Use Your Illusion I
Studio album by Guns N' Roses
Released	September 17, 1991
Recorded	A&M Studios, Record Plant Studios, Studio 56, Image Recording, Conway Studios & Metalworks Recording Studios 1990-1991
Genre	Hard rock
Length	76:04
Label	Geffen
Producer	Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Q September 1991 Robert Christgau link Rolling Stone link
Guns N' Roses chronology
G N' R Lies (1988) Use Your Illusion I (1991) Use Your Illusion II (1991)

Use Your Illusion I is the 3rd studio album by hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was the one of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, the other named Use Your Illusion II, thus they are sometimes seen together as a double album. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts behind Use Your Illusion II. Each of the Use Your Illusion albums have been certified 7x platinum.^[1] Spader Music Magazine listed the album in one of its greatest albums column.^[2] Use Your Illusion can refer to: Use Your Illusion I, a multi-platinum album by the American hard rock band Guns N Roses. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A studio album is a collection of studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Guns N Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... Record Plant Studios (also known as just The Record Plant) is a famous recording studio, first opening in New York City at 321 West 44th Street map, in 1968. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as one third of UMGs Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Mike Clink started his career as an engineer at the famed Record Plant, recording such bands as Metallica (including tracks found on “Garage, Inc. ... Guns N Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a large, comprehensive and high quality metadata database about music. ... Image File history File links 4. ... Q is a music and entertainment magazinepublished monthly in the United Kingdom. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... Image File history File links Stars310. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Guns N Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... G N R Lies is the second studio album released by the hard rock band Guns N Roses in 1988 (see 1988 in music). ... For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... Guns N Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Guns N Roses which ran from May 24, 1991 to July 17, 1993. ... For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ... A double album is an audio album of sufficient length that two units of the medium in which it is sold (especially records and compact discs) are necessary to contain the entirety of it. ... The Billboard 200 is a listing of the 200 highest selling music albums in the United States, published weekly in Billboard magazine. ... For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ...

Overview

The Use Your Illusion albums represent a turning point in the sound of Guns N' Roses. Although they did not abandon the hard rock tendencies so vivid in their first album, Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusion I demonstrated, for the first time, more or less, elements of blues, classical music, and country. For example, lead singer Axl Rose plays the piano on several tracks of both albums. In addition, with the Use Your Illusion Tour, both the music and stage presence of the band became more theatrical, in the tradition of progressive rock. This fact is evidenced by the numerous music videos produced in conjunction with these albums. Use Your Illusion I contains two of the three songs, "November Rain" and "Don't Cry," whose videos are generally held by fans to be a trilogy. The third song, "Estranged," is on Use Your Illusion II. For other uses, see Appetite for Destruction (disambiguation). ... Blues music redirects here. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. ... W. Axl Rose[1][2] (born William Bruce Rose, Jr. ... Pianoforte redirects here. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... November Rain is a song by the band Guns N Roses, written by Axl Rose. ... This article is about the Guns N Roses song. ... Estranged is a song and music video by the American hard rock band Guns N Roses, from their album Use Your Illusion II. Estranged is one of Guns N Roses longest running songs, as well as one of the longest and most expensive music videos ever made. ...

A number of songs on the album were written in the band's early days, but were not included on Appetite for Destruction but can be found on the popular bootlegged so-called 'Rumbo Tapes', an album of early demo tapes. "Back Off Bitch," "Bad Obsession," "Don't Cry" (referred to by Rose during the ensuing tour as 'the first song [they] ever wrote together'), "November Rain," and "The Garden" are considered part of this group. There is also a cover of "Live and Let Die." Back Off Bitch is a song by Guns N Roses, written by Axl Rose and Paul Huge. ... Bad Obsession is a song by Guns N Roses. ... The Garden (1991) is a song by the rock group Guns N Roses. ... link title Live and Let Die, from the James Bond film and soundtrack Live and Let Die, is one of Sir Paul McCartneys most successful singles. ...

