Diver Down – Van Halen

 

Producer: Ted Templeman

Released: April 14, 1982

Rating: *** 1/2

If purists regard Fair Warning as the last “real” Van Halen album, than this is probably the one they like the least. With Women and Children First and Fair Warning the band’s sound was a bit heavier than their first two releases. On Diver Down they returned to a poppier, more commercial sound. Hardly the worst thing the band could do. Fans of the band were certainly used to the occasional cover song. With Diver Down they got five cover songs. Five out of twelve songs were cover tunes. That is kind of difficult for fans aching to hear “new material” to swallow. Of the remaining seven songs, three are instrumentals. Oddly, I happen to like this album more than the previous two the band had released. Cover tunes or not, the album flows very well from start to finish and sounds like a Van Halen record should.

The album kicks off with a cover of the Kinks song, Where Have All The Good Times Gone. This was the second Kinks tune that the band covered. Hang ‘Em High is pretty much a standard issue Van Halen song. Nothing terribly groundbreaking, but fans of the band should enjoy it. The album’s first instrumental is the somewhat subdued Cathedral. Very cool track that demonstrates Eddie’s versatility. Secrets is another original track and one that I recently “discovered”. How this song went unnoticed (by me) for all these years is beyond me. It’s very ethereal and super cool. More laid back than some of your typical frenetic Van Halen tunes, it’s songs like this where I think Eddie shines the most.

The album’s second instrumental, Intruder, leads into the album’s second cover tune, (Oh) Pretty Woman. Intruder is somewhat forgettable and is more or less an intro to (Oh) Pretty Woman, which turned out to be one of the band’s more popular tunes. Dancing In The Street was another cover tune that became a hit for the band. I’ve always felt that this version of the song kicks ass. The overall production combined with Eddie’s signature style practically makes the listener forget that this is a cover tune. With a brief acoustic intro, Little Guitars displays some incredible fret work from Eddie. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) is pure Roth. It’s this kind of light-hearted, sense of humor that Diamond Dave added to the band. They never would have done a tune like this with Hagar. The Full Bug is another familiar sounding tune that most fans should enjoy. The album closes out with Happy Trails, a cover of a song from a Roy Rogers radio and television show. Probably the most appropriate way to end an album like this.

As the story goes, the band was under a lot of pressure from Warner Brothers to release an album. The band was hot and the label saw no reason to slow down. With five cover tunes, it’d be easy to accuse the band of being creatively bankrupt. The fact is, they had been recording and releasing albums and touring for five years straight. In addition, this album was probably a good indicator of the internal tensions that had been building between Diamond Dave and Eddie. Regardless of what was going on with the band at the time, I actually love this album. I would’ve given it a higher rating, but couldn’t justify it with all the cover tunes. At the end of the day, this is a very fun album that every fan of the band should own.

Fair Warning – Van Halen

Producer: Ted Templeman

Released: April 29, 1981

Rating: ***

A lot of Van Halen purists, such as guitar related magazines and those who read them, regard this as the last “real” Van Halen album. It’s the last album of totally original material where keyboards don’t play a significant role. It was the fourth million plus seller the band had released in as many years. Clearly they were on a role. Like its predecessor, Fair Warning was a bit heavier than the band’s first two offerings. Like the band’s first few albums, this one was recorded rather quickly.

The album opens with fan favorite, Mean Streets, which is probably the darkest song (lyrically) of the Roth era. Lyrically, this is a departure from the typical Van Halen tune such as Dance The Night Away or Beautiful Girls. Musically, the song is classic, hard drivin’ Van Halen. “Dirty  Movies” is somewhat forgettable (and what’s with the quotation marks in the title?) and Sinner’s Swing ain’t much better. Don’t get me wrong, Eddie’s playing, for the most part, is always impressive. With an amazing intro, Hear About It Later is probably one of the albums “lazier” tracks. It kicks ass.

