Use Your Illusion II

For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation).

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, Skip Saylor Recording (album mixing) 1990–1991
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	75:58
Label	Geffen
Producer	Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses chronology
Use Your Illusion I (1991) Use Your Illusion II (1991) The "Civil War" EP (1993)
Singles from Use Your Illusion II
"You Could Be Mine" Released: June 1991 (June 1991) "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" Released: 1992 (1992) "Yesterdays" Released: 1992 (1992) "Civil War" Released: May 1993 (1993-05) "Estranged" Released: January 1994 (1994-01)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Q	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
RS Album Guide	[4]

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, and as a result the two albums are sometimes considered a double album. Bolstered by 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.^[5] Both albums have since been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA.^[6] It was also No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for a single week. The album has received some acclaim in 2011, being featured on Triple M Radio's Life-Changing Album series in Australia, with the station playing numerous tracks with commentary.^[7]

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.

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 July 1991 and is featured in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The song was not released on the actual T2 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". 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 and the song was dedicated to Johnny Thunders, who died 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).

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.

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

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

Song information

For info on other songs, see the individual song articles linked in the track listing.

"Shotgun Blues"

This song was written by Axl Rose and is the sixth track on the album. Oddly, it lacks Izzy Stradlin on guitar, with Rose instead playing rhythm guitar. Stradlin remains in the song however, performing backing vocals on the chorus along with the remainder of the band. This song has never been performed live. Supposedly, this song is in homage, or may even make fun of, Motley Crüe frontman Vince Neil.

"Breakdown"

"Breakdown" is the seventh track on the album. 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.^[10] Additionally, Slash has stated that it was one of the most complicated songs to record on the album. According to him, the guitar, drum, and piano parts were hard to synchronize and that drummer Matt Sorum "lost it" a couple of times trying to get the drums just right.^[11]

"Locomotive"

"Locomotive" (subtitled "Complicity") is the ninth track on the album. Slash stated that "Locomotive" was played on a Gibson Explorer, saying, "What I do is turn the tone knob down."^[12] He also stated that it was written in a house he and Izzy Stradlin rented in Hollywood Hills following the Appetite for Destruction tours.^[13] The song also shows the group dabbling in funk metal.^[14]

A portion of a line from "Locomotive" is used as the title of Use Your Illusion I and II: "You can use your illusion, let it take you where it may." All guitars on the song were played by Slash. Izzy Stradlin does not appear on the track.^[15]

"So Fine"

"So Fine" is the 10th track on the album. The song is sung by bass guitarist Duff McKagan, and was written by him as a tribute to the deceased punk rock musician Johnny Thunders.^[16]

"My World"

"My World" is the last track on the album and was described as "bizarre" by one critic.^[17]

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 particular philosopher.

Both covers are the work of Estonian-American artist Mark Kostabi.^[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Civil War"	Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan	7:42
2.	"14 Years"	Izzy Stradlin, Rose	4:21
3.	"Yesterdays"	Rose, West Arkeen, Del James, Billy McCloud	3:16
4.	"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover)	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"	Slash, Rose	8:42
10.	"So Fine"	McKagan	4:06
11.	"Estranged"	Rose	9:24
12.	"You Could Be Mine"	Stradlin, Rose	5:43
13.	"Don't Cry" (Alternate lyrics)	Stradlin, Rose	4:44
14.	"My World"	Rose	1:24
Total length:			75:58

Personnel

Guns N' Roses

• W. Axl Rose – lead vocals, rhythm guitar on "Shotgun Blues", synthesizer and drum machine on "My World"
• Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "14 Years", acoustic guitar on "Breakdown", sitar on "Pretty Tied Up"
• Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar on "Civil War", banjo on "Breakdown"
• Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "So Fine", percussion on "Locomotive"
• Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, backing vocals, organ on "Yesterdays"
• Matt Sorum – drums, backing vocals, percussion

Additional personnel

Steven Adler – drums on track 1 Johann Langlie – drums, keyboard and sound effects on track 14 The Waters – backing vocals on track 4 Howard Teman – piano on track 10 Shannon Hoon – backing vocals on track 13 Mike Clink – production, engineering Jim Mitchell – additional engineering Bill Price – mixing George Marino – mastering

Kevin Reagan – art direction, graphic design Mark Kostabi – artwork Robert John – photography Allen Abrahamson, Buzz Burrowes & Chris Puram – engineering assistance Craig Portelis – engineering assistance Ed Goodreau – engineering assistance Jason Roberts – engineering assistance

John Aguto – engineering assistance L. Stu Young – engineering assistance Leon Ganado – engineering assistance Mike Douglass – engineering assistance Talley Sherwood – engineering assistance

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.

