Customer Reviews

Use Your Illusion V.2

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Easily tied with some other albums for "Greatest of All Time", "Use Your Illusion II" is the one review I kept putting off, not thinking I could ever be in the proper state of mind to give this piece of music the justice and worship that words can never express. Well, I've obviously started typing, so let's see what happens...

(Oh first of all let's get the "Appetite" and "My World" issues out of the way; yes, Appetite is wonderful and there's no reason to let any sort of comparison between these two albums impede the immense praise that is deserved by both. And yes, "My World" is an example of "WTF, Axl?????". HOWEVER, you have over 70 of the most well spent minutes of your entire existence to experience from this album before the final two minutes, so how DARE anyone let "My World" affect the reaction towards "Use Your Illusion II.")

Ok here we go. This album is epic (did I mention that?). When you are down and out, ready to give up, think all hope has gone, etc., etc..... you do NOT go to Nirvana. you do NOT go to Britney Spears. No, my friends (and enemies), you go to this album, track 11. There you will find the reason music exists. Heart and soul, blood and guts, tears, catharsis, anger, rage, emotion of the highest form, a purging of all of your demons: THAT is what will be injected into your veins when you listen to one of the greatest songs ever, "Estranged." Unfortunately, songs like this were a major reason for the sad (and painfully slow) breaking of the fellowship that was known as the mighty original Guns. Axl was (and is) a control freak that dictatorially directed how the music was going to be. His grand schemes exhausted and frustrated his cohorts, who felt they were losing their voices in the band. As tragic as the break has been, I will offer up the condolences that if an album's creation pays that very highest price that can be paid (short of death), atleast the album created is "Use Your Illusion II", and atleast it contains the song "Estranged."

If you liked Guns N Roses after 1993 (such as I did), you were CRUCIFIED by the public. There's a lot of moral wrongs in society, and I'm not going to start comparing Nirvana fans to terrorists, but I will say that the nineties gave us blatant evidence as to why not enough people are open-minded and think for themselves. The music of Guns N Roses - the very music that was irrationally chastised for being mindless, talentless and overblown - is some of the most gut-wrenching, fist-clenching, serious and thought-provoking music out there. Just LISTEN to what Axl's actually ranting about. Just FEEL what Slash's Les Paul is really doing to your soul. It all comes together with this album. I love the Beethoven 9th as much as the next guy, but the grand finale to "Estranged" is the most emotional music I've ever heard. It may be from a rock band, but the point is, it's from THIS rock band. Learning "Estranged" on piano is what made me what I am today - instead of quitting piano, I majored in it. Instead of laying down to die in front of the door of the past decade of musical B.S., I vowed to go to my grave defending the music that really reaches out to people, trendy or not.

More than the already unsurpassable amount of blessing must be given to the fact that this is not an album with just one sound. Guns pulled off the project of pure human emotion with diversity! "Estranged" itself winds around into different keys, with different themes, and different moods. A real journey of body and mind. But just about every other song is of the same ilk. "14 Years" was just as influential on me, schooling me on some serious blues rock. I've never felt more conviction from any band's live performance than from the studio recording of this song! The entire band really seems to be letting off some serious steam in this one, so make sure you let it get into your blood! And speaking of letting off some steam, how about "Get in the Ring?" This is THE quintessential anger song. While a simple punk band can only really ever deal with anger in one dimension, Axl and co. really let you into a web of emotional complexity with their ability to actually PLAY their instruments (sorry, some of you might not know what that is). Granted, some of the lyrics are more blatant than a sledgehammer ("When you're talking 'bout a vasectomy..." ), but these lines are always offset by more crafty, if intense, ones ("I sense a smell of retribution in the air"). It should be noted that if you're one to be offended at times, the skip button was invented for the song "Get In The Ring". Everyone else... rock on!

100 paragraphs each also go to "Civil War," "Breakdown," and "Locomotive," (not to mention the epic-ifying of a pretty basic Dylan tune, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," and the alternate [better] lyrics for "Don't Cry," and don't forget Arnold ["You Could Be Mine"]!!!)...but I've made my point and Amazon only allows 1000 words. Just imagine "Estranged" done 10 times over and you've got the album...the MASTERPIECE.