Without a doubt, Unchained is my all time favorite Van Halen tune from either the Roth or Hagar era. This song is amazing. With possibly the best riff ever written (reportedly, it’s also Eddie’s favorite riff) and SUPREME vocal work from Roth, in many ways this song epitomizes what the band is all about. Truthfully, it’s not that the vocals are that stunning, so much as the Roth swagger is that cool. Once again we have a Van Halen song where the lyrics make no sense, but who cares? After a somewhat understated and brief guitar solo, there is a break similar to the one found in Everybody Wants Some (yes, this is the second tune in the trifecta). Everybody Wants Some was cool, but Diamond Dave literally shines with this one.

Push Comes To Shove has an unusually dated (for Van Halen), disco type bass line that, honestly, ruins the song. So This Is Love is one of the album’s more upbeat tracks that fans of the first two albums should enjoy. Sunday Afternoon In The Park is an odd instrumental, but kind of foreshadowed where the band was headed. This segways into One Foot Out The Door which is probably the worst Roth era Van Halen song. The song sound so bizarre. Almost like the soundtrack to Tron or video games of the same era.

By this point the band had been running non-stop for four years. If they weren’t on a stage, they were in the studio. Just what every young rock star should be doing. Unfortunately, that pace lends itself to burn-out. It was around this time that Roth and Eddie started having problems. While this isn’t my favorite Van Halen album, things were just about to get interesting. Stay tuned.

Women and Children First – Van Halen

Producer: Ted Templeman

Released: March 26, 1980

Rating: ***

I’ve always contended that with David Lee Roth Van Halen made better songs, but with Sammy Hagar they made better albums. That might seem like an odd concept to grasp. A lot of that probably has to do with the fact that with Hagar they took a lot more time recording and releasing albums and with Roth they pretty much released an album every year. Van Halen’s first two releases definitely had a commercial edge to them, even if they were defining their own sound and genre. The songs on those albums were meant to be heard on the radio. Women and Children First is not nearly commercial sounding as either of those albums and the songs are quite a bit heavier. It was also the first album they released of totally original material, no cover tunes.

The album kicks off with a classic Van Halen tune, And The Cradle Will Rock… This is a laid-back tune with a somewhat lazy riff, but that’s okay because  Roth steals the show. If the opening track is “lazy”, than the second track, Everybody Wants Some, with its tribal drum intro and somewhat unconventional song structure definitely gets the heart pumping. Tribal rhythms aside, lyrically, this song makes NO sense. Don’t believe me? Here’s the second verse:

I took a mobile light, lookin’ for a moonbeam. Ow!
Yeah, ya stand in line ya got lost in a jet stream

As I said, NO sense. D0esn’t matter, the song kicks ass and is the first in a trifecta of Van Halen tunes with this particular style. If you can’t figure out the other two, stay tuned. Fools is a fairly forgettable track, but Romeo Delight is undoubtedly one of the band’s unspoken gems. Tora! Tora! is a very forgettable “instrumental”, but even worse is Loss of Control. Take Your Whiskey Home has proven to be a fan favorite over the years, but the albums real “treat” is Could This Be Magic. It’s a rare occasion when Eddie picks up the acoustic guitar, but even more rare is hearing him play slide! This song kicks ass in way no other Van Halen song does. Probably the best song on the album. Unfortunately, the album closes with In A Simple Rhyme, which is a completely forgettable tune.

 Van Halen reportedly recorded this album in less than a month. There are pluses and minuses to recording and releasing an album a year. Obviously the fans are happy with getting new material every 12 months, but sometimes that means they are getting lesser “product”. There are moments when this album kicks ass. Unfortunately, the album is somewhat inconsistent which prevents it from being great.

Van Halen II – Van Halen

Producer: Ted Templeman

Released: March 29, 1979

Rating: ***

Following the massive success of their debut album, there wasn’t much that Van Halen could have done wrong. Messing with the formula was probably the last thing they had in mind. Lucky for them (and fans) most of the tunes found on their sophomore effort were recorded while recording their debut album. Toss in a new song (or possibly two) and an appropriate cover tune and less than a year after the release of their self titled, debut album you have this album, Van Halen II. In choosing a title for the album it’s probably likely that they were following in Led Zeppelin’s footsteps (or they were equally as uncreative in choosing album titles).

