Guns N039 Roses - Use Your Illusion (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

A "best of" from 2 albums?

eveoflove | North York, Ontario Canada | 02/09/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Made in USA in 1998, Serial# GEFD-24463, Playing Time 63:52The best thing about this CD is the idea for the cover that merges the artwork from the individual "Use Your Illusion 1" and "Use Your Illusion 2" CDs.If you're on a tight budget, it's worth it, and you can be the proud owner of the edited version of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", the full version being on the original CD "UYI 2". Or if you're a die-hard GNR fan, you'll have to buy this for the very same reason.Releasing the albums as a pair was somewhat daring, and I can't say I like everything on them. But each of them has some material that unfortunately didn't make it on this "compilation".I'm by no means a big GNR fan, but I think you should do yourself a favor: buy both separately, and forget about this compilation."

Alright, I guess

Jared Jongeling | USA | 07/05/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I dunno what to say...I guess the correct words would be to get the Use your Illusion I, then get Use your Illusion II. There's so many hits on both of them, and 12 songs out of 30 just won't cut it. There's so many they forgot on here. Let's see...Dust n' bones, Don't damn me, others from the first one. And from the second one...14 years (maybe they have it) Shotgun Blues, Breakdown, Pretty Tied up, Locomotive, Estranged, You could be mine, So fine. The first one they didn't do so bad, but the second one was left to hang with only 3 hits. So, I suggest that you get the two regular albums instead of this. Believe me, you'll feel alot better about yourself and your money's worth. I know it's two instead of one, but there's so many classics they forgot to put on here. So, do yourself a favor. I got the two before this thing ever came out, and I don't think I'll buy it because I already have all of the hits. Trust me on this one. Buy the two originals. You'll feel better."

Even though I gave it 5 stars

Ronnie | lalala | 08/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't buy this album. I mean what can I say that's bad about it? There isn't one thing wrong with this cd, well You Ain't The First is on it, witch could be Guns n' Roses worst song ever, but what else could I say bad about the cd? Not one more thing. It has great hits, some of Guns n' Roses best ever, no doubt about it. It's a mixture of Use Your Illusions I & II and it has MOST of the best songs, but that's why you shouldn't get it. Although the cd is a 5 star cd by far, and every song but 1 is deffently a hit, it dosn't have the 18 or 16 songs that should be on. Do yourself a huge favior, and buy The Illusions seperate, even if your just buying UYI1 for November Rain, you'll be surprized with songs like "Don't Damn me" "Coma" "Dust n' Bones" and then UYI2 has songs such as "You Could Be Mine" "Get In The Ring" "Locomotive" and so much more. The Illusions are 2 great albums, and they make one great album togeather, but if you buy this, your missing out on so much. Believe me, as much as you'll love this cd, you'll love Use Your Illusions I & II as seperate cds, at least 99% more. ~Ronnie"

How to make a good Use Your Illusion combo CD.

Drew | USA | 11/22/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As far as I can tell, there's certain types of people this CD is for: Those who don't want to fork out money for both Illusion CDs, those who are only casual GNR fans, and those who are Wal-Mart or K-Mart retailers.First, upsides. The McCartney cover "Live And Let Die" is a thundering classic that GNR made their own (as they tend to do). "Don't Cry" is a pretty nice power ballad that really works. "November Rain" is one of the best songs of the 1990s, with beautiful lyrics and instrumentals, two great Slash solos, and that perfect ending guitar riff."The Garden" is nice and sinister, while "Civil War" is a great anti-war anthem with lots of sonic power. "14 Years" is a bluesy, Stones/Aerosmith-ish lover-trashing song, with Izzy and Axl sharing vocals. "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is a remarkable achievement, acheiving a perfect sonic power in a song that, remarkably, is better than both the Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton versions of the song. I mean, you've really got something if you can say you did a song better than Clapton. "Estranged" is the final great track on this CD, and works as a sequel to "November Rain," as the songs' protagonist suffers through a hard breakup and his thoughts turn to suicide. This song clocks in at nearly ten minutes, and it's a beautiful but biting epic, with lots of mood swings and song shifts. They're not jarring, though --they're perfectly appropriate. It's a remarkable song.Now, the cons. "You Ain't The First" should have been omitted altogether. It's catchy, but not something that belongs as one of the best songs of the Illusion albums. "Yesterdays" seems like Axl's attempt to tap into "Dream On" territory by talking about past mistakes and lost innocents. Unfortunately, it's a horrendous song, and doesn't hold a candle to that Aerosmith anthem. There's also another version of "Don't Cry," which is identical musically but contains different lyrics. It's really quite pointless, as the original "Don't Cry" is far and away superior anyway.Were I making a mix of the Illusion albums, I would remove the above named tracks and replace them with "You Could Be Mine," "Pretty Tied Up," and "Dust N' Bones". Some nice rockers to contrast with the epic ballads like "November Rain," "Don't Cry," and "Estranged".And my two cents has now been deposited. Run with it."

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