GUNS N ROSES

Four years after becoming an uninvited guest at the party that is the music industry with its seminal debut, APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION, Guns N' Roses released USE YOUR ILLUSION I & II. Thanks to a reckless approach toward life and music, G N' R was constantly at the center of controversy and the result was that much of it was chronicled on this two-volume project. By this time, original drummer Steven Adler had been dismissed due to alleged drug dependency problems and was replaced by the Cult's Matt Sorum. Keyboardist Dizzy Reed was also added as a member. ILLUSION I found Axl Rose ranting on songs about being sued by a neighbor ("Right Next Door to Hell"), dysfunctional relationships ("Back Off Bitch"), and a drug overdose ("Coma"). Amid all the spewed bile, G N' R scored three Top 40 hits with a Wings cover ("Live and Let Die"), a piano-driven, Elton John-flavored epic ("November Rain"), and a hard-edged ballad ("Don't Cry"). Celebrity cameos include a then unknown Shannon Hoon, Hanoi Rocks' Mike Monroe, and Alice Cooper, who makes a particularly sinister contribution to "The Garden."

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