I’ve always felt that the opening track, You’re No Good, was an odd choice to open the album with. Not only because it’s a cover of a Linda Ronstadt tune (okay, the original version belongs to Betty Everett, but Ronstadt charted a #1 hit with the tune in 1975), but because it’s a somewhat “dreary” song. That being said, the vocals of David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony help make this track a tad memorable. The album truly gets underway with the second tune (reportedly one of the only ones written specifically for this album), Dance The Night Away. If ever there was a “feel good” song, this is it. The opening riff literally makes me think of beaches, booze and bikinis. Like I said, “feel good”. Superior background vocals and the subtle genius of Eddie Van Halen make this one of the band’s greatest tunes.

The riff-rockin’ swagger of Somebody Get Me A Doctor is probably the most obvious left-over from the first album, but it’s also one of this album’s better tracks. Bottoms Up! is probably the album’s most underrated track, largely because of Michael Anthony’s background vocals. Unfortunately, the album begins to stall with Outta Love Again and Light Up The Sky. Spanish Fly is a cool, somewhat rare, acoustic offering from Eddie Van Halen. D.O.A. is another one of the album’s highlights. With a moody and somewhat dark overtone, D.O.A. foreshadowed where the band was headed with their next two albums.

The 30 second opening riff to Women In Love might be the most beautiful piece of music ever written, recorded and played on the guitar. These 30 seconds are pretty much Eddie’s calling card. This is why he is “King”. Closing the album is one of the band’s classic tracks, Beautiful Girls. Diamond Dave owns this song. Immediately following Eddie’s solo, Roth says, “Sit down right here,” and then Eddie tears into the main riff of the song. It’s perfect for the song, but it also foreshadows some things we’d be treated to with the next two Van Halen albums.

Overall, Van Halen II is a good album, but nowhere near as good as the band’s debut effort. It makes sense. Most of the tunes were left-overs from the first album. I’ve always felt that their debut album was the first night of the party: A Complete Blowout. Van Halen II wasn’t the hang-over, rather the more subdued, second day of the party.

Van Halen- Van Halen

Producer: Ted Templeman

Released: February 10, 1978

Rating: ****

1978 was a fairly bleak year for rock music. Two of the years hottest sellers were the soundtracks to Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Disco and retro were very much alive. The AOR format dominated radio airwaves with releases from The Cars (self titled, debut), Boston (Don’t Look Back), Journey (Infinity) and Cheap Trick (Heaven Tonight). KISS released their four Solo Albums which began that bands rapid decline and Aerosmith marked the beginning of their descent with a live album (Live Bootleg). Truth be told this is one of my favorite eras of music. I like all of these bands and albums. Unfortunately, true rock fans had little to choose from in 1978. Even if KISS and Aerosmith were at the top of their respective games, hard rock fans had no idea what was going to be unleashed on them in the form of this debut album from the original Sunset Strip party band, Van Halen.

Prior to the release of this album, hard rock had offered up plenty of guitar heroes worthy of worship. Axe slingers like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Ace Frehely, Joe Perry and Tony Iommi had inspired legions of fans and all had unique styles. Each of those players are very much worthy of all the praise they have garnered over the years, but I’m not sure any of them have influenced or inspired as many kids to pick up a guitar and “give it a shot” as Eddie Van Halen. A true pioneer, Eddie was not just a master at his craft, but he truly re-invented the guitar with a completely new style of playing.

