I remember the mystique of those two records. UYI 1 and UYI 2... As a kid it was colossal. I would ride my old kuwahara to my buddies place, invite the other kids in the neighborhood. We would lay on our backs on the floor and listen to Estranged. Our whole lives ahead of us. No parents and no rules. What a time.
Yeah. I feel 1 was the album Slash wanted to release and 2 was Axls vision of GnR. His work on 2 was great but it felt like his heart wasn't really in it the same way.
@Race Card It's a double album as they were recorded and released together, or 2 albums.. what's the difference. They're not 2 'double albums' unless you have them on vinyl, in which case everything over 45 mins long is a 'double album'
I bought these two albums when they first came out, iirc I paid something like $25 bucks, a lot of money for a 13 year old kid back in '91-'92, but a small price to pay for the many years of enjoyment they've provided me.
I remember my friend Justin getting PULLED OUT OF SCHOOL to go buy Use Your Illusion. How he convinced his mother, who was a lawyer, to do that, is something I can't fathom to this day.
I remember buying Illusion 1 LP on either the day, or at least the first week of release. My friend bought 2,so that we could copy them to cassette and give to the other. I distinctly remember sitting in my bedroom at 13 yo playing on my 8 bit Sega Master System listening to November Rain for the first time.
I got the Albums 5 days before they were released at my local record store. I was sick with a fever and when I found out that the store had them I hopped the bus and went to the store. I remember fast forwarding to November Rain on the bus ride home. Guns was always my favorite band and still is. Even better is that my kids enjoy them and play there songs on the guitar.
What a bloody treat it was to listen to UYI 1 and rock out to Double Talkin Jive, then the epic November Rain. When I got UYI2 I was blown away that this was actually the deeper and more complex album, with an even more awesome set of songs. So Fine and Estranged are just mind blowing good.
I remember getting the appetite destruction cassette tape when I was 9 years old and 1988 and it was probably one of the best times of my life it took a year for me to even realize that it was out for that time and again it was the best time of my life that album is the greatest!
Same here. I got appetite and hysteria for my 9th b-day in Jan "88". Mom took me to Zayers and let me pick both. I remember clear as day. Good stuff. RIP mom.
I bought these two albums when they both came out - 31 years ago - and I STILL love them. Ironically for their huge record sales, they are underrated works, historically overshadowed by 'Nevermind' and the whole grunge movement which was happening at the same time. G n' R were suddenly massively unfashionable in the press and the rock music scene in general, and I don't think that their reputation ever fully recovered, especially due to Kurt Cobain's open resentment of them. All these decades later, when all you have is the music left, you realise how brilliant these albums were: Inventive, intense, dynamic heavy rock. A truly great band in the history of rock n'roll.
I was in high school when these two albums came out and bought them on cassette. They were huge! Especially on MTV with the videos (You Could be Mine, the trilogy, The Garden for being too explicit, etc.). The way I remember it is that Nevermind didn't really come close to UYI, nor did the grunge scene; it wasn't until Kurt's suicide that Nevermind and grunge were cemented in the public consciousness, and historically that is how it is remembered, that Nevermind was bigger, but in '92, UYI were the bigger albums.
I wouldn’t say they were overshadowed by grunge. They were actually outside if all that silly shit. They were playing stadiums all over the world. Nirvana wasn’t. Yeah, Nevermind was big, but you have to try and remember it was more an MTV movement than anything. It was 100% MTV that forced grunge down people’s throats until it stuck. That said, GnR still remained huge until they decided to implode.
Agreed. However, no other 80's Sunset Strip band made a transition in their style and sound such as G'N'R did with UYI I & II in the early 90's. The arrangements on November Rain or Estranged were completely different from anything from APF; Coma, Locomotive; these set them apart from Motley Crue, Warrant, Poison and so on. True, grunge made a pop culture shift, but it was in that era that Guns toured the world and established themselves as the biggest rock band of the era.
Personally I think the two Illusion albums are amazing & show the biggest band in the world (at the time) stretching their wings & growing into something bigger & more expansive than the amazing sound of Appetite. Yeah, there’s some filler, but I actually love a lot of the filler as there’s still some epic tracks also. Had they cut it down to a single 16 song album you could argue that it would’ve been even better than Appetite depending on what you’re looking for from them. That said, I like that they’d include the filler because although it weighed the albums down some, it also gave the fans so much more material to listen to. If I was editing it down to a single album I’d go: Civil War Dust N’ Bones November Rain You Could Be Mine Estranged Locomotive Don’t Cry (Original) Breakdown Dead Horse Bad Apples Pretty Tied Up Live & Let Die Don’t Damn Me Yesterdays Knockin’ On Heavens Door Coma
Estranged is imo the greatest song ever written by anybody ever and here in 2024 they are arguably the biggest band in the world right now, their reunion tours since 2016 proves that
A trimmed down one disc album could have been seen as one of the best albums ever. For a mixture of talented songs and rockers, my list would be: Right Next Door to Hell - November Rain - Live and Let Die - You Could Be Mine - Don't Cry - Perfect Crime - Civil War - Breakdown - Locomotive - Don't Damn Me - The Garden - Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Estranged - Garden of Eden - Coma
Idunno, I still like "Dust N' Bones," "Bad Obsession," "Double Talkin Jive," "Bad Apples," "Dead Horse," "14 Years," and "Pretty Tied Up," also. Just add those to your list, lol.
They made like a dozen music videos from those albums. They were on mtv none stop for two years with a new video every couple months . On top of touring the entire time!
I saw this tour. June 1991, Nassau Coliseum Long Island, N.Y. Skid Row opened. G&R came on really late. 11:00pm. I thought they were gonna cancell. The crowd waited 2hours after SkidRow ended. But then they finally came on! The Illusion records weren't even out at the time. But they came out a few months after that show. But we had heard November Rain, Civil War & You Could be Mine. Those had been on the radio before the album came out. But that show that summer, was the best concert I've ever witnessed for a hard rock concert. G&R played so good. Izzy was still in the band. He hadn't left yet. He was gone in November....5 months later. By the way....the Spaghetti Incident record rocks! I dont care what anybody says; that album kicks ass!
