Use Your Illusion II
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	75:57
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
Use Your Illusion I (1991) Use Your Illusion II (1991) "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993)

Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was one of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, and as a result the two albums are sometimes seen together as a double album. Bolstered by the lead single "You Could Be Mine," Use Your Illusion II was the slightly more popular of the two albums, debuting at #1 on the U.S. charts (both albums were eventually certified 7x platinum).^[1] It was also #1 on the UK chart for a single week. 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. ... Cover of Guns n Roses album Use Your Illusion II Downloaded from Amazon. ... 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 5_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 No higher resolution available. ... 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. ... For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ... The Spaghetti Incident? is the fifth album by hard rock band Guns N Roses, recorded by the early 90s line up, consisting cover versions, mainly of punk and glam songs of the late 70s and early 80s, with the exception of the albums first track, a cover of The... 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. ... 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. ... You Could Be Mine is American rock band Guns N Rosess second-highest selling single and one of their most popular songs. ...

Overview

The Use Your Illusion albums were a stylistic turning point for Guns N' Roses (see Use Your Illusion I for discussion). 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. For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ... Civil War is a Guns N Roses song (written by Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan), originally appearing on the 1990 album Nobodys Child, a fundraising compilation for Romanian orphans. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... Knockin on Heavens Door is a song written by Bob Dylan from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, the soundtrack of the 1973 film of the same name, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. ... Get in the Ring is the fifth song on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion II. It was written by Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, and Slash and is directed at the music critics, who gave the band negative reviews because of their actions during the Use Your Illusion... For other uses, see Violence (disambiguation). ... Media bias is a term used to describe a real or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media, in the selection of which events will be reported and how they are covered. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ...

The band's cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" had been released almost a year earlier on the Days of Thunder soundtrack. "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." "Civil War" was released as a B-Side to "You Could Be Mine." The song was also released on a charity album called Nobody's Child. The album was a fund-raising compilation for Romanian orphans. Days of Thunder is an auto racing drama film released in 1990 by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott. ... The UK Subs are a British punk band, the mainstay of which is vocalist Charlie Harper (born David Charles Perez, on 25 April 1944), a singer in Britains R & B scene. ...

The first single, "You Could Be Mine," was released in July 1991 and is featured in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, however the song was not released on the actual T2 soundtrack. The band also filmed a video featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in character as the Terminator, and a loose plot featuring Axl Rose himself as its "target." The original subject matter of the song dealt with Izzy Stradlin's failed relationship with his ex-girlfriend Angela Nicoletti. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (commonly abbreviated T2) is a 1991 movie directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Patrick. ... Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German IPA: ; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, Golden Globe-winning actor, businessman and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California. ... The T-800 was a cyborg, programmed to kill, in the fictional universe of the Terminator movies. ... 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. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

The Use Your Illusion albums can be taken as 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." Both albums also 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 of them also has at least one track sung by other members of the band: lead vocals on "So Fine" are performed by bassist Duff McKagan and the song was dedicated to Johnny Thunders, who passed away from a drug overdose before the recording of the album. Lead vocals on "14 Years" are performed by Izzy Stradlin (Izzy also sings "Dust N' Bones," "You Ain't The First" and "Double Talkin' Jive" on Use Your Illusion I). This article is about the Guns N Roses song. ... 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. ... 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. ... Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr (July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991), was a rock and roll guitarist and singer, first with the New York Dolls, the proto-punk glam rockers of the early 1970s. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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 specifically are editors of several entertainment magazines. Get in the Ring is the fifth song on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion II. It was written by Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, and Slash and is directed at the music critics, who gave the band negative reviews because of their actions during the Use Your Illusion...

"My World," the final track, was a surprise to a few members of the band. The track was essentially an Axl Rose solo, and most of the members did not even know it existed until the album was released.

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: ... Sex Pistols are an iconic and highly influential English punk rock band, formed in London in 1975. ...

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]

Song information

Locomotive

"Locomotive" is the ninth track on the album. Slash stated "Locomotive" is played on an Explorer, saying, "What I do is turn the tone knob down."^[5] He also stated that it was written in a house he and Izzy rented in Hollywood Hills following the Appetite for Destruction tours.^[6]

A portion of a line from "Locomotive" is used as the title of the dual album: "You can use your illusion/let it take you where it may."

So Fine

"So Fine" is the tenth track on the album. The song is not only sung by bass guitarist Duff McKagan, but it was written by him as a tribute to the deceased punk rock musician Johnny Thunders.^[7] Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr (July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991), was a rock and roll guitarist and singer, first with the New York Dolls, the proto-punk glam rockers of the early 1970s. ...

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. ...

Track listing

1. "Civil War" (Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan) – 7:43
2. "14 Years" (Rose, Izzy Stradlin) – 4:21
3. "Yesterdays" (Rose, West Arkeen, Del James, Billy McCloud) – 3:16
4. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan) – 5:36
5. "Get in the Ring" (Rose, Slash, McKagan) – 5:41
6. "Shotgun Blues" (Rose) – 3:23
7. "Breakdown" (Rose) – 7:05
8. "Pretty Tied Up" (Stradlin) – 4:48
9. "Locomotive" (Rose, Slash) – 8:42
10. "So Fine" (McKagan) – 4:06
11. "Estranged" (Rose, Slash) – 9:24
12. "You Could Be Mine" (Rose, Stradlin) – 5:44
13. "Don't Cry (Alternate Lyrics)" (Rose, Stradlin) – 4:44
14. "My World" (Rose) – 1:24

Civil War is a Guns N Roses song (written by Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan), originally appearing on the 1990 album Nobodys Child, a fundraising compilation for Romanian orphans. ... 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. ... 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. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 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. ... Yesterdays is a song by Guns N Roses that appeared on Use Your Illusion I, which was released in 1991. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... 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. ... For other uses, see Knockin on Heavens Door (disambiguation). ... This article is about the recording artist. ... Get in the Ring is the fifth song on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion II. It was written by Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, and Slash and is directed at the music critics, who gave the band negative reviews because of their actions during the Use Your Illusion... Shotgun Blues is the sixth track on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion II. The song is one of two songs on which Rose plays guitar[1]. (the other being Dead Horse). ... Breakdown is the seventh track on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion II. Axl Rose has stated that the vocal ending to the song is the only thing he was not satisfied with on the Use Your Illusion albums. ... Pretty Tied Up (The Perils of Rock N Roll Decadence) is a song by the hard rock band, Guns N Roses. ... 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. ... You Could Be Mine is American rock band Guns N Rosess second-highest selling single and one of their most popular songs. ... This article is about the Guns N Roses song. ... My World is the last track on the Guns N Roses album Use Your Illusion II. This song has never been performed live, [1] perhaps due to the complexity to the song. ...

Personnel

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

• Steven Adler – drums, percussion (track 1)
• Howard Teman – piano (track 10)
• Shannon Hoon – vocals (track 13)
• Johann Langlie – keyboards, drums and sound effects (all in track 14)
• Josh Richman - speech (track 4)
• The Waters – backing vocals (track 4)^[8]

Steven Adler (born January 22, 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American rock drummer. ... Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was an American musician and lyricist, and the lead singer of the band Blind Melon. ...

In popular culture

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. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Benjamin Edward Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an Emmy-winning American comedian, actor, film producer and director. ...

Miscellaneous

• One of the lines from the song, "You Could Be Mine", "With your bitch slap-rappin' and your cocaine tongue/You get nuthin' done" also appears in the liner notes from Appetite for Destruction.

For other uses, see Appetite for Destruction (disambiguation). ...

References