Within the first few seconds of Runnin’ With The Devil it becomes clear that this is one slickly produced album. Little did they know it, but this album’s sound would influence a decade of bands and music that would follow. For all practical purposes, this album marks the beginning of hair metal. Runnin’ With The Devil is a classic Van Halen tune, but it is more a David Lee Roth song than a showcase for Eddie’s talents. It’s here that we are first introduced to the metal crooning of Diamond Dave, complete with his signature screams. That’s not to say that Eddie’s playing isn’t spectacular. For 1:43 following Runnin’ With The Devil, Eddie let’s it all hang out in a track called Eruption. I was only four years old when this album was released, but I have to imagine that teenagers across the nation had their collective minds blown the first time they heard this song. Eruption of course segways into one of the best covers tunes of all time, You Really Got Me. It’s almost as if Ray Davies (Kinks) wrote this tune specifically for Van Halen. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love is another classic Van Halen tune with an incredible intro riff from Eddie. Closing out the first half of the album is the rapid fire attack of I’m The One.

In my opinion, the album’s best riff can be found on the extremely seductive Jamie’s Cryin’. This tune is tons of fun from start to finish. This may be the quintessential Van Halen track, complete with the Roth swagger and sense of humor, subtle yet kick-ass guitar work from Eddie and the industry’s best background vocals courtesy of Michael Anthony. The following track, Atomic Punk, isn’t one of my favorites, but it is followed by the album’s most underrated track, Feel Your Love. I’ve often read that Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles had a classic California “sound”. I get that and I do agree, but also feel that Van Halen represent another version of the California sound. Feel Your Love is a great example of that. Little Dreamer is okay, but once again Michael Anthony’s background vocals are amazing.

Over the course of the colorful Roth “years” , the band became known for injecting a little humor into their music. Up until then, hard rock was often too cool to think about cracking a smile. Roth & Co saw things differently. As far as they were concerned you could make heavy music that was also fun. Evidence of this can be found on their cover of the John Brim blues song, Ice Cream Man. You can almost feel Eddie and Dave competing for your attention in this song with their respective chops. I probably would have chosen to end the album with this track, rather than the somewhat obnoxious On Fire. Clearly I am nitpicking as this album is a slice of genius.

Van Halen’s career has rivaled some of the most storied soap operas. As they say, you couldn’t write this kind of drama. Lucky for fans, in addition to tabloid style headlines, they were treated to some incredible music over the years. This album was the band’s launching pad. To date it has sold over 10 million copies (Diamond status, how appropriate) in the U.S. alone making it one of the best-selling hard rock debuts of all time.

Chinese Democracy – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Axl Rose & Caram Costanzo (among others)

Released: November 23, 2008

Rating: *

2008 was truly a great year for the hard rock scene with releases from Whitesnake, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Extreme and Buckcherry to name a few. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen that many quality releases in one year, and I’m not sure anyone was expecting that sort of significant output.

I’m also quite certain that no one would have predicted that 2008 would be the year that Axl Rose finally delivered the much-anticipated Chinese Democracy to an eagerly awaiting rock world. Calling it the most anticipated release of 2008 is both accurate and misleading since the same could have been said in 2000 – 2007. Truth is, no one was sure if or when this album would ever see the light of day and when the “announcement” was made that Axl was preparing its release I don’t think anyone was holding their breath. We’d heard this a dozen or so times before with as much or more conviction.

As the release date quickly approached, it sure seemed as if this time Axl was sticking to his proverbial guns. Singles were released via radio, movie soundtrack and video game. I’d done my very best to avoid listening to any tracks prior to the albums release, whether they were leaked or legit. If and when this album ever saw the light of day I wanted it to be new and fresh. I didn’t want the experience to be spoiled by bad bootlegged versions of half produced songs. I wanted to experience these tunes, in their entirety as Axl intended people to hear them.

Chinese Democracy was a legend long before its release. Axl Rose was the only remaining band member from the original line-up. All others had jumped ship or had been forced out. Album title aside, GNR was far from a democracy at this point. Axl called all the shots and had spent 15 years and $13 million building the perfect beast. He’d burned through multiple producers and countless musicians. Tracks from the album were reportedly recorded in 14 different studios. If it sounds confusing, so does the album. But, it’s pure Axl Rose.

