Use Your Illusion II

monkeychow

I disagree about the filler argument as the stuff people always call filler is stuff is usually stuff I really enjoy, like the guitars in "get in the ring", "shotgun blues" is just a great attitude agressive tune - love that little squal from the PA as it starts, I love the lyrics to "my world"....

and those are like the 'bad' songs....then there's the kickass stuff which is so beyond kickass it's insane...slash's hendrix'y peformance in Civil War....and need I even mention "You Could Be Mine" which I think is pretty much my favourite song of all time or well up there....

I think both UYI albums are amazing.

I think its a shame the modern band has distanced itself from these songs for the most part. I know they're epic, I know some of them were written during a difficult time, and I know some of them are deeply connected with former members, but it's great music, so it saddens me that the GNR camp seems to almost dislike them these days.

I was amazed when the offical site posted that review calling them bloated and saying slash ruined those albums. Slash may or may not be the biggest tool in the world, I wouldn't know, but whatever and whoever made them, there's no way in hell the UYI records are anything but killer.

strat0

James Lofton wrote:

I think its the worst of the two discs, and just has WAY too much filler. It does have killer tracks, but the chaff all over it almost kills it.
An album that contains Get In The Ring, Shotgun Blues, KOHD, My World, and an extra version of Don't Cry is an album that doesn't need to be made.

I actually prefer that Alt version of Don't Cry to the original. The lyrics are better IMO

Axlin16

Both UYI albums are 'good to very good' albums. But not great. I think AFD & CD are 'great' albums, with AFD being GNR's masterpiece.

UYI indeed suffered from lots of filler, both volumes. But the great songs, do outweight the rest.

To be an extremly tough critic...

Right Next Door To Hell - meh
Dust N' Bones - great
Live and Let Die - great
Don't Cry [original] - great
Perfect Crime - great
You Ain't The First - great
Bad Obsession - great
Back Off Bitch - meh
Double Talkin' Jive - okay
November Rain - great
The Garden - great
Garden of Eden - meh
Don't Damn Me - meh
Bad Apples - meh
Dead Horse - great
Coma - great

Other than the opener, UYI1 opens very strong, wavers a bit in the middle, kicks a little more ass, then falls for three songs, but finishes strong with Dead Horse & Coma.

Civil War - great
14 Years - okay, lesser to DN'B
Yesterdays - great
Knockin' On Heaven's Door - okay
Get In The Ring - meh
Shotgun Blues - meh
Breakdown - great
Pretty Tied Up - okay, lesser to Bad Obsession
Locomotive - great
So Fine - okay
Estranged - great
You Could Be Mine - great
Don't Cry [alternate] - great, but redundant
My World - sucks

So UYI2's opener is stronger than UYI1, then wavers a bit in the middle, rebounds with Breakdown, continues strong for the rest of the album, then flops for the closer, unlike UYI1.

They are both even albums imo, with even amounts of epics, rockers, and filler. Both good albums, but not great.

My personal definitive cut, with an epic bias, is an 11-track...

Civil War
Yesterdays
Don't Cry [original]
Bad Obsession
Breakdown
Locomotive
November Rain
The Garden
Estranged
You Could Be Mine
Coma

metallex78

Right Next Door To hell is an awesome opener, and still gets me pumped up whenever I hear it. Don't Damn Me is one of the very best songs from the set as well, Axl and Slash are both on fire in that song.

Axlin16

Perfect Crime should've been the opener to UYI1, and i've never understood the fanboyism with the song Don't Damn Me. Alot of diehards, list that as one of their best songs.

Never understood why. Probably Axl's cheesiest, cliched lyrics ever.

NY Giants82

I'd say I like UYI1 the best of the two. NR, DTJ, The Garden, DC, Coma, great songs.

Good discussion!

slashsfro

I'll rate it like this

UYI

Right Next Door to Hell--great
Dust N Bones-ok (Love the Live Era version)
Live and Let Die--ok
Don't Cry--ok (hasn't aged well)
Perfect Crime--great
Bad Obsession--ok
Double Talkin Jive--great
Back off Bitch--mediocre
November Rain--great
The Garden--great
Garden of Eden--good
Don't Damn Me--great
Bad Apples--ugh worst song of the album
Dead Horse--great
Coma--great

UYI II

Civil War--great
14 years--ok
Yesterdays--good
KOHD--I hate this version
Get in the Ring--music is great lyrics not so much, borderline good
Shotgun Blues--ok
Breakdown--great
Locomotive--great
Estranged--great
So Fine--great
You Could be Mine--great
Don't Cry (alt)--ok
My World--ugh awful

Bottom Line: I think both albums suffered from having too much filler. I personally prefer some of the songs on UYI 1 but I think there is less stuff to wade through in UYI 2. I would have just dumped the cover songs and the alt version of Don't Cry.

metallex78

The thing I love about the UYI set is that songs I happen to think are awesome, other people think are lame, and vice-versa. Just goes to show that amongst the variety, there's something there to appeal to everyone.

As for Axlin08's not understanding the fanboyism for Don't Damn Me, I think the lyrics in that song are some of Axl's best. And the guitar - that riff, and those solos, is some of Slash's best playing. If there's stuff like that on Slash's upcoming solo album, I'd be very, very happy.

metallex78

And I disagree about the filler tracks to a point as well. Both albums are musical journeys and every single song just seems to "fit" in there. Mind you, I probably only say that because I've listened to those albums back to back for years... hehe

-Jack-

Locomotive... so good...

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