Besides stylistic differences, another new aspect seen in Use Your Illusion I was longer songs. "November Rain," an epic ballad, is nearly 9 minutes long, and "Coma" is more than 10 minutes long. Another change was the presence of tracks sung by other members of the band (even though certain songs from Appetite for Destruction and G N' R Lies featured other members on duet vocals): lead vocals on "Dust N' Bones," "You Ain't The First" and "Double Talkin' Jive" are performed by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin (on Use Your Illusion II, Stradlin' sings "14 Years" and bassist Duff McKagan sings "So Fine"). Coma is the longest song by American hard rock band Guns N Roses. ... G N R Lies is the second studio album released by the hard rock band Guns N Roses in 1988 (see 1988 in music). ... The duet, by Hendrik ter Brugghen A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers, most often used for a vocal or piano duet. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Izzy Stradlin (born Jeffrey Dean Isbell on April 8, 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N Roses from 1985 to 1991. ... Duff McKagan (born Michael Andrew McKagan on February 5, 1964) is an American musician and rock bassist, who is best known for his thirteen-year tenure in the hard rock band Guns N Roses. ...

There are significant differences in artwork to be noted between Use Your Illusion I and II. The cover art of these two albums, identical except for color, is very representative of these differences: Use Your Illusion I is red, and has, for the most part an angrier, heavier sound; Use Your Illusion II is blue, and has a softer, more bluesy sound.

To achieve this end result, the band struggled mightily, 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 decided to scrap the mixes and start from scratch with engineer Bill Price (of Sex Pistols fame).^[3] This article is about the magazine. ... Bob Clearmountain is a legendary American music engineer, mixer and producer. ... Bill Price can refer to: Bill Price (record producer) Bill Price (footballer) [[Bill Price (businessman}]] [[Bill Price (formerly of BC lower mainland & central interior}]] AKA Skip Price Category: ...

Slash has stated that most of the material for the album was written on acoustics in a couple of nights at his house (the Walnut House), after several months of non-productivity.^[4]

Punk band blink-182 gave their self-titled album the project name of "Use Your Erection I & II", an obvious play on Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion I & II. The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

Cover

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 specific philosopher. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the Renaissance artist. ... The School of Athens or in Italian is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. ... This article is about the Renaissance artist. ... The School of Athens or in Italian is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. ...

Both these covers are the work of American artist Mark Kostabi. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Song information

You Ain't the First

"You Ain't the First" is the sixth track on the album. Unlike most tracks on the album, electric guitars are nowhere to be found in the song - instead, acoustic guitars are used, similar to side two of G N' R Lies, and also giving the song a folk rock feel, which is added to by the tambourine (played by Tim Doyle).^[5] G N R Lies is the second studio album released by the hard rock band Guns N Roses in 1988 (see 1988 in music). ... Bob Dylans folk-rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk-rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ...

Don't Damn Me

"Don't Damn Me" is the thirteenth track on the album. At the 5:07 mark, Axl Rose can be heard saying "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!," following a "Alright! That sucked!" This is the only song on Use Your Illusion I that was never performed live.^[6] W. Axl Rose[1][2] (born William Bruce Rose, Jr. ...

Bad Apples

"Bad Apples" is the fourteenth track on the album. It has only been performed live twice.^[7] According to Slash, the song was written while the band was rehearsing for an extended period of time in Chicago.^[8]

Track listing

1. "Right Next Door to Hell" (Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Timo Caltia) – 3:02
2. "Dust N' Bones" (Slash, Stradlin, Duff McKagan) – 4:58
3. "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney) – 3:04
4. "Don't Cry" (Rose, Stradlin) – 4:45
5. "Perfect Crime" (Rose, Slash, Stradlin) – 2:24
6. "You Ain't the First" (Stradlin) – 2:36
7. "Bad Obsession" (Stradlin, West Arkeen) – 5:28
8. "Back Off Bitch" (Rose, Paul Tobias) – 5:04
9. "Double Talkin' Jive" (Stradlin) – 3:24
10. "November Rain" (Rose) – 8:58
11. "The Garden" (features Alice Cooper) (Rose, Arkeen, Del James) – 5:22
12. "Garden of Eden" (Rose, Slash) – 2:42
13. "Don't Damn Me" (Rose, Slash, Dave Lank) – 5:19
14. "Bad Apples" (Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan) – 4:28
15. "Dead Horse" (Rose) – 4:18
16. "Coma" (Rose, Slash) – 10:14

