Modano09 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 It's been said, by Slash, I think, that Sympathy for the Devil was the sound of a band breaking up. But, in listening to the Illusions lately, it sounds to me like the dysfunction of GNR is summed up in those albums. Don't get me wrong, they're my favorite GNR albums because most of my favorite GNR songs came from them, but they just seem, so, disorganized to me. It sounds like an album that had to be a double album because everyone had their own songs in. These guys wrote this song, those guys wrote that song, some of those guys and some of these guys wrote another couple of songs. A cover song, ballads, rock songs, over produced songs, whatever My World is, two versions of the same song, songs written 6 or 7 years prior....Appetite for Destruction sounds like the same band, the same sound, the same time, start to finish - Illusions sounds like a collection of what 4 guys wrote individually or in various combinations at various times. Again, most of it is great, but you can pick up on each guy having their own taste and style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IncitingChaos Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 They were a little bit of everything, they embodied what Guns N Roses were at the time. I think you just had so many different influences coming in at once and it turned into something a bit crazy in terms of cohesiveness. I think Axl would tell you he was forced to write lyrics to a bunch of guitar songs instead of going lyrics and melody first like AFD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killuridols Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I love those albums. Their diversity is what make them interesting and great. You can have a song for every mood. You have a song for each member of the band, if you personally like one more than the other then you have their own songs. The cohesiveness is dangerous if its not done well. It could make the album sound boring and repetitive. Nowadays, cohesiveness doesn't even matter anymore. People buy songs separately. Whole albums don't sell anymore so you need to release songs that tell a story and are completely independent from any other song in the album, yet make sense in the whole structure. This is very hard to achieve and a challenge for the artists. In that sense, the Illusions look like an advanced example of what was going to come. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicDwolfwood Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Ive never viewed the album as disjointed. It was by design to be more Eclectic. Sure there were songs on there that were old(Back off Bitch, You Could Be Mine, Don't Cry, November Rain), but that was by design, they saved shit that didn't fit on Appetite for that double album. I mean shit, Axl was talking about the double album in that interview they did after the CBGB acoustic show in 87 or 88. majority of the songs were written in a couple nights at the "Walnut House" according to Slash anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Drama Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 In simple terms: Illusions = The White Album Sympathy = Let It Be We just need a get the fuck along magnum opus finale like Abbey Road to wrap this bitch up. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkknite63 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I think Axl once summed Illusions up as a collection of Izzy's, Slash's and Axl's songs. Izzys songs are the keith richards type rolling stones songs (Dust N' Bones etc), Slashs the blues hard rock songs (Civil war etc) and Axl's are the epic operatic november rain, estranged etc songs. So yeah it is confusing and distorted its a mix of different influences and genres. Appetite is straight up hard rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Drama Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Yeah but the three bleed into each other. Going on those descriptions, DTJ is a Slash song, Locomotive is an epic and Bad Apples which is the only song written by all four writers would classify as an Izzy tune. That kinda mixture of shit is what makes it an unconventionally cohesive effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Wish Axl still had fhe drive and inspiration he had during the Illusions era. I would pay $100 today for a 2016 GnR multi-album release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby845 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 7 hours ago, Johnny Drama said: In simple terms: Illusions = The White Album Sympathy = Let It Be We just need a get the fuck along magnum opus finale like Abbey Road to wrap this bitch up. what a language for a lady...whoa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknroll41 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Haven't we had this conversation like thousands of times already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inglorious Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 All thats stated in this thread is why Illusions is the superior GnR album. AFD is more of a crazy energetic, hungry for success, in-your-face, gfy madhouse of an album. Illusions is a much deeper well of substance and flavor. I listen to both quite a bit (AFD/UYI I and II) but its obvious which is substance and which is flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Dog Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) I don't know, a lot of bands have done this. They start work on an album, this guy has this idea for a song, this guy has this riff written for a song, they all bring them in and jump on them. UYI might seemed disjointed if you're strictly reading the writing credits, but listening, it's pretty tight. Edited June 19, 2016 by J Dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOSSY78 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 What I like about Illusions is it's more evolved. Appetite was and is a great album but had a similar sound throughout. With the Illusions albums there were songs that fit every mood and many of them. I think it showed a lot more diversity. I'm also a fan of the different versions like Don't Cry. Most times the alt version is my favorite. I think the order of songs was good as well and we'll placed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jafeijo Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 16 hours ago, Johnny Drama said: In simple terms: Illusions = The White Album Sympathy = Let It Be We just need a get the fuck along magnum opus finale like Abbey Road to wrap this bitch up. and My World = Revolution 9 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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