21:30 it’s so true , Steven wasn’t the best drummer ever but he had so much feel , Steven Adler was the perfect drummer for Guns’n’Roses and yes Izzy was the backbone for Guns’n’Roses sound and obviously Slash made magic with whatever Izzy brought to the band , it’s was just the perfect dynamics every member truly complimented each other , just like Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple Beatles and Black Sabbath the perfect guys put together!
The 3 songs, November Rain , Don't Cry, and Estranged are only part of what these albums are all about. The rest of the music in the albums , whether original or cover , describe the emotion and feeling of what life for Axl was at that time. These 2 albums are Masterpieces.
I was 15 years old when illusions came out, I'd only discovered Appetite the year before so I was overloaded with GnR at that age, had moved to a foreign country and imagine my surprise that all the kids in the school there also were crazy about rock... More than my home country England... We all listened to GnR Metallica, Nirvana, chilli peppers and pearl jam, plus skid row, iron maiden etc .... It was the common interest between all the students, we were all foreigners in a different country and music kept us together....
I was 13 when use your illusion 1 & 2 came out and my mother and father said to my brother and myself allowed us to buy them on cassette. I got 1 and my brother got use your illusion 1. We listened to them religiously, both are hard to pick a winner but I do think that 2 had a few more better tracks
I'll always rep The Spaghetti album since it led me to discovering the Misfits. Listening to a Misfits album for the first time with zero knowledge of who they are or what their music sounds like was a solid childhood moment.
The reason why this only happened once in history is because Gn'R was being way too generous. With 31 songs, you could make 3 seperate albums over the next 3 years. Still, I bought both tapes upon release when I was 14 years old.
I think they did alright with these two albums..personally i don't only like the stand out songs..I love both albums listening to them whole from start to finish.. nowadays you can't find albums that are good from start to end...
Even as commercialized GNRs body of work eventually became...YCBM is a great exposition for the human race to experience what artists at the top of their game and the prime of their music abilities can create and showcase for fellow humans to experience and appreciate...just listen to the casual build up and collaborations from the first note and on...
Slash n Izzy chop it up like no other guitar duo ever imho. Unplug a speaker n listen to Appetite. Now switch. 2 completely different experiences/feels.
When the Use Your Illusion tour was booked EVERYBODY was smitten with Appetite For Destruction! I had most of the Illusion cd's memorized, loved them. Was looking forward to the concert. Even though I waited starting 5 am & was one of the first in line they (concert venue) made us get bracelets & buy our tickets based off some kind of weird roll call so I was pretty sad, didn't get "called" first, didn't get very good seats, it was harsh. But my cousin had an amazing zest for life & would never just sit back & take sh*t.... so that night of the concert she asked at the front desk if we could upgrade out tickets, low & behold she got us close enough for Slash's sweat to get on me!!! THEN after the show they were hunting pretty girls to go backstage & she made that happen too!! GnR went on two hours late, this was widely reported, Axl takin the heat BUT my God he was magnificent!! It was so SO worth the wait however due to that, the concert getting over so late & the roadies telling us that all the girls would have to wait in a room for the band to come hang out & there was zero estimated time frame, they had no idea how long we'd be waiting & possibly not see them at all my cousin & I decided to leave. But in order to even get in that room you had to have a special pass.... and I got one. Thanks to her. I have the special backstage pass & felt sticker they gave us to this day. The performance was beyond my wildest dreams. I noticed that almost nobody knew the words to all the songs from Use Your Illusion & only a couple Appetite songs had the whole audiences attention. But I sang every song. People around me were impressed & called me a true fan. Truly one of THE best shows I've ever attended & I've been to Glastonbury twice/Radiohead. Guns & Roses were at peak. They were astonishingly good & my cousin made it a dream come true💕 I feel lucky as they started a decline shortly after & Axl being so late really caused problems on that tour. I got to see the beginning. Soundgarden opened for them man, BadMotorFinger Good to be alive🌊🐬
I couldn’t relate to the material on these albums. Appetite For Destruction was such a powerful debut that it was almost like their peak and everything that followed was going to be measured by this incredible collection of material. It seems practically impossible to create a record that would even measure up, let alone surpass it. In my opinion, not only did they never come close to capturing that vibe again, their material went in a very different and far more subdued direction. The result was that the material felt like it was forced and/or contrived to me. Having said that, Appetite was a complete surprise that appeared out of nowhere and got everybody’s attention. It was pretty cool to have grown up in the 80s and experienced the explosion of GnR into existence.
I totally agree. I very rarely play either UYI I or II. If I want to listen to G'n'R, I always reach for Appetite For Destruction (even though there are plenty of decent tracks on those later albums)
Steven not playing on the record was a big factor as was the over production. A lot of that material is pre-appetite had they recorded it the same way (and with Steven) you might have a different feeling about them.
I could never wrap my head around the fact that Mike Clink who'd produced the rock masterpiece that is AfD also coproduced the over processed UyI albums. They sound so plastic in comparison. Also yes to Adler being indispensable, damn soulful groovy drummer, with uncomplicated beats tailored to the songs in the vein of Starr/Rudd.
There is so much great music in the world, and more coming all the time!!! Everyone deserves their own preferences and opinions, but you guys probably think Motley Crue was almost as good as GNR, LOL. Guns and Roses are ROCK GODS and GENIUSES at every stage!!!!!
Izzy was the secret weapon of GnR...Also Steven Adler is one of the most underrated drummers from that time period...Steven Adler along with Sean Kinney form AIC were massive influences on my own playing 🧐🤘✌️
36:03 - "Metallica were putting out their sort of gigantic record" Yeah, it sold moderately well, I suppose while a small handful of people attended the tour. I may have heard that Sandman But True song once or twice on the radio? But it was an exciting time. I love that GnR song which featured on the soundtrack about some Austrian Robot. Apparently the director went on to make a film about a boat.
26:00 correction . From what I heard from an interview with Bob Claremont himself ...cant remember where. Bob Claremont was fired from Use your illusions mixing because Slash and Axl discovered the usage of drum samples which by the time wasn't a new mixing trick been used in the recording industry to make the drums more punchier ,clear and consistent in power.
Izzy songwriting for sure 💯 agree and Stevie brought a swing to the band after him sounded more generic drums, drums make the sound that can’t be replicated if not right
Without a doubt. When you hear GnR play without Steven it sounds like a cover band, when you hear Steven play GnR songs with anybody they sound exactly like GnR. Check out videos of his current live band. They're amazing.
