Use Your Illusion 2
"We all gathered at my house, and wrote more than half of both Use Your Illusion albums on acoustics, literally in two nights." (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: 75:58

Label: Geffen

Producer: Mike Clink & Guns N' Roses

Recorded: A&M Studios / Record Plant / Studio 56 / Image Recording / Conway Studios

Singles: You Could Be Mine / Knockin' On Heaven's Door / Yesterdays / Civil War / Estranged

Associated tour: Get In The Ring Tour

Line-up

Axl Rose: lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar on "Shotgun Blues", synthesizer on "My World"
Slash: lead & rhythm guitars, banjo on "Breakdown"
Izzy Stradlin: rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "14 Years", acoustic guitar on "Breakdown", sitar on "Pretty Tied Up"
Duff McKagan: bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "So Fine", percussion on "Locomotive"
Matt Sorum: drums, backing vocals, percussion
Dizzy Reed: keyboards, piano, organ, backing vocals
Additionnal musicians: Steven Adler (drums) / Howard Teman (piano) / Shannon Hoon, The Waters (backing vocals) / Johann Langlie (drums, keyboards & sound effects)

Tracklist

Civil War (Slash / McKagan / Rose)
14 Years (Stradlin / Rose)
Yesterdays (Arkeen / James / Billy / Rose)
Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan)
Get In The Ring (Slash / McKagan / Rose)
Shotgun Blues (Rose)
Breakdown (Rose)
Pretty Tied Up (Stradlin)
Locomotive (Slash / Rose)
So Fine (McKagan)
Estranged (Rose)
You Could Be Mine (Stradlin / Rose)
Don't Cry (Stradlin / Rose)
My World (Rose)

Music videos

Recording guitars & amps

Gibson Les Paul Standard 1959 replica
Gibson Flying V 1959 (lead) (Knockin' On Heaven's Door)
Gibson Explorer 1958 (lead) (Locomotive)
Gibson Les Paul Goldtop 1956 (rhythm) (Estranged)
Fender Stratocaster 1965 (lead) (Yesterdays / So Fine)
B.C. Rich Mockingbird (lead) (You Could Be Mine)
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".
"Civil War" was the first song the band recorded, that's why Steve Adler plays drums on it.
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 Las Vegas (T&M Center 25/01/1992)
1. Nightrain
2. Mr. Brownstone
3. Live And Let Die
4. Attitude
5. It's So Easy
6. Bad Obsession
7. Welcome To The Jungle
8. Double Talkin' Jive
9. Civil War

CD 4 - Live in Las Vegas (T&M Center 25/01/1992)
1. Don't Cry
2. Wild Horses
3. Patience
4. You Could Be Mine
5. So Fine
6. November Rain
7. Drum Solo
8. Slash Solo
9. Theme From The Godfather
10. Rocket Queen

CD 5 - Live in Las Vegas (T&M 25/01/1992)
1. Sail Away Sweet Sister
2. Sweet Child O' Mine
3. Move To The City
4. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
5. Yesterdays
6. My Michelle
7. Estranged
8. Paradise City

CD 6 - Live Get In The Ring Tour 1991-1992
1. Pretty Tied Up (New York 16/05/1991)
2. 14 Years (London 31/08/1991)
3. Civil War (Las Vegas 25/01/1992)
4. You Could Be Mine (New York 16/05/1991)
5. Drum Solo (Paris 06/06/1992)
6. Slash Solo (Paris 06/06/1992)
7. Theme From The Godfather (Paris 06/06/1992)
8. Sail Away Sweet Sister (Paris 06/06/1992)
9. So Fine (Las Vegas 25/01/1992)
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Rio 20/01/1991)
11. Mama Kin (Paris 06/06/1992)
12. Train Kept A Rollin' (Paris 06/06/1992)
13. Estranged (Las Vegas 25/01/1992)

Singles

	You Could Be Mine Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: June 1991 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. You Could Be Mine / 2. Civil War >> Official music video
	Knockin' On Heaven's Door Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: May 1992 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Knockin' On Heaven's Door / 2. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (live) >> Official music video
	Yesterdays Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: October 1992 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Yesterdays / 2. November Rain / 3. Yesterdays (live) / 4. Knockin On' Heavens Door (live) >> Official music video
	Pretty Tied Up (promo) Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: 1992 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Pretty Tied Up
	So Fine (promo) Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: 1992 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. So Fine
	14 Years (promo) Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: 1992 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. 14 Years
	Civil War Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: May 1993 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Civil War / 2. Garden Of Eden / 3. Dead Horse
	Estranged Guns N' Roses From the album Use Your Illusion 2 Released: January 1994 Label: Geffen Tracklist: 1. Estranged / 2. The Garden >> Official music video