Guns N' Roses Illusions albums?

Do you dig these two albums by Gunners? Which one do you prefer between them?

Can you give here some short review for these both albums? How would you rate them on a scale of 1 to 10?
Which tracks on each album would be highlights for you and which tracks would be filler?
Discuss.

 

I guess I'd give the edge to whichever one had COMA on it. Mostly about equal, though, each with a skippable track here and there. I liked them, but they could've used some judicious pruning.

 

Have not heard them in a long time but both seem about the same to me.

 

bloated, with some fine moments and real bad ideas on both. If they trimmed it down to one album, well that would have been fantastic

 

I like both parts. To me it's actually a long double album and shouldn't be interrupted.

'Coma' is the last track on the first Use Your Illusion CD.

 

I love both of these equally. I loved the diversity of these two albums. To my ears, these were the perfect follow ups to Appetite For Destruction.

 

I like both but i guess overall II is the better one. A combination of the best tracks from both would be the ultimate 'Illusion'.

 

I like both but I prefer II. I don't listen to GNR much anymore, but when I did, UYI II was one of my favorites. I like UYI for a couple songs in particular, but overall I think it's the weaker of the two.

 

If I have to choose one, I probably give a slight edge to the first one. But, I tend to view them together as one project.

 

I used to like I more, but there was a time later on when II was the one I liked more. Now I would call it a wash because I have not played either one in long enough that they have kinda blurred together more or less.

 

Appetite For Destruction and Lies Lies Lies are very very good, Use Your Illusion may contain a very very good album, however, it's lost in the money grab that was I and II and I find myself losing interest in both albums before the end. So much so I no longer own either! A classic case of a band's quality declining with every release!

 

I think there are good songs on both, but as a whole it's an overblown piece of crap that should have been condensed to a single record.

 

I always preferred II by a good margin. I like almost every song on 2 and "Civil War" and "Estranged" are probably the best work the band ever did.

 

As in "Girls Girls Girls" ?

 

I wonder where that came from?

 

I love the vagueness of the poll. Are these albums? Are they plural? Use Your Illusions'? All of the above? Some of the above?

 

I remember how this album was everywhere when i was in middle school. I've always preferred UYI 1 myself.
Sure, in hindsight it's uneven and overlong - but when you're that age and at the time, it was nice to get this amount of music.
People say "double album" but it's as long as a triple LP like "Sandinista" and UYI is two double LPs on vinyl.

Production wise it's quite dated now.

 

I bought these the day they were released and I've thought from day one that the second one was much better. I see by wiki that they are both about 75 minutes long, somehow the first one seems exactly that length but the second one flows better and doesn't drag near the same.

I was listening to Illusion II today while I was riding by bike (and climbing stairs carrying my bike). Even with headphones on I was embarrassed by the ranting in Get In The Ring. Possibly I was embarrassed because I can remember a time when I thought it was cool. Duff's mumbling at the end is possibly the lowest point in an already bad song.

I got lucky and was just starting a brutal set of stairs when My World came on. As a completest I wanted to listen to the whole album even though that 'song' is a disaster and with the stair climbing my soon to explode heart drowned out the sonic mess.

But other than that Illusion II is great and much better overall than I. Breakdown is my favorite song on either album and Civil War, Yesterdays, 14 Years, Pretty Tied Up, Locomotive are all great. And Estranged is a much better epic length song than November Rain. I've always liked their version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door too, in fact it was my introduction to that tune.

I'd like to hear a version of So Fine with Axl (or even Izzy) on vocals. Due respect to Duff, but I don't ever need to hear him sing.

If I was picking off tracks to get these down to one album I'd nuke way more songs from Illusion I than II.

 

I find this song fascinating in its own way. I can't think of another big rock album ending with a solo track by the frontman, radically different from the rest of the album, with a demo/home studio feel to it (when the rest is super polished). I think the track was meant as a joke, and it was a last minute thing, but it's very very strange - and eerie (that final note!). There's something menacing about this track. I sometimes think the beat and bass synth kind of announced Björk's "Army of Me" (in a very shaky and amateur way).

The only thing that cracks me up in this song is Axl's stupid "guess what i'm doing noooooow....ahhhh!" (with the porn samples underneath).
I don't know, taking a dump ?

It's weird because Guns n'Roses DID become "Axl's world"...

As for Duff, I feel the opposite. I probably listened to his first solo album more than UYI 1 & 2 combined, so I always like to hear the songs he sings And "So Fine" is a good song.

 

Bolth equal but still would have trimmed 1 or 2 tracks from each disc.
Appetite is still the ultimate to me.

 

#1 has more favourites for me though I love Locomotive and Estranged.

 

I can remember waiting to buy these CD's at midnight back in '91. While they are both great discs, I will give an ever so slight edge to II.

Had the "Illusions", err "Illusion", been a single disc, it would be their best, and probably one of the greatest albums ever. However, that distinction clearly lies with Appetite.

 

Love both. II is probably better. They are both 75 minutes plus, right? That's nearly four albums worth of music. The length doesn't bother me at all. On their current tour, Civil War and Coma played back to back are amazing, and November Rain and Knocking on Heavens Door are epic crowd pleaders towards the end of the set.

Certainly not as good as Appetite for Destruction, but what is? Worthy successors though, and in my view underrated.

 

i'll also add the bizarre idea to have 2 don't crys, one for each album. The single version off I we all know, and the alt. version with different verses but same chorus. Who signed that off as a good idea?

 

I love them both but give a slight edge to Illusion I due to it having Don't Cry [Original Version].