Bottom line about the timelessness to these wonderful songs, this album is FRESH. While some bands' music does sound dated and stale, nomatter how many times I start up "Civil War," I feel myself taken to a new dimension. The songwriting, playing, band-chemistry, recording, mixing, timing.... it all comes together on this album better than just about any other. If you are in need of therapy, and/or if you like rock music, and/or if you are human, "Use Your Illusion II" is the all-purpose pinnacle.

If you find these opinions to resemble your own, you are highly encouraged to email!

The quiet-loud fury of "Civil War" opens Use Your Illusion II, a record which despite its more experimental, weirdly unengaging ditties ("Get in the Ring" and "My World") contain some gut-wrenching rock and roll classics.

"You Could Be Mine" drips with power and venom, Slash's blues-metal guitar sounding as furious as ever and Matt Sorum's drum attack establishing him as Guns N' Roses' best drummer; "14 Years", with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin' sharing lead vocals, is a sleazy but involving kind of swing; "Yesterdays" has ringing guitars with one of Rose's lost-innocence lyrics; and "Estranged" contains a volley of Slash's best guitar melodies, all of which can rival the immortal intro to "Sweet Child O' Mine".

The "blue album" was Guns N' Roses' last great album. Short-lived as the band was, its instrumental skill, unusually keen songwriting ear and ambition harkened to an older time when rock and roll could still claim to be larger than life...and deliver on the threat.

Is normal to hear that Appetite for Destruction is one of the best rock albums ever made. It is also normal to hear that is the best album ever from Guns N'Roses. But one thing is for sure: This album is as good(and maybe better) than Appetite. Use your Illusion II is full of excellent, unforgettable songs. Starting with Estranged, a nine minutes masterpiece with a killer guitar work by Slash, and remarkable lyrics by Axl. No other person has ever written so good about the feelings related to the fact of losing the one you love and understanding that your relationship just fell apart. Yesterdays is a simple but beautiful song. Really easy to hear. When i run out of words is when i try to explain how i feel about hearing Locomotive. What a song! Slash is just from another world. Hard and fast riffs combined with Axl's powerful voice are just amazing. The last three minutes of this song are maybe the 3 best ever recorded by a rock band. Only comparable to Stairway to Heaven, Estranged, and the last 3 from Rocket Queen (also from Appetite). So fine is a gentle song, with an excellent balance of piano and guitar sounds that allowed Duff McKagan to show that GN'R is not just about Axl and Slash. He can write good songs too and sing them with high quality standards. Get in the ring, the song that defined the name of their world tour is pure rock and roll. Excellent intro guitars and following riffs by Izzy and Slash. Axl's honesty about his feelings for magazine's columnists and editors resulted in a really powerful song. Its really contagious rythm makes impossible not to sing and jump with these song. Civil war is another classic with an excellent wah-wah pedal work from Slash. Then we find 14 Years, with excellent lyrics and vocals from Izzy Stradlin and powered backing vocals from Axl. And one after another you get through the best group of rock and roll songs ever put together in one album. This one is an album to remember. An album to hear for years to come, because what the gunners accomplished here is just to great and beautiful to be forgotten. Maybe we are lucky and we can have them together again, making really simple, powerful rock and roll, just as they only can do.

