Use Your Illusion II Songs Ranked
Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses. The album was released on September 17, 1991, the same day as its counterpart Use Your Illusion I. Both albums were released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour. Bolstered by the lead single “You Could Be Mine”, Use Your Illusion II was the slightly more popular of the two albums, selling 770,000 copies its first week and debuting at No. 1 on the U.S. charts, ahead of Use Your Illusion I’s first-week sales of 685,000. As of 2010, Use Your Illusion II has sold 5,587,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.Both albums have since been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. It was also No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for a single week. It is the last Guns N’ Roses album to feature rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin. It also includes “Civil War”, the last track to feature drummer Steven Adler in any capacity. This album, along with the counterpart of the album, was the last Guns N’ Roses album to feature original material until 2008’s album Chinese Democracy. Here are all of Use Your Illusion II songs ranked.
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10. Pretty Tied Up
“Sounds pretty cool with the sitar in the beginning. A great guitar solo by Slash and hard rocking guitar riffs by Izzy as well as good bass by Duff make this song worthwhile.”
9. Shotgun Blues
“Shotgun Blues” is a big piece of sass against some bad guy who pissed Axl off (old story by now). Great solo by Slash. “Breakdown” is one of those long, sprawling songs, with several musical sections, that proceeds well and nicely, starting off like a honky tonk with some piano, nice melodies, great singing, a wacky ending with all sorts of bizarre stuff coming from the singer, especially after the solo, “there goes the challenger”, doing some sort of radio DJ/monster truck rally announcer schtick.”
8. Locomotive
“Locomotive” is pretty funky and metallic, it rages and rages. The song also refers to “use your illusion” in its lyrics. The first two minutes are great, but the weird chorus and lack of a good Slash solo keep this from being a good song.”
See more: Guns N’ Roses Albums Ranked
7. 14 Years
“This song did take me a bit to get into fully, however I feel there is some great harmony on this track. Aside from that, there is very solid bass playing as well. Could this song have been some serious forshadowing for how long it would take to release Chinese Democracy? Haha, with GnR you never really know.”
6. Yesterdays
“I would consider this song to be the first ballad on the record. To me it has that tone of the heavier portion of “November Rain” and there definetly is that element of having had more production. Making is sound grander and bigger for the final product. Again, the bass is what stands out for me here, and really brings everything together in a very solid song.”
5. Don’t Cry
“For those with UYI part I, you know this song, Good track, but really I do feel there is no need for the same song to be on a double album of work, alternate lyrics or not. Good song oversll, and a GnR classic.”
See more: Guns N’ Roses Songs Ranked
4. You Could Be Mine
“This is just one of those killer songs that you’d expect GnR to put out. When I saw them in concert back in ’06 and this tune came up, the crowd just erupted. Amazing track with heavy lyrics, heavy guitar, heavy and raw emotion!”
3. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
“Although this is a cover song, this may be the most recognizable version. In my opinion it is one of the best covers ever heard. The band may have over-produced this song in spots again making it sound very large and theatrical, but it works because the lyrics are very powerful. Everything gels together so well here, and Slash’s guitar work shines through!”
2. Civil War
“Starts of haunting, with a portion from the movie Cool Hand Luke as soft whistling comes in. Awesome way to open an album (which GnR have always been good at) with heavy riffs and deep, meaningful lyrics; really sets the tone for where the album can go.”
1. Estranged
“A very, very powerful ballad from the band here. In some ways I think it could beat out “November Rain” I hear a lot of emotion from everyone in this song, and Slash does an amazing job brininging that emotion out through his guitar. Drums also play a key role in this song as it keeps everything on pace and really stands out against the screech of the guitars. Amazing!”