I was 10 years old- thank God my older sister bought em both. I stole them about 5 years later, because I'd blown my money on KISS tickets 😆 got her copy of appetite, too. Love you, sis! One of the best bands EVER 🤘
This is an interesting piece of work. I saw them in the autumn of 91' on this tour at Madison Square Garden. The same place where roughly 14 years before Led Zeppelin performed when I had just been born not too far from there.
@@mykelc205 I find it hard to recall the quality of the arena or stadium shows I've gone to especially if they've been hard rock or metal. It's like this overwhelming thing. Besides I was quite young too.
These came out when my youngest son was born on the next day. My husband and I saw them in Vegas. November rain was brand new and amazing.my husband and my son have both passed and I will always have these songs in my heart. I understand
I love almost every song on both albums. My World is terrible but it was a prank by Axl on the rest of the band as he snuck it on there without them knowing lol. Dont Cry alternative and maybe Bad Obsession I could do without. But everything was killer
Very good video! The only thing I disagree with is that Estranged ended the double albums with a "thud". If you get what Axl was trying to do with November Rain, Estranged comes across as even more powerful and beautiful. The lyrics are incredible and sonically, I've never heard anything like Estranged before or since. It's a hell of a powerful song and I think it's gotten more recognition over the years. I just got it earlier than most :)
Very clever songwriting on display. Immaculate transitions between sections. It takes you on a journey. Not as good as Rocket Queen but it is still great
I can't understand why so many people wait in line for hours for an album on release day. It's gonna be available for a long time after. Especially if it's by the biggest band in the world at the time. Record Store Day is different- most are limited editions.
Civil War, You Could Be Mine and November Rain are some of the best songs they ever wrote. Even better than the stuff on Appetite For Destruction, in my opinion.
I remember the day I got back from being overseas, I bought both cassettes at the Camp San Mateo PX......For the next few months, all I heard were these two cassettes and the New Jack City soundtrack and I Got An OPP haha
Ive never heard anyone say "guns n roses were so much better once matt and dizzy joined" no one ever has thought that in the whole world apart from one mental great but mental dude .... Axl Fxxcking Rose!!!!! God bless that crazy genius!
Talking about Coma it wasn't Axl that was saved by doctors it was Slash and Axl wrote the song after that incident.... That's what I understood anyway?
That was cool to watch. I’m in my 40s so i was in high school and college when all this was playing out. I loved AFD and still think it’s a perfect hard rock record. I have played guitar since I was a kid and always loved slash’s style. GNR stood out in the 80s because they did have that off the rails image and punk rock attitude. They were like a mash up of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and the New York dolls. Bands like poison, warrant, and white lion were really pretty cheesy. That being said their sound did get a little more produced and lost some edge on the illusion albums. I didn’t care for them too much then they came out but have grown to like 7 to 10 of them tracks of the albums. I have never even listened to Chinese democracy because it’s not really GNR, having just one member is not sufficient. To me the key members of the band that gave them their sound where axl, slash and Izzy. Izzy was clearly a good song writer and his guitar style added a good grove to the songs on AFD.
Right on. GNR were the antithesis to all the glam rockers on the Sunset Strip. They had that raw sound and it felt dangerous. Like a riot could break out at any breath of their live shows. Izzy Stradlin is a bad ass and all those dudes looked up to him. He wrote most of those riffs and lyrics on 'Appetite for Destruction', and him and Steven Adler were so important to their sound.
G n' R was great, but Warrant & Poison were even greater. Those of you who think those bands were cheesy just simply don't get it. It's as simple as that.
@@DaveKostka you think warrant was better than GnR!? Jesus cherry pie, what a ridiculously terrible song. Poison had some good tunes and were cool glam rock, but warrant is garbage.
@@slashtrio clearly taste is extremely subjective and will vary greatly from one person to the next, but yes I think Warrant was better than G n' R. I rank Warrant 3rd on my list of all-time favorite bands (Kiss and Bon Jovi are 1 and 2). Cherry Pie is a fun anthemic song (like Rock And Roll All Nite and Pour Some Sugar On Me), but at the same time it is not indicative of the greatness of that band. I do not consider it to be among my top 10 favorite Warrant songs, maybe not even top 20. Check out All My Bridges Are Burning, Bed Of Roses, or Undertow to name just a few examples of how brilliant Jani Lane was as a lyricist. To my ears, he was the hair metal equivalent of John Lennon. Disrespecting Warrant is a non-starter for me.
@@DaveKostka hey, well I certainly appreciate your well thought out response and reasons for liking what you like. My reaction was definitely a bit harsh and knee jerk. I completely agree that musical taste is ultimately subjective. I personally do not like most of the hair rock bands of the 80s as it just registers as cheesy to me. I prefer rock that has a bit more grit and edge and not such a polished sound. But of course this is just my opinion and doesn’t not inherently have any more value than yours. Do you mind if I ask what your age range is and what country you are from? Just curious. Cheers
It took me years (by that I mean like 2010's) to actually appreciate these records. Like everybody else at the time I bought them both the night they came out and the only songs I liked were Right next Door to Hell, Garden of Eden, Yesterdays & You Could be Mine. There was too much to digest (I had my own band at the time & I was booking clubs as well) I thought it was way over produced & without Steven it really didn't sound like GnR.
@@lucasoheyze4597 it was embarrassing in retrospect but you gotta admit it would have been really fun to be there around that time. It kind of WAS a cultural phenomenon, the way that a scene that came from one tiny area of LA shaped the entire world of Rock n Roll. Kind of similar thing happened with grunge out of Seattle. If you were fortunate enough to be there at that time and have a band playing small club, you might have gotten huge once record execs came looking for the next Seattle rock band. Same thing in LA in the 80’s.
I still think they could of made one with 14 tracks (2) covers that would of rivaled AFD . I lean hard to Illusion 1 . I like Dead Horse , Coma , Back Off , Don’t Cry original . Although Cival War may be favorite song of theirs all time .
took me 30 years to appreciate these albums. as a teen in 90s when they came.out, i didnt like either of them. mayne 3 songs total. now and days i hear what theh were doing. still think Lies is the best album
lol being born in 79' i experienced these guys in their prime, but they were kind of taken for granted at the time, we had Queen and other bands. Looking back, they were only second to Queen IMHO. Fuck they were good and i knever realised it.
