The consensus among most critics and the general public is that both "Use Your Illusion" albums contain a lot of filler. It has often been said that a single album, with the best of both volumes, would have been better than two separate albums. Although this is the general consensus among Joe Public, the hard-core Guns N' Roses fans know better.

In my opinion, the Illusion albums have very little filler. It would also be hard to have a single album with songs from each disc, as each Illusion album is its own entity. The Illusion set is not a single album with two separate discs. Both volumes are albums in their own right, with a different tone, vibe, and feeling. The colors on the album covers represent the atmosphere of the albums. "Use Your Illusion I" is brighter, more up-beat, glossier. "Use Your Illusion II" is more reflective, and overall darker.

Between both volumes, there is over two and a half hours of music. Both volumes need to be nursed and savored. The listener needs time to let it all sink in. Some of these songs are fast paced rockers in the vein of "Appetite For Destruction." Other songs are longer, up to ten minutes in length, with intricate solos and complex arrangements, in short, art-rock.

With an album like "Appetite For Destruction" under their belt, any follow-up would be criticized. But much had changed for GN'R since they hit it big. They were now multi-millionaires and no longer living in poverty in cheap apartments in L.A. Also, the lineup of the band had changed. Drummer Steven Adler was fired, and replaced by Matt Sorum. Sorum's drumming was slicker, more technically proficient. Also added to the lineup was keyboardist Dizzy Reed. The new GN'R was more polished, less rough-around-the-edges than they had been in the days of AFD.

GN'R branched out artistically for their follow-up, and naturally received a lot of criticism. Common complaints are--the band went soft, too much filler, to arty, etc.

To address these criticisms: (1) The band did not go soft. There are ballads, but there are also a lot of rockers. A lot of the singles were the ballads, so someone unfamiliar with these albums might conclude that the band went soft by listening to the radio/MTV and conclude that these songs (Don't Cry, November Rain) represent the album, when in fact, they do not. (2) As for there being too much filler, that is a matter of opinion. I happen to think that each song ranges from very good-to classic. A lot of GN'R's very best songs are buried in the set. Because there is so much music, a lot of the songs remain unknown to the general public and are therefore considered "filler." (3)A lot of these songs are art-rock. They are often long in length and are not instantly assessable-and are therefore dismissed. A lot of these songs are quite intricate and take time to fully appreciate.

"Use Your Illusion I" has a very glossy feel. It is somewhat overproduced, but for me, as someone who has been listening to it for almost 15 years, that's just part of the album's charm. I tend to look at the first volume as "the Izzy album," and the second volume as "the Axl album." I do this because Izzy's signature Stones/Faces influence is more prevalent on volume I, and Axl's artistic muscle is stretched more on the second volume, although there is an overlap and each made great contributions to the other.

Sorum and bassist Duff McKagan provide a killer rhythm section. Slash's playing, of course, goes without saying, is absolutely incredible. Each song has at least one or two screeching, ear-crunching, kick-ass, yet melodic solos. And Axl Rose shows why he is one of the most memorable, charismatic figures in rock. And some of Izzy Stradlin's best songs are found on "Use Your Illusion I."

The first volume starts out rocking hard with the AFD style "Right Next Door to Hell." This song doesn't have quite the furry of AFD, but it's still a good song nonetheless and a good way to start off the album. Izzy Stradlin's mid-tempo "Dust N' Bones" is a very Stones-ey song and is quite underrated. Slash's solo in it absolutely rips. Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" is a very cool cover and stays pretty true to the original, while giving it a little more of an edge. "Don't Cry," the first song ever written in Guns N' Roses, is a beautiful balled, although the 30 second ending is a bit over-the-top. "Perfect Crime" is another great rocker, in the vein of AFD, and is another highly underrated song. Izzy Stradlin's sleepy, "You Ain't the First" is the only song I would consider to be filler. It's not bad, but it just slows down the momentum a bit. The rock-a-billy "Bad Obsession" is GN'R paying homage to Southern Rock. "Back off Bitch" musically is excellent, although the lyrics are stupid and juvenile, and didn't help GN'R's image as being misogynist. Stradlin's fast paced "Double Talkin' Jive" has a catchy, almost sinister riff and features one of Slash's best solos. Rose's Elton John inspired masterpiece "November Rain" follows next. This remains one of GN'R's most beloved songs to date.

