thevoid99's Full Review: Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses
Use Your Illusion II
The second part of the record begins with Strother Martin's speech about authority from the 1967 Stuart Rosenberg classic film Cool Hand Luke that would lead to the song Civil War. With its somber, acoustic accompaniment, bluesy guitar, and a Western-like whistle, Axl Rose sings lyrics filled with despair as Dizzy Reed plays a soothing, bluesy piano track as powerful guitar strums come in. With Steven Adler's mid-tempo, hard-hitting drums, Rose's vocals becomes very powerful and screeching in this seven-minute, forty-one second epic track filled with Slash's wailing guitars and Rose's political-driven lyrics about capitalism and authority. The track remains in this somber yet harrowing tone with Rose's soft vocals and then into his hard, screeching vocals as the track's tempo picks towards its coda with Adler's hard-hitting, swift drumming in which, he makes his mark for the final time as an original member of the classic line-up.
The mid-tempo song 14 Years sung by Izzy Stradlin is another blues-inspired number with Reed's rollicking but smooth piano playing and Matt Sorum's smooth back beat in the drumming as they're accompanied by Stradlin and Slash's dual guitar washes and McKagan's thumping bass lines. Stradlin's vocals and lyrics filled with regrets and anger feature Rose singing along with Stradlin on the chorus as well as a blazing, heroic solo from Slash. The power ballad Yesterdays opens with Stradlin's arpeggio, melodic guitar track, Reed's somber piano accompaniment, and Sorum's bass pounding before going into a full-on band sound with Rose leading with his high-pitch raspy vocals. Filled with lyrics of nostalgia and loss, it's a wonderful ballad led by Stradlin's rhythmic, melodic guitar work and Slash's power-chord driven guitar featuring an amazing solo.
Next is an epic cover of Bob Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door with its huge arrangements of Stradlin's melodic playing, Sorum's hard-hitting drums, Slash's power-chords, and Rose's vocals about death. While the song is different than the more triumphant, hard-hitting, rocking cover they did live in the late 80s that was included in a rare live EP from Japan. The version on this record still has some bite that includes Slash's amazing solos along with Reed's somber piano accompaniment as it's slower than their original cover. Featuring a phone call and a speech by Josh Richman, the song then features a backing chorus by the Waters in a gospel-like feel for the song.
Get In The Ring is a fast, angry song where Rose attacks critics in the media and rock press along with magazines and fellow rock writers. With sound of crowd noises and Slash's melodic, wailing guitar solo and mid-tempo rhythm, the song then becomes more upbeat with Slash's wailing solos and grinding guitars as Rose sings in his raspy vocals going on the attack in this incendiary song with the crowd saying the song's title for the fight between the band and its critics. Shotgun Blues is another fast-charging rocker with hard-hitting drums from Matt Sorum, punk-inspired guitar riffs, and Axl's raspy, growling vocals getting ready to attack with his anti-authority lyrics. With its charging guitars and Axl's angry lyrics that features Slash's wailing solos. Breakdown is a blues-inspired track with banjos and country-like pianos as its tempo picks up in each section of this blues-driven song by Sorum's drums and Slash's bluesy guitar. With Rose's raspy vocals filled with melancholic lyrics that works with Reed's piano, it's a standout cut with a lot of layers and sections.
Pretty Tied Up by Izzy Stradlin arrives with a sitar solo for this fast-driving rocker with chugging guitars, hard-hitting rhythms, striking pianos, and Axl's raspy vocals filled with Stradlin's dark lyrics. Along with a blazing solo from Slash and McKagan's melodic-laden bass line, the song is a wonderful, charging track with its guitars and rhythms. Locomotive is an upbeat, thumping rocker led by Sorum's hard-hitting drums, McKagan's warbling bass lines, and chugging guitar riffs as the band plays into the hard-rock sound as if they're acting like a train. With Axl's raspy vocals and assaultive lyrics, it's a song filled with power including Slash's wailing, scorching guitar solo. Next is Duff McKagan's ballad So Fine in tribute to late New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders. With Reed's melancholic piano, smooth rhythm, and Rose's soft vocals, McKagan sings with his raspy, punkish vocals in the song with Rose singing the chorus. With lyrics about loss and decadence, the song picks up a bit with its punk rock tempo as Reed also plays striking pianos with McKagan taking charge that includes Slash's sliding guitar solo.
