Customer Reviews

Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II (World Tour 1992 in Tokyo)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the best music video I have ever seen. It has everything! Fantastic hardout solos, both in the guitar and drum catorgory. Slash adds his own intros to both Knockin' on Heavens Door and Paradise City before he hooks into the song itself. Other good songs include Estranged and Sweet Child o' Mine....infact it has all the legend songs. You aren't a pure Guns n' Roses fan unless you have this video. My best bit is when Slash puts on his tophat and sprints around of stage infront of the crowd...he knows how to get the crowd going!

This video ruled the world. I'm from New Zealand and I had to pay $60 for it but it was sure worth it. It's heart out with amazing solo's and Slash really knows how to get the croud going at the start of paradice city. This is one hell of a video!!!!! Get this before any of the others since it is the second half of the Tokyo 1992 concert(use your illusion 1 was the first half) they play all the best songs such as Sweet chid o mine, paradice city, rocket queen, Estranged, so fine, knokin on heavans door, so fine,move to the city and you could be mine.

By a Die Hard GnR Fan Ps. It rocks the world, brace yourself!!

It's raw and sure the sound quality ain't great but damn it's fun to watch! ...Axl is just running around constantly (that's why he enjoys big stages)..it's quite a find for the big guns fan

This is hard to belive, but this DVD is only for the second half of the concert - the first half is the Use Your Illusion 1 DVD.
That bizare fact aside, this is a beatiful concert.

The band are on form, and look like they're making an effort i.e. they're not completely wasted (probably because the concert was being recorded for 2 seperate videos).

The solos are great, especially Matt's, being accompanied by (an unusually sober) Duff Rose on timpani.

Slash delights with his legendary guitar skills - I especially liked the Sweet Child guitar solo, which was played to perfection, and had this massive superdome rocking in unison.

I also liked the performance of Move to the City, which includes great little funky instrumentals, including Ted on organ, Dizzy on piano, and the 3 piece horn section.
There is also, of course, a very rare performance of Estranged, which is a very special treat indeed.

At the interval before the encore, you can see the delight on peoples faces, and feel the electricity in the arena, which reminds you (not that you need reminding) that you are watching a band of mythic proportion, performing a stunning concert.

I have to agree with both my fellow countrymen from NZ and say, first and foremost this is an excellent video as a part of a two vhs set, and while it may be expensive ( i know i paid around 120 for both) it is well worth it.
The video kicks off with a little backstage footage before axl appears onstage to kick things off with "You could be mine". I must be honest though, I thought axl really was off form, particuarly in the early songs. He wasnt hitting the high notes and his voice was far rougher than usual, in my opinion he butchered sweet child o' mine but yeah my opinion is EXACTLY that, an opinion. He did show plenty of energy however, which is the mark of a great frontman. The rest of the band were great though. Slash in particular absolutely shredded everyone else on stage with his solos, many of which were improvised versions of the album cuts, which was nice... although i was dissapointed he did an improvisation on the big paradise city solo.
As has already been mentioned, may of the songs contain little intros or interludes, for example: In the middle of rocket queen axl starts rapping "It tastes good dont it". I certainly didnt appreciate that, many rock affectionados won't either, but it was certainly unexpected.
The Quality of the VHS itself, both visually and in the sound department was unprecedented for a vhs. It was crisp and clean (it was recorded officially by GNR of course) sound was excellent also, only a little behind DVD quality playback.
Overall this is an essential set to own, as as this VHS in particular, which contains most of, in my opinion, the gunners best stuff.
Buy it... hell buy them both.

The Guns N' Roses DVD that shows GN'R live in Tokyo in 1992,supporting their "Use Your Illusion II" record,is a great DVD,and it is even better than the UYI1 concert DVD. This is a transfer from an original VHS tape,the transfer doesn't look sloppy here,and the first time I saw this concert,it was even better than I thought it would be.