To say I wasn’t curious would be an outright lie, but I was also very cautious not to expect too much from an album that began recording at the beginning Clinton’s presidency and was released as George W. Bush was completing his second term. At the same time, Appetite For Destruction was the soundtrack to my teen years, so I was hoping that Axl could pull off the improbable: an album just as exciting and memorable as the bands near perfect debut. Fact is, even if Chinese Democracy was half as good as Appetite, it would be a killer album.

The album’s first track is also it’s best. The self titled track is okay, but unfortunately it’s also as good as this album is capable of being. The self-titled tune makes it clear that this is not the same GNR. Gone are the loose, bluesy guitar licks of Slash and Izzy; in their place are more modern sounding, razor-sharp and at times industrial sounding guitar tones. You do however get Axl’s signature scream, as well as, his growl and squeal layered on top of each other.

Shackler’s Revenge is up next and its intro sounds more like Marilyn Manson than GNR. The pre-chorus actually has a danceable disco beat and the entire song has layers of Axl’s voice, a theme present throughout the entire album. Better is a modern rock (read boring) sounding ballad and Street of Dreams is a ballad that actually sounds as if it could have been recorded by the Use Your Illusion line-up. The problem I have with both of these songs is that at times it sounds is if Axl is literally sobbing the lyrics.

It’s at this point in the album that I wonder if the obscure song titles mean anything beyond their blatant obscurity. Once I reach the end of the album I realize they do not. Chinese Democracy is a complete train wreck on many levels. What made Appetite For Destruction such a power house is the collaborative efforts of 5 very different personalities. These differences created massive tension and the result was one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. It also created a check and balance system that would not have allowed this cat to get out of the bag. Chinese Democracy is all Axl all the time. With Slash he had an alter ego and the absence of that type of relationship is obvious on this album.

Chinese Democracy is the result of a mad man’s (literally) ego gone wild. The songs, at times, are a meandering mess of background noise and other computer programmable subtleties. The music completely lacks any emotion and is more distracting than entertaining. Axl’s strong point has always been that his raw performances only help to reinforce powerhouse lyrics. With Chinese Democracy the lyrics and the performance often sound like that of a man who has been beaten down as opposed to someone who used to do the beating. It’s a struggle to listen to, at times.

Chinese Democracy debuted at #3 and has since been certified platinum (1 million copies sold). Those stats don’t necessarily indicate a failure. When you take into account the band who recorded the album and how much money was spent in the process, calling this album a failure is completely accurate. I did not at all expect a duplication of Appetite For Destruction. What I did expect was an album that was equally strong, but perhaps in different ways. At 46, it wouldn’t have been as believable for Axl to write Out Ta Get Me as it was when he was 25. What I wanted was a World Champion, not a whiny bitch. I wanted a rock album, not an attempt to incorporate every style of music that has come and gone over the last 15 years.

“The Spaghetti Incident?” – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: November 23, 1993

Rating: ***

Albums of this sort rarely do very well. In 1993 when this album was released, few bands were releasing an album of cover tunes, so at the time it seemed like a cool concept. Years later, almost every 80’s hair band you can think of sustained life by recording albums like “The Spaghetti Incident?”. Following the incredibly lengthy ( over 2 years) Use Your Illusion Tour, it was unlikely that Guns N’ Roses would be entering a studio to record a new album any time soon. Rather than make fans wait, the band released this album of cover tunes. Little did fans know that this would be the last album that anything resembling the original line-up would release.

Where Guns N’ Roses gets an “A” is in song selection. Most albums of this sort contain some fairly “obvious” tunes. Obvious because they sound like something you’d expect the band to play or because they’ve been covered a hundred times by a hundred different bands. Most often the songs on these albums are safe choices. Safe for the band and safe for the label. Hardly a conventional band, Guns N’ Roses chose to release an album covering some relatively unknown tunes. Most are punk songs, with a few exceptions. Highlights include Since I Don’t Have You, Ain’t It Fun, Hair Of The Dog and Attitude. The original version of the album contained a “hidden” track called Look At Your Game, Girl which was written by Charles Manson. Yes, THAT Charles Manson.