I loved the huge super group feel for the tour. It was like Axl’s bringing his circus to town. Also Nirvana never sold the tickets that GNR did and I don’t think Nirvana was as good live either
The drums were way more powerful and sounded great on them albums I must say.. love that sound. but not taking anything away from Steve or his sound or style at all.. he was amazing too. and at least he survived it. all of them did... props to them. not an easy life by no means. one of the most dangerous occupations in the world!
To anyone that tries to live that life.. out on the road, a lot of temptations, things are shoved in your face.. and for free! just saying.. proceed with caution! it will kill you. or even worse.. leave you struggling for the rest of your life!
1:08:01 Bingo. And no, people DO NOT go to a concert to for the "danger". They go to hear good music for a couple hours, mostly the songs from Appetite if we're being honest.
Before I even watch this video I want to put it out there that I was disappointed by Use Your Illusion I and II. I remember the hype was intense! And there were lines and people sleeping outside the Tower Records in Boston. The release was an event. It was huge. But the records didn't have that dirty, idgaf, raw, energy and freshness Appetite did. The songs just didn't grab me the way Appetite's did. Everything felt over produced I was young then so perhaps I'll come to appreciate the albums with more time and investment. I have grown to like a few of the songs after all, November Rain, You Could Be Mine, couple others. I'm curious to see what this documentary has to say.
Before another person blurts out "GNR would be nothin without (insert favorite band member) Stones wouldnt be Stone without Keith or Mick, Zeppelin without Plant or Page etc. Enjoy the band and be happy these guys got together and that particular chemistry gave us some KICK ASS music
Really it was Axl and Izzy that were the creative core of the band. Once that partnership deteriorated and Izzy left, it's no real surprise that the band began to fall apart.
I remember the mystique of those two records. UYI 1 and UYI 2...
As a kid it was colossal. I would ride my old kuwahara to my buddies place, invite the other kids in the neighborhood.
We would lay on our backs on the floor and listen to Estranged. Our whole lives ahead of us. No parents and no rules. What a time.
Estranged, YEAH!! What wise young men you were!!!
These are the albums that made me go from someone who just listens to music, to playing it. It’s a guitar masterpiece from slash.
Yeah. I feel 1 was the album Slash wanted to release and 2 was Axls vision of GnR. His work on 2 was great but it felt like his heart wasn't really in it the same way.
@@skobywankenobi Dude...Some of his best work is on 2. Estranged, Locomotive, Civil War, Knockin on Heaven's Door, You Could Be Mine...
@@skobywankenobi Nah, that's not true at all. The Illusions were two sides of the same coin. Axl and Slash both poured their hearts into 1 and 2.
@@alistairclifton1286 locomotive is a guitar extravaganza. I love it
to right man same here
Probably the best double studio album of all time. They are both amazing.
its not a double album
@Race Card It's a double album as they were recorded and released together, or 2 albums.. what's the difference. They're not 2 'double albums' unless you have them on vinyl, in which case everything over 45 mins long is a 'double album'
@@TerribleEnglish If the vinyl makes 2 double albums, it's 2 double albums.
@@michaelharrington75 Nah, that's very old thinking.
@@TerribleEnglish Maybe so? The number of songs would suggest a double album, but the lengths of the songs makes it impossible to fit on 2 vinyl LPs.
I bought these two albums when they first came out, iirc I paid something like $25 bucks, a lot of money for a 13 year old kid back in '91-'92, but a small price to pay for the many years of enjoyment they've provided me.
I stole 'em.
It is what it is. I was like 11, I didn't have 25 bucks, and I wasn't going to not have those albums.
#NoRagrets
I think they were $17 each back then
I got lucky, my big sister bought me both on cassette's for my birthday. Which I proceeded to wear out on my Walkman
Same 😊 these two and the Metallica black album were my fav tapes that year
These days a single vinyl record will cost you $25.
I remember my friend Justin getting PULLED OUT OF SCHOOL to go buy Use Your Illusion.
How he convinced his mother, who was a lawyer, to do that, is something I can't fathom to this day.
One of my favorite comments ever!!!! Hells to the yay-er!!! You and your mom rock!!!!!
I remember buying Illusion 1 LP on either the day, or at least the first week of release. My friend bought 2,so that we could copy them to cassette and give to the other. I distinctly remember sitting in my bedroom at 13 yo playing on my 8 bit Sega Master System listening to November Rain for the first time.
I threw those things into my Sega CD many times
I got the Albums 5 days before they were released at my local record store. I was sick with a fever and when I found out that the store had them I hopped the bus and went to the store. I remember fast forwarding to November Rain on the bus ride home. Guns was always my favorite band and still is. Even better is that my kids enjoy them and play there songs on the guitar.
What a bloody treat it was to listen to UYI 1 and rock out to Double Talkin Jive, then the epic November Rain.
When I got UYI2 I was blown away that this was actually the deeper and more complex album, with an even more awesome set of songs. So Fine and Estranged are just mind blowing good.
I remember getting the appetite destruction cassette tape when I was 9 years old and 1988 and it was probably one of the best times of my life it took a year for me to even realize that it was out for that time and again it was the best time of my life that album is the greatest!
Same here. I got appetite and hysteria for my 9th b-day in Jan "88". Mom took me to Zayers and let me pick both. I remember clear as day. Good stuff. RIP mom.
Wore that tape out lol
I bought these two albums when they both came out - 31 years ago - and I STILL love them. Ironically for their huge record sales, they are underrated works, historically overshadowed by 'Nevermind' and the whole grunge movement which was happening at the same time. G n' R were suddenly massively unfashionable in the press and the rock music scene in general, and I don't think that their reputation ever fully recovered, especially due to Kurt Cobain's open resentment of them. All these decades later, when all you have is the music left, you realise how brilliant these albums were: Inventive, intense, dynamic heavy rock. A truly great band in the history of rock n'roll.
