Guns n Roses - Use Your Illusion I vs II Poll

after nearly 18 years of flip flopping i think i gotta decisively go with the deuce

2 for sure, for "Civil War" and "Get In The Ring" and "My World".

it's like the conventional wisdom is "UYIs had good stuff but sooo much filler" then i look at the tracklist and i'm like "rocking....rocking....rocking..." it's like actually a pretty good hit to miss ratio actually

The thing is, if it/they were released in the pre-CD era, it'd amount to a 4-record set, which is pretty damn unprecedented

Not for Kiss!

Or Chicago...

it's like the conventional wisdom is "UYIs had good stuff but sooo much filler" then i look at the tracklist and i'm like "rocking....rocking....rocking..." it's like actually a pretty good hit to miss ratio actually

Not that this is powerful evidence against your point, but I remember buying these discs instantly upon release, and I can't recall almost anything from them now, beyond the handful of singles. OTOH, maybe it's senility.

You Could Be Mine made up for it's lack of (or unmemorable) melody with fierce and propulsive rhythm section and good guitar work, so I guess I'd vote for Vol. II.

Yeah, you're right, M@tt. My first impulse is to say that these could be whittled down into a really solid single album, but the only tracks I'd cut at first blush would be the covers. A lot of this stuff is genuinely rocking and/or genuinely moving.

UYI I is gonna have to take it by a nose. Or by a "Coma", such as it were. That shit's like a hard-rock cover of an unreleased Bowie epic, it is.

II just for "estranged"

I have to admit a deep fondness for that song too.

also II beats I on cover choice: "Live and Let Die" is ok here but "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is better; the "ay-yay-yays" on the chorus are a good touch. I didn't know the original at the time, though. And actually, I knew the GnR version more from MTV than from the cd, since it got heavy play there, but the video was a concert version and I'm not clear on whether the album version is the same as the video version. Maybe the video one was the one on Live Era?

I went II for Estranged and Yesterdays and just general nostalgia for a few more tracks on II than I do I. It may be the best thing that they've ever done.

so hard to call because theyve both got great tracks but I went for I because it doesn't have 'My World' on it

Estranged is the best track easily.

I for the stradlin' stonesy songs

fuck though i just remembered yesterdays on II which is a great fucking skynyrd song

lol @ Del James songwriting credits

also II beats I on cover choice: "Live and Let Die" is ok here but "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is better; the "ay-yay-yays" on the chorus are a good touch. I didn't know the original at the time, though. And actually, I knew the GnR version more from MTV than from the cd, since it got heavy play there, but the video was a concert version and I'm not clear on whether the album version is the same as the video version. Maybe the video one was the one on Live Era?

― my dixie wrecked (Euler), Tuesday, August 25, 2009 12:50 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the live "Knockin'" video was from the Freddie Mercury tribute at Wembley (their last show with Izzy!). the album version was a studio recording.

said performance also noted for Axl's immortal "GIMME SOME REGGAE!!!!" vamp

omg:

cs (central) wrote this on thread Witte Reggae Top 100 on board De Subjectivisten on Jun 14, 2006

Ik zit dit dieptepunt al even op te sparen:
31 - Guns 'n' Roses - Knockin' on heavens door (live)
En dan na de tenenkromende uitgil "Gimme some reggae" iirc.

they did a better knockin' on this old MTV live set that was shown a lot around the time that appetite was blowing up...actually that set is amazing

there's a live version on this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_N%27_Roses_(EP)

Estranged is the best track easily.

Agreed. It was a real Sophie's choice picking I, trust me.

i love "right next door to hell" but i don't think anyone else loves it as much as i do.

i don't think i've ever paid close attention to the album cover until now but is that guy clamping his sawed-off leg to his arm stump?

are there any other videos besides "you could be mine" and "big gun" where schwartzenegger interacts with the band?

i don't think so, but god how i wish there were

this soundtrack had FIVE VIDEOS, it's a crime that arnold was online in one of them: LAST ACTION HERO OST POLL

er online=only

Al Gore was online in the video

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I. Because it has more ballads and less "metal".

II definitely. it's more solid (though still erratic in the broad scheme of things). I has plenty of rubbish.

true

so izzy stradlin stans prefer I?

I'm a Stradlin stan that prefers II. "14 Years" >> all his songs on I

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

what a blowout!!

yeah, by WAY too large a margin. and i voted for II (i think).

I'm not surprised. II was regarded by pretty much everyone I know as superior.

and noone seems to disagree

clearly it only won because its cover was way bigger at the top of the thread

i love "right next door to hell" but i don't think anyone else loves it as much as i do.

― the turdlike genius of Jeff Tweete´ (M@tt He1ges0n), Tuesday, August 25, 2009 1:05 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

*raises hand*

it isn't just fast, it's punky as fuck (I feel like Zeke must have listened to a lot of UYI), it has a catchy as fuck staccato vocal attack in the verses, the guitar solo break is total punk 'n roll goodness, the group sung chorus. helluva way to say "I'm back" to begin the album and then leading into Dust 'n Bones? yes, yes.

"Civil War", on the other hand, is a phenomenal song, but still feels like a weird way to begin UYI II. I think the problem is they didn't really have a definitive album-opening rage-rocker, as Shotgun Blues and GEt in the Ring would have been a weird way to open the album. maybe "You Could Be Mine"?

I love the 2022 version of « November Rain ». The mix is so good and the orchestral parts are so great. I always thought the original strings/piano were so cheap for such an epic track.

The pizzicato arrangement towards the end is surprising and a nice touch.

I went ahead and preordered the reissues… I’m a sucker for a remastered CD (or, I guess, two of them).

I had no expectations about this but NR is such a good surprise now I’m interested in the whole project. Listening to the new version on headphones is a guilty pleasure and although I’ve always enjoyed that song it finally realizes its full potential imo.

II just for "estranged"

― mizzell, Monday, August 24, 2009 10:53 PM (thirteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Estranged is the best track easily.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:45 AM (thirteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

The remasters sound pretty darn good to me (I’d have to dig out my original CDs to really A/B the sound).

It’s interesting that they don’t say “Remastered,” etc. anywhere on the cover art – it was just on the shrink wrap sticker. You have to look at the logos/fine print at the bottom of the rear cover to see at a glance that it’s a new edition.

oh thanks for reminder, picking this up rn

this is quite nice. but also because I haven't played either UYI in years which is long overdue.