The Use Your Illusion albums were perhaps the most widely anticipated albums, EVER! Hundreds of thousands of fans waited at record stores until midnight so that they could get the album right when it was released. And while most people were expecting more Appetite for Destruction, the new, more sophisticated sound that appeared on the albums kept most fans happy. While Appetite was dominated by Izzy Stradlin and Slash's double guitar attack, this albums had a different sound. Slash had great solos on 80% of the songs and Axl's piano playing added a new sound to the dirty punk-influenced rockers. Izzy Stradlin also emerged as not only a great guitar player, but an extremely talented songwriter.
1. Civil War 10/10- A great song that has comments from little known revolutionaries and also a quote from "Cool Hand Luke." These tie in perfectly with the song. Sounds like an anti-Vietnam song, so it's hard to take it seriously since Axl wasn't even a teenager when the war was going on, but it is so good. Axl sounds great on vocals, and so does Slash with the wah-wah pedal. A masterpiece.
2. 14 Years 10/10- Similar sounding to Dust N' Bones, they are also both written and sang by Izzy, who sounds great. It is too bad they didn't keep to this sound: heavy guitars and Izzy's vocals, balanced by Axl's piano and harmonies. It's a shame that when Izzy released his solo stuff that he did not use this sound instead of that Stonesy road music similar to John Fogarty.
3. Yesterdays 7/10- Thought of by many as a great song, but comes off as sappy aand phony. Released as a single, but didn't do anything thanks to Nirvana. Still has a good guitar solo.
4. Knockin' On Heaven's Door 8/10- Definitely the better of their covers (the other one being "Live and Let Die"), kinda sounds different than what Bob Dylan was aiming for when he wrote it and probably has him jumping in his grave (no wait, he's still alive). Still is pretty good, but Slash should have done a better solo.
5. Get In the Ring 5/10 Basically a platform to call out (by name!) the people who wrote bad stuff about Guns N Roses, is still pretty good and Axl bring up a good point on how the music industry screws us hard-working Americans over.
6. Shotgun Blues 2/10- Terrible song that has nothing good about it. Way too much profanity and one of the only true filler songs on the album.
7. Breakdown 8/10- A different sound for Guns N Roses where Slash plays a major part in the entire song instead of just taking the spotlight in the solos. A quote from the film "Vanishing Point" is unnecessary and keeps this from a ten.
8. Pretty Tied Up 10/10- Sounds pretty cool with the sitar in the beginning. A great guitar solo by Slash and hard rocking guitar riffs by Izzy as well as good bass by Duff make this song worthwhile.
9. Locomotive 6/10- The first two minutes are great, but the weird chorus and lack of a good Slash solo keep this from being a good song.
10. So Fine 10/10- Written and sang by Duff, who sounds great. Why didn't he write more songs in GNR? Slower, with good piano and guitars. Written for and dedicated to Johnny Thunders.
11. Estranged 10/10- One of the greatest songs ever written. Is really a two part song. The first half (should be called something like "Illusions") goes on for four minutes and is made spectacular by Slash's guitar (you will know what I mean when you listen to it). The second half (should be called "Estranged") sounds great too with a great guitar solo by Slash. A moving song grabs your heart and doesn't let go until it is over; 9:23 later. Slash and Izzy together sound great, but Slash proves that he is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Axl proves he is a great songwriter and sounds great on piano. A true masterpiece. This alone gives the album five stars.
12. You Could Be Mine 10/10- The big hit off the album and the only real heavy metal song, is often overlooked even though it is the second highest selling Guns N Roses song; it just never received any airplay for some reason. It starts out great with pounding blues-driven guitars, and has a raw blues power that is non-existant in today's music. I did not truly aprreciate this song until I saw Slash doing the guitar solo for this on the Use Your Illusion II tour DVD and it is truely amazing the way he does those 16th notes.
13. Don't Cry (alt. version) 9/10- Unnecessary, but still sounds good, basically is the same melody as the original, but with different lyrics. It would have been great if Guns N' Roses had combined the two versions together for a November Rain-like ballad.
14. My World 0/10- Awful, either filler or something else that did not work. Rap sounding, is no good and unacceptable.

Besides a craptacular ending, this is really good and a must own for any music fan. Had they put more time into the album and taken out "Shotgun Blues," "Locomotive," and "My World," this could have been even better than Appetite for Destruction, but if they had waited longer, maybe no one would have cared since everyone was listening to Kurt Cobain whine in "Nevermind." It is too bad that controversy tore them apart, because anyone can tell after listening to the other projects done by GNR bandmembers that aren't named Axl (such as Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolver) that they still have great music left in them.

I still have my original copies of UYI 1 and UYI 2 that I bought some 12 years ago at midnight when the record store opened so they could be sold. I still cant decide which of the 2 is best, 2 just might be a little better. While the 2 albums together have some filler, there is less on 2. We have the ass-kicking tunes YOU COULD BE MINE, PRETTY TIED UP, CIVIL WAR, YESTERDAY,14 YEARS, KNOCKIN ON HEAVENS DOOR. The songs SO FINE, ESTRANGED, LOCOMOTIVE are a little slower, but they are also great songs. The weak link on this album is MY WORLD, this is a song that we dont need. DONT CRY, with alternate lyrics we possibly could have done without, but it is still a good song so I guess thats cool. While I love both albums, and they still find there way into my stereo after 12 years, I agree with some of the reviewers that we might have been better off with just one double album. Like I said before, I consider these albums to be their EXILE ON MAIN ST., and shows the promise this band had before all the internal conflicts ripped them apart. Yes I think they could have been as big as the ROLLING STONES, but we will never know. I highly recommend adding this album to your collection.

