http://ultimateclassicrock.com/guns-n-roses-use-your-illusion/Guns N? Roses? Use Your Illusion records collectively represent one of the more impressively ambitious hard rock statements of the ?90s, but what if you could only keep one of them?
That?s the question we?re posing during this installment of Clash of the Titans, which forces you to choose between the two volumes of Axl Rose?s magnum opus. This isn?t the first time we?ve sought your help in whittling down Illusion?s epic 30-song length: In a previous poll, readers curated their own 14-track single-disc edition of the albums as a counterpart to the 12-track edited version that was shipped to retail chains reluctant to carry the complete (and potentially offensive) releases. But this time, instead of altering the running order, you have to pick between Illusion?s halves.
The first volume, which debuted at No. 2 on the charts, contains 16 songs adding up to more than 75 minutes of music, including the singles ?Don?t Cry,? ?Live and Let Die? and ?November Rain.? Volume two, which debuted at No. 1 and ultimately ended up selling slightly more copies, spawned five singles: ?Knockin? on Heaven?s Door,? ?Yesterdays,? ?Civil War,? ?Estranged? and the Terminator 2: Judgment Day-associated ?You Could Be Mine.?
But sales and singles tell only part of the story ? and given that Use Your Illusion was assembled as a cohesive statement split in two, each volume expresses a facet of GNR?s evolution to that point, from songs written early in their history (?Don?t Cry,? which appears on both volumes) to epic-length sonic workouts (Illusion I?s 10-minute ?Coma?; Illusion II?s nine-minute-plus ?Estranged?). Each volume also includes a cover, with Paul McCartney?s ?Live and Let Die? surfacing on Illusion I and Bob Dylan?s ?Knockin? on Heaven?s Door? on Illusion II.
Each volume has its highlights, but only one can emerge victorious from this Clash of the Titans match-up. Which one gets your vote? Check out both albums below, and remember: You can return to the polls once every hour. This Clash of the Titans will stay open until Sept. 20, 2015, at 11:59PM ET.
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