Use Your Illusion Song by Song Thread

I think it's a surprise opener, not even close to the best tracks on the album but maybe that's the reason I always liked it. Sort of set the mood for the whole opus - we're out of the sandbox now and anything can happen.

To be pedantic, it's Timo Caltio (née Kaltio). He used to work as a roadie for Hanoi Rocks and later played guitar in Cheap & Nasty with Nasty Suicide, Alvin Gibbs ans Les Riggs. I used to love their first album (Beautiful Disaster), still think it's a forgotten jewel.

 

Not a bad opener, my 16 year old ears back then liked the agressivness of it, but the groove is missing. it's a middle of the road rocker that got some rock but not enough roll, where's Izzy?, really. Now the second track, that's one of my favoiurite Guns song and sung by the man himself Izzy, pure Stonesy.

 

I bought volume one long time ago but it took me years to get the second volume. I had a cassette of Use Your Illusion II for a while to fill the gap, now it's good to have both CDs in my collection.
Both albums/volumes are great but I think it would've been better if they were merged together with the best tracks. But, it's nearly like cutting the White Album, so I'm okay with leaving it the way it is.

 

That was hotly discussed in contemporary reviews and I thought truncating it to a single album would've been plain wrong. It's an Exile on Main Street for a certain generation and although I was a slightly too old to be part of that generation I kind of recognized it for what it is. Along the years, I've come to appreciate it even more. I mean, they could've substituted "My World" with, I dunno, "Crash Diet" or something but what the hell, it's only rock and roll...

 

Thing is it should've been a double record. One album. That would've erased all the issues.

 

'My World' was added kinda secretly by Axl and the producer(s). The band was shocked when they heard that track on the final CD master. One of the early steps towards the band's break-up back then.

 

Most of Izzy's parts were overdubbed by Slash. Izzy is there, but he only played basic chords and his contribution is mixed very, very low, pretty much drowned out. Slash overdubbed his own rhythm guitar on top of it.

 

Only Izzy didn't know about it and Izzy wasn't around for the final mixing (or for most of the prime recording). If Axl is to be believed Slash and Duff (Duff especially) liked it. I can believe it because Duff was heavy into rap and stuff at the time (He would have rappers on his solo record and was a close friend of Bodycount).

As much as Izzy is missed on the UYIs, it really was his own fault. The guy only showed up for the basic track sessions. Submitted his ideas by mail. Didn't hang out with the band. Traveled separately. Didn't show up for video shoots. He phased himself out of the band in a way similar to Brian Jones, but without the drugs.

 

I've only ever listened to UYI 1 once, but I remember not liking it as much as 2. I'm not too fond of the fact that it's composed mostly of similar-sounding uptempo hard rock songs. I like a couple songs on the album, but I remember getting the impression that 2 had almost all of the good songs.

 

Yeah, but that was the question at the time - what would you've left out? After giving it some thought I realized I was glad to have it all. Would've made some legendary outtakes though...

 

Shotgun Blues, Get in the Ring, Back Off Bitch, My World, Bad Apples, and So Fine could easily have been left on the cutting room floor.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door could've been a non-album single.

 

By the way, there are two accompanied DVDs for the album(s), a concert at Tokyo Dome in Japan (1992).
I watched that a while before I bought the CDs (but I knew most of the songs already, thanks to my older brother who's a big GNR fan). Great footage!

 

As to Right Next Door to Hell:

Good opener but it lacks the groove of Welcome to the Jungle. That said, I like it quite a bit. That snarly bass intro is awesome and the whole song is short, fast, to the point, not over-indulgent and bloated. It could've been a single if not Axl screaming "effff youuuuuuuu" over the solo, which was really not necessary.

That's another issue with the UYIs: Too much unneeded cursing to seem "macho." Appetite I think had one or two songs with curses. Half the UYI songs either have profanity in the lyrics or Axl screaming a curse in an overdub. Which makes the songs seem childish and ugly.

I mean was there really a need to drop the C word in Bad Obsession?

Or Axl saying, "And you, you can suck my azz"?

