Are the Use Your Illusion albums underrated?

[Mr. Dude]

I think UYI is a bit underrated. Its not as vastly underrated as CD though.

[Tom2112]

Illusions has a few misses, AFD is solid all the way through. I don't agree when people say Gnr only had one good album, but I wouldn't say that UYI is of the same quality of AFD. At the end of the day how you view that record is all down to personal preference so you might think it's a stellar piece of work, while the next person will say it's an utter piece of garbage. I think it largely gets a fair shake.

[Bobbo]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I truly love the albums more than appetite. Although not perfect per say, I find the accomplishments supersede the mistakes by miles. I also liked how it showed gnr had some depth, and were far from just one trick ponies.

That being said, I do feel like the albums are treated fairly. The singles, even the ones that didn't crack the hot 100, like Civil War, still get regular airplay on the radio where I'm from. The albums are hardly in swept under the rug status, and I admit even the big songs from it didn't make as big as an impact as the Appetite 3. So I understand why they're not treated like royalty either.

[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.

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

[Strange Broue]

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.

Not this one....

Slash claimed those tapes were erased or lost so we will most likely never hear them

This is from the UYI Outtakes

[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.

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

Not this one....

Slash claimed those tapes were erased or lost so we will most likely never hear them

This is from the UYI Outtakes

Dude, that's about as close as one would get to a 'raw mix', as that is a raw mix. It's not an outtake. It's a raw mix of a song which appeared on the UYIs.

I REALLY doubt the songs ever sounded much different from that. Even in the Mates Rehearsal, which is as raw as it can possibly get, the songs sound pretty much the same.

When Slash says "raw mixes" I think he means lacking things like odd sound effects or vocal layers.

Here's another 'rawer' version of a UYI song. Axl's advanced copy, meaning his copy of the track before final mix.

[Gackt]

I consider Use Your Illusion I&II as one album, but they're intentionally packaged as two separate releases, then later there was the album that "trimmed the fat" off the two and released the remaining tracks as one compilation album, Use Your Illusion

I don't think there's anything wrong with the mix in the albums, the main issue with them is the lack of consistent quality and weak filler tracks throughout

Closing the albums with My World instead of the Don't Cry reprise was a huge mistake, IMO

[dalsh327]

What hurt UYI over time was the Greatest Hits, I think the rest of the Illusions became forgotten about because of it. If they did a greatest hits and loaded it up with 7 or 8 AFD songs, would you buy AFD anymore?

(not that buying music matters in this streaming on demand era)

[rocknroll41]

What hurt UYI over time was the Greatest Hits, I think the rest of the Illusions became forgotten about because of it. If they did a greatest hits and loaded it up with 7 or 8 AFD songs, would you buy AFD anymore?

(not that buying music matters in this streaming on demand era)

That's a good observation! Tho I think there's a little more to it than that. In a 1999 interview Axl was already saying things like "when I listen to UYI I can hear a band dying" and I've seen threads from like 2001 of people saying it shoulda been one record. So already by that point the two albums kinda hadnt aged well

[dalsh327]

What hurt UYI over time was the Greatest Hits, I think the rest of the Illusions became forgotten about because of it. If they did a greatest hits and loaded it up with 7 or 8 AFD songs, would you buy AFD anymore?

(not that buying music matters in this streaming on demand era)

That's a good observation! Tho I think there's a little more to it than that. In a 1999 interview Axl was already saying things like "when I listen to UYI I can hear a band dying" and I've seen threads from like 2001 of people saying it shoulda been one record. So already by that point the two albums kinda hadnt aged well

I expect Axl to be more critical about his albums than the fans (most artists are, you might have a few saying everything they ever did was great) he's talking in hindsight as well.

[Stress Fracture]

UYI II is a great album with a terrible closer and an unnecessary version of Don't Dry preceding it. Get in the Ring is silly too. Take those three out and it's 10/10.

[wasted]

A little in my mind. I like a lot of the songs if not all of them, but as albums it's hard to listen to more than 4 songs. So I just around. First 4 of each album are aces. I can listen to them in a row.