I was in high school when these two albums came out and bought them on cassette. They were huge! Especially on MTV with the videos (You Could be Mine, the trilogy, The Garden for being too explicit, etc.). The way I remember it is that Nevermind didn't really come close to UYI, nor did the grunge scene; it wasn't until Kurt's suicide that Nevermind and grunge were cemented in the public consciousness, and historically that is how it is remembered, that Nevermind was bigger, but in '92, UYI were the bigger albums.
Really it’s not grunge that overshadowed it it’s Appetite for Destruction. It’s so big it lingered on far and above even grunge
I wouldn’t say they were overshadowed by grunge. They were actually outside if all that silly shit. They were playing stadiums all over the world. Nirvana wasn’t. Yeah, Nevermind was big, but you have to try and remember it was more an MTV movement than anything. It was 100% MTV that forced grunge down people’s throats until it stuck.
That said, GnR still remained huge until they decided to implode.
Agreed. However, no other 80's Sunset Strip band made a transition in their style and sound such as G'N'R did with UYI I & II in the early 90's. The arrangements on November Rain or Estranged were completely different from anything from APF; Coma, Locomotive; these set them apart from Motley Crue, Warrant, Poison and so on. True, grunge made a pop culture shift, but it was in that era that Guns toured the world and established themselves as the biggest rock band of the era.
Never recovered? They are still playing stadiums.
Izzy Stradlin...the soul of GnR. He was pivotal to their sound.
Never the same after he left
Mainly Axl Rose
Correct! But it took all of them to make that band what it was!
Izzy is so FUCKIN' COOL.
Double Talkin jive man.... Izzy was the real deal
Personally I think the two Illusion albums are amazing & show the biggest band in the world (at the time) stretching their wings & growing into something bigger & more expansive than the amazing sound of Appetite. Yeah, there’s some filler, but I actually love a lot of the filler as there’s still some epic tracks also. Had they cut it down to a single 16 song album you could argue that it would’ve been even better than Appetite depending on what you’re looking for from them. That said, I like that they’d include the filler because although it weighed the albums down some, it also gave the fans so much more material to listen to. If I was editing it down to a single album I’d go:
Civil War
Dust N’ Bones
November Rain
You Could Be Mine
Estranged
Locomotive
Don’t Cry (Original)
Breakdown
Dead Horse
Bad Apples
Pretty Tied Up
Live & Let Die
Don’t Damn Me
Yesterdays
Knockin’ On Heavens Door
Coma
And its like 2 was one, and one was 2. I preferred 2, but both great albums.
So fine, attitude?
@@simondoutre6225
Nah…
Bad selection. Double talking jive, garden of Eden, shotgun blues,
@@citoante
Nah…
1991 what a year for music
It was like a 6 week period. YU1/2, Nirvana, PJ, and Soundgarden all released their albums. Let that sync in.
@Michael Thornton. Black album dropped in 91 also.
I think the Red Hot Chilli Peppers masterpiece dropped in '91 too
Estranged is imo the greatest song ever written by anybody ever and here in 2024 they are arguably the biggest band in the world right now, their reunion tours since 2016 proves that
A trimmed down one disc album could have been seen as one of the best albums ever. For a mixture of talented songs and rockers, my list would be:
Right Next Door to Hell - November Rain - Live and Let Die - You Could Be Mine - Don't Cry - Perfect Crime - Civil War - Breakdown - Locomotive - Don't Damn Me - The Garden - Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Estranged - Garden of Eden - Coma
Very true!!
@@dtp056 👍
Idunno, I still like "Dust N' Bones," "Bad Obsession," "Double Talkin Jive," "Bad Apples," "Dead Horse," "14 Years," and "Pretty Tied Up," also. Just add those to your list, lol.
@@c.f.pedraza4057 I know, it's hard to leave them out lol. I had to be cruel.
@@jackmurphy6864 agree
One of the best documentaries I’ve seen and probably one of my top 5 bands
They made like a dozen music videos from those albums. They were on mtv none stop for two years with a new video every couple months . On top of touring the entire time!
What some people on here call bloated, I call a lesson in musical mastery.
I saw this tour. June 1991, Nassau Coliseum Long Island, N.Y.
Skid Row opened. G&R came on really late. 11:00pm. I thought they were gonna cancell. The crowd waited 2hours after SkidRow ended. But then they finally came on! The Illusion records weren't even out at the time. But they came out a few months after that show. But we had heard November Rain, Civil War & You Could be Mine. Those had been on the radio before the album came out.
But that show that summer, was the best concert I've ever witnessed for a hard rock concert. G&R played so good. Izzy was still in the band. He hadn't left yet. He was gone in November....5 months later.
By the way....the Spaghetti Incident record rocks! I dont care what anybody says; that album kicks ass!
21:30 it’s so true , Steven wasn’t the best drummer ever but he had so much feel , Steven Adler was the perfect drummer for Guns’n’Roses and yes Izzy was the backbone for Guns’n’Roses sound and obviously Slash made magic with whatever Izzy brought to the band , it’s was just the perfect dynamics every member truly complimented each other , just like Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple Beatles and Black Sabbath the perfect guys put together!
The original GnR was the best band I've ever heard in my life in a strong 2nd Pantera, GnR will never be matched.
The 3 songs, November Rain , Don't Cry, and Estranged are only part of what these albums are all about. The rest of the music in the albums , whether original or cover , describe the emotion and feeling of what life for Axl was at that time.
These 2 albums are Masterpieces.
Don’t forget civil war!
I was 15 years old when illusions came out, I'd only discovered Appetite the year before so I was overloaded with GnR at that age, had moved to a foreign country and imagine my surprise that all the kids in the school there also were crazy about rock... More than my home country England... We all listened to GnR Metallica, Nirvana, chilli peppers and pearl jam, plus skid row, iron maiden etc .... It was the common interest between all the students, we were all foreigners in a different country and music kept us together....
Chili Peppers so MOR (almost "pop") in that mix...
UYI II is a true masterpiece
Great documentary! I love how diverse is your channel, from Velvet Underground to Liberace to hip-hop and Beach Boys. A real UA-cam treasure.
I was 13 when use your illusion 1 & 2 came out and my mother and father said to my brother and myself allowed us to buy them on cassette. I got 1 and my brother got use your illusion 1.
We listened to them religiously, both are hard to pick a winner but I do think that 2 had a few more better tracks
I'll always rep The Spaghetti album since it led me to discovering the Misfits. Listening to a Misfits album for the first time with zero knowledge of who they are or what their music sounds like was a solid childhood moment.
