Who remembers the wait for "Use Your Illusion"?

[zigthis]

Wasn't it worse than this?  For me is was, and it seemed longer too.  I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.  We never even knew the title until the tour came out.  When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.  With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.  (Remember "Circus"?)  What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:  A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.  One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).  Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.  Izzy actually sings lead on one song.  When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard. 

Fuck, I'm officially old.  Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

[SLCPUNK]

To me it was nothing like this.

I think the internet, and the rumors that come with it, has made it much "worse".

Back in those days, you just were out of the loop and when you found out, you found out. I remember walking to the record store to buy the two tapes though. 

[Bandita]

Yea it was nothing like this back then.  Because we had to take the news for what it was worth and there was no outlet like message forums to dispute it or speculate on it.  You had to write into the mags and see if your letter got printed.

I had a few vinyl boots with demos of some of the UYI tunes which made me the envy of all my friends.

I had just started my senior year in HS when the UYI's came out.

I got my news from MTV (when they still cared about decent music) RS, Circus, RIP Magazine, and Metal Edge.

[dave-gnfnr2k]

How was it worst than this? The wait for uyi was like 2 years. CD has been waiting for about 6 years now.

[veritas55]

It helped that the wait was under 10 years for UYI.? But it was pretty unheard of for a major artist to tour for 4 months without the album coming out.? Now, it's GnR's specialty.

At the time, the press (and even some bandmembers) commented on how obsessive (and procrastinating) Axl was with the lyrics and the vocals, and how he just could not let the album go.? If they only knew!!

[newman]

It's funny - but Axl has been pulling this shit for years.  In fact, he kept throwing out release dates that came and went back then too.

Axl's sit down interview with Loder at his home in August of 1990, Axl said the plan was for the album to come out in either January or February and looking to start a tour in March 1991.  Well, all they did was RIR II in Jan.

At the start of the UYI world tour in Apline Valley in May 1991, Loder covered the opening night 2-hour MTV Special and stated that the album was coming out in July 1991 (likely from his interview with Axl)

It wasn't until Sept. 1991 that they came out.

Point is, even then we couldn't rely on the words straight from Axl's mouth. 

Unfortunately, it's looking like history may be repeating itself.

[madagas]

Nothing is worse than the wait for this. Off and on speculation about a "GNR record" since 1994. Are you kidding me?  

[bazgnr]

This is way worse.? ?The internet and it's accessibility to information, as well as rumors and misinformation, make the wait and speculation much more frustrating.? Last time, it was stories of being in the studio, cassingles of YCBM and Don't Cry, followed by a release date.? The end.

[BKinNYC]

I remember, and it hardly seemed like a wait at all. ?In between we had Civil War and YCBM to keep us happy.

Plus, like someone else said - there was no internet. ?So you relied on radio stations or your local record store to keep you updated. ?I remember the first time I heard Civil War - it was about halfway through the song, and I was like "shit - this sounds like a new guns n' roses song!" ?It totally came out of nowhere. ?

Ahh....those were the days. ?Damn, I'm old.

[Mike McKagan]

I wore out that goddamned cassette single with Arnold on the cover between July and September. 

I remember that the local college rock station in Indiana played both albums in their entirety without interruption the day before they went on sale. 

I taped "Don't Cry" off of the radio and listened to it for a week or two before they came out, and had to endure some stupid DJ talking over the intro.

Wow...bringing back the memories...

[The Legend]

Wasn't it worse than this?? For me is was, and it seemed longer too.? I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.? We never even knew the title until the tour came out.? When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.? With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.? (Remember "Circus"?)? What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:? A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.? One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).? Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.? Izzy actually sings lead on one song.? When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard.?

Fuck, I'm officially old.? Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

I remember the wait...

It was nothing like this.

It's been 15 years of silence, it's been 15 years of pain, it's been 15 years that are gone forever that we'll, never have again!

[nonlinear]

I think this wait is much worse.  the internet makes everything worse, because silly rumors spread like wildfire and it's so easy to check these boards all the time that I end up doing it every day.

it was way better back in the day.  And yes!  I do remember Circus, and the other ones like Metal Edge and wahtever else.

I also remember i had to save money up to get teh UYI tapes.  At first I could only afford one, so I got UYI II because it had you could be mine on it.  I think i dubbed UYI I from a friend, until I had enough $ to buy the actual tape for myself.  Ahh, those were the days!