Most of the tunes are left-overs from the Illusion recordings, with a few songs recorded specifically for this release. Fans of the band should own a copy of “The Spaghetti Incident?”, if for no other reason than to understand some of their influences. I truly believe that Guns N’ Roses wasn’t, in their mind, releasing an album of cover tunes. The way they saw it, they were simply trying to turn their fans onto some cool songs by some of their favorite bands. In the album credits, there is a note that reads, “A great song can be found anywhere. Do yourself a favor and go find the originals – GNR”. Perhaps if the band had more music in their catalog and this wasn’t the final recording by the original line-up than I wouldn’t have such a bittersweet opinion of this album. For those wondering, the album title refers to an argument between Axl Rose, former drummer Steven Adler and a bowl of spaghetti.

Use Your Illusion II – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: September 17, 1991

Rating: ** 1/2

Released as a double album, Use Your Illusion I and II are essentially two separate, full length albums comprising over 2 1/2 hours of music. I’ve always maintained that the two albums have vastly different personalities. Use Your Illusion I has more of an overall rock vibe to it and the songs, in my opinion, are a lot more fun. I’ve always liked this album far more than Use Your Illusion II. II has a far more serious tone and I’ve never felt that the album flows as well as its sister album. That’s not to say that it is completely void of highlights.

The album starts off in curious fashion with the extremely somber Civil War. With a sampled intro from Cool Hand Luke, it’s clear that Civil War is going to be a fairly ambitious tune. At nearly 8:00 minutes long, it’s an epic and very intense song. To this day I think it’s an incredibly odd song to start off an album. At the same time, probably because it’s Guns N’ Roses, it’s perfect.

Following Civil War is the somewhat forgettable and boring 14 Years. Clearly, this is a tune that would have been left off the Illusion album if there were only one. Use Your Illusion II redeems itself again with the extremely underrated, yet completely cool Yesterdays. With a jangley guitar intro reminiscent of Paradise City, it’s undoubtedly the album’s best track. While I am not a fan of the original version of the song, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is an appropriate cover tune. The band had been playing the song live, so it only made sense to record a studio version. I think cover tunes are the most successful when it sounds as if the band covering the song wrote it. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is an excellent example.

Where Use Your Illusion II takes a turn for the worse is Get In The Ring. This self-indulgent mess is an attack on all the band’s detractors, specifically several editors including Andy Secher, Mick Wall and Bob Guccione Jr. I say specifically because Axl Rose goes on a 35 second diatribe in the middle of the track, naming the individuals and their supposed offenses. It’s pure Axl, but adds nothing to the album. Following Get In The Ring is Shotgun Blues, another track that would have been left off if this were a single album. Breakdown is a completely underrated tune that very few Guns N’ Roses fans mention and does a great job of redeeming the album (temporarily).

Unfortunately, following Breakdown, Use Your Illusion II does a complete nosedive. Pretty Tied Up, Locomotive, So Fine and Estranged are so forgettable that sitting here writing this I can’t even hum the songs or recall any of their choruses. Two of the tracks, Locomotive and Estranged,  are quite lengthy making them seem even more difficult to digest. In 1991 I was still buying cassettes. The second “side” of this album starts with Pretty Tied Up and it’s not until the fifth song, You Could Be Mine, that you’ll find a song worth listening to. Even at that, it’s not GNR’s best. Next up is an alternate version of Don’t Cry with a completely different set of lyrics. Considering the band released the version found on Use Your Illusion I as a single, I’m guessing they felt that was the better tune (it is). Including this on the album was probably unneccessary and is the kind of the thing fans expect to find on box sets. The final song, My World, a pseudo-rap disaster. The band claims that they were totally unaware that Axl included it on the album. It’s awful. Listening to the second half, or in 1991, “side” of this album is nearly impossible.

Clearly, I prefer Use Your Illusion I over II. While they both sold very well, II has sold more, so obviously mine is not the popular opinion. I’m okay with that. Use Your Illusion I is loaded with kick-ass tunes that more than make-up for the short comings found on this album.