The spaghetti album sucks no original material
@@NCCalvin9tends to be the case with a COVERS album
SAME
The Greatest Hard Rock band of all Time 🤘🤘
Agree 100 %
I would say the best since Led Zeppelin.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is my favorite and guns is top ten.
@@jamesmccormick875- Agree! Plus Zeppelin had already broke in using a private plane to travel back & forth to their main playing ‘home’.
Guns n roses sucks
Sounds like mickey mouse 🤣
The reason why this only happened once in history is because Gn'R was being way too generous. With 31 songs, you could make 3 seperate albums over the next 3 years. Still, I bought both tapes upon release when I was 14 years old.
I think they did alright with these two albums..personally i don't only like the stand out songs..I love both albums listening to them whole from start to finish.. nowadays you can't find albums that are good from start to end...
Even as commercialized GNRs body of work eventually became...YCBM is a great exposition for the human race to experience what artists at the top of their game and the prime of their music abilities can create and showcase for fellow humans to experience and appreciate...just listen to the casual build up and collaborations from the first note and on...
What's YCBM?
@@matt.willoughby You Could Be Mine
@@matt.willoughbyYou Could Be Mine
Slash n Izzy chop it up like no other guitar duo ever imho. Unplug a speaker n listen to Appetite. Now switch. 2 completely different experiences/feels.
Absolutely. There are versions on YT now of their guitars isolated. The Slash guitar on Welcome To The Jungle will give you chills.
agree, just turn your balance knob to either side! It sounds so different, but it all fits together.
When the Use Your Illusion tour was booked EVERYBODY was smitten with Appetite For Destruction! I had most of the Illusion cd's memorized, loved them. Was looking forward to the concert. Even though I waited starting 5 am & was one of the first in line they (concert venue) made us get bracelets & buy our tickets based off some kind of weird roll call so I was pretty sad, didn't get "called" first, didn't get very good seats, it was harsh.
But my cousin had an amazing zest for life & would never just sit back & take sh*t.... so that night of the concert she asked at the front desk if we could upgrade out tickets, low & behold she got us close enough for Slash's sweat to get on me!!! THEN after the show they were hunting pretty girls to go backstage & she made that happen too!!
GnR went on two hours late, this was widely reported, Axl takin the heat BUT my God he was magnificent!! It was so SO worth the wait however due to that, the concert getting over so late & the roadies telling us that all the girls would have to wait in a room for the band to come hang out & there was zero estimated time frame, they had no idea how long we'd be waiting & possibly not see them at all my cousin & I decided to leave.
But in order to even get in that room you had to have a special pass.... and I got one. Thanks to her.
I have the special backstage pass & felt sticker they gave us to this day.
The performance was beyond my wildest dreams. I noticed that almost nobody knew the words to all the songs from Use Your Illusion & only a couple Appetite songs had the whole audiences attention. But I sang every song. People around me were impressed & called me a true fan.
Truly one of THE best shows I've ever attended & I've been to Glastonbury twice/Radiohead.
Guns & Roses were at peak. They were astonishingly good & my cousin made it a dream come true💕
I feel lucky as they started a decline shortly after & Axl being so late really caused problems on that tour. I got to see the beginning. Soundgarden opened for them man, BadMotorFinger
Good to be alive🌊🐬
Like the fact you didn't wait ✌️
Use Your Illusion 2 has been my favourite album for the last 32 years
I couldn’t relate to the material on these albums. Appetite For Destruction was such a powerful debut that it was almost like their peak and everything that followed was going to be measured by this incredible collection of material. It seems practically impossible to create a record that would even measure up, let alone surpass it. In my opinion, not only did they never come close to capturing that vibe again, their material went in a very different and far more subdued direction. The result was that the material felt like it was forced and/or contrived to me. Having said that, Appetite was a complete surprise that appeared out of nowhere and got everybody’s attention. It was pretty cool to have grown up in the 80s and experienced the explosion of GnR into existence.
I totally agree. I very rarely play either UYI I or II. If I want to listen to G'n'R, I always reach for Appetite For Destruction (even though there are plenty of decent tracks on those later albums)
Steven not playing on the record was a big factor as was the over production. A lot of that material is pre-appetite had they recorded it the same way (and with Steven) you might have a different feeling about them.
@@ThundersMcCoy good point. I’m open to that for sure.
I could never wrap my head around the fact that Mike Clink who'd produced the rock masterpiece that is AfD also coproduced the over processed UyI albums. They sound so plastic in comparison. Also yes to Adler being indispensable, damn soulful groovy drummer, with uncomplicated beats tailored to the songs in the vein of Starr/Rudd.
There is so much great music in the world, and more coming all the time!!! Everyone deserves their own preferences and opinions, but you guys probably think Motley Crue was almost as good as GNR, LOL. Guns and Roses are ROCK GODS and GENIUSES at every stage!!!!!
Izzy was the secret weapon of GnR...Also Steven Adler is one of the most underrated drummers from that time period...Steven Adler along with Sean Kinney form AIC were massive influences on my own playing 🧐🤘✌️
Izzy to gnr, razzle to Hanoi rocks, mick to motley. Every band back then had that special person
Loved seeing them during the Illusion tour when they were firing on every cylinder possible,very memorable guns and Metallica tour
The greatest rock band that the universe had ever produced. No dout about it.
1 of the best..when they were on point.
Are you drunk 🤮🤣
36:03 - "Metallica were putting out their sort of gigantic record"
Yeah, it sold moderately well, I suppose while a small handful of people attended the tour. I may have heard that Sandman But True song once or twice on the radio?
But it was an exciting time. I love that GnR song which featured on the soundtrack about some Austrian Robot. Apparently the director went on to make a film about a boat.
Stop being a tool.
Lmao I was so pissed at that, The Black Album, and Metallica as a whole is a shitload bigger than GnR are in this day and age...
26:00 correction . From what I heard from an interview with Bob Claremont himself ...cant remember where. Bob Claremont was fired from Use your illusions mixing because Slash and Axl discovered the usage of drum samples which by the time wasn't a new mixing trick been used in the recording industry to make the drums more punchier ,clear and consistent in power.