Next is the nine-minute, twenty-one second power-ballad Estranged opens with Rose's raspy vocals about loneliness and loss as he's accompanied by Reed's soothing, somber piano. When the full band sound appears with Slash's wailing solo, Sorum mid-tempo drumming, and Reed's accompanying piano along with Stradlin's charging guitar. With Rose singing in a low, growling vocal for the rocking section, the song goes back and forth from its ballad-like tone to its power-rocking section. An instrumental break led by Dizzy Reed's flourishing, smooth piano playing that is accompanied by McKagan's bass and then bass-pounding drums from Sorum as it becomes this smooth, instrumental bridge. When Rose starts to sing with his lyrics of estrangement and loss, he goes into a more raspier vocal style as Slash plays another triumphant solo before Rose sings again where belts out one more wailing solo that trumps all.
The hard-rocking You Could Be Mine arrives with Sorum's rumbling drums and McKagan's pummeling bass line along with fierce riffs of Slash and Stradlin for this charging, menacing rocker. With Rose singing fast and furiously in his high-pitch growling vocals to the song's doomy lyrics, it's a song filled with lots of attitude that includes Slash's fierce guitar solo. Next is the second version of Don't Cry with alternate lyrics in the verse where the difference between the original and second version are the meter in vocals, the lyrics with a different description of what is told, and a vocal solo by Rose talking about the song's melancholic theme. The album's closer and probably its most unnecessary track is My World which is essentially Rose with Johann Lenglie on synthesizers and electronics. It's just Rose snarling with female sexual moans as he sings nonsensical lyrics that are just annoying.
When the two albums were released in September 1991, the album was a smash hit while it was preceded by a tour that started off with a lot of troubled including Rose's erratic behavior where shows would stop and such. Most notably a show in St. Louis in July 1991 where Rose attacked someone with a camera when they were no cameras at the show. The angry Rose was too upset to finish the solo as he left and the show ended with fans rioting. Yet when the band re-started the tour that fall, Izzy Stradlin left the group as he became clean and sober with his band mates still in their own substance abuse. Stradlin was replaced by Gilby Clarke where the live band was expanded with backup singers, a horn ensemble, and another keyboardist where some in the band felt it was kind of unnecessary and it was all due to Axl's demands.
In 1992, the band did a mini-tour with Metallica that had a lot of trouble due to Rose's erratic behavior that finally culminated with the Montreal incident in August of 1992 when Metallica singer James Hetfield suffered burns through a pyrotechnic blast as Metallica were forced to cut their set show. When Guns N' Roses came to the stage, the band played a short as Rose complained about his vocal problems as another riot ensued. It was around the same time the band were making expensive music videos, most notably for the trilogy of Don't Cry, November Rain, and Estranged with large budgets, models, and huge production values that were praised by some. Yet in the burgeoning world of grunge rock, it seem bloated, excessive, and uncool as Nirvana were ruling the charts. In the summer of 1993, the Use Your Illusion tour finally ended as it would also mark the beginning of the end for the first incarnation of Guns N' Roses.
While it doesn't match the brilliance of Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusion I & II is still a brilliant yet imperfect record from Guns N' Roses. Filled with killer guitar solos from Slash, broad arrangements, epic songs, lots of attitude, and Axl Rose's amazing vocals. While some might feel the album is bloated at times and includes an awful track that hinted in what Rose was interested for the next record. While it would become the band's last original recording in 17 years, Use Your Illusion I & II is still an amazing double album from Guns N' Roses that would also prove to be one of the 90s finest recordings.
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