Use Your Illusion Song by Song Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Zoot Marimba, Dec 4, 2017.

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  1. Cooks420

    Cooks420 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    Yeah ... you’re probably correct. I heard a recent interview with Carroll out of character and he’s absolutely a loner (as well as sick). :(

    But when I hear him on GnR’s older material and parts of CD, it’s just a pleasure.
     
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  2. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Tokyo '92:
     
  3. Cooks420

    Cooks420 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    So, I’m going to have to partially disagree with you here - I rank this song higher than either “Child” or “Patience,” simply because I love the chord progressions, as elementary as they are. And there is a definite, sincerely sad mood here that I don’t believe the band ever replicated since.

    But I do agree that Slash is the highlight - an amazing, emotional solo for sure. Also, his guitar crying under parts of the verses are a nice touch as well.

    As for needing two of this song, no.
    But we needed one version of “My World” even less ;)
     
  4. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    Don't Cry (Ver. 1)

    I enjoy this song a great deal. Not much to say about it other than that I prefer the version on Illusion II over this one. The lyrics just hit me harder when these albums started to sink it for me on an emotional level. Nice mood piece and something you want to sing along to.


    You're right. I just referenced it as a way of pointing out that the genre exercises weren't necessarily awful, cringe material on album, but could have been as Axl tried to prove how worldly he was live.
     
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  5. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I don't know if loner is the right word, but he definitely isn't someone who lets people in easily, Hell, only three members of Guns have ever seen him without his mask. And it seems that, like a lot of people with anxiety, he needs someone with him as sort of a safe person, and I would imagine Brain was his safe person in Guns
     
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  6. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Don't Cry

    This is such an emotional song so that overcomes it's somewhat very basic structure. Slash, as already mentioned, performs a solo for the ages and I know people miss the Izzy/Slash interplay of Appetite, and I do as well, but Slash is all over the Illusions and may never have played better. On almost every single song he adds his signature and in every case improves the song. I also like the blending of Hoon's and Axl's vocals.

    I prefer the demo slightly more, I feel the tone of the guitar is a lot fuller, the Illusion version is a little thin (outside of Slash's solo) to my ears. I also prefer the demo because it doesn't have the studio manipulated voice enhancement of Axl holding the final note of the song on the word "Toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight".

    At one time I felt the alternate version on II was redundant but I've grown to see it as an interesting extension of the first one. The only thing I wish they had done with that is not use the same exact backing track, they should have switched it up slightly so it doesn't sound as samey as the original.

    The video is heavy, man! I think it encapsulates everything that was probably going on within the band at that time. Scary!
     
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  7. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    And apparently, Axl based a lot of it on his marriage to Erin.
     
  8. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    I've never paid any attention to Axl's marriage or what went on but I can certainly see it as being a very volatile relationship for obvious reasons. I think @Captain Leo summed it up best. Basically you took these street rats, dirty and grimy living day by day never knowing how they were going to eat from one day to the next to suddenly becoming kings of the world. There was no growing process, they were just sort of thrown into it. Even Izzy said,

    "Once you made that money it costs more now
    It might cost a lot more than you think
    I just found a million dollars
    that someone forgot
    It's days like this that push me o'er the brinks"

    I don't meant to jump ahead but this verse is very potent to me. This band wasn't meant to last, their rise to the top happened too quickly.
     
  9. munjeet

    munjeet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Has Axl ever spoken specifically about the alternate set of lyrics - when they were written, inspired by who, etc...? I’ve honestly never paid a ton of attention to the alternate lyrics version - the UYI 1 version or the demo have usually been my go-to versions. Gonna have to give that other one a good listening to tonight.

    There’s genuine intense emotion in Slash’s solo. It’s up there with “Estranged” in that regard.
     
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  10. Cooks420

    Cooks420 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    100%. In fact, I bet he would not have accepted the offer to play if Brain wasn’t part of the deal, regardless of how awesome the Leatherface figure was or how many chicken coops were built in the studio (obviously NOT sarcasm).

    Off topic, but not: I saw him last year at B.B. King’s in NYC with my wife. We got a table, ordered dinner during the show, and realized halfway through the meal I was eating chicken and waffles at a Buckethead concert.
     
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  11. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Don't Cry was actually written about a girl he and Izzy were both seeing; he was upset and she told him "don't cry" and the idea came to them from there. Estranged and November Rain are based on Erin.
     
  12. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I thought that The Spaghetti Incident? was comprised of outtakes from the UYI sessions.
     
  13. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I've always considered Use Your Illusion to be a single album that was arbitrarily chopped in half for commercial reasons. I have it logged in my iTunes library as a 2-disc set rather than two separate albums.

    Similar to how I consider The Lord of the Rings to be a single film broken into 3 parts rather than three individual films.
     
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  14. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Half outtakes, half recorded in 1992 and 1993.
     
