Use Your Illusion I
Third studio album by Guns N' Roses, released alongside its counterpart.
Use Your Illusion I is the third studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on September 17, 1991, simultaneously with its counterpart Use Your Illusion II. It was the band's first album to feature keyboardist Dizzy Reed and drummer Matt Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 685,000 copies in its first week, and has been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Guns N' Roses
- Released
- 17 September 1991
- Recorded
- January 13, 1990 – November, 1990
- Genre
- Hard rock
- art rock
- glam metal
- Length
- 76:09
- Label
- Geffen
- Producer
- Mike Clink; Guns N' Roses
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Right Next Door to Hell | Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Timo Kaltio | 3:02 |
| 2 | Dust N' Bones | Slash, Stradlin, Duff McKagan | 4:58 |
| 3 | Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney and Wings cover) | Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney | 3:04 |
| 4 | Don't Cry (original) | Rose, Stradlin | 4:44 |
| 5 | Perfect Crime | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | 2:23 |
| 6 | You Ain't the First | Stradlin | 2:36 |
| 7 | Bad Obsession | Stradlin, West Arkeen | 5:28 |
| 8 | Back Off Bitch | Rose, Paul Tobias | 5:03 |
| 9 | Double Talkin' Jive | Stradlin | 3:23 |
| 10 | November Rain | Rose | 8:57 |
| 11 | The Garden (featuring Alice Cooper) | Rose, Arkeen, Del James | 5:22 |
| 12 | Garden of Eden | Rose, Slash | 2:41 |
| 13 | Don't Damn Me | Rose, Slash, Dave Lank | 5:18 |
| 14 | Bad Apples | Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan | 4:28 |
| 15 | Dead Horse | Rose | 4:17 |
| 16 | Coma | Rose, Slash | 10:13 |
| Total length | 76:09 | ||
2022 deluxe edition bonus CD
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perfect Crime (live in London) | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | 2:48 |
| 2 | Bad Obsession (live in Las Vegas) | Stradlin, Arkeen | 6:36 |
| 3 | Right Next Door to Hell (live in New York) | 3:01 | |
| 4 | Always on the Run (live in Paris; featuring Lenny Kravitz) | Kravitz, Slash | 4:47 |
| 5 | Dust N' Bones (live in London) | Slash, Stradlin, McKagan | 5:10 |
| 6 | Live and Let Die (live in New York) | P. McCartney, L. McCartney | 3:23 |
| 7 | Attitude (Misfits cover; live in Paris) | Glenn Danzig | 1:52 |
| 8 | Double Talkin' Jive (live in London) | Stradlin | 5:32 |
| 9 | Don't Cry (live in New York) | Rose, Stradlin | 4:24 |
| 10 | You Ain't the First (live in New York) | Stradlin | 3:23 |
| 11 | It's Alright / November Rain (Black Sabbath cover; live in Paris) | Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward ("It's Alright"), Rose ("November Rain") | 14:48 |
| 12 | Bad Apples (live in Rio de Janeiro) | Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan | 4:20 |
| 13 | Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones cover; live in Paris) | Jagger–Richards | 3:17 |
| Total length | 61:41 | ||
Track listing from the source article.
Use Your Illusion III
Axl Rose, Dizzy Reed, and Richard Fortus were the only musicians who worked on the 1998 sequel Use Your Illusion III. The album included intended songs like "Pouring In Los Angeles" and "Don't Boss Me Around." It sold only about 6 million copies, making it the least successful of the series, and was abandoned in 2000 to focus on Chinese Democracy. By 2003, the album was largely forgotten, and its six tracks—"Pouring in Los Angeles," "Don't Boss Me Around," "Bicycle," "Jazz In Vegas," "The Ballad Of Great Stephanie Seymour," and "Korean Reality"—were not popular upon release.
Songs
"Right Next Door to Hell" originated from a dispute between Axl Rose and his West Hollywood neighbor Gabriella Kantor, who accused Rose of hitting her with a bottle of Chardonnay; charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence. Timo Caltia, a Finnish guitarist and guitar tech who worked with Hanoi Rocks, contributed a chorus riff while Izzy Stradlin was visiting. "Live and Let Die" was released as the second single from the album, with a music video made in November 1991 featuring the band playing live and old pictures; it was the last video to include Stradlin before his departure. The song charted at number 20 on the Mainstream rock chart and was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards. "Don't Cry" is a power ballad with two versions: one with original lyrics on Use Your Illusion I and one with alternate lyrics on Use Your Illusion II; a third version from 1986 was released on the single. Rose said the song was about Monique Lewis, who was romantically involved with both Rose and Stradlin. "Bad Obsession" addresses drug abuse and addiction; Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks plays harmonica and tenor saxophone on the studio version. A live version from the Tokyo Dome appears on the Use Your Illusion I DVD, where Rose makes a remark about Stradlin.
Artwork
The album cover, created by Estonian-American artist Mark Kostabi, features a detail from Raphael's painting The School of Athens. The highlighted figure has not been identified with any specific philosopher. Use Your Illusion I uses a yellow and red color scheme. The original painting was titled Use Your Illusion by Paul Kostabi, which became the title of both albums. The liner notes include the message "Fuck You, St. Louis!" referencing the Riverport Riot in July 1991.
Release and reception
Released at midnight on September 17, 1991, the Use Your Illusion albums were among the most anticipated in rock history, with industry predictions of sales rivaling Michael Jackson's Thriller and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., despite K-Mart and Walmart refusing to stock them due to profanity. Over 500,000 copies of the two albums were sold in just two hours. Use Your Illusion I debuted below Use Your Illusion II, partly because the latter contained the lead single "You Could Be Mine." It was the first time two albums by one artist entered the US charts at number one and two, and Guns N' Roses became the first to have the top two biggest-selling albums since Jim Croce in 1974. The albums also opened as the top two in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Reception was mainly positive, with critics praising "November Rain" and "Coma" but noting filler. Rolling Stone's David Fricke called the album "physically assaultive" and commended its "riffs, hooks and body-slam sonics." USA Today's Edna Gundersen said it "barely betters" Use Your Illusion II, while the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot preferred II but found I "consistently involving." Robert Christgau gave a one-star honorable mention, naming "Don't Damn Me" the best track, while NME's Mary Anne Hobbs felt only "Double Talkin' Jive" was a highlight from I.
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