Use Your Illusion I & II released 25 years ago today (Sep 16 & 17, 1991)

[TheBaconman]

Always a great topic.  Obviously a monumental moment for all of us old enough to live it. 

Last year, similar thread with fun stories...

http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/board/index.php?topic=66440.0

Lol ok gues the same stories about the same albums get tired year after year. 

I can't wait to talk about the next guns music 20 years from its release!

[chilly]

I booked the day off work, waited for the store to open (woolworths for the Uk peeps) and then waited while they opened the boxes for me. Bought both vinyls and then went home and listened to both over and over devouring the lyrics. Had just watched them in Wembley, great day.

[Nikki_Sixx]

Most important album(s) in my life.  Best GNR release and probably one of the best releases ever, on every level.

I got into GNR in June '91 through the YCBM video, and UYI II was the first cd I ever owned myself.  I got it for my birthday in October '91.  UYI I followed soon.

I spent hours upon hours in the early '90's glued to my tv screen, in hope of catching anything GNR related on MTV.

[sky dog]

http://radio.com/2016/09/16/guns-n-roses-use-your-illusion-izzy-stradlin/

This was on yahoo.  It focuses mostly on Izzy's contributions.

That was a real cool read   Except I really like the song pretty tied up. 

Izzy brought the rough factor that made a lot of these songs great

I am pretty sick of hearing interviews where band members say "izzy this and izzy that".  You know izzy.  Izzy does what izzy does.   Hahaha.  Like any of the fan base has a clue

He is pretty much the Brian Wilson of guns n roses

What exactly do you drink that makes you hallucinate? Brian Wilson? Too funny.....I could buy Keith Richards but even that is a stretch. 

[Nikki_Sixx]

http://radio.com/2016/09/16/guns-n-roses-use-your-illusion-izzy-stradlin/

This was on yahoo.  It focuses mostly on Izzy's contributions.

What's up with the hate for 'Pretty Tied Up'  ??

That's a classic GNR song.  Underplayed on the UYI tour.  Loved it as an opener (Landover '91 f.e.) or coming out of the Godfather Theme.

There are no weak moments on the UYI's !  Even 'My World' is great ... as a joke that is !

[russkwtx]

My story is a bit unusual. I was too involved in real life to really notice or care about UYI back in 1991. I moved to Dallas in June 1991 for my first real job and totally missed the July 2nd incident in St. Louis and did not go to the July 9th show in Dallas, which was the first after St. Louis. I vaguely remember it being advertised but I was just too busy and had other priorities. One of those priorities was tracking the implosion of the USSR. This year is also the 25th anniversary of that event too. After the Soviet Union fell, all sorts of things happened in the economy. One of the most interesting was the emergence of underground (illegal) markets where you could buy bootlegged CDs, DVDs, computer software, you name it. These outdoor markets were enormous, literally hundreds of sellers. The prices were incredibly cheap. So my purchase of UYI was at one of these markets where I picked up both discs for about $2 each. Quality was excellent and it came with artwork. Of course, by the end of the 1990s these markets were closed down as Russia was negotiating to join the WTO and for some reason the West was upset about the violation of intellectual property rights (lol). But as late as 2000-2001 you could still find bootleg CDs that were sold in stalls in the tunnels of the metro and by individuals on the street, and I bought a bunch of those compilation discs. After that, all bootlegged material disappeared as Putin cracked down.

[PermissionToLand]

It's honestly getting ridiculous the things I hear about Izzy lately. "He wrote ALL their songs!"

Frankly, nothing in his post-GNR catalog has interested me much at all. It all sounds like the most boring stuff he contributed to Illusions; You Ain't the First, 14 Years and Dust N Bones. All very basic, by the numbers bluesy southern rock.

Now don't get me wrong, he also wrote some excellent Guns tracks; Double Talkin Jive, YCBM, Perfect Crime. But he was in no way the MAIN songwriter. Not even half of the songs on Illusions gave him a credit. The reality is that Rose, Slash, and Izzy were about three equal parts of the bulk songwriting team.

And frankly, I'll take Pawnshop Guitars over the JuJu Hounds any day. I wish we could have heard Gilby's contributions to GNR. Closest we'll get is Snakepit, and as a matter of fact, Monkey Chow was a great song, reminiscent of Perfect Crime. Dime Store Rock was an excellent tune as well.