4.12.13

On April 12th I listened to Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusion I and II and Stereophonics Graffiti On The Train.

Use Your Illusion I and II came out one week before Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magic on September 17, 1991. Just one month after Metallica put out Metallica in August. Seriously! Four monster releases in one month! If you don’t think the early 90’s was the Golden Age of music, you are probably a sniveling douche or in your 20’s and currently nostalgic for the crap that was coming out in your tween years. I'll die first, but at least my music's better!

GNR hadn't done shit since 1988’s Lies and by the fall of 1991 if they put out Use Your Illusion I, II, III, and IV, fans would have skipped buying baby formula for their illegitimate children to scoop them all up. I remember lines at the record stores the day they came out. It was truly a huge Rock ‘N’ Roll moment! That shit doesn't happen any more for Rock album releases.

I haven’t thrown either one of these albums on in years and I was actually a little excited. But, while I was listening to “Back Off Bitch,” on Use Your Illusion I, something occurred to me. Axl was singing the lyric “back off bitch” for about the hundredth time during this five minute opus when I realized that Use Your Illusion I and II was the ultimate Rock ‘N’ Roll swindle. Thirty songs on two albums! Come on? How many of them are actually any good? Beats me. This was definitely the first time I had ever listened to both albums back to