Fun fact: Today is April 21st, 2022. Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert.
izzys song writing and steven drums made gnr, slash and duff were definitely characters of the band but man izzy and adler were such key components
adler only got 1 song, civil war
Izzy songwriting for sure 💯 agree and Stevie brought a swing to the band after him sounded more generic drums, drums make the sound that can’t be replicated if not right
Without a doubt. When you hear GnR play without Steven it sounds like a cover band, when you hear Steven play GnR songs with anybody they sound exactly like GnR. Check out videos of his current live band. They're amazing.
Appetite was their masterpiece
I was 10 years old- thank God my older sister bought em both. I stole them about 5 years later, because I'd blown my money on KISS tickets 😆 got her copy of appetite, too. Love you, sis! One of the best bands EVER 🤘
This is an interesting piece of work. I saw them in the autumn of 91' on this tour at Madison Square Garden. The same place where roughly 14 years before Led Zeppelin performed when I had just been born not too far from there.
Wow. Who asked?
@@kieranthibodeau3099 The same as who asked you to ask him who asked.
@@kieranthibodeau3099 your mom asked
Good gig?
@@mykelc205 I find it hard to recall the quality of the arena or stadium shows I've gone to especially if they've been hard rock or metal. It's like this overwhelming thing. Besides I was quite young too.
Man I loved these albums as a kid and still do! Know every word and was to young to know Nirvana hated them but loved both!
Zap him again... zap the son b**** again whats that from? Lol.
Top 10 all time band, arguably top 5
That dude thinking that the sunset strip is the only place where music exists is beyond me
Aside from Manchester in the UK there was no other place where new bands where breaking big in the late 80s
@@tbd407 Seattle ? SoundGarden ? Alice Chains ?
Can't wait to watch this one! Thanks for posting
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie: the only double album since even in the same ballpark.
These came out when my youngest son was born on the next day. My husband and I saw them in Vegas. November rain was brand new and amazing.my husband and my son have both passed and I will always have these songs in my heart. I understand
Waiting for a remaster of both these albums ☺️☺️☺️
I'd go for a remix where one could hear Izzy's guitar.
This was not a documentary about the Illusions albums, it was a documentary about GNR. It spanned their whole history.
the local station in Las Vegas played "Civil War" before the albums were released. It was mind blowing! KOMP, the rock of Las Vegas! What a time!
THAT WAS AMAZING AND TOTALLY BRILLIANT ❤
I love almost every song on both albums. My World is terrible but it was a prank by Axl on the rest of the band as he snuck it on there without them knowing lol. Dont Cry alternative and maybe Bad Obsession I could do without. But everything was killer
Very good video! The only thing I disagree with is that Estranged ended the double albums with a "thud". If you get what Axl was trying to do with November Rain, Estranged comes across as even more powerful and beautiful. The lyrics are incredible and sonically, I've never heard anything like Estranged before or since. It's a hell of a powerful song and I think it's gotten more recognition over the years. I just got it earlier than most :)
Very clever songwriting on display. Immaculate transitions between sections. It takes you on a journey. Not as good as Rocket Queen but it is still great
I agree estranged is incredible
I bought every issue that Rip put out. R.I.P. Rip.
Axle in biker shorts is truly embarrassing.
You know your fashion choices are dubious when a kilt is an improvement.
I actually prefer these to the first album to be honest, which I still think is very good
Given that I graduated High School in 1993, GnR was my lifestyle soundtrack!
I still love them❤
I can't understand why so many people wait in line for hours for an album on release day. It's gonna be available for a long time after. Especially if it's by the biggest band in the world at the time. Record Store Day is different- most are limited editions.
Civil War, You Could Be Mine and November Rain are some of the best songs they ever wrote. Even better than the stuff on Appetite For Destruction, in my opinion.
Should have been a killer single album
One of my favorite liner notes of all time: "Fuck you, St. Louis!"
I remember the day I got back from being overseas, I bought both cassettes at the Camp San Mateo PX......For the next few months, all I heard were these two cassettes and the New Jack City soundtrack and I Got An OPP haha
I remember the day this double disc set hit store shelves Best Buy opened at midnight and people were wrapped around the building
I liked November Rain, and I also liked Estranged and feel that it was somewhat under rated.
I remember riding my bike down lee Trevino blvd miles and miles to buy this CD. Hate kids can’t do that anymore.
When you hear poisons style compared to guns you can see why guns hated poison
Slash tried out for Poison and didn’t make the cut
@@MrMllx poison roses 😵⚘
One was a hair glam band…. The other was Poison😂
Long read headed guy with a Jack Daniel’s shirt.
Could be Axls big brother 😊
Jeff Duran with the SRH hat! Bloody legend!👊♠️
Ive never heard anyone say "guns n roses were so much better once matt and dizzy joined" no one ever has thought that in the whole world apart from one mental great but mental dude .... Axl Fxxcking Rose!!!!! God bless that crazy genius!
Awesome albums.
Yeah!
Talking about Coma it wasn't Axl that was saved by doctors it was Slash and Axl wrote the song after that incident.... That's what I understood anyway?
Axl overdosed on pills and had to be revived sometime between 89 and 90.
Summer of 86
Duff mckagan never gets the respect important 🙏 that he deserves.terrific bass player great singer.soild song writer.
I stood in line for Use Your Illusions 1 & 2
That was cool to watch. I’m in my 40s so i was in high school and college when all this was playing out. I loved AFD and still think it’s a perfect hard rock record. I have played guitar since I was a kid and always loved slash’s style.
GNR stood out in the 80s because they did have that off the rails image and punk rock attitude. They were like a mash up of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and the New York dolls. Bands like poison, warrant, and white lion were really pretty cheesy. That being said their sound did get a little more produced and lost some edge on the illusion albums. I didn’t care for them too much then they came out but have grown to like 7 to 10 of them tracks of the albums.
I have never even listened to Chinese democracy because it’s not really GNR, having just one member is not sufficient.
To me the key members of the band that gave them their sound where axl, slash and Izzy. Izzy was clearly a good song writer and his guitar style added a good grove to the songs on AFD.
Right on. GNR were the antithesis to all the glam rockers on the Sunset Strip. They had that raw sound and it felt dangerous. Like a riot could break out at any breath of their live shows. Izzy Stradlin is a bad ass and all those dudes looked up to him. He wrote most of those riffs and lyrics on 'Appetite for Destruction', and him and Steven Adler were so important to their sound.
