Favourite Guns N‘ Roses Album (excluding Appetite)

On a recent GN’R spree at the moment, including reading the ‘Last Of The Giants’ biography.

What is your favourite Guns N‘ Roses album, excluding Appetite For Destruction?

I’m sure that would come out on top, but they had so much good material on the other albums, it’d be good to discuss that for a change. I vote for Use Your Illusion II..

UYI I & II are colossal albums- still the only two to claim the top 2 in the US charts? Great marketing idea to release them separately too. And then: somewhat overshadowed by grunge and the common intra-band hassles, addictions, and departures.

The Spaghetti Incident still has some enjoyable moments, if you see it as the fun leftovers/extended E.P that it really is. Probably the same for Lies, but that’s the only one I don’t own...

Chinese Democracy has a few good moments too, but I can never get through in a single sitting.

 

Chinese Democracy is not just my favorite GN'R album but my favorite album by any artist.

 

UYI II for me.

It has the highest highs of any of these albums (Estranged, 14 Years, YCBM). It also has the lowest lows of these albums (Get In The Ring - but I still prefer that song to Anything Goes from AFD).

But for the high points, for me this just edges out Chinese Democracy. Which I love for its melodies and the sheer bloody mindedness of the whole project.

 

Thanks Axl, nice to see that you still keep tabs on the fans .

Joking-aside, I’ll still persist with this unusual album. It’s sort of out of date and timeless at the same time. I am sure it will continue to be a grower, as it couldn’t take such a long time to make an ‘average’ album. Pity it couldn’t have come out in ‘99 or something because it probably suffered a lot from the weight of expectation.

 

There is a really, really great album within the two Use Your Illusion albums......but I can't listen to either all the way through as they stand.

 

I have always really liked UYI II. Only track I skip is Don't Cry (GnR must have liked it though, as they put it on both albums).

 

Use Your Illusion II fan here

 

UYI 1 for me,2 would be close if the album didn't fall off a cliff with the alternate Don't Cry and My World (Shudders)

 

Use Your Illusion II

 

So, the Use Your Illusion comp, which only came out in the States:

Use Your Illusion - Wikipedia
‘
Use Your Illusion I

1. "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 3:04
2. "Don't Cry" (original) (Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin) – 4:44
3. "You Ain't the First" (Stradlin) – 2:36
4. "November Rain" (Rose) – 8:57
5. "The Garden" (Rose, West Arkeen, Del James) – 5:22
   • featuring Alice Cooper
6. "Dead Horse" (Rose) – 4:17

Use Your Illusion II

1. "Civil War" (Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan) – 7:42
2. "14 Years" (Rose, Stradlin) – 4:21
3. "Yesterdays" (Rose, Arkeen, James, Billy McCloud) – 3:16
4. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan) – 5:20
5. "Estranged" (Rose) – 9:23
6. "Don't Cry" (alternate lyrics) (Rose, Stradlin) – 4:43

Thoughts, folks? Odd that Don’t Cry still gets two versions included!

[Edit]: plus I wonder how people would rate Spaghetti Incident if it replaced a couple of the poorer tracks with Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and Live And Let Die? Which tracks would you ditch?

 

I note that all of these tracks are non-sweary. Could this be because this compilation was made for Wal Mart?

 

Lies is an EP and so is Spaghetti Indecent. Is Use Your Illusion really 2 albums? They were released the same day. I tend to think it's one sold in two parts.

 

Favorite GnR album that isn't Appetite? Easy. Izzy Stradlin and the JuJu Hounds. After that? 117 Degrees. Izzy's solo stuff is wonderful.

I listen to those more than the Ilusion discs, which I find bloated, and Lies, which hasn't aged well. Democracy is not very good, no two ways about it. Never heard Spaghetti for some reason.

 

UYI I has more great songs compared to UYI II, so it gets my vote. Though Breakdown and Estranged may be two of my very favorite songs from those albums. Lies is also phenomenal, but just four songs.

Chinese Democracy has some great songs, marred by terrible overproduction and arrangements. Especially Catcher in the Rye. An amazing song that we got a nice glimpse of in the demo. Hoping to get more or less the same thing but in high quality with the studio version. And they totally ruined the song. Same thing with Street of Dreams. Should have left it titled The Blues and played it the way they did it live in 2002. They need to release a remixed version of this album, taking out all the nonsense they added to many of the songs. Including any removed Brian May, Buckethead, Finck, and Brain parts - i.e. they should put all those back!

 

1. Use Your Illusion I
2. Use Your Illusion II

double album as one...

 

Hmmm..probably this is the case. Still, two versions of Don’t Cry is unnecessary and surely there is a non-sweary single edit of You Could Be Mine that would fit nicely in there.

 

I have trouble considering the UYI albums as separate entities...II has some the absolute fantastic run of songs from "Breakdown" all the way through "You Could Be Mine", but as noted, but as noted, does fall off the proverbial cliff with the last 2 tunes. Also, "Get In the Ring" and "Shotgun Blues" are not...great. But "Locomotive" is the best thing in the catalog not written by Izzy.

UYI I is a bit more consistent, but the highs are the rockers "Perfect Crime", "Double Talkin' Jive" and "Garden of Eden" (could do without the synth part on "GoE" though). "Dust N Bones" and "You Ain't the First" are absolute greatness, as well...

 

Ugh. It reminds me of the Dracula songs in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

 

For me the standout tracks on I are:

Dust N' Bones
Yesterdays
Double Talkin' Jive
November Rain
The Garden
Dead Horse
Coma

 

I vote II but honestly my fave is a custom UYI hybrid:

Civil War
You Could Me Mine
Dont Cry
Yesterdays
November Rain
Garden of Eden
So Fine
Estranged
Dont Cry alt
Coma

 

As said, a hybrid of UYI 1 and 2.
Can't stand the Axl piano ballad schtick and there plenty of filler on both.

 

It's a tie between UYI 1&2

 

Yesterdays is on II, fwiw.

 

Ah, thanks! I'll have to cross it off the list then. Not sure why I thought it was on I. Maybe because of the Yesterdays single I have, which also includes November Rain. So I kind of associate the two songs I guess.

 

I would actually pick Use Your Illusion I over all including being up against Appetite. It's way more focused, diverse and Izzy centric.

From the first track onward there is next to zero filler. I really love the Axl + Stradlin co-penned numbers like "Right Next Door to Hell" & "Don't Cry." Plus it has "Live and Let Die" on there.

Then they hit you with some powerful Stones meets Faces inspired honky tonk numbers like
"Bad Obsession" & "Back Off Bitch." Love those two. Probably my favorite off the album next to "DDM."

You have the Slash Stradlin written combo in that weird Godfather theme inspired minor key "Double Talkin' Jive." The incomparable "November Rain." Some amped up punk thrash in "The Garden" & "Don't Damn Me." Love those two.

Then wrapping up with very strong closer tracks "Dead Horse" & "Coma" which the latter comes off like a perfect stylistic sequel to Rocket Queen to me.

How could you think this isn't their finest album?!