Use Your Illusion I | ||||
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Studio album by Guns N' Roses | ||||
Released | September 17, 1991 | |||
Recorded | January 13, 1990 – August 3, 1991 | |||
Studio | A&M Studios, Record Plant Studios, Studio 56, Image Recording, Conway Studios, Metalworks Recording Studios, Skip Saylor Recording (album mixing) | |||
Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
Length | 75:56 | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Producer | Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses | |||
Guns N' Roses chronology | ||||
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Singles from Use Your Illusion I | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Entertainment Weekly | A |
Q | |
Robert Christgau | |
Rolling Stone | |
RS Album Guide | |
Classic Rock | positive |
Use Your Illusion I is the third studio album by American rock band Guns N' Roses. Released on September 17, 1991, It was the first of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, the other being Use Your Illusion II. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts, selling 685,000 copies in its first week, behind Use Your Illusion II's first week sales of 770,000.Use Your Illusion I has sold 5,502,000 units in the U.S. as of 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Each of the Use Your Illusion albums have been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1992.
The Use Your Illusion albums represent a turning point in the sound of Guns N' Roses. Although the band did not abandon the aggressive hard-rock sound they had become known for with 1987's Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusion I demonstrated a new-found musical maturity, incorporating elements of blues, classical music, heavy metal, punk rock, and classic rock and roll. This is exemplified by the use of piano on several tracks of this album by lead singer Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, as well as on Use Your Illusion II. Use Your Illusion I contains two of the three songs, "November Rain" and "Don't Cry", whose videos are generally regarded by fans as a trilogy. The third song, "Estranged", can be found on Use Your Illusion II.