Guns N' Roses – Use Your Illusion II

The second ‘Use your illusion’ act represents the latest original material written by the band at that point in time, and by this the very last in their classic line up. So the record is the experience peak of Guns n’ Roses, albeit not their best or more representative work, being that immovably “Appetite for destruction”. With this second in a row 1991’s release the band tries to go epic, with fluctuating results. The album starts very well with three consecutive inspired tracks, the ballad-structured hard rock classic “Civil war”, the intense Stradlin’ penned “14 years” and the artsy “Yesterdays”. On the other hand, the lackluster treatment of the famous Dylan cover is so unnecessary to outrageously become filler, the similar pastoral flavorless “Breakdown” doesn’t take off and the heavy funk of “Locomotive” is a bit of an unfocused mess. In the punkish “Get in the ring” and “Shotgun blues” we enjoy energizing moments that acts as a counterpart to where the album’s limitations just smash against its grandeur expectations. The best tracks are Rolling Stones homages that fit perfectly the Guns n’ Roses’ aesthetics (“Pretty tied up”), scathing hard rock attacks that suite Axl Rose’s soaring roar (“You could be mine”), an epic that finally works (“Estranged”) and a pop rock slow tune that has gained in time a legendary status (“Don’t cry”). That said, the importance of reg Izzy Stradlin’ as a main writer for the band can’t be ignored, as his contributions are the most relevant tracks of the entire operation. McKagan’s “So fine” and final oddity “My world” reveal the arrogance of a band put too soon at the centre of their era’s musical scenario, capable without blinking an eye of releasing such avoidable naiveties.

I love this album! It was after this album that I finally became 100% filled with love and respect for their work.