Use Your Illusion II

Certain Songs #574: Guns N’ Roses – “You Could Be Mine”

June 23, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Use Your Illusion II
Year: 1991

The summer of 1991 was a weird time for me.

I was in between girlfriends, bands and had finally gotten my life together to the point where I was just a semester away from graduating from college. In addition, I’d unexpectedly started living alone in the Tower District again.

So everything was pretty much in the air at that time.

But there was one thing I knew for sure, so sure that I wrote these exact words in my journal: “Prediction: the next Guns N’ Roses album is going to be very important to me.”

Certain Songs #573: Guns N’ Roses – “Estranged”

June 22, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Use Your Illusion II
Year: 1991

Believe it or not, I didn’t do every song I truly love from Use Your Illusion II.

That means I didn’t write about the perfect classic rockness of “Yesterdays,” or their over-the-top version of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” which featured a gospel choir singing the title over a stop time just because they could, or even “Locomotive (Complicity)” where the chorus has some of the best John Bonham drumming not done by John Bonham.

Certain Songs #572: Guns N’ Roses – “Pretty Tied Up”

June 21, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Use Your Illusion II
Year: 1991

My favorite Guns N’ Roses song is subtitled “The Perils of Rock ‘n’ Roll Decadence,” but since someone announces the song as “The pearls of rock ‘n’ roll decadence” at the outset, it’s once again Guns N’ Roses trying to have it both ways.

And given it’s written by my man Izzy Stradlin, its no surprise that “Pretty Tied Up” argues a pretty good case for both pearls of rock ‘n’ roll and the perils of decadence.

Certain Songs #571: Guns N’ Roses – “Breakdown”

June 20, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Use Your Illusion II
Year: 1991

Out of all of the ridiculous epics that either graced (or ruined, depending on your opinion) the Illusion twins, the piano-driven “Breakdown” is easily my favorite.

For one thing, it’s got one of most sublime musical passages in all of their music. It’s about 1:20 in, and Axl has already sung the first verse, Izzy & Slash have slammed in with some power chords, and the whole song comes to a near halt for a second, before a gorgeous jumble of drums, pianos and guitars weave in and out of each other for just a couple of measures until a Matt Sorum snare slam kicks the song into gear.

Certain Songs #570: Guns N’ Roses – “Get in The Ring”

June 19, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Use Your Illusion II
Year: 1991

Back in 1977, The Clash were offended that CBS released “Remote Control” as a single and responded with “Complete Control,” one of the greatest lyrics ever written about the need for artistic freedom, combined one of the most ferocious performances ever put to vinyl.

Both the music and lyrics perfectly complemented each other, and the combination resulted in a song that is an undisputed classic, full stop.

Certain Songs #569: Guns N’ Roses – “Civil War”

June 18, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Use Your Illusion II
Year: 1991

One of the fun parts of doing something like Certain Songs is that I get to finally explain some of my long-held but hardly-expressed theories. Which I have a lot of!!

And here comes one of the most indefensible: not only is Use Your Illusion II the greatest Guns N’ Roses album, it’s the greatest metal album ever made by Americans.

You’ll, of course, note that “Americans” qualifier. Because Led Zeppelin. And maybe even Black Sabbath & Deep Purple. So if you’ll accept that (and that GN’R qualify as “metal”) — and of course there’s no reason you have to — then what’s better?