Are the Use Your Illusion albums underrated?

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

Do the controversies of the larger-than-life tour, filler on the double-disc album, and disillusion of the band following the release of it cast a negative light on the project it's undeserving of?

I feel like the 7 best songs from both discs (so 14 total) rival AFD in terms of quality. In fact, as long as I'm allowed both discs, I prefer UYI to AFD

RNDH

Don't Cry

Double Talkin' Jive

November Rain

Garden of Eden

Dead Horse

Coma

Civil War

Yesterday's

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Breakdown

Locomotive

Estranged

You Could Be Mine

So many of those songs are classic and/or amazing

Edited September 25, 2015 by Caught_in_a_Coma

[Apollo]

Combining the two disks into one doesn't really make it a fair comparison. That's like saying you think the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl. But if you combined the Patriots and Seahawks and just took the best players off each team to make one team - then they would beat the packers.

And albums aren't overrated or underrated. They are what they are. They produced what they produced.

An album is what it is.

When people say albums are under or overrated what they really mean is that the general music population didn't agree with their own personal like or dislike of an album.

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

Combining the two disks into one doesn't really make it a fair comparison. That's like saying you think the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl. But if you combined the Patriots and Seahawks and just took the best players off each team to make one team - then they would beat the packers.

And albums aren't overrated or underrated. They are what they are. They produced what they produced.

An album is what it is.

When people say albums are under or overrated what they really mean is that the general music population didn't agree with their own personal like or dislike of an album.

But aren't the two discs one album?

[Apollo]

RNDH

Don't Cry

Double Talkin' Jive

November Rain

Garden of Eden

Dead Horse

Coma

Civil War

Yesterday's

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Breakdown

Locomotive

Estranged

You Could Be Mine

So many of those songs are classic and/or amazing

That is just 100% your personal preference.

I find DTJ and Garden of Eden to be cringeworthy.

Music is all subjective and personal presence.

Love what you love. Who cares what anybody else thinks.

[Gackt]

Not really; Appetite set the bar very very high, and Illusions are both hit-and-miss

[Apollo]

Combining the two disks into one doesn't really make it a fair comparison. That's like saying you think the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl. But if you combined the Patriots and Seahawks and just took the best players off each team to make one team - then they would beat the packers.

And albums aren't overrated or underrated. They are what they are. They produced what they produced.

An album is what it is.

When people say albums are under or overrated what they really mean is that the general music population didn't agree with their own personal like or dislike of an album.

But aren't the two discs one album?

You can buy them separately.

But even if you could combine them it still isn't fair.

Anytime you take 32 songs from a favorite band you can take the 15 best and usually come up with a better combination than just choosing from a one album choice.

I think a combined Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets greatest hits combo is better than any one lone Metallica album.

[Dr. Who]

Combining the two disks into one doesn't really make it a fair comparison. That's like saying you think the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl. But if you combined the Patriots and Seahawks and just took the best players off each team to make one team - then they would beat the packers.

And albums aren't overrated or underrated. They are what they are. They produced what they produced.

An album is what it is.

When people say albums are under or overrated what they really mean is that the general music population didn't agree with their own personal like or dislike of an album.

But aren't the two discs one album?

You can buy them separately.

But even if you could combine them it still isn't fair.

Anytime you take 32 songs from a favorite band you can take the 15 best and usually come up with a better combination than just choosing from a one album choice.

I think a combined Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets greatest hits combo is better than any one lone Metallica album.

We get it. You don't like the UYI albums. Adler and Mullets ftw.

[Free Bird]

Two discs, two albums.

A good amount of classics. But a lot of mediocre songs, too. The UYI's have their place in rock'n'roll history.

[Nosaj Thing]

Casual fans have not listened to Coma, The Garden, Locomotive, Breakdown.

I would say that the songs are underrated, however, as complete albums they are fairly rated.

[ManetsBR]

Fairly rated. I believe most will agree that generally they are "good albums". Some crappy songs, some amazing ones.

[classicrawker]

I seem to remember an interview with one of the band members, probably Slash, who explained why they released all the material at once. If memory serves me I think the explanation was the band was not sure how much longer they would last so they wanted to get out as much material as possible in case things imploded or one of them died.

JMO but I think they possibly would have cherry picked the songs and released one album under different circumstances.

That being said I could never understand anyone complaining about an artist releasing too much music. Personally I want as much as possible and then let me cherry pick my favorite songs.

Just based on the debates we have had here about Slash's solo albums having too many songs, one person may think a song sucks while another person finds it to be their favorite. You can never have enough choices IMHO.

[IncitingChaos]

Really really good albums. They cemented the fact that these guys were talented and not just one hit wonders. I think it legitimized them in many ways

[Ant]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

[rocknroll41]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

I already mentioned this in another thread, but also would like a remixed UYI condensed down to one disc of a track list selected by the band members themselves. It could come in a box set featuring a bonus cd of demos and outtakes, and a DVD with all the music videos, the canceled 1994 documentary,and one of the unseen pro shot-filmed concerts restored in HD.

Next year's the 25th anniversary of UYI. Wouldn't be a bad time to do some kind of reissue like that imo

[tberrie007]

I have the Illusion albums framed and on the wall in my studio. They are there for a very specific reason, not just because I'm a huge fan of the music, but also for what those albums represent. Those albums are their musical statement of THEIR brand of rock n roll. They recorded songs THEY loved, songs that didnt need to fit into a specific genre or category. The diversity in creativity throughout all the different types of songs on those albums inspires my own work every single day.

