Use Your Illusion Song by Song Thread

This song is my absolute favourite from both records. I think the acoustic outro complements the vibe of this tune so perfectly. It has the classic GN’R swagger that most of these tunes lack.

As for Matt Sorum, I am by no means a fan of his, but it’s tough to rag on the guy considering he recorded 30 songs in like 2 or 3 weeks. There’s just no way he was gonna find the nuances in this material in such a short time. I do agree that he’s a weak link on these records, but I don’t think he’s as bad as some people are saying.

 

Double Talkin Jive. Great great song, very strange that it’s basically two short verses and one long solo. But it’s so good that it doesn’t matter. Was never totally satisfied with live versions as the low tom groove gets pretty muddy with the bass and guitar riff in stadiums really fast, sounds great on the record.

The negativity towards Matt Sorum is pretty unfair, he’s the epic 90s drummer. The tracks sound the way they do just as much because of the way they’re mixed. Also, bands don’t start to really groove within weeks (regardless of how talented the players are) so that’s part of why Appetite has more vibe as well. His style is different that Adler's but he still did an insanely difficult job really well.

 

Well said!

The criticism, IMO, is overdone. Yeah, yeah, we all know how much better these records would have been if only Adler was on drums...
He isn't, let's move on..
It's old by now, at least for me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bad Obsession

Call me crazy but I hear a nice groove in this song. It reminds me of 70's Aerosmith, that sort of swagger. If pushed I think I would leave it as an outtake or b-side but I'll take it if it's offered...and it is.

Back Off Bitch

Stupid lyrics but I like Axl's vocals. I think he sounds especially good on the chorus but too bad this song crosses that line from being a clever kiss off into immature vulgarity. This could have been better but as is this is the second song from the album I could do without.

Double Talkin' Jive

Excellent song, nice swagger. I don't hear anything particular about the drumming that bothers me. I'm deaf. I love the ending and it provides a perfect segue into the next song. I couldn't imagine a better way to lead us into November Rain. I'm sometimes bothered by the sequencing on these records but this part is perfect.

 

"Double Talkin' Jive" is a top 5 GNR song for me and right near the top of my list for favorite song on "Use Your Illusions I&II". Axl's vocals in the chorus are a fantastic compliment and change of pace to Izzy's. I always found the disturbing lyrics perfectly matched the gritty riff. The electric solo at the end is fantastic and full of energy. I love the production that seamlessly changes the electric solo into a classical one. The stretched out live versions they've played over the years are awesome as well.

 

rough mix

 

What a cool jam this is, and one of the neatest songs on either UYI I or II. I’ve always wondered what happened to the full band version after the cross-fade. How could that version have ended otherwise? Too short, which isn’t something said about many UYI songs, ever.

I also like the full-length flamenco-style instrumental that‘s “out there.” Anyone have opinions on whether it’s actually Slash & Izzy on the guitars there? I know that the authenticity of this “outtake” version has been contested, but it sounds legit to me. The mic placement and tone sound pretty close to the snippet used on UYI, even if the section used on the album doesn’t appear anywhere in this other version.



Also agree that this leading into “November Rain” is one of the best segues on either album.

When I saw the reunion GNR this past fall, this and “Coma” were highlights of the epic-length set for me. Slash was totally on fire, and it brought me a great deal of joy to hear any version of GNR play that song once again.

 

It's legit. Listen to the tone and production. Same session.

 

Here is a very long live version with an extended outro and a bit of Aeromith in the intro (plus Gilby & Slash jamming - I feel they had great chemistry!). Second to last show of the UYI lineup. Dizzy on the congas on the intro...whole band jelling well.

 

Cool. Glad that you can vouch for it. When I first saw chatter online suggesting that it was fake, it was disappointing. I want that version to be real, not some “outtfake.”

 

Also listen to the live 93 version above. You can hear some of the same passages in places. Another song which had a longer outro (almost by a minute) is Pretty Tied Up. 14 Years too.

 

Is this guy from around here? He has a whole series of videos on the topic.



I never heard the ghost story before.

 

“Double Talkin’ Jive” also stands as a great example of what Slash brought to Izzy’s songs. While not as obvious as the melodic flourishes likely attributable to Axl, Slash brought a blazing modern take on blues-rock that pushed Izzy’s stuff just a bit beyond where it would sit otherwise.

