Use Your Illusion II

Use Your Illusion II
Studio album by Guns N' Roses
Released September 17, 1991
Recorded January 13, 1990 – August 3, 1991
Studio A&M Studios, Record Plant Studios, Studio 56, Image Recording, Conway Studios, Metalworks Studios
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 75:52
Label Geffen
Producer Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses chronology
Use Your Illusion I
(1991)		 Use Your Illusion II
(1991)		 "The Spaghetti Incident?"
(1993)
Singles from Use Your Illusion II
  1. "You Could Be Mine"
    Released: June 21, 1991
  2. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
    Released: May 1992
  3. "Yesterdays"
    Released: October 26, 1992
  4. "Civil War"
    Released: May 3, 1993
  5. "Estranged"
    Released: January 17, 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly(A) [2]
Q [3]
Rolling Stone [4]
RS Album Guide [5]

Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was one of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, along with Use Your Illusion I. Bolstered by the lead single "You Could Be Mine," Use Your Illusion II was the slightly more popular of the two albums, selling 770,000 copies its first week and debuting at No. 1 on the U.S. charts, ahead of Use Your Illusion I's first week sales of 685,000.[6] As of 2010, Use Your Illusion II has sold 5,587,000 units in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.[7] Both albums have since been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA.[8] It was also No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for a single week. It is the last Guns N' Roses album to feature rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. It also included the last Guns N' Roses song to feature drummer Steven Adler, who played on "Civil War."

Overview

The Use Your Illusion albums were a stylistic turning point for Guns N' Roses (see Use Your Illusion I). In addition, Use Your Illusion II is more political than most of their previous work, with songs like "Civil War", a cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", and "Get in the Ring" dealing respectively with the topics of violence, law enforcement, and media bias. The thematic material deals less with drug use than previous Guns N' Roses albums. Use Your Illusion I featured mostly songs pre-Appetite for Destruction (with notable exceptions) while Use Your Illusion II featured more tracks written during and after Appetite For Destruction.

The band's cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" had been released almost a year earlier on the Days of Thunder soundtrack, while "Civil War" was debuted at the 1990 Farm Aid concert. That concert also featured Guns N' Roses playing a cover of the U.K. Subs song "Down on the Farm," a studio version of which would later appear on the band's 1993 release of cover songs, "The Spaghetti Incident?". "Civil War" was released as a B-side to "You Could Be Mine". The song had also been released on a charity album called Nobody's Child, a fund-raising compilation for Romanian orphans.

"You Could Be Mine" was released in June 1991 and is featured in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The song was not released on the actual soundtrack. The band also filmed a video featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in character as the Terminator, with a loose plot featuring Axl Rose as its "target". However, he is saved from termination as he is deemed a "waste of ammo" by the T-800's lock-on system. The original subject matter of the song dealt with Izzy Stradlin's failed relationship with ex-girlfriend Angela Nicoletti.

The Use Your Illusion albums can be considered a single cohesive work, and certain elements of Use Your Illusion II underscore this intent. For instance, both albums have a version of the song "Don't Cry", and both have one cover song; "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney (Use Your Illusion I) and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan (Use Your Illusion II). Each also has at least one track sung by other members of the band: lead vocals on "So Fine" are performed by bassist Duff McKagan – the song, that was dedicated to punk rock musician Johnny Thunders, who died from a drug overdose before the recording of the album.[9]

The song "Get in the Ring" finds the band lashing out at a career's worth of critics and enemies. Among those referred to by name are editors of several entertainment magazines. The industrial flavored "My World," the final track, was written and recorded in three hours, with Rose claiming those in the recording room were on mushrooms at the time.[10]

To achieve the final mix of the album, the band had some difficulty, especially during the mixing stages of the production of both albums. According to a 1991 cover story by Rolling Stone magazine, after mixing 21 tracks with engineer/producer Bob Clearmountain, the band fired Clearmountain when he tried to replace the real drums with samples. According to Slash's autobiography, "one afternoon we discovered a notepad of his where he'd notated all the drum samples he planned to mix in over Matt's drum tracks" the band decided to scrap the mixes and start from scratch with engineer Bill Price of Sex Pistols fame.[11]

Slash has stated that most of the material for the album was written on acoustic guitars in a couple of nights at his house (the Walnut House), after several months of non-productivity.[12] According to Slash "Breakdown" was one of the most complicated songs to record on the album; the banjo, drum, and piano parts were hard to synchronize and drummer Matt Sorum "lost it" a couple of times trying to get the drums just right.[13] The song "Locomotive" was written in a house Slash and Izzy Stradlin rented in the Hollywood Hills following the Appetite for Destruction tours.[14] The song shows the group dabbling in funk metal.[15]

Artwork

Raphael, The School of Athens (detail)

The cover art of both Use Your Illusion albums is a detail of Raphael's painting The School of Athens. The highlighted figure, unlike many of those in the painting, has not been identified with any particular philosopher. Both covers are the work of Estonian-American artist Mark Kostabi.[16] The album's liner notes hide the message "Fuck You St. Louis" amongst the thank you notes, a reference to the band's controversial performance near there at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in July 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Civil War"  Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan7:42
2."14 Years"  Rose, Izzy Stradlin4:21
3."Yesterdays"  Rose, West Arkeen, Del James, Billy McCloud3:14
4."Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover)Bob Dylan5:36
5."Get in the Ring"  Rose, Slash, McKagan5:42
6."Shotgun Blues"  Rose3:23
7."Breakdown"  Rose7:04
8."Pretty Tied Up"  Stradlin4:48
9."Locomotive (Complicity)"  Rose, Slash8:42
10."So Fine"  McKagan4:08
11."Estranged"  Rose9:23
12."You Could Be Mine"  Rose, Stradlin5:43
13."Don't Cry" (Alternate lyrics)Rose, Stradlin4:45
14."My World"  Rose1:24
Total length:75:52

