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Back into the jungl
GN'R blasts back with a two-fisted Illusion combo
Throughout their scandal
ridden five-year career, the
members of Guns N' Roses have
taken their share of pot shots --
from frustrated police officials,
panicked concert promoters,
disgruntled fans, slighted
producers, hostile neighbors,
booted-out band members, and
Tipper Gore and the other
Geibel
b Gre
The Collegian
They're bad. They're rude.
They're crude. They're arrogant.
They're obnoxious. They're
outspoken. They're impolite.
They're disrespectful. They're
temperamental. And they have
every right to be...they're Guns n'
Roses.
Their latest monster release,
Use Your Illusion I, is like a
good friend that you haven't
talked to for four very long years.
After the embracing has
stopped, that friend is
immediately barraged with
questions like, "What have you
been up to?" "What do you have
to say for yourself'?" and most
importantly, "Why haven't I
heard from you?"
Use Your Illusion I, similar
to that very good friend, answers
all those questions.
It has a lot to say, some of it
good, some of it bad, but you
can't wait to hear all of it, and
you don't want it to stop
talking...all you want to do is
listen. And when it's all
finished, you want it to start all
over from the beginning,
repeating everything, just in case
you missed something the first
time.
Use Your Illusion I is a giant
stepping stone for Guns n'
Roses, their ultimate musical
outlet so far. It provides an inner
look at the band that was not
seen on Appetite for Destruction,
Lies Lies Lies, or in any of their
reviews or police reports.
It is a culmination of four
hard years of touring, fighting,
and recording.
The album is full of songs
containing the sounds that
catapulted them into stardom,
such as Axl's snake-like sinister
whine and the heavy grunge of
Slash's Les Paul.
The most intriguing aspect of
Use Your Illusion I is the fact
that for as many songs that sound
like the "old" Guns n' Roses,
there are just as many that are a
departure for them. Songs that
symbolize musical and technical
development, talent, and
maturity.
Use Your Illusion I begins
with an in-your-face tune called
"Right Next Door To Hell," a
song sounding very reminiscent
of Appetite For Destruction,
featuring Axl's lightning-quick
lyrics.
Thursday, September 26, 1991
Entertainment
members of the PMRC, who
haven't gotten a good night's
sleep since the band screamed
onto the charts with their first
single, "Welcome to the Jungle."
But one group in particular
has remained faithful to the band
-- record buyers.
On Monday, Sept. 16,
thousands of salivating GN'R
This song was actually
written about Axl's next door
neighbor, who filed a lawsuit
against him when he allegedly
bashed a bottle over her head,
which he denied.
On the third track, Guns n'
Roses attempt to cover Paul and
Linda McCartney's "Live and Let
Die," but the results are less than
spectacular. Their intentions
were good, but the song never
reaches that ultimate climax like
the original, making it a
disappointment.
For that seemingly minute
disappointment, however, Guns
n' Roses make up for it with the
recently released single "Don't
Cry."
What makes this song work
so well is Axl's low gravelly
voice joined with a pure, clean
voice over top his own one
octave higher. This technique
creates a parallel that Axl later
closes when he assumes full
vocal responsibility and the song
reaches its climax.
A song of particular interest is
the stripped down acoustic "You
Ain't The First," written in a 3/4
time signature. Guns n' Roses
have a little fun with this one,
showing some humor.
"I tried so hard to get through
to you / But your head's so far
from the realness of truth / Was
is just a come on in the dark /
Wasn't meant to last long / I
think you've worn your welcome
honey / I'll just see you along as
I sing you this song."
Guns n' Roses show
versatility by plowing through
the honkytonk sounding tune
"Bad Obsession," while at the
same time keeping that inner fire
that drives each and every
member of Guns n' Roses
burning by blasting through cuts
like "Back Off Bitch" and
"Double Talkin' Jive."
One of the high points, if not
the high point, off Use Your
Illusion I is the ballad
"November Rain." This song
can send chills up the spine and
the fondest memories through the
head
The Cathedral-esque keyboards
of Dizzy Reed at the beginning of
the song set the entire mood for
the whole song.
Axi lays off the whining, and
makes his vocals very
straightforward, the lyrics clear,
and the effect of the song strikes
the center of the heart.
Use Your Illusion I ends with
fans swarmed the sidewalks,
waiting in line for copies of the
band's latest assault on the
airwaves, Use Your Illusion,
Vol. I & 11.
The twin discs, which
officially went on sale at
midnight Tuesday, Sept. 17,
mark a milestone in music
history. Never before has a major
the eerie, heartbeat pulsating,
anti-suicide, ten minute plus
song "Coma."
"Coma" gives a view from the
inside, complete with doctors
talking, the voice of death, and
the sound of the electric paddles
being used to shock the body
back to life.
Guns n' Roses have proven
themselves once again. Proven
that they do what they want to
do, when they want to do it, and
how they want to do it. This
album has been in the works for
a long time, but the final results
are proof that the wait was worth
it.