A lot of Guns N' Roses best songs are found on the second half of "Use Your Illusion I." Unfortunately, because of the album's length, they just sort of got buried. "The Garden" is a really trippy, psychedelic duet with Alice Cooper." "Garden of Eden" is an excellent very fast paced hard-rocker. "Don't Damn Me" features some of Rose's best, most soul searching lyrics. "Bad Apples" is another hard rocker and features one of Slash's best solos. "Dead Horse" is one of the album's highlights. Rose best, most personal lyrics are found right here. The closing epic "Coma," along with "November Rain" is the album's highlight. It simply shows Axl Rose and Slash at their best. The song is just a monster, pure and simple. Axl Rose's 30+ second delivery at the end over Slash's playing is one of the most powerful, vital, ingenious moments in rock.

I bought "Use Your Illusion I" when I was 13 years old, and now, at 26, it remains one of my most favorite albums of all time. If you are looking for an AFD part two, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for instant gratification, go buy a Blink 182 album. If you want a masterpiece that has songs that are instantly addictive as well as songs that take time to appreciate, buy "Use Your Illusion I."

There is an energy in this album (along with the other pre Spag. albums) that can not be replicated. The stars lined up just right for a handful of times in the past 50 years, and included in the list of those to benefit is the GUNS N ROSES beast from 87-93. Although contemporary times always make the past look tame, there is still no denying the ferocious, controversial beauty that will probably always be associated with GNR.

I'm not in the generation that's supposed to listen to Guns. I was 11 when the Illusions came out, so that meant that while everybody was telling me that Kurt Cobain was the only thing that was cool, I was just discovering the TRUE POWER of music, which is highly inclusive of the mighty Guns. Also a classically trained pianist, let me say I am very open-minded. But regardless of society's pressure to keep up with the times, I still haven't heard anything since the Illusions that can offer such a profound release of anger, tension, stress, and hurtful emotion. Fans ferociously guard "Appetite..." as the definitive album, and there's obviously a whole host of good arguments for that - but although it was at the expense of the band's unity, I maintain that the Illusions pulled off every epic human goal that music can provide, justifying Axl's egocentric addiction to perfectionism. Here's the review of 1, which although it doesn't pull off the "greatest album of all time" -ness of 2, it is the biggest pack of a punch that good hard rock has ever been able to muster.

The songwriting, performing, attitude, musicianship - EVERYTHING - came together with "Appetite" - but now, with a few more dollars in their pockets, the Gunners could take that same vision and get the recordings polished to perfection. I conceed that that is "for better of worse," in that many people prefer a raw sound, and that appeals to many Appetite heads (and I'm one of them!) But during the Illusions recordings, magic happened; a very spiritual (partially demonic) soul got trapped into the tape, making these recordings transcend all laws of recording techniques, and when you listen to the metallic blues of "Dust N Bones", the more obscure "Bad Apples," or the bone-crunching epic "Coma," you can't help but bleed out all of your internal toxins. Music exists for a release (among other things), and no album has you dealing with your demons more intensely than Use Your Illusion I. Axl's lyrics read like a psychiatric report, which as I mention down below, wouldn't make sense if indeed they were a shallow party band. Indeed, this band was put here with a purpose.

Okay, so they weren't the BEST musicians around, but they weren't bad. And the group dynamic made up for the lack of technique many times over. Afterall, a strong element to the foundation of the band is punk, where attitude is all that matters. The fact that Guns had/have attitude PLUS other things to offer makes me say that that is the best thing you could try to get from any musician.