This morning I listened to Izzy’s iTunes album Concrete, and then to “Double Talkin’ Jive.” The contrast was pretty clear. Rick Richards is a fine guitar player, and Concrete is a good record full of good (and under-appreciated) songs, but Slash’s playing really makes Izzy’s stuff glow in a way that’s missing on most of Izzy’s post-GNR material.

 

Thanks for posting this! Never occurred to me to check out a live version. I prefer Axl's vocals (with the exception of his juvenile opening diatribe at Warren Beatty ). Love Slash's extended guitar work, and how he really gets into it.

I even like the drums!

 

I like a fair deal of Izzy solo, I'll certainly take it over Slash solo or Duff solo or anything Adler has done post GnR. At the same time, while he can still write well constructed tunes, I do sometimes wonder "Gee, I wonder what Axl, Slash, Duff, and Adler could do with this one?"

 

I’d get a kick out of an Izzy album-by-album thread on here, but unfortunately I bet there’d only be about four participants.

 

In terms of very general structure, “Double Talkin’ Jive” mirrors “Rocket Queen,” in that it starts out as a fierce rocker and ends up much more gentle. GNR is the only band I can think of who’ve employed this odd dynamic within a single song, transitioning from rocker to ballad (and not vice-versa). “Rocket Queen” does it more successfully, but that one sets a pretty high bar, after all.

 

I'll never get tired of this song, I could listen to the solo and the outro extended for 20 minutes and I'm sure wouldn't notice, as munjeet said, it shows what a great complement Slash was for Izzy's songs

The blend with Welcome to The Jungle with Axl's blabbing and scream in Rock In Rio 91 is just perfect

 

Double Talkin' Jive is the one of the moments the UYI lineup manages to capture the vibe of the Appetite lineup. Most of the attempts made sound like self-parody. Here, it works. Not much more to say than that.

I know Izzy has a pretty large iTunes-only discography. Is it worth tracking down his solo stuff? Honestly, were he on Bandcamp, I'd be more inclined to take the plunge sight unseen. I just hate iTunes!

 

If you're into rootsy, stripped down rock and roll ala Stones or Faces, yeah, it's worth a listen. Admittedly, some of his records are a bit uneven, but there's good stuff there

 

I'd definitely be there for the first entry but would probably bail out after the Ju Ju Hounds album. I've tried several times but his later output just doesn't move me at all for some reason or another.

 

I'd be the 5th, but only for the first album because I've not heard any of the others!!!! Could be educational mind......

 

November Rain:

Now we arrive at the most popular song from either Illusion, written solely by Axl and dating from the AFD era. The lyrics and video are based on a short story by Del James, who would go to collaborate with Axl on other songs and projects, and this is the fourth track to feature Shannon Hoon on harmony vocals. It is the longest Top 10 single ever, as well as featuring the longest guitar solo for a Top 10 single. It also cost $1.5 million to make the video.
We kick things off with a little piano thing, backed by strings, which does a fairly nice job of building up the tune, and a whoosh sound plays at :42, then a drum fill at :47, which feels kind of hamfisted, honestly, but I can ignore it for the most part. Axl starts singing at 1:13, and he has a nice grit to his voice, and it compliments the song very well, and we must mention Slash's solo at 3:56, which is a little sloppy, but that actually adds a certain something to the song, and it feels genuine, it feels very human, and he is once again the highlight of the song, and then his solo at 5:10 is even better, and then the strings crescendo and softly die down at 6:25-6:49, then slowly builds up, rising, rising, then BAM! At 7:10,Slash lets loose a lead, with the backing vocals at 7:38 going "Don't you think you need somebody?", and I love this part.
Overall, despite being fairly bloated, this is overall a strong song, although I think it would be better with just piano, guitar, bass, drums.

 

Axl's "Candle In The Wind". I used to not like it but looking back now, it's ok really. A bit cheesy but kind of cool.

 

If you love or even like Keith Richards’ Talk Is Cheap, Izzy’s solo albums should feel very much like home. As @Musicman1998 says, there are good songs sprinkled throughout. I frequently catch myself wishing I could hear full-on GNR versions of some of the tunes, but they’re enjoyable in their own right.

 

November Rain

Definitely Axl's Elton moment. I think this is a fantastic song but I'm still not sure how I feel about the extended ending. I like it but I probably wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there. I get they were reaching for something epic, and the song is, but somewhere in the production I also feel that some of the essense of the song was lost from what is on the demo, Axl on piano.



This is beautiful!