Use Your Illusion 1

"We had thirty-six songs, which was more than enought to fill a double album. I wanted to choose the twelve best of the thirty-six and hone them down to perfection." (Slash)

With enough music for two albums, Guns N' Roses released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II the same day. Use Your Illusion albums debuted at number 2 and 1 respectively on the Billboard charts, setting a record as they became the first and only band to date to achieve this feat.

Album information By: Guns N' Roses Released: September 17, 1991 Length: 76:05 Label: Geffen Producer: Mike Clink & Guns N' Roses Recorded: A&M Studios / Record Plant / Studio 56 / Image Recording / Conway Studios Singles: Don't Cry / Live And Let Die / November Rain / Garden Of Eden / Dead Horse Associated tour: Get In The Ring Tour

Line-up

• Axl Rose: lead vocals, piano, keyboards, sound effects, acoustic guitar on "Dead Horse"
• Slash: lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals, dobro on "You Ain't The First", six-string bass on "Right Next Door To Hell" and "Live And Let Die"
• Izzy Stradlin: rhythm & lead guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Dust N' Bones", "You Ain't The First" and "Double Talkin' Jive", percussion on "Bad Obsession"
• Duff McKagan: bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on "You Ain't The First" and "Double Talkin' Jive"
• Matt Sorum: drums, backing vocals, percussion
• Dizzy Reed: keyboards, piano, backing vocals, tambourine on "Live And Let Die"
• Additionnal musicians: Alice Cooper (vocals) / West Arkeen (guitar) / Michael Monroe (harmonica & saxophone) / Shannon Hoon (vocals) / Reba Shaw, Stuart Bailey (backing vocals) / Jon Thautwein, Matthew McKagan, Rachel West, Robert Clark (horn) / Tim Doyle (tambourine)

Tracklist

1. Right Next Door To Hell (Stradlin / Caltia / Rose)
2. Dust N' Bones (Stradlin / McKagan / Slash)
3. Live And Let Die (Paul & Linda McCartney)
4. Don't Cry (Stradlin / Rose)
5. Perfect Crime (Stradlin / Slash / Rose)
6. You Ain't The First (Stradlin)
7. Bad Obsession (Stradlin / Arkeen)
8. Back Off Bitch (Huge / Rose)
9. Double Talkin' Jive (Stradlin)
10. November Rain (Rose)
11. The Garden (Arkeen / James / Rose)
12. Garden Of Eden (Slash / Rose)
13. Don't Damn Me (Slash / Lank / Rose)
14. Bad Apples (Slash / McKagan / Stradlin / Rose)
15. Dead Horse (Rose)
16. Coma (Slash / Rose)

Music videos

Don't Cry

Live And Let Die

November Rain

Garden Of Eden

Dead Horse

Recording guitars & amps

• Gibson Les Paul Standard 1959 replica
• Gibson Flying V 1959 (lead) (Live And Let Die)
• Travis Bean 1000 (slide) (Bad Obsession / The Garden)
• Fender Bass 6-strings 1962 (rhythm) (Right Next Door To Hell)
• Marshall JCM 800 2203 S.I.R. stock #34 modded by Frank Levi (for distorted sounds)
• Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus (for clean sounds)
• Mesa Boogie Mark III (for feedback sounds)

Interviews & articles

• The Hands Behind The Hype (Guitar Player magazine, December 1991)
• No Illusions (Guitar magazine, April 1992)
• Behind Use Your Illusion (Classic Rock magazine, June 2011)
• Double Vision (Total Guitar magazine, July 2011)
• The Story Of Use Your Illusion (MusicRadar, September 2011)

Miscellaneous

• Several album titles were dropped such as Gn'R Sucks or even Girth. Finally, Use Your Illusion was picked out.
• The cover art of both Use Your Illusion albums is a detail from Raphael's painting The School of Athens colored by Mark Kostabi.
• For Use Your Illusion albums the band worked on 37 songs including "Ain't Goin' Down", "Night Crawler", "Bring It Back Home", "Crash Diet", "Sentimental Movie" and "Just Another Sunday".
• "Right Next Door To Hell" lyrics refers to a discord between Axl and a neighbour who accused him of hitting her with a bottle.
• Geffen first refused "November Rain" as a single, judging much too long but finally released it in a shortened version made for radio stations.
• On "The Garden" Axl is sharing lead vocals with Alice Cooper.
• The first day of its release, over 500,000 copies were sold in two hours and very quickly, Use Your Illusion albums rised up to the number ones spot on the Billboard charts.

Use Your Illusion Deluxe (2022) The Use Your Illusion Deluxe box includes 7 CDs featuring both Use Your Illusion albums remastered and two live shows recorded during Get In The Ring Tour 1991-1992. The Ep version of each album includes a bonus CD featuring live songs alson recorded from Get In The Ring Tour. CD 1 – Use Your Illusion 1: Remastered CD 2 – Use Your Illusion 1: Remastered

CD 3 - Live in New York (The Ritz 16/05/1991) 1. Pretty Tied Up 2. Bad Obsession 3. Right Next Door To Hell 4. Mr. Brownstone 5. Dust N' Bones 6. Live And Let Die 7. Paradise City 8. Civil War 9. Drum Solo 10. Slash Solo 11. You Could Be Mine CD 4 - Live in New York (The Ritz 16/05/1991) 1. Patience 2. Knockin' On Heaven's Door 3. Don't Cry 4. You Ain't The First 5. My Michelle 6. Estranged 7. Double Talkin' Jive 8. Sweet Child O' Mine 9. Welcome To The Jungle CD 5 - Live Get In The Ring Tour 1991-1992 1. Perfect Crime (London 31/08/1991) 2. Bad Obsession (Las Vegas 25/01/1992) 3. Right Next Door To Hell (New York 16/05/1991) 4. Always On The Run (Paris 06/06/1992) 5. Dust N' Bones (London 31/08/1991) 6. Live And Let Die (New York 16/05/1991) 7. Attitude (Paris 06/06/1992) 8. Double Talkin' Jive (London 31/08/1991) 9. Don't Cry (New York 16/05/1991) 10. You Ain't The First (New York 16/05/1991) 11. November Rain (Paris 06/06/1992) 12. Bad Apples (Rio 20/01/1991) 13. Wild Horses (Paris 06/06/1992)

Singles

	Don't Cry Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 1 Released: September 1991 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Don't Cry / 2. Don't Cry (alternative lyrics) / 3. Don't Cry (demo) >> Official music video
	Live And Let Die Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 1 Released: December 1991 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Live And Let Die / 2. Shadow Of Your Love / Live And Let Die (live) >> Official music video
	November Rain Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 1 Released: February 1992 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. November Rain / 2. Sweet Child O' Mine >> Official music video
	Garden Of Eden (promo) Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 1 Released: May 1993 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Garden Of Eden >> Official music video
	Dead Horse (promo) Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 1 Released: 1993 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Dead Horse >> Official music video