Album · Compilation
Use Your Illusion
Use Your Illusion is a 1998 compilation from Guns N' Roses, released on 25 August 1998 by Geffen. It draws its tracks from the band's two 1991 studio albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, but with the explicit lyrics removed.
The reason was commercial. Walmart and Kmart had declined to stock the unedited originals, so this cleaned-up selection was made for those shops, and it came out only in the United States. It sits between The Spaghetti Incident? in 1993 and Chinese Democracy in 2008. It's worth hearing as a curiosity: the band's sprawling hard rock, blues rock and progressive leanings, trimmed down to a single, family-friendly disc.
Use Your Illusion: tracklist and credits
12 tracks · 1:03:50Tracklist
- 1Live and Let DieLinda McCartney and Paul McCartney3:04
- 2Don’t Cry (original)Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin4:45
- 3You Ain’t the FirstIzzy Stradlin2:36
- 4November RainAxl Rose8:57
- 5The GardenArkeen, James, Rose5:22
- 6Dead HorseAxl Rose4:18
- 7Civil WarMcKagan, Rose, Slash7:42
- 814 YearsAxl Rose and Izzy Stradlin4:21
- 9YesterdaysArkeen, James, McCloud, Rose3:16
- 10Knockin’ on Heaven’s DoorBob Dylan5:21
- 11EstrangedAxl Rose9:24
- 12Don’t Cry (alt. lyrics)Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin4:44
- Produced by
- Mike Clink, Guns N’ Roses
- Recorded at
- A&M (Hollywood), Conway (Los Angeles), Image Recording (Hollywood), Metalworks (Mississauga, Ontario), Studio 56 (Los Angeles), Record Plant (Los Angeles)
- Recorded
- January 1990 – August 1991
- Mixed by
- Bill Price
- Mixed at
- Skip Saylor Recording
- Engineered by
- Mike Clink, Jim Mitchell
- Label
- Geffen
- Length
- 1:03:50
Line-up
- Robert Clark · horn · guest
- Duff McKagan · bass guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, background vocals, choir vocals
- Matthew McKagan · horn · guest
- Dizzy Reed · piano, background vocals, choir vocals, organ
- Axl Rose · keyboard, lead vocals, background vocals, piano, synthesizer, choir vocals, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Slash · guitar, bass guitar, resonator guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Matt Sorum · drums (drum set), background vocals, choir vocals, percussion
- Izzy Stradlin · guitar, background vocals, acoustic guitar, lead vocals, choir vocals, vocals, electric guitar
- Jon Thautwein · horn · guest
- Rachel West · horn · guest
- Shannon Hoon · background vocals, lead vocals, choir vocals
- Tim Doyle · tambourine · guest
- Johann Langlie · synthesizer · guest
- Stuart C. Bailey · background vocals, choir vocals · guest
- Reba Shaw · background vocals, choir vocals · guest
- West Arkeen · acoustic guitar · guest
- Alice Cooper · lead vocals · guest
- Mike Clink · other instruments · guest
- Steven Adler · drums (drum set) · guest
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Brazil · 2024 | Diamond |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
54.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
—
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47k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
9.1k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 25 August
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More from Guns N’ Roses
Full discography →
Live ?!★꩜ Like a Suicide
1986
Appetite for Destruction
1987
EP
1988
G N’ R Lies
1988
On Tour Now!
1991
Use Your Illusion I
1991
Use Your Illusion II
1991
The “Civil War” EP
1993
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
1993
Live Era ’87–’93
1999
Greatest Hits
2004
Chinese Democracy
2008
Appetite for Democracy: Live at the Hard Rock Casino - Las Vegas
2014
Hard Skool
2022
The best of 1998
All of 1998 →
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Korn · 1998
Garage Inc.
Metallica · 1998
Adore
The Smashing Pumpkins · 1998
Yield
Pearl Jam · 1998
Dizzy Up the Girl
Goo Goo Dolls · 1998
Virtual XI
Iron Maiden · 1998
Iron Maiden An Introduction to… Virtual XI 1998
An Introduction to… Virtual XI
Iron Maiden · 1998
The Masterplan
Oasis · 1998
Diabolus in Musica
Slayer · 1998
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Manic Street Preachers · 1998
Cunning Stunts
Metallica · 1998
Reunion
Black Sabbath · 1998
More on Geffen
The label →Appetite for Destruction
Guns N’ Roses · 1987
Use Your Illusion II
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
Guns N’ Roses · 1993
On Tour Now!
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
G N’ R Lies
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Weezer
Weezer · 2001
Incesticide
Nirvana · 1992
Make Believe
Weezer · 2005
With the Lights Out
Nirvana · 2004
Maladroit
Weezer · 2002
Live ?!★꩜ Like a Suicide
Guns N’ Roses · 1986
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 August 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 25 August 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 25 August 1998 | |
| US release | 25 August 1998 | earliest US date |
2 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 August 1998 | US | Geffen | 720642446324 | original |
| — | — | — | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×585 | upscaled |