I also remember listening to UYI (and a dubbed copy of Lies) on the bus on the way to Jr. High.  My walkman batteries would get low and the songs would play really slow, it was funny.

[BKinNYC]

I wore out that goddamned cassette single with Arnold on the cover between July and September.?

I remember that the local college rock station in Indiana played both albums in their entirety without interruption the day before they went on sale.?

I taped "Don't Cry" off of the radio and listened to it for a week or two before they came out, and had to endure some stupid DJ talking over the intro.

Wow...bringing back the memories...

Haha - that's great! ?Yeah, a local station where I grew up played both albums in their entirety, too. ?I remember when I heard November Rain for the first time, I thought the end was the start of another song. ?

On the day of the albums' release, we took off of school and waited outside the local record store. ?As soon as it opened, we (and a bunch of other people too) ran in. ?That was awesome, but unfortunately I don't think that's how it'll be this time around.

[gcluskey]

Fuck, the memories I'm recalling there, I too had the You Could Be Mine single on tape and played it all summer, I think Civil War was on it too. Yeah the wait for the album was exciting, it was always word of mouth from reading magazines and shit as to when we'd have the album and when it came out it was two albums. I couldn't afford both at once so I had to wait a few weeks before I got UYI II. It blew me away after too. They fuckin rocked! Spaghetti Incident didn't live up to the standard though. It was a bit of a let down but there's still some good covers on there

[gotohell]

the time between "Lies" and the "Use Your Illusion" CD's was only 3 YEARS
and,? we had 3 songs from the CD's pre-released one at a time during that period (although I do not know the dates on these 3 singles, they were spread out)
1- the Studio Version of "Knockin' on Heavens Door" hit the airwaves first, and was included on the "Days of Thunder" Movie Soundtrack
2- "Civil War" was realesed next (the first new GNR song to drop), it was included on a charity record called "Nobody's Child: the Romanian Angel Appeal"
3- next came the first new GNR Video for the single "You Could Be Mine", from? the "Terminator 2" Soundatrack.......


So, NO!, it was nothing like this, 1st - it did not take 15 years, 2nd we got official releases during that time, not live recordings and supossedly illegally leaked demo's..........a oh yeah, "Don't Cry" was already on radio & MTV before the CD's came out , so we had 4 OFFICIAL recordings already !

[JimMorrison4]

Not to mention that back then, people were waiting for albums that were really coming out. Whereas now, people are desperately waiting for an album that doesn't exist.

[BKinNYC]

Nice reply, gotohell.  That's exactly how I remember it....

But as for leaks, back then, where the hell would it have leaked TO?   

On a side note, I remember seeing the bootleg VHS of the Indiana concert at a record show back in '92.  I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be able to watch a live concert over and over again!  Now, we have everything instantly.  Wow, how times have changed...

[jazjme]

well actually bad apples leaked a few months before , back in the day, was played on radio and stuff.till it was pulled as it was an unfinished demo. But yeah those were great times, I had gotten the cassettes, a full week before the actual release date , and rocked out to them both nonstop. IN the car, at hokme, wherever. Even the night they actually released the Albums, I still went with friends to the record store at midnight, to just be apart of the commotion, lots of fun.

[dave-gnfnr2k]

the time between "Lies" and the "Use Your Illusion" CD's was only 3 YEARS
and,? we had 3 songs from the CD's pre-released one at a time during that period (although I do not know the dates on these 3 singles, they were spread out)
1- the Studio Version of "Knockin' on Heavens Door" hit the airwaves first, and was included on the "Days of Thunder" Movie Soundtrack
2- "Civil War" was realesed next (the first new GNR song to drop), it was included on a charity record called "Nobody's Child: the Romanian Angel Appeal"
3- next came the first new GNR Video for the single "You Could Be Mine", from? the "Terminator 2" Soundatrack.......


So, NO!, it was nothing like this, 1st - it did not take 15 years, 2nd we got official releases during that time, not live recordings and supossedly illegally leaked demo's..........a oh yeah, "Don't Cry" was already on radio & MTV before the CD's came out , so we had 4 OFFICIAL recordings already !

And the live version of live and let die they did for the VMAs or AMAs i forgot which it was

[echrisl]

I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.

I thought this was funny ... I've waited through three years of high school (I started as a GNR fan my sophomore year) and four and a half years of college (so far ...) for Chinese Democracy.  So, I guess I'm going to say no, this has been worse.