Use Your Illusion I – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: September 17, 1991

Rating: ****

When Guns N’ Roses released Appetite For Destruction, I was in the 8th Grade. By the time they got around to releasing their next full length album(s) Use Your Illusion I & II, I was a Junior in High School. Three long years had gone by. An eternity as far as music fans who are constantly looking for new material are concerned. Sure they had released G N’ R Lies, but that was an odd compilation meant to hold fans over while they completed work on their new studio album.

For three long years, fans waited for Guns N’ Roses to complete work on their follow-up to their mega-hit Appetite For Destruction. It seemed like every time you read an interview, the release date was getting pushed out further and further. The band began writing and rehearsing in Chicago, but that soon proved to be fruitless. They headed back to L.A. During this time, the band did perform various live shows including Farm Aid IV in Indiana. This would be original drummer Steven Adler’s final appearance with the band. Adler would play on one track from the Illusion albums, Civil War, which has said to have been recorded anywhere from 30 – 60 times due to Adler’s condition. In one of rock’s most ironic moments, Adler was eventually fired due to his drug addiction(s). Adler would be replaced by Cult drummer, Matt Sorum who would help contribute a different overall sound to the Illusion albums.

I’m not sure when, but at some point word had leaked that the new Guns N’ Roses album would be a double album. What would this mean? Would it be packaged as one album, or would fans have the option of buying them individually. I’ve often thought that these two albums and the way they were released served as some sort of social experiment. While they both have sold  7 times platinum, everyone I have ever spoken to insists that Use Your Illusion II is a far superior album. I seem to be the only one who believes otherwise. In addition, there are those who believe that double albums are the curse of any band (see Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness….  The Beatles White Album).

I could be wrong, but I think that Use Your Illusion I & II were the first albums to receive a midnight release. As the release date drew nearer, it was this kind of special attention that the albums were receiving. The albums were released on September 17, 1991, but the band had started the Use Your Illusion World Tour the previous May in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. It may have felt like Guns N’ Roses had disappeared, but they were not forgotten. In their first week of release, Use Your Illusion I would sell 685,000 copies and II would sell 770,000 copies.

I’ve heard that the songs on I were largely written before or around the same time as Appetite For Destruction while the songs on II represented post AFD song writing. This probably explains why I prefer I over II. I find I to be more listenable from start to finish. That being said, I does get off to a rocky start with Right Next Door To Hell which is probably the albums worst song. Regardless, it does become immediately clear that these albums would be metal than the classic rock sound found on AFD. With piano and slide guitar, the bluesy Dust N’ Bones (sung by Izzy Stradlin) got things moving in the right direction. Live And Let Die is a tasteful cover tune that sounds right at home with the rest of these songs, but it’s the haunting Don’t Cry that first lets the listener know that these two albums are far more ambitious than the band’s debut album.

Following Don’t Cry is a string of some of the best tunes found on the Illusion albums. Perfect Crime is a quick hitting, frantic mess that is tons of fun. The boozy, all acoustic You Ain’t The First lightens the mood a bit and is one of the band’s unspoken gems. Celebrating “past” addictions (yeah, right) is the foot stompin’ Bad Obsession. With kick-ass harmonica provided by Michael Monroe, ragtime piano and wicked slide guitar this is probably my favorite track from the Illusion albums. Back Off Bitch is one of the album’s weaker moments, but the less than traditional Double Talkin’ Jive is another album highlight and has a killer acoustic outro.

Over the years, Guns N’ Roses, specifically lead singer Axl Rose have become known for projects of an enormous scale and undertaking. November Rain is probably the best example of when this grand vision produces spectacular results. November Rain is both beautiful and painful and quite often at the same time. This is not a by-the-numbers ballad. This is a heart wrenching tune of a failed and broken relationship. Complete with string arrangements and stunning background vocals, this is Axl Rose’s greatest accomplishment. It also showcases some of Slash’s most tasteful guitar solos.