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  15. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I was talking about the video. I know the song came from a chick they both knew, said so in my review
     
  16. Szeppelin75

    Szeppelin75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Panama
    The girl i believe Monique Lewis had just left Axl for Izzy and he was upset and she told him "Don't cry"
     
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  17. PJayBe

    PJayBe Forum Resident

    Agree on both counts. Sometimes wonder if the album would have copped as much flak if it had just come out as a double set rather than two singles,
     
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  18. rendit

    rendit Forum Resident

    Great thread so far. To me GNR is the 5 guys that made AFD, and GNR was over as a band as soon as Adler could no longer function and was fired. I don’t think of Use Your Illusion I & II as the sequels to AFD. Instead I see the Illusions as a project by three of the original members with input from Izzy by way of songs, vocals and basic guitar tracks as well as contributions from other musicians. There is some great stuff on these albums but it is no longer a unified band and I see it as the first in a series of projects by former members of GNR. I think the four tracks covered so far illustrate this, some great stuff but just not cohesive. AFD was the product of five guys with differing backgrounds and tastes converging into a common vision. The Illusions is a project being pieced together by a bunch of guys with diverging visions who are heading in different directions.

    Hell – I enjoy this, it ticks the right boxes for a searing opener but is missing the X-factor chemistry that the original 5 guys had together so this does not soar into the stratosphere like the songs on AFD.

    Dust N Bones – Fantastic, great groove on this one. This was not a favourite back in 1991, probably a bit too different and out of the mould for me to appreciate at the time but I love it now. The track is more fully formed than most of Izzy’s stuff due to the tasteful contributions from the other guys and I do like Axl’s vocal contributions on this.

    Live & Let Die – Oh dear, only three songs in and we have a cover. Never really liked this one and it ended up being way overplayed. It is kind of fun to listen to now, not completely terrible, but definitely overblown, goes on too long and overall just seems pointless.

    Don’t Cry – Let’s throw in a big (but not too big) power ballad to get things back on track. I still love this one after all these years it is probably my favourite power ballad over the two Illusions, they kept it restrained and did not go too over the top on this one. It’s like they knew Slash’s solo was the centrepiece and were careful not do anything to distract from it. Have heard it so many times over the years and will probably never get sick of it.
     
  19. Standoffish

    Standoffish Smarter than a turkey

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Don't Cry

    It's been forever since I watched the video for this. Pretty intense, with (I guess?) the theme being rebirth/moving on (the baby being reborn w/green eyes, Slash dying in the car crash & coming back, Axl visiting his old self in the hospital). I'd forgotten about somebody wearing the "Where's Izzy?" sign :laugh:.

    Nice vocals and bass, but I'd agree this song belongs to Slash. Really nice sad undertone on the quiet half, then he amps it up with a great solo.

    Didn't realize this was written during the AFD sessions. If you swapped out "Think About You" for this, AFD would be a perfect album.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2017
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  20. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Oh dude, I love Think About You! AFD is ****ing perfect, and don't you forget it!
     
  21. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Perfect Crime:

    Now we come to Perfect Crime, written by Axl, Slash, and Izzy.
    The track starts with some guitar licks, and there is some really cool bass playing from Duff. Really everyone in the band (except the drummer) is licking ass and really bringing it on this track, although if Adler were there, it would such much more dangerous. I will have another complaint, I don't get that part where when it slows down at 1:03-1:29 and we get the rocketship countdown, that was pretty stupid, but what makes up for it is Slash at 1:31 just ripping it up, man.
    Despite the nitpicking, I love this track and find it to be another winner.
     
  22. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Live in 1991:
     
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  23. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Perfect Crime

    Love this track, love how it says its piece and gets out, doesn't wear out its welcome., just a good old slice of rock and roll right here. Again Slash kills it..I don't mind the countdown part at all. I don't see it as corny, it's different, just a brief burst of creativity off the cuff, at least that's how it appears.

    I know, I know...we all wish it was Adler on drums. I think we gotta stop ripping on Sorum so much because we need to remember, If Adler wasn't so wrecked and unable to perform he would have still been in the band. That's not Sorum's fault. In fact I think he's pretty excellent on some of the songs we've yet to get to.

    Yeah, these albums would have had more swing with Adler....... if only he could sit upright and keep up with the band.

    Back to the song - if anyone can tell me what this is about please clue me in. A good rocker, so far the only dud for me was the useless Wings cover.
     
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  24. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I'm not holding Steven's departure against Sorum. No, **** no. Doesn't mean we have to say Sorum is good, cause dear God does he drag a lot of these songs down. You could hire anyone, anyone, and you pick this guy?
     
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  25. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Where was Peter Criss during this time? :laugh:

    What exactly does everyone not like about Sorum? He drags the songs down how? He's too heavy handed? Not enough shuffle in there?
     
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