Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I or II? Which part is the better one?

Although I'm a huge Nirvana fan and I'm aware of the fact that these two bands didn't get along with each other, I've allways enjoyed listening to Guns N' Roses, too. The album I like best from GNR is "Use Your Illusion" because of the many great songs its two parts contain (such as: "Dust N' Bones", "Don't Cry", "Bad Obsession", "November Rain", "The Garden", "Civil War", "14 Years", "Yesterdays", Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "You Could Be Mine",etc.). But I was never quite sure which one of the two parts is the best. I voted for "Use Your Illusion I", but it really is a damn hard choice. What do you think about this?

 

Well liking Nirvana is irrelevant in a GNR post but I'll go with II as it contains Yesterdays, You Could Be Mine, Estranged, Breakdown, and Pretty Tied Up which are classics imo. They're very close and GNR did a great job sequencing the albums.

 

I do understand what you mean and the songs you mentioned are absolutely great but the main reason I chose to vote for I is that I really hate the last track "My World" on II. It's only annoying and a really bad closer for such a great album since the other 13 tracks are fantastic.

 

My World is one of the worst songs of the 90's

 

I've listened to a combined "best-of" version since they both came out, but Use Your Illusion II is stronger. As an added bonus, II doesn't have that crap version of "Live and Let Die".

 

Not only of the 90's. "My World" is one of the worst songs ever. Well, at least if you can call something like that a song. It's just uncessary to include this crap on such a great album. Can't understand why Axl did that. "Don't Cry" would have been a perfect "end" for the second part since it is a fantastic song and both versions of it have very strong lyrics.

 

I usually don’t vote for sequels as the better of anything; however, as these were a mere (and successful) marketing play, I voted UYI II

 

I agree it's pretty much a tie, though UYI II has the edge for me because of Locomotive - a very underappreciated gem. But then again, Don't Damn Me on the first UYI is in my personal all-time Top 5 of G 'n R songs. Shame they've never performed that one live.

 

I went with UYI I. In general, it rocks harder, more hit singles, and the last track (I think we can all agree), is far superior than what closes UYI II.

 

Part 1 has much better songs as a whole and less mediocre filler.

 

All of GNR's music has aged pretty poorly for me, but "Use Your Illusion II" is probably the album I still enjoy most out of all of them. "Civil War," "Estranged," "Locomotive," "You Could Be Mine," "Yesterdays" -- these are probably my favorite songs in their catalog.

On the flipside, "Get in the Ring" and "My World" are about the most embarrassing songs I can think of by any artist.

 

Definitely II - even with "My World"!

 

I enjoy Use Your Illusion II much better. The songs are just more fleshed out. If they would have only switched "November Rain" from I with "Estranged" on II and gotten rid of that terrible Axl musical masturbation "My World" then UYI II would be a masterpiece.

 

II easily, though I still reach for 1 to hear "Coma".

 

I think Axl's 8 minute ballads are terrible. Or all the "epics" on both albums are dicey. Prefer the short punky/stonesy songs.

 

I couldn't pick one as superior. To be honest I blank out when it comes to the a̶b̶Use Your B̶a̶n̶d̶m̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ Illusion albums.

 

There are fewer skippable tracks on I

 

Tough one.

Part 1 has more "hits". Part 2 is also very good. Love the song Estranged on part 2. I say a tie!!

 

Use Your Illusion Too

 

Neither......but there is one sheer brilliant album between them both if you dig it out

 

I'm going with 1 because it has "Coma" and the underrated duet with Alice Cooper "The Garden"

 

Neither is sufficient on its own. I bought them cheap, eventually, but was never a big enough GnR fan to repeatedly comb through every last track enough times to pick out a preferred playlist. Lots of times, I would think "Oh, song [x] would be good right now. But it's on the other disc."

So it counseled patience on part of the listener: "Yeah, but you're HERE now." It was hard to think of them as two different albums. It was impossible (pre "Rip, Mix, Burn") to treat them as one.

And had they left half the stuff on the cutting room floor, like everyone says they should have, people would still be pining for the Great Lost Illusion album or some such nonsense (but we'd probably see a $300 deluxe box set for it, today).

From day 1, I admired the whole approach and project and ambition more than I actually listened to it. Lotta thrilling stuff, lotta dreck, but I can't fault the "stunt" part of it.

 

UYI II is almost a great album, if only they left of the dire Shotgun Blues & My World.

 

Dust n bones!

 

II for me as well. I'd say Yesterdays and the back-to-back Estranged/You Could Be Mine pushed it over the top for me.