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

I consider Use Your Illusion I&II as one album, but they're intentionally packaged as two separate releases, then later there was the album that "trimmed the fat" off the two and released the remaining tracks as one compilation album, Use Your Illusion

I don't think there's anything wrong with the mix in the albums, the main issue with them is the lack of consistent quality and weak filler tracks throughout

Closing the albums with My World instead of the Don't Cry reprise was a huge mistake, IMO

Yeah. My World and its placement as the ending of UYI II was stupid and selfish of Axl

Edited September 28, 2015 by Caught_in_a_Coma

[-W.A.R-]

UYI II is a great album with a terrible closer and an unnecessary version of Don't Dry preceding it. Get in the Ring is silly too. Take those three out and it's 10/10.

shotgun blues and so fine aren't very good either

[username]

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

No. Use Your Illusion is NOT underrated. Overrated if anything.

I mean, yes. There are a lot of great hot singles on it. When people think of the UYI albums they think of November Rain, Knockin' On Heavens Door (even though the live version is awesome and the album version just kind of... blows), Live And Let Die, You Could Be Mine, Don't Cry, Estranged etc... All big hits that are all but forgotten. They still show up on best of the 90's or best ever lists of radio stations. And even though they're not as remembered, Civil War and Yesterdays were successful singles at the time as well.

But let's look past the singles and try to judge the albums as a whole. Both Use Your Illusion albums are pretty much all over the place. They're both big long (75 and 74 minutes) collections of often lengthy complex songs that don't really gel together. We can argue all we want over which songs we all like and dislike, what's filler and what's killer. But the fact that people do that just shows how all over the place it is. The Use Your Illusion albums are songs that work as songs, made by different people with different visions all stowed together. There's no coherency. Even the guys in the band admitted to this. It kind of resembles the chaos the band was in at the time.

So that's what the Use Your Illusion's are to me. Great songs that work individually. But not great albums.

[J Dog]

I think they're rated about right. Most people acknowledge there are some really great songs on them and and as a whole they are both great albums. But also some weaker tracks that could have been cut. It's hard to judge against all time great albums with so many weaker songs on them.

Now if they had just made on big UYI album, without the weaker tracks, then it would def be an all time great.

[wasted]

It's pretty hard to pick the songs. Maybe because each member has their songs, then there's epics. Then theres songs with videos like Garden sisters and then ones they did live.

You Could Be Mine

Live and Let Die

Don't Cry

Bad Obsession

Double Talking Jive

November Rain

Coma

Civil War

Yesterdays

Heavans Door

Breakdown

Pretty Tied Up

Locomotive

Estranged

[Mr. Dude]

Personally I'd rather see a remastered CD than UYI at this juncture.

[DR DOOM]

UYI II is a great album with a terrible closer and an unnecessary version of Don't Dry preceding it. Get in the Ring is silly too. Take those three out and it's 10/10.

I've always preferred the Alt Lyrics version of Don't Cry on UYI II to the one on UYI I by a very long shot.

[wasted]

Personally I'd rather see a remastered CD than UYI at this juncture.

The only remaster I ever like was Zepp's Remasters. The Best of with the corn circle cover. But every other one just changed the songs. Kind of disturbing.

[GNRfan2008]

UYI II is a great album with a terrible closer and an unnecessary version of Don't Dry preceding it. Get in the Ring is silly too. Take those three out and it's 10/10.

I will take Don't Cry 2 over Shotgun Blues any day of the week. Sad thing is the guitar work on Shotgun Blues and Get in the Ring is pretty good, it's just Axl ruined those songs with really stupid lyrics. My World is a disaster, haha.

Edited September 30, 2015 by GNRfan2008

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

UYI II is a great album with a terrible closer and an unnecessary version of Don't Dry preceding it. Get in the Ring is silly too. Take those three out and it's 10/10.

I've always preferred the Alt Lyrics version of Don't Cry on UYI II to the one on UYI I by a very long shot.

Yeah Don't Cry Alt. Lyrics is awesome. I've never had an issue with a second, alternative version to that song

[rocknroll41]

Personally I'd rather see a remastered CD than UYI at this juncture.

Well considering how CD was recently renamed to "Chinese Democracy (Version 1)" on the band's official Spotify, it's possible that some kind of reissue/ remaster/ remix could be on the way with bonus tracks. Maybe it'll be an exclusive online release or something.

Back on topic: I agree with that other post that basically said the UYI records collectively have a lot of good songs, but don't gel together too well as albums. So in way, they're a bit overrated rather than underrated

[Rustycage]

Spotify again?

[Nosaj Thing]

Why am I reading the utter shit album Chinese Democracy being discussed in the thread of the UYIs?