[-W.A.R-]

they do have some filler but are still amazing albums

would blow away pretty much anything being churned out these days

[classicrawker]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

Personally I would love to hear the raw mixes before Axl got his hands on them that Slash claims are killer.

Edited September 25, 2015 by classicrawker

[Chewbacca]

No at all, I have seen mostly favorable, and well deserved, reviews. Which makes sense, they're great afterall.

[Apollo]

Combining the two disks into one doesn't really make it a fair comparison. That's like saying you think the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl. But if you combined the Patriots and Seahawks and just took the best players off each team to make one team - then they would beat the packers.

And albums aren't overrated or underrated. They are what they are. They produced what they produced.

An album is what it is.

When people say albums are under or overrated what they really mean is that the general music population didn't agree with their own personal like or dislike of an album.

But aren't the two discs one album?

You can buy them separately.

But even if you could combine them it still isn't fair.

Anytime you take 32 songs from a favorite band you can take the 15 best and usually come up with a better combination than just choosing from a one album choice.

I think a combined Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets greatest hits combo is better than any one lone Metallica album.

We get it. You don't like the UYI albums. Adler and Mullets ftw.

The huge leaps you continually take in every discussion are quite fascinating.

I love the Illusions.

GnR is my favorite band and no other band is even in the same ballpark. Illusions have some amazing songs. Some of my favorite songs of all time.

But to compare the best from 30 songs vs the best of 15 songs simply isn't a fair comparison. It's just a silly and non-sensical comparison.

It's like saying the Packers are great but they couldn't beat a combined team of the Patriots and Seahawks. Well no shit. Picking from two teams (or albums) will always beat one team or album.

I seem to remember an interview with one of the band members, probably Slash, who explained why they released all the material at once. If memory serves me I think the explanation was the band was not sure how much longer they would last so they wanted to get out as much material as possible in case things imploded or one of them died.

JMO but I think they possibly would have cherry picked the songs and released one album under different circumstances.

That being said I could never understand anyone complaining about an artist releasing too much music. Personally I want as much as possible and then let me cherry pick my favorite songs.

Just based on the debates we have had here about Slash's solo albums having too many songs, one person may think a song sucks while another person finds it to be their favorite. You can never have enough choices IMHO.

Somehow Miser will twist that into you hating GnR and voting for Jeb Bush.

[EvH]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

You're asking for a remix, not a remaster.

A drier mix would be interesting indeed, without that big drum sound and less vocal and guitar layers. I'd buy that.

[Len Cnut]

I think they pretty much get the credit/recognition they deserve, good albums, ambitious, sprawling, they have their some instances of serious quality, couple of ill-advised aspects but yeah, generally they get the credit they deserve, it's not like they are albums that you see being ripped to pieces anywhere nor are they albums that are subject to immense amounts of high praise. Yeah, I'd say they're pretty reasonably judged.

[Bono]

Combining the two disks into one doesn't really make it a fair comparison. That's like saying you think the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl. But if you combined the Patriots and Seahawks and just took the best players off each team to make one team - then they would beat the packers.

And albums aren't overrated or underrated. They are what they are. They produced what they produced.

An album is what it is.

When people say albums are under or overrated what they really mean is that the general music population didn't agree with their own personal like or dislike of an album.

But aren't the two discs one album?

No

[rocknroll41]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

You're asking for a remix, not a remaster.

A drier mix would be interesting indeed, without that big drum sound and less vocal and guitar layers. I'd buy that.

Yeah I didn't really like the "tripple vocal harmony" technique that Axl used where he sang in his normal voice, high voice, and that really strange low voice. You can especially hear it on Locomotive and it's obnoxious. That's why I've always preferred the live version where he just sings it high. It's very raw and cool.

A more "raw" mix would've probably helped these records out in the grand scheme of things

[Dr. Who]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

You're asking for a remix, not a remaster.

A drier mix would be interesting indeed, without that big drum sound and less vocal and guitar layers. I'd buy that.

Yeah I didn't really like the "tripple vocal harmony" technique that Axl used where he sang in his normal voice, high voice, and that really strange low voice. You can especially hear it on Locomotive and it's obnoxious. That's why I've always preferred the live version where he just sings it high. It's very raw and cool.

A more "raw" mix would've probably helped these records out in the grand scheme of things

The albums need more than a remix. The songs all need to be a little faster and a little looser. Take Bad Obsession, imagine that played a little looser and with less precision and no harmonica.

[Apollo]

I think the production is holding them back significantly.

A remastered anniversary edition of the UYI's is like... definitely one of the GNR holy grails.... up there with a reunion, for me at least.

You're asking for a remix, not a remaster.

A drier mix would be interesting indeed, without that big drum sound and less vocal and guitar layers. I'd buy that.

Yeah I didn't really like the "tripple vocal harmony" technique that Axl used where he sang in his normal voice, high voice, and that really strange low voice. You can especially hear it on Locomotive and it's obnoxious. That's why I've always preferred the live version where he just sings it high. It's very raw and cool.

A more "raw" mix would've probably helped these records out in the grand scheme of things

The albums need more than a remix. The songs all need to be a little faster and a little looser. Take Bad Obsession, imagine that played a little looser and with less precision and no harmonica.

So you feel that YOUR vision for GnR would have been superior to the route that Axl, Slash, Izzy and Duff chose?

Have you thought about managing or producing rock bands? If you have more musical talent than the GnR boys did, holy cow. Jut imagine what you could accomplish in the music industry.

You could be a legend. And extremely wealthy.