Which leads me right into the high compliment to this album's effective diversity. I play piano for a living, and Use Your Illusion 1 is like Appetite + piano and a few other things, which is why I hold 1 just a notch higher (not worth arguing about though). I could listen to the bluesy headbanging of "Dust N Bones" (and even more, 2's 14 years) all day long, jamming along on piano, and never want to go do anything else. The hypnotic electricity of this band should come in a bottle. Then there's "You Ain't the First," a really cool acoustic ditty, a royal "Queen-like" cover of Sir Paul's "Live and Let Die", the staple ballad "Don't Cry," the monstrously screaming metal of "Back off B@#$%", and the smash epic that needs no description, "November Rain." I put on a piano recital which, after the Beethoven was over, included a full orchestration of this epic, strings and all. A pretty bold move for a conservative music school. With regards to those saying that if 1 and 2 were combined into one solid (though how much more solid do you want?) album it would be much better... I'll concede only as far as "Double Talkin Jive" and "Perfect Crime," are concerned, which are the closest to filler that is on the first album (Slash's tasteful classical guitar licks notwithstanding). This album, especially when coupled with 2, has it all. Dave Matthews and Phish may open up their jams more, but they still leave you needing your Prozac.

It's funny how documentaries try to establish grunge as a return to seriousness after the partying of the 80's bands - but I never fell for grunge, and I've needed a boatload of musical anti-depressants in my life (who hasn't?). No, kids, Nirvana never really offered that much other than a meeting place for disillusioned teens. The magic of Guns was MUCH angrier, much more MUSICAL, and much more PROFOUND. [Why even mention the N word? Well as you should well know, "N" made it not cool to like GNR, which was a sad sad day for the future of the record industry.] But I digress... The characteristic style of randomly chosen subjects, let's say "The Garden" or "Dead Horse", holds up UNBELIEVABLY well today, and still tastes as fresh as it did a decade ago. And when it's all over, that is the true test.

It seems to me that the two Illusion CD's are split. You listen to one of them depending on your mood. Illusion 1 is harder, faster, and more lewd than the "intellectual" Illusion 2. Fun songs like the cover Live and Let Die, The Garden, and Bad Apples supplement the driving rock felt in Coma, Back Off Bitch, and Don't Damn Me (I don't usually care for alot of swearing, but no one can sneak the F-word into the middle of a song and make it fit like Axl). Axl Rose had a gift for songwriting, putting words to music and making his feeling known, from every angle (Coma, November Rain). The only reason this is four stars and not five is that in my eyes, no body can be perfect. There's not one bad song on this album.

Listening to this album (and its sister album, UYI2) was kind of like putting together a puzzle... it took MANY listens,and each time a new piece fell into place. At first, I thought both discs were too long, and had too much filler, yet there was to much musical gold to simply say the albums should be combined into a 'Super Illusion.' Now that I actually see the concept underlying this album, which is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT from UYI2's concept, I can firmly say every track on this album, while not excellent, belongs where it is. To those who just find this album 'ok,' I simply say it takes several listens. Now onto the story of this album - check the title of the review:

'Right Next Door to Hell' is an awesome opener, which goes on for just long enough without getting old. Now, listen to the first verse, and then combine it with the message in the next rack, Dust & Bones. That then goes to the cover, live and Let Die, and then Don't Cry. Notice how the lyrics in Don't Cry are empathetic and reassuring - 'I've beent here before.' That becomes important on the next album. These first four tracks create one of hte most solid openings in hard rock ever, and sets up the concept - one can almost see all these songs being sung by one fictional character (Axl doesn't count), which is especially genius because G'n'R didn't wirte track three.

The next phase of the album is the hardest - I don't feel "Perfect Crime" covers any ground that "Right Next Door" and the first half of "Appetite" didn't... thank god it's short. "You Ain't the First" is alright, and stands out as the only track on all three albums not in 4/4 time... Izzy's so proud that he starts off counting it out. It then goes to Bad Obsession, which seems like a re-hash of Mr. Brownstone, sharing the same weakness as "Perfect Crime," but this song also has a conceptual significance to be revealed soon. "Back Off Bitch" is just fun... Then, "Double Talkin' Jive"...this one really grew on me - someone described it as a Metallica rip-off... um, no. It is pretty funny that they put a song with a line like "I got no more patience... man" right before "November Rain," with its message of 'it'll all be ok... just hold on.'

