So why is Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion II on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
I’m at an age now where I have a lot of if you weren’t around back then, it’s hard to explain… type stories.
And one of those relates to how absolutely massive the release of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day was in conjunction with the release of the Guns N’ Roses’ single “You Could Be Mine,” in the summer of 1991.
The promotion for the blockbuster Arnold Schwarzenegger sequel was everywhere, and “You Could Be Mine” was played during every TV commercial. Meanwhile, “You Could Be Mine” was also played up to the max on both rock radio stations and MTV (with the music video cross promoting T2, naturally).
Looking back, I see “You Could Be Mine” as representing Guns N’ Roses at their absolute zenith of popularity and pop cultural influence, with its blockbuster/cinematic hard rock sound with full bombast and ego emanating from frontman Axl Rose, guitarist Slash, and crew.
Guns N’ Roses were the biggest band in the world… briefly. Their fall was pretty swift, and for what it’s worth, I see “You Could Be Mine” as a solidly good hard rock song in retrospect. And honestly it only plays a minor role with regard to Use Your Illusion II’s placement at #238 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
The Use Your Illusion albums are both bloated beasts in some respects – containing masterpieces alongside some songs (see: “Get In The Ring” and “My World”) that are ego-driven shlock. A decent metaphor for G N’ R circa 1991, perhaps.
“Civil War” isn’t quite a masterpiece, but it’s an outstanding and ambitious rock epic, running nearly eight minutes and showing off expert song construction, production, and performances across the board. You could take issue, I suppose, with the slightly hokey lyrics but I kind of dig the sentiment.
My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
At their best, Guns N’ Roses marries a top-notch 1980s power ballad vibe with authentically gritty/glam-y hard rock by way of LA’s Sunset Strip, and “Civil War” nails it from that standpoint.
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is a fantastic cover and update to Bob Dylan’s 1973 original – and I had completely forgotten about the gospel backing singers in the song’s second half! Axl and the ladies sound wonderful together.*
* The cover of Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die,” included on Use Your Illusion I, forms something of a bookend to “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
“Don’t Cry” is a flat-out masterpiece – beautiful and slightly haunting. I’m tempted to “ding” it ever so slightly as it appears on both Use Your Illusion albums (with different lyrical arrangements forming the difference between the two versions) but I’ll forgive it as I love the song that much to this day.
I’ll restate it like this: “Don’t Cry” is one of the very best songs of the 1990s.
And then “Pretty Tied Up (The Perils Of Rock N’ Roll Decadence)” is absolutely ridiculous… and kind of ridiculously fun, I must admit.
Also: catchy!
Some stats & info about Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion II
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, SoCal Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – I can’t seem to access the review – there’s some kind of technical issue as of this writing – will update at some future date!
- When was Use Your Illusion II released? 1991
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #238 out of 1,000
Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion II on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion II that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
‘Cause you could be mine, but you’re way out of line.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.