The DVD and the concert themselves? Both are not perfect,but both are very solid. After you get a behind the scenes look at Guns N' Roses backstage,the show opens with "You Could Be Mine",and this DVD shows GN'R performing songs off of AFD,Lies,UYI1,and UYI2,along with the theme from Francis Ford Coppala's hit film "The Godfather" and a drum solo from Matt Sorum,a guitar solo from Slash,and a timpani solo from Duff McKagan. Sorum's solo,Slash's solo,and McKagan's solo are all amazing,as well as GN'R's cover version of "The Godfather" theme. The audience in this DVD(same audience in the UYI1 concert DVD)actually act excited here and keep this concert/DVD exciting and entertaining,unlike the UYI1 concert DVD,which was good but didn't show a very enthusiastic audience.

The rest of this DVD(past "You Could Be Mine",the drum and guitar solo,and "The Godfather" theme)is pretty much a well planned supplemnet to the UYI1 concert DVD--this DVD/concert feautures live performances of songs that were NOT on the UYI1 concert DVD,and while you won't see "Welcome To The Jungle" or "November Rain" performed live here,you can get the UYI1 concert DVD for both of those things(you have to give the setlist on both the UYI1 concert DVD and the UYI2 concert DVD a lot of credit,since there is not overkill of live performances of AFD songs and since the DVDS have live performances of songs that one of the two DVDS didn't,as well as the fact that a DVD for a UYI1 concert and a UYI2 concert were both released).The jazzed up versions of Guns N' Roses' cover version of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and the original GN'R tune "Move To The City" are both awesome and the highlights of this DVD,while Axl Rose and Duff McKagan do a nice duet of "So Fine",a jazz influenced song off of UYI2 that McKagan wrote as a tribute for Johnny Thunders. Even though drugs,alcohol,arrogance,and big egos had already been going on in Guns N' Roses for a while when the concert on this DVD was filmed,you can watch this concert and tell that everybody who was in GN'R(Axl,Slash,Duff,Matt,Dizzy Reed,and Gilby Clarke)when this concert was filmed were having a good time onstage.

As for the question of special feautures here,there are no bonus interviews,BUT,besides the one "bonus" thing I already mentioned at the top of this review,a Japanese TV interview with Slash that was conducted around the time this concert was shot do appear a couple of times,so you can't go wrong with either one of those things(if you don't want the
"bonus feautures" right before and/or during the concert on this DVD,you can go to the menu and select an actual song,unlike you could with the original VHS tape). An improvement from the original VHS tape of this concert.

If you are a die hard Guns N' Roses fan,this DVD is a must buy. If you are a new or casual GN'R fan,then you should become a die hard GN'R fan before you purchase this DVD,but what you have here is a great concert on a great DVD,and now hopefully a Guns N'Roses DVD from the AFD era and/or the Lies era will be released on DVD(although you can get GNR's Ritz Show for Appetite off of Ebay,well,the last time I checked at least).

This is the second half of the show at the Tokyo Dome back 1992. Gilby Clarke does a formidable job in deputizing for the great Izzy Stradlin and the boys blow away the lucky Japanese who witnessed this live back in 1992. Visually the video is impressive with some wicked angles and good editing. The band's performance itself is energetic and an all out, balls to the wall assault. Alas, the audio element suffers from the same shortfalls as the UYI pt 1 dvd...ie. the balance is off or the volume fades unexpectantly. A real pity since I was hoping for some stellar audio worthy of the riveting performance. Still, Gunner fans who dont already own the VHS version, will enjoy themselves. Grade: B.

It starts with the intrudution, witch is cool, you could be mine is an ok song but from then on you get nothing but great hits from the band. Although I think The USI1 DVD is better it was a very close call. The drum and guitar solo is great slash uses his talk box for a lot of it. Godfather theme is great for any slash fan.Sweet Child o mine is really good here. So fine is good to. This is an excellent version of Rocket Queen, though I think Slash should have had the talk box solo longer like in the Live Era cd set. Move to the city is really good it shows off alot of the band on this song.Knocking on Heavens door is amazing with the two Reggai parts in it. Estranged is the first encore witch is good. The Finale is amazing there is no better song than Paradise City to end a concert on. Slash goes down off the stage in this song to were the audiance is. The no bonus features but its too good to matter much.