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).^[19]

The Australian band TISM released two songs parodying the Use Your Illusion title, Lose Your Delusion I and Lose Your Delusion II

Charts

Chart	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[20]	1
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[21]	1
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart[21]	1
U.S. Billboard 200[22]	1
Austria[21]	1
Switzerland[21]	2
Norway[21]	2
Sweden[21]	4
Spain	11

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200[23]	67

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.

• In the liner notes is written "Ain't It Fun", a song they would cover on "The Spaghetti Incident?".

• "Breakdown" contains the lyric "Funny how everything was roses when we held on to the guns."

See also

• List of best-selling albums in Argentina
• List of best-selling albums in Germany

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/use-your-illusion-ii-r8762/review
2. ^ "Q Magazine | Music news & reviews, music videos, band pictures & interviews". Q4music.com. http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=119298&resource=119298&fixture_artist=140546. Retrieved 2011-07-28. 
3. ^ "Rolling Stone review". http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/use-your-illusion-ii-19911017. Retrieved September 2011. 
4. ^ "Acclaimed Music". Acclaimed Music. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/. Retrieved 2011-07-28. 
5. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Kanye Edges GNR, Ludacris For No. 1 Debut". billboard.com. Dec 3, 2008.
6. ^ RIAA's top albums^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Albums That changed your life series, Use Your Illusion II, Guns N Roses, 2011, Triple M
8. ^ "Cover story: Guns N' Roses outta control". Rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15808339/guns_n_roses_outta_control_the_rolling_stone_cover_story/2. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
9. ^ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 298-300
10. ^ Breakdown^{[dead link]}
11. ^ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 316-317
12. ^ Locomotive^{[dead link]}
13. ^ Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. p. 252
14. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Use Your Illusion II - Guns N' Roses". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r8762. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
15. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
16. ^ So Fine^{[dead link]}
17. ^ All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z6TpuVW6QA4C&pg=PT158&lpg=PT158&dq=guns+n+roses+my+world+written+as+joke&source=bl&ots=w1S3nL4hK8&sig=Ax4lcw08HHEeXSLiMMZKYTeuu2A&hl=en&ei=jvO8TNjEFsKclgfiyJGxDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CC0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=guns%20n%20roses%20my%20world%20written%20as%20joke&f=false. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
18. ^ "Use Your Illusion - Mark Kostabi". artQuotes.net http://www.artquotes.net. http://www.artquotes.net/artists/kostabi/use-your-illusions.htm. Retrieved 8 January 2010. 
19. ^ Wright, Christian. "Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses". Jann S. Wenner. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/use-your-illusion-ii-19911017. Retrieved 22 March 2011. 
20. ^ "GUNS N' ROSES - The Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/guns%20n%27%20roses/. Retrieved 2011-07-28. 
21. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "GUNS N' ROSES - USE YOUR ILLUSION II (ALBUM)". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Guns+N%27+Roses&titel=Use+Your+Illusion+II&cat=a. Retrieved June 14, 2011. 
22. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/album/guns-n-roses/use-your-illusion-ii/8093
23. ^ 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. http://books.google.com/books?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2010. 

Preceded by Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks	Billboard 200 number-one album October 5–18, 1991	Succeeded by Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks
Preceded by On Every Street by Dire Straits	UK number one album September 28, 1991 – October 4, 1991	Succeeded by Waking Up the Neighbours by Bryan Adams
Preceded by On Every Street by Dire Straits	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album September 29 – October 19, 1991	Succeeded by Waking Up the Neighbours by Bryan Adams