Album du jour #14 - Illusionary, Incidental Pasta

Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion I




Prior Relationship to Album: I got my first cd player in 6th grade, a boombox that ran on 4 D batteries. Embarassingly enough, my first TWO cds that I owned were Kriss Kross....and another copy of Kriss Kross (long story...but much like all of my other stories from that period, it involves me having absolutely no understanding of how to interact with other people, thievery, and copious amounts of Brian-crying). Shortly thereafter I got into the "12 free cds if you sign with us" thing that the labels were doing back then (actually I would sign up to BMG's thing, get 10 free cds, buy a few obligatory ones, and then quit and switch to Columbia House...etc. etc.). I got most of my cds this way, but one time while wandering around Fry's (err...what was the place in Willsonville called before it was Fry's? Incredible something? Help me out on this, Josh), I saw a copy of The Spaghetti Incident...and I bought it. I didn't like it that much, but it didn't have the Guns n' Roses singles that I liked on it, so I picked up Use Your Illusion II. I don't think I ever did own UYI 1. I know I've heard all of this at some point...but maybe not in full album form. I certainly won't remember most of it.

High Point: "Double Talkin' Jive". Hard, uncompromising, and fast. Axl gets the fuck out of the way and lets Slash go to town. I love Rose on Appetite for Destruction, but not on this album. I'm sure the metal-by-way-of-blues style with the Flamenco guitar outro don't hurt either.

Second would be "Garden of Eden," for many of the same reasons above. Except the Flamenco part.

Low Point: I know there are moods I am in, during which I don't hate listening to "November Rain" - but I am almost never in those moods. Also, I think that "Live n' Let Die" is way overrated.

What I Learned/Realized: It may be called #1, but I think Use Your Illusion II is definately on top when it comes to quality.

Also - Slash's mother designed David Bowie's costumes from The Man Who Fell To Earth. FILLER!!!!!

Future Relationship to Album: Well, I'll listen to it more than the Spaghetti Incident, probably....