As you start this historic video it shows you the band hangin out backstage and before the show. I particularly like this part because it shows that GNR are human and not just some bad boy band that drank and have sex all the time. And then after the kind of gloomy beginning (due to the song they played -- Breakdown) Axl and the band break into the ferious You Could Be Mine which the same recording is featured on Live Era. The band keeps the intesity with an awesome drum solo that will still rattle your brain! Then the greatest guitarist ever, Slash, breaks into an incredible display of notes and sounds that is still impossible for even the best of guitarist to imitate. After the Godfather comes Sweet Child O Mine. Now the only downfall of the entire tape (and the concert for that matter) was Axls vocals on Sweet Child O Mine. But hey, hes been touring for so long you cant blame the guy. After that the rip into another classic So Fine. This track is so great even though it shows how the band was not all they say in their songs. It says that Axl owns a favor to a friend and he points to Duff. When really none of the band got along with Axl. Then comes the second best track GNR ever recorded -- Rocket Queen. This track had it all - blazing leads, hot ryhyms, even a rap section (lol). Slash is the usual Slash going crazy and playing his heart out. Gotta love him! After that they go it Move To The City which is highly underatted. Then comes the encore. Knockin On Heavens Door is a classic song that was made incredible by GNR. This version is about 10 minutes long and shows Slashs genious of the guitar. Then comes simply the best track of all time (tied with Lynyrd Skynyrds Free Bird) Estranged. The track shows the genious of Axl Rose and the beautiful music he created. The guitars were perfect and the drums and bass was genious. Dizzy created a beautiful mid way piano solo in the song followed by Slashs most memorible solo. Then the band storms back on for their final blow out - Paradise City. Axl goes all out on this. And Slash runs around pratically in the crowd playing another well constructed and well thought out solo. And then as the final chord rings out and then band bows as you wonder, "Will their ever been music better than this ever?"
Trust me. If you are a fan or rap or regea or anything you will enjoy this historic concert. It is sad that such an awesome band had to fizzle out of existense. But their still is hope of a new GNR. There is a new GNR band will only Axl remaining but I doubt they will ever be albe to touch the glory and wonder of the greatest band to exist.

A very questionable release by Guns n' Roses here, taking a live excerpt from a show in Tokyo, in which Axl Rose's voice is flying all over the place. Their are some impressive highlights to this DVD though, which a number of diehard GNR fans would love, for example the drum solo from Matt Sorum is delivered powerfully and quickly with good precision. The downside though is that it drags on for a little too long. You Could Be Mine is a scary opener, with an incredibly screechy lyrical delivery from Axl, which is on and off, but the riffs from Slash make up for it. Move To The City is more or less a shrug, a reasonable performance for a decent song. Sweet Child o' Mine opens with a rambling Axl, screeching away, leading into the intro. Musically very well done, except Axl is once again a little on the scratchy side with lyrics. Rocket Queen is one of the biggest highlights on this disc, creating a huge wave of energy amongst the audience, with Axl on the mark. So Fine is another decent one, not contributing enough rock righteousness though. Estranged is possibly the best cut from this performance, with Axl giving us great, emotional lyrical deliveries, and Slash soloing to perfection. Dizzy Reed also contributes very nicely to the track with his keyboards. Paradise City thankfully ends the concert on a high point, with Slash cruising around the arena, hitting each note perfectly.

Overall, most likely one of their stronger concerts on the Illusion Tour, however I'm sure there are better live concerts they could've released of Guns n' Roses. Possibly it would've been better to release one from their Appetite days. Nevertheless, a fairly good buy for a diehard GNR fan, but not recommended to anyone else.