Right Next Door to Hell is a song by the Los Angeles-based hard rock band Guns N Roses, and is the first song on Use Your Illusion I, one of two albums released by the band in 1991 in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour. ... W. Axl Rose[1][2] (born William Bruce Rose, Jr. ... Izzy Stradlin (born Jeffrey Dean Isbell on April 8, 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N Roses from 1985 to 1991. ... Dust N Bones is the second song on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion I. It is sung by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, though vocalist Axl Roses voice can be heard double-tracking the vocals. ... Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), more widely known as Slash, is an English/American guitarist best known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N Roses and as the current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver. ... Duff McKagan (born Michael Andrew McKagan on February 5, 1964) is an American musician and rock bassist, who is best known for his thirteen-year tenure in the hard rock band Guns N Roses. ... link title Live and Let Die, from the James Bond film and soundtrack Live and Let Die, is one of Sir Paul McCartneys most successful singles. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English rock singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record producer, film producer and animal-rights activist. ... Linda Louise Eastman McCartney (September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, and animal rights activist. ... This article is about the Guns N Roses song. ... For other uses, see Perfect crime (disambiguation). ... Bad Obsession is a song by Guns N Roses. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Back Off Bitch is a song by Guns N Roses, written by Axl Rose and Paul Huge. ... Paul Tobias (b. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... November Rain is a song by the band Guns N Roses, written by Axl Rose. ... The Garden (1991) is a song by the rock group Guns N Roses. ... Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans five decades. ... Del James is an American musician, writer, journalist and artist mostly reknowned for writing the short story that inspired the November Rain video by hard rock band Guns N Roses. ... Garden of Eden is a song by hard rock band Guns N Roses (written by Axl Rose and Slash), which appears on the album Use Your Illusion I. There is a music video of the song, which is comprised of one continuous shot which features a close-up of Rose... Dead Horse is a song by American hard rock band Guns N Roses. ... Coma is the longest song by American hard rock band Guns N Roses. ...

Personnel

• Axl Rose – lead vocals, piano (track 10)
• Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
• Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 2, 6, 9)
• Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals
• Matt Sorum – drums, percussion
• Dizzy Reed – organ, piano, keyboards, clavinet (track 14), backing vocals

W. Axl Rose[1][2] (born William Bruce Rose, Jr. ... Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), more widely known as Slash, is an English/American guitarist best known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N Roses and as the current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver. ... Izzy Stradlin (born Jeffrey Dean Isbell on April 8, 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N Roses from 1985 to 1991. ... Duff McKagan (born Michael Andrew McKagan on February 5, 1964) is an American musician and rock bassist, who is best known for his thirteen-year tenure in the hard rock band Guns N Roses. ... Matt Sorum (born November 19, 1960, in Mission Viejo, California) is an American hard rock drummer and percussionist. ... Guns N Roses current Keyboard player Dizzy Reed Darren Arthur Reed (born June 18, 1963 in Hinsdale, Illinois), better known by his stage name Dizzy Reed, is the keyboardist for the hard rock band Guns N Roses. ...

Additional personnel

• Shannon Hoon – vocals (tracks 4, 6), backing vocals
• Johann Langlie – synthesizer programming, sound effects (track 16)
• Matthew McKagan, Jon Trautwein, Rachel West, Robert Clark – horns (track 3)
• Tim Doyle – tambourine (track 6)
• Michael Monroe – saxophone and harmonica (track 7)
• Stu Bailey, Reba Shaw – backing vocals (track 10)
• Alice Cooper – vocals (track 11)
• West Arkeen – acoustic guitar (track 11)
• Mike Clink – nutcracker (track 15)
• Bruce Foster – sound effects (track 16)
• Susanne Filkins, Patricia Fuenzalida, Rose Mann, Monica Zierhut-Soto, Michelle Loiselle, Diane Mitchell - bitches (track 16)

Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was an American musician and lyricist, and the lead singer of the band Blind Melon. ... Monroe performing onstage with Hanoi Rocks. ... Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans five decades. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Mike Clink started his career as an engineer at the famed Record Plant, recording such bands as Metallica (including tracks found on “Garage, Inc. ...

References