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[17]

Guns N' Roses
Additional musicians

  • Steven Adler – drums on "Civil War"
  • Johann Langlie – drums, keyboards and sound effects on "My World"
  • The Waters – backing vocals on "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"
  • Howard Teman – piano on "So Fine"
  • Shannon Hoon – backing vocals on "Don't Cry"
Production personnel
  • Robert John – photography
  • Allen Abrahamson – assistant engineer
  • Buzz Burrowes – assistant engineer
  • Chris Puram – assistant engineer
  • Craig Portelis – assistant engineer
  • Ed Goodreau – assistant engineer
  • Jason Roberts – assistant engineer
  • John Aguto – assistant engineer
  • L. Stu Young – assistant engineer
  • Leon Granados – assistant engineer
  • Mike Douglass – assistant engineer
  • Talley Sherwood – assistant engineer

The title of the album was the focus of a joke on an episode of the sitcom Arrested Development that aired well over a decade after the CD's release. When magician Tony Wonder (played by Ben Stiller) had to come up with a name for his home video, he decided to name it Use Your Illusion II, citing that Use Your Illusion I had already been taken, apparently unaware of the fact that Use Your Illusion II is also the name of an album. In the end, he used the title Use Your Allusion.

The song "You Could Be Mine" was featured in Terminator 2: Judgment Day in a scene in which John Connor listens to this song while fixing his dirt bike at his foster parents' house. The song was also played during the scenes in which Connor rides around the city with his best friend, and over the ending credits (after the theme music concludes).[18] An interesting reference to the band itself takes place in the movie's plot as well, as the Arnold Schwarzenegger character successfully manages to hide a shotgun in a large box of roses and therefore rescues a co-protagonist. Years later, "You Could Be Mine" appears in Terminator Salvation, paying homage to its being featured in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[19] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[19] 1
French Albums Chart[19] 11
New Zealand Albums Chart[19] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[19] 2
Spanish Albums Chart[19] 11
Swedish Albums Chart[19] 4
Swiss Albums Chart[19] 2
UK Albums Chart[20] 1
U.S. Billboard 200[21] 1

Decade-end charts

Chart (1990–99) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[22] 67

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[23] 6× Platinum 360,000*
Austria (IFPI Austria)[24] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[25] 9× Platinum 900,000^
France (SNEP)[26] Platinum 624,400[27]
Germany (BVMI)[28] 5× Gold 1,250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[29] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON)[30] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] Platinum 15,000^
Sweden (GLF)[32] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[33] 3× Platinum 150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] 7× Platinum 7,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Use Your Illusion II – Guns N' Roses | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  2. ↑ Garza, Janiss (1991-09-20). "Use Your Illusion II Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  3. ↑ "Q Magazine | Music news & reviews, music videos, band pictures & interviews". Q4music.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  4. ↑ "Rolling Stone review". Retrieved 2011-09-29.
  5. ↑ "Acclaimed Music". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  6. ↑ Hasty, Katie. "Kanye Edges GNR, Ludacris For No. 1 Debut". billboard.com. Dec 3, 2008.
  7. ↑ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: Battle of the Bands". billboard.com. March 19, 2010.
  8. ↑ RIAA's top albums Archived January 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ So Fine Archived September 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Musician Magazine – June 1992". oocities.org.
  11. ↑ "Cover story: Guns N' Roses outta control". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  12. ↑ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 298–300
  13. ↑ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 316–317
  14. ↑ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. p. 252
  15. ↑ Thomas, Stephen. "Use Your Illusion II – Guns N' Roses". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  16. ↑ "Use Your Illusion – Mark Kostabi". ArtQuotes.net. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  17. ↑ Use Your Illusion II (Media notes). Guns N' Roses. Geffen Records. 1991.
  18. ↑ Wright, Christian. "Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses". Jann S. Wenner. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "GUNS N' ROSES – USE YOUR ILLUSION II (ALBUM)". swisscharts.com. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  20. ↑ "GUNS N' ROSES – The Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  21. ↑ "Guns N' Roses : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  22. ↑ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Guns – Use Your Illusion 2" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Guns in the field Interpret. Enter Use Your Illusion 2 in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  25. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Guns 'N Roses – Use Your Illusion II". Music Canada.
  26. ↑ "French album certifications – GUNSNROSES – Use Your Illusion Vol 2" (in French). InfoDisc. Select GUNSNROSES and click OK
  27. ↑ "Les Albums Platine :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Guns N' Roses; 'Use Your Illusion II')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  29. ↑ "RIAJ > The Record > January 1994 > Page 5 > Certified Awards (November 1993)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  30. ↑ "Certificaciones 2004". AMPROFON (in Spanish). Facebook. 2004. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  31. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Guns – Use Your Illusion 2". Recorded Music NZ.
  32. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  33. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Guns N' Roses; 'Use Your Illusion II')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  34. ↑ "British album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Use Your Illusion II". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Use Your Illusion II in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  35. ↑ "American album certifications – Guns N' Roses – Use Your Illusion II". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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