Utterly childish.

 

And wasn't 'You Could Be Mine' originally on the Terminator 2 soundtrack?

 

They could've picked a better show to officially release in all honesty:

Rio 1991
Indiana 1991
Paris 1992 (why this wasn't officially released, when it was a gigantic ppv evemt is beyond me)
Argentina 1993

All of those were far superior to the Tokyo shows.

 

Yes, came out in June 1991 (three months before the records). Civil War and Knockin' on Heaven's Door had already been released in 1990, a full year prior to the UYIs coming out. Knockin on Heaven's Door was released on a Tom Cruise film soundtrack and Civil War was released for the Romanian Children's Benefit Album in like March or April 1990.

 

They became so self-indulgent after 1991. Axl throwing wild theme parties after every. single. show which actually meant the band didn't earn any money from the tour. Slash's book says the only reason they even toured in 1993 (the UYI tour was just supposed to go from 1991-1992) was to recoup from the losses Axl incurred on the band (overtime fees, riots and damages, besides the theme parties)

Becoming a 12 piece band with a horn section, two female backing vocalists, and a second keyboardist at the height of Grunge....

Axl playing November Rain with Elton John and a full 30something piece orchaestra at the 1992 VMAs.....

Releasing "Making Of" videos of their 'trilogy' of overblown music videos....

It became a little Spinal Tap-esque after Izzy left.

 

That's what I meant, horses for courses and all. Apart from My World those are all mighty fine tracks to me. I can even deal with Don't Damn Me and Dead Horse.

They were cleaning the slate with the UYI's but since Izzy was gone, nothing was brought to the table afterwards...

 

Fun fact: Like Chinese Democracy, the UYI records missed deadline after deadline. Was supposed to come out in Fall 1989. Then fall 1990. Then Spring 1991. Then May 1991. Then July 1991. Then August 1991. The instrumental tracks took a month to record, but the vocal tracks by Axl took over a year and a half to be finished.

Also, another fun fact: Keyboardist Dizzy Reed was added to the band as an official member on contract by Axl without consulting any of the other band members.

 

Yeah, GNR were a textbook case in "how to make it big and f--k it up completely". Still, it was fascinating as it unfolded. Around "Spaghetti Incident" it became a bit too much to stomach though...

 

I'll give Axl this: I think he realized that the sound of the original line-up could tear up clubs and theaters, but it wouldn't necessarily translate all that well to stadiums and arenas. The booming sound in those venues drowned out a lot of the subtlety of the two guitar approach unless one guy is arpeggiating. After seeing the Stones do it on the Steel Wheels tour, I suspect Axl realized that additional keyboard support could strengthen the sound and cover for nights when Slash wasn't all together. There seems to have been a conscious decision to make it a different kind of band. And that might have been the only realistic decision available to them.

 

Wait. WHAT?! I’m shock!!

DDM is arguably the best track on this UYI, and certainly features one of the best guitars solos!!

 

I know I should be saving this for tomorrow, but we might as well talk about Izzy's relationship with the band at this point: he was clean and sober, so he avoided the three to maintain sobriety, Axl was starting all his stupid s***, he wasn't happy with the change in drummers, he had one foot out the door, and that's why he had all these songs that he sings, they were trying to keep him appeased. And Team Axl can blame the three for pushing away Izzy, Team 3 can blame Axl, but really everyone pushed him away.

 

Hey, don't get me wrong - it's a fine solo and an ok song but the self-indulgence of the lyrics is sort of overbearing to me...

 

I actually think Spaghetti Incident was a return to form. They only produced one video and it was wacky and fit with the wacky videos coming out in 1994 without being self-indulgent. Axl began dress like a normal human being again. The songs, though covers, are simple basic rock songs without 12 layers of overdubs and weird sound effects. And it was a cool gesture on their part. They didn't make any money from the record and most of the songs they covered were obscure stuff...Which did help open the door for younger kids who might not have heard of The Damned or UK Subs to get interested, while giving those old timers a bit of cash when they were probably living hand to mouth.