G n' R was great, but Warrant & Poison were even greater. Those of you who think those bands were cheesy just simply don't get it. It's as simple as that.
@@DaveKostka you think warrant was better than GnR!? Jesus cherry pie, what a ridiculously terrible song. Poison had some good tunes and were cool glam rock, but warrant is garbage.
@@slashtrio clearly taste is extremely subjective and will vary greatly from one person to the next, but yes I think Warrant was better than G n' R. I rank Warrant 3rd on my list of all-time favorite bands (Kiss and Bon Jovi are 1 and 2). Cherry Pie is a fun anthemic song (like Rock And Roll All Nite and Pour Some Sugar On Me), but at the same time it is not indicative of the greatness of that band. I do not consider it to be among my top 10 favorite Warrant songs, maybe not even top 20. Check out All My Bridges Are Burning, Bed Of Roses, or Undertow to name just a few examples of how brilliant Jani Lane was as a lyricist. To my ears, he was the hair metal equivalent of John Lennon. Disrespecting Warrant is a non-starter for me.
@@DaveKostka hey, well I certainly appreciate your well thought out response and reasons for liking what you like. My reaction was definitely a bit harsh and knee jerk. I completely agree that musical taste is ultimately subjective. I personally do not like most of the hair rock bands of the 80s as it just registers as cheesy to me. I prefer rock that has a bit more grit and edge and not such a polished sound. But of course this is just my opinion and doesn’t not inherently have any more value than yours. Do you mind if I ask what your age range is and what country you are from? Just curious. Cheers
It took me years (by that I mean like 2010's) to actually appreciate these records. Like everybody else at the time I bought them both the night they came out and the only songs I liked were Right next Door to Hell, Garden of Eden, Yesterdays & You Could be Mine. There was too much to digest (I had my own band at the time & I was booking clubs as well) I thought it was way over produced & without Steven it really didn't sound like GnR.
Denise "because I was there" Ames.... haha... more ego than every band on the strip 😏Killer doc though... Thanks for posting.
She talks as if the LA "glam" scene was a really important cultural movement, rather than the embarrassment it actually was
@@lucasoheyze4597 it was embarrassing in retrospect but you gotta admit it would have been really fun to be there around that time. It kind of WAS a cultural phenomenon, the way that a scene that came from one tiny area of LA shaped the entire world of Rock n Roll. Kind of similar thing happened with grunge out of Seattle. If you were fortunate enough to be there at that time and have a band playing small club, you might have gotten huge once record execs came looking for the next Seattle rock band. Same thing in LA in the 80’s.
What's with axl and the shorts daisy dukes?
Spaghetti Incident is a perfectly excellent record.
It really is.... I was disappointed by it when I was 14 but recently gave it another listen and love it
I still think they could of made one with 14 tracks (2) covers that would of rivaled AFD . I lean hard to Illusion 1 . I like Dead Horse , Coma , Back Off , Don’t Cry original . Although Cival War may be favorite song of theirs all time .
8:39 Always liked Lon. It felt like he was everywhere during that time (shows, ect) seems like a good guy, knew his shit.
took me 30 years to appreciate these albums. as a teen in 90s when they came.out, i didnt like either of them. mayne 3 songs total. now and days i hear what theh were doing. still think Lies is the best album
My favorite all time albums. their White Album
lol being born in 79' i experienced these guys in their prime, but they were kind of taken for granted at the time, we had Queen and other bands. Looking back, they were only second to Queen IMHO. Fuck they were good and i knever realised it.
Great albums
The best concert I have ever been to was GnR in Pittsburgh, PA.
I prefer illusion 1, But neither are as good as appetite.
Well at least you can take the best songs from each to equal one legendary album
@@mr.smithgnrsmith7808 yeah they probably should've done that.
Use your illusion 2 was better than 1
I loved the huge super group feel for the tour. It was like Axl’s bringing his circus to town. Also Nirvana never sold the tickets that GNR did and I don’t think Nirvana was as good live either
Nirvana were never as big or as Guns N Roses. Never.
Nirvana couldn’t hold a candlestick to GnR. Nirvana is on of the most overrated bands ever!!! Pure shit if you ask me!
The drums were way more powerful and sounded great on them albums I must say.. love that sound. but not taking anything away from Steve or his sound or style at all.. he was amazing too. and at least he survived it. all of them did... props to them. not an easy life by no means. one of the most dangerous occupations in the world!
To anyone that tries to live that life.. out on the road, a lot of temptations, things are shoved in your face.. and for free! just saying.. proceed with caution! it will kill you. or even worse.. leave you struggling for the rest of your life!
Coma and Locomotive are in their top 3 best songs
Yes indeed 👍🏼😎
@@blindmelonstubbly why they chatting so much shit about the illusion records 😭
Really enjoyed watching that.
27:50 How can there be "two double albums" when it was just one double album?
Get in the ring kinda reminds me of suicidal tendencies song, "institutionalized
1:08:01 Bingo. And no, people DO NOT go to a concert to for the "danger". They go to hear good music for a couple hours, mostly the songs from Appetite if we're being honest.
Before I even watch this video I want to put it out there that I was disappointed by Use Your Illusion I and II.
I remember the hype was intense! And there were lines and people sleeping outside the Tower Records in Boston. The release was an event. It was huge. But the records didn't have that dirty, idgaf, raw, energy and freshness Appetite did. The songs just didn't grab me the way Appetite's did. Everything felt over produced
I was young then so perhaps I'll come to appreciate the albums with more time and investment. I have grown to like a few of the songs after all, November Rain, You Could Be Mine, couple others.
I'm curious to see what this documentary has to say.
Why have you got a photo of appetite era GNR? Steven didn't play on the use your illusion records...
Before another person blurts out "GNR would be nothin without (insert favorite band member)
Stones wouldnt be Stone without Keith or Mick, Zeppelin without Plant or Page etc.
Enjoy the band and be happy these guys got together and that particular chemistry gave us some KICK ASS music
Really it was Axl and Izzy that were the creative core of the band. Once that partnership deteriorated and Izzy left, it's no real surprise that the band began to fall apart.