And by the way, it was good
to hear from you guys again,
hope we hear from you again real
500 n...
b Robb Frederick
The Collegian
In the grungy realm of rock
music, where hairspray, tattoos
and arrest records often carry more
weight than musical ability,
many bands (and retailers) are
picking up on one basic, bad-ass
motto: attitude is everything.
The principle has been
associated with rock music for
some time now: since a frustrated
Pete Townshend first trashed his
guitar, a drugged Jim Morrison
paraded his privates onstage in
Miami, and a leering Ozzy
Osbourne chomped the head off
of a bat.
These acts may send priests
and parents into conniptions, but
recording artist released two
albums of different material on
the same day.
Music industry insiders are
banking on the Use Your Illusion
albums -- a total of 30 tracks
(Eight more than the band had
previously collected since its
debut in 1987) on two discs
clocking in at more than 75
they also send hordes of record
buyers straight to the cash
register.
And the cash registers were
filling last week when Use Your
Illusion 11, the follow-through of
Guns N' Roses' two-fisted return
to the airwaves, introduced rock
attitude for the 90's.
The disc, more than 75
minutes of scorching, obscenity
laced rock, launches attitude to a
new level, and fans are reaching
into their jean jacket pockets to
buy tickets for the ride.
That ride peaks on the fifth
track, "Get in the Ring." From
the opening strains of Slash's
soundtrack-anthem chords, the
song evolves into a testosterone
pumped public challenge to all
the band's detractors.
"Why do you look at me
when you hate me / Why should
I look at you when you make me
hate you too," Rose snarls before
racing into a stream-of
consciousness tirade that blasts
critics from Hit Parader, Spin,
Kerrang, and Circus magazine --
by name.
The fact that Rose is upset by
poor reviews and inaccuracies is
one thing, but by publicly
lambasting these writers he has
annihilated the limitations of
retribution. Is this mature? Not
even close, but when you're part
of the world's most influential
rock band, why worry about
maturity?
This hostility subsides on the
rest of the disc, however, as the
band focuses its energy on the
remaining 13 tracks and
demonstrates why the public was
willing to wait nearly four years
for this new material.
The opening track, the
monolithic protest song "Civil
War," which first appeared on
1990's Nobody's Child:
Romanian Angel Appeal
compilation, sets the tone for the
rest of Use Your Illusion U.
The tune, one of the best the
band has ever recorded, starts
slow, as a surprisingly calm Axl
Rose drops subdued lyrics into
Slash's soothing acoustic guitar
riffs. The tranquility doesn't last
long, however, as the song builds
into an apocalyptic vision of
political disillusionment in "the
world we're killing."
The track reaches breakneck
speed as it hits the seven-minute
mark, only to wind down again
and close as Rose asks "What's
so civil about war anyway?"
minutes each -- to bring some
cash into a sluggish sales season.
And fans, after enduring more
delays than a traveler passing
through Heathrow airport during
a holiday blizzard, are heading
home to their disc players and
cassette decks with one burning
question in mind -- was it worth
the wait?
This is followed by "14
Years," a bitter track that laments
the waste of years gone by.
Accentuated by a honky-tonk
keyboard line, this song reveals
the influence of keyboardist
Dizzy Reed, who formally joined
the band earlier this year. The
band continues to incorporate the
keyboards throughout the disc
(Rose himself supplies the piano
track on "Breakdown"), expanding
on the traditional four-chord rock
song arrangement that too many
other bands rely on.
On "Yesterdays," Rose takes a
swig of mortality and lets go of
his past. The lyrics are a bit
redundant, but the chorus, beefed
up by Rose's "pig-in-a-blender"
vocals, overshadows the
weakness.
An effects-drenched rendition
of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
provides the disc's second recycled
song. This one, culled from the
Days of Thunder soundtrack,
virtually abandons the Dylan
original. The track's fatalist
theme is in synch with the GNR
image, however, and succeeds on
its own terms.
"You Could Be Mine," the
single which has already sold
more than two million copies
since its debut on the Terminator
2: Judgement Day soundtrack,
opens with the thundering drums
of Matt Sorum, who replaced
former drummer Steven Adler.
The song plows through a
mediocre chorus and a blistering
solo by Slash, climaxing with an
agonizing wail from Rose that
leaves listeners gasping for
breath.
The final track, an abbreviated
toss-off titled "My World," closes
the disc with another serving of
"in your face" attitude. Rose's
demonic staccato vocals cross
over into the field of rap...sort of.
The song is a sampling
nightmare, complete with
keyboard bursts and the
obligatory moaning female in the
background.
Most bands would have found
this track left on the cutting
room floor (which might not
have been too bad of an idea). but
here the song further
demonstrates the weight Guns N
Roses carries.
True, they have the hairspray
and the tattoos too, but when it
comes to attitude, Guns N Roses
has an edge few rock bands can
lean back on -- the muscle to
match the mouth.