This is arguably GNR's best album. It is superior to the similar but simpler Use Your Illusion I. Appetite for Destruction may be better than UYI II; it depends on the listener's preference. Appetite is more radio friendly (although UYI II did spawn at least 4 hits) and is easier to get into because the songs are shorter, simpler, and all contain catchy riffs. Still, I prefer UYI II. It is an epic experiment that stretches the boundaries of hard rock. I find it to be one of the most amazing albums ever. On "Civil War," a desperate plea against the horrors of war combines with an ultra-catchy chorus. And for the last couple of minutes, the band changes the song's tone from dead-serious to funky-jazzy. And somehow, it works! "14 Years" is a diamond in the rough, written and sung by unheralded rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. The lyrics may be whiny, but the riffs will stick in your head for months. "Get in the Ring" is a wild, raucous, sometime live-sounding challenge to all of GNR's critics, complete with Axl bad-mouthing his critics by name during an interlude. But the tracks that really set this album apart from other GNR ones are the long ballads with multiple movements (thats right, MOVEMENTS!). These are "Breakdown," "Locomotive," and the masterpiece "Estranged" which very well may be the most unjustly ignored song ever. On "Estranged," Axl's edge-of-sanity pouring-his-heart-out singing combine with Slash's killer wailing riffs. "Yesterdays," "So Fine" and "Pretty Tied Up" are all great tunes as well that you will find yourself singing along to after a couple listens.

On top of all that, there are the 2 biggest "hits" of the album, 1 being the cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin on Heaven's Door" and the other being "You Could Be Mine" which we all know from the movie Terminator. Although I am a huge Bob Dylan fan, I actually do prefer the GNR version by far. Basically it just rocks a whole lot more with Axl's "Hey-hey-hey-hey-yeah" addition to the chorus, Slash's 2 guitar solos, and the gospel chorus near the end. The last 2 tracks on the CD are just a pretty pointless alternate version of "Don't Cry" from UYI I and a 1-minute spoken psycho-rant by Axl set over primitive techno music, titled "My World."

All in all, one of my proudest purchases ever; one excellent song after another from start to finish.

Okay, I can admit that out of 14 tracks, there are 3 skippable songs (Get In The Ring, Shotgun Blues and My World).
But when a band like G'n'R puts together 11 songs as unbelieveably diverse, and consistently excellent, as these tunes, you have an instant classic on your hands. The sleaze from Appetite and UYI 1 have almost disappeared, leaving some epic songwriting and awesome guitar work from the superlative-defying duo of Slash & Izzy.

1 Civil War: 10/10 - Whoa. What an opener. From the Cool Hand Luke excerpt to the wonderful guitar virtuosity, to the genuinely touching lyrics, this is an epic unlike any other anti-war song.

2 14 Years: 9/10 - A great little blues rock, honky tonk number, giving Izzy room to shine.

3 Yesterdays: 10/10 - A lovely ballad, with some nice harmonies and a great video.

4 Knockin On Heaven's Door: 9/10 - Overplayed, over-rated and SO much better live, it still merits a 9/10 for turning a mediocre Dylan number into an incandescent glam rocker.

5 Get In The Ring: 4/10 - Embarrassing lyrics, hilarious rant, actually quite good music, but still near unlistenable.

6 Shotgun Blues: 4/10 - Like a bad rash, the embarrassing lyrics just wouldn't go away until...

7 Breakdown: 10/10 - Nice banjo intro! This is a genuinely beautiful song, if you ignore the weird deep voice in the chorus, which is totaly out of place.

8 Pretty Tied Up: 9/10 - Izzy wrote this one, and it rocks the bells! A verse on S&M, a verse on the decline of the band and a verse on the dangers of fame, all "tied up" (sorry) to a hard-rockin classic.

9 Locomotive: 10/10 - In no way overlong. The lyrics are actually wonderful, the music is funky, almost reminiscent of Rocket Queen in that regard. The piano outro is gorgeous.