The somewhat ethereal, sedated tone of The Garden helps the listener recover from the emotionally draining November Rain, but Garden Of Eden is a full on smack to the back of your head. The lyrical content of Don’t Damn Me is a classic GNR and has a killer bridge right before the guitar solo. With a killer chorus, Bad Apples could be a sister song to Bad Obsession. Dead Horse is probably the third track I would have left off of the album.

Closing out the album is the epic Coma. At over 10 minutes long, this tune often times sounds like several songs pieced together. At times it kicks ass, while others you find yourself thinking, “When’s this thing going to end?” It’s complete rock star self-indulgence that usually occurs when a band is powerful enough to be calling the shots.

If you look at the song writing credits of the tracks I highlighted it’s probably pretty clear that I am drawn to Izzy Stradlin’s songs more than any other. This probably also explains why I prefer Use Your Illusion I over II since that is where you will find most of his work. It’s unclear if Guns N’ Roses intended listeners to treat these as two independent albums. If that were the case, I have to believe they’d have separate album titles. I happen to believe that I is a superb album, but not as good as AFD. The question is, do I and II work well together?

G N’ R Lies – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Guns N’ Roses & Mike Clink

Released: Nogvember 29, 1988

Rating: *** 1/2

Following the massive success of and subsequent supporting tours for Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses would take an extended break. No one including the band, their management or Geffen Records had any idea how long this “break” would last. When a band or an artist is hot, the last thing a record label wants to hear is that they are taking a break. The only place a band can make money is in the studio or on the road.

Often times, labels will compensate for this inactivity by releasing some sort of compilation album. Greatest Hits, Best Of, # 1’s or possibly a live recording. All are exceptional ways for a label to give rabid, record buying fans new “product”. In 1988 Guns N’ Roses released G N’ R Lies which was an odd compilation of sorts. The first half (or as we called it in 1988, “Side”) of the album was a previously released, “live” EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide. The second half of the album consisted of 4 newly recorded acoustic tracks.

The four live tracks, were in fact, not live. These were studio tracks with crowd noise added for effect. Guns N’ Roses was hardly the first band to “fake” a live album. Read some of my previous posts regarding live albums and you’ll soon find that I think most (bootlegs aside) are BS. Regardless, in 1986 when the band recorded the EP they were hungry and trying to create some interest in the band. For that, I say job well done. Of the 4 songs, two were cover tunes; Nice Boys (Rose Tattoo) and Mama Kin (Aerosmith). Nice Boys is an appropriate blues rock song and Mama Kin definitely sounds like a young band emulating their heroes. Not ironically, GNR had spent some time opening for Aerosmith during their Permanent Vacation Tour. The remaining tracks, Reckless Life and Move To The City, were written by the band. Reckless Life is forgettable, but Move To The City (the addition of horns on this track is a pretty good indicator that this was not a live recording) kicks ass and is very much a pre-cursor to what would become Appetite For Destruction.

The acoustic recordings on the album, in my opinion, are far superior to the “live” tunes. Getting the second half of the started is the album’s only single and the incredibly somber Patience. This all acoustic track, completely void of any rhythm tracks (no bass, no drums), made musicians out of anyone who could whistle. While not as grandiose, Patience foreshadows where the band was headed with songs like November Rain. Used To Love Her revealed a comedic side to the band that we’d hear again on You Ain’t The First. You’re Crazy is an acoustic version of the same song found on Appetite For Destruction. It’s not only an acoustic version, but it also has a much slower tempo, lending to the overall completely different mood than the original version. When I was 13, I preferred the version found on Appetite For Destruction, at 36 I prefer the version found on this album. The final cut, One In A Million, grabbed a lot of attention for its use of the “N” word, but is my least favorite track on the album. It’s not that I’m that easily offended, I simply find the song boring.

In 1988 there is very little that Guns N’ Roses could’ve done that wouldn’t have been successful. This was their time. The album cover was wonderful jab at all the negative press the band had received (earned?). Ironically, they’d spend the next three years recording their magnum opus Use Your Illusion I & II which, for the longest time, had an indefinite release date. Until then, fans were given this odd, eight song release to hold them over.