert John – photography
- Allen Abrahamson – assistant engineer
- Buzz Burrowes – assistant engineer
- Chris Puram – assistant engineer
- Craig Portelis – assistant engineer
- Ed Goodreau – assistant engineer
- Jason Roberts – assistant engineer
- John Aguto – assistant engineer
- L. Stu Young – assistant engineer
- Leon Granados – assistant engineer
- Mike Douglass – assistant engineer
- Talley Sherwood – assistant engineer
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