10 So Fine: 10/10 - Duff, take a bow, my man! This is a beautiful piece of balladry, interspersed with great blues rock. Written for Johnny Thunders, but listen to it with a special someone in mind, and it makes so much sense.

11 Estranged: ?/10 - How high can you count? An awe-inspiring piece of work. Music as art, art as catharsis. Too many highlights to number, but special mention to THAT guitar solo, after Axl sings 'And what for?' Axl and Slash prove they've got the goods to rival any frontman/guitarist duo, ever. That means Page/Plant, Jagger/Richards, Tyler/Perry etc. I really can't put into words how impossible it is to over-rate this song. It is pure emotion on a little shiny disc, perhaps only matched by Hunger Strike by Temple of the Dog for sheer beauty.

12 You Could Be Mine: 10/10 - A classic hard-rocker, sleazy, arrogant and brilliant for it. If you liked You're Crazy, this goes even further into pure sexed-up glam rock.

13 Don't Cry: 9/10 - The original would get 10/10, because I prefer the lyrics, but as long as that solo is still there, I'm not complaining. A truly excellent power ballad, I could do without the strange extended 'toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight' at the end. But if you think that's bad...

14 My World: 0/10 - I refuse to consider this a G'n'R song. Axl, if you think going in this direction is going to top what the boys have done with Velvet Revolver, you're sadly mistaken. No one wants to hear another lame rap-rock crossover act.

So, with G'n'R losing control over Axl, and the birth of grunge, this was the last classic album from the boys as a whole. Of course, everyone who has released an album since has managed to recapture some of the glory. Snakepit, any Stradlin solo LP, and of course, Velvet Revolver are all glorious rock records, and I can say from experience that VR are a top-notch live act. So Axl, get your act together fast, or you will lose all the status uo rightly deserve.

There are many debates as to which is the better Illusion album and I'd have to say I still haven't really decided after all these years but if pressed I would say this one. There are great songs on both and also a few average ones as well. This one has the massive song from the Terminator II movie You Could Be Mine and is worth buying just for that alone. Yesterdays, 14 Years, Breakdown and Don't Cry (alt. Lyrics) are sensational as well. Knockin' On Heaven's Door is great but not as good their single version that you hear on the radio with no voice interruptions of It wasn't My fault! What else was I supposed to do? and so on, which I thought set this song apart from previous artists versions. I like Civil War especially the intro which is from the film Cool Hand Luke. Get In the Ring is pretty stupid pointless swearing song and seems to be written apposing some journalist remarks they didn't like. My World is a short song which isn't a bad thing as it's pretty stupid.

Buy this along with Illusion I they both have a substantial number of sensational songs. Lyrics are included for you to sing along to as well.

First off yes I am a fan of Guns N' Roses. Having said that I own all the there albums and this one is my favorite....because it is long and jam packed with "epics"...songs like Civil War..Estranged...Knocking on Heavens door...yesterdays and especially you could be mine...are some of the best songs that I've heard and many havn't gotten the credit they so richly deserve! This is a great album...it has surprisingly little filler for an album this long...this is worth it for sure!

This is my review of both discs of Use Your Illusion.

This is flat out the best material of the nineties. People who like all forms of music will love both these discs. It has epic ballads (estranged, November Rain, and Don't Cry) and hard rocking classics such as You Could Be Mine, Civil War, and the underrated ten minute epic that is Coma. It also has two excellent cover songs of the Bob Dylan classic "Knocking On Heaven's Door" and The Paul McCartney classic "Live and Let Die". The band is in full form throughout both of these epic discs especially Slash. A perfect example of this is his masterful guitar work throughout November Rain. My only real gripe with this album is the two versions of Don't Cry (one has alternate lyrics) which is simply pointless and the horrible "My World" which is two minutes of Axl stupidly rapping. My World is probably the only gnr song that I absolutely, postitively hate with a vengeance. This two disc set is a portrait of a band that was on the verge of splitting but somehow kept it together and recorded this mishmash of musical styles. As a sidenote, I would like to state that if Chinese Democracy is ever released by Axl and his all new GNR, I would highly suggest buying it entirely because I have heard three songs that will be on the album that are all excellent. So, if you have the means, somehow try to listen to the songs Chinese Democracy, Madagascar, and The Blues. That's my two cents.