Which brings us to the pinnacle of western music... November Rain. The album's greatest strength and weakness... because I always want to listen to it twice. Eighteen minutes later... who wants to finish the album? Seriously, the progression of November Rain, from that keyboard buildup, to Slash joining the song 4 MINUTES INTO IT, to that final chorus and then the metal-ish outro and the whole band chanting "you're not the only one"... goosebumps.

So then it's time to put the CD away and finish it tomorrow. You do... "The Garden" is trippy and reminds u that a song like this could not have been possible if John Lennon hadn't existed and wasn't the stoner he was. "Garden of Eden," again with those really short songs with brilliant lyrics that can't be understood... I think the fact that they put both 'Garden' songs next to each other, and that the band littered the album with biblical references - being next to hell, being dust and bones, and 'lost in the garden of Eden' was done on purpose - it's all buildup to a man with a crappy life dying.

The last four songs, like the first four, really underline the story of 'Life's a Bitch, then you die' Notice how there's sixteen tracks, and 'Back Off Bitch' is right in the middle? Anyway, "Don't Damn Me" has some of the most important lyrics, like 'So I step into your world,' 'it's all a part of me' and 'silence isn't golden.' This whole song foreshadows the concept of the next album. Then, "Bad Apples"... I really don't like it very much. The 'death' concept is beaten into our heads as Axl beats a Dead Horse on the next track, along with one of Slash's best solos. Then...

...it all comes together with "Coma." Maybe Guns & Roses was really unimaginative and wrote about the same things... but isn't it more fun to think they tell a story? That chick he had a Bad obsession with can be heard yelling 'all you think of is sex, sex, sex,' the cover song is fullfilled, as he has lived and is letting himself die... 'his world' is waiting on the other side, which is exactly what UYI2 is about. Awesome.

Oh yeah, and the solos are great, Sorum's better than Adler, theproductions good, Axl rocks and all the other things every other reviewer's already told you about.

I won't compare to AFD, because they are both spectacular. I'll just review the songs one by one

-Right Next Door to Hell-9/10 Opens with almost as much power as Welcome to the Jungle. Really good.

-Dust N' Bones-9/10 Really catchy, has a great ending.

-Live and Let Die-9.5/10 Great cover that made this song by Paul Mcartney very popular. This version is the best.

-Don't Cry-10/10 Part of the Don't Cry/November Rain/Estranged trilogy, has a lot of meaning through great lyrics and music.

-Perfect Crime-9.5/10 Fast and furious, a really good song that is easy to listen to over and over. Uses the word f*** awesomely.

-You Ain't the First-7.5/10 The weakest on the album, would have fit in better on GN'R Lies.

-Bad Obsession-9/10 Totally adictive, but kind of ends weak.

-Back Off Bitch-8.5/10 Really good song about a girl that Axl doesn't like, sweet beginning and great chorus.

-Double Talkin' Jive-8.5/10 Not enough lyrics, but the ones that are there rock, also great classical guitar solo at the end.

-November Rain-10/10 9 minutes of masterful balladness, with a cool rock ending to one of GN'R's greatest epics

-The Garden-8/10 The parts where Axl sings are great, but Alice Cooper's part just doesn't make it seem like the same song.

-Garden of Eden-9.5/10 Axl sings very quickly so you should be looking at the lyrics in the book so you can understand him. On a side note, the music video is superb if you ever see it.

-Don't Damn Me-10/10 Possibly my favorite on the album, just plain awesome. "Sometimes I could get even/ Sometimes I could give up/ Sometimes I could give/ Sometimes I never give a f***" is really cool.

-Bad Apples-9/10 Great intro with the most addictive chorus I have ever heard.

-Dead Horse-9.5/10 Interesting acoustic intro, but it turns into the best rock on the album. Probably should have been on the GH.

-Coma-10/10 Simply a 10 minute masterpiece by Axl and Slash. Kudos to you two for making a rock song just as epic as November Rain on the SAME ALBUM! Best album ender ever.

Thanks for reading this review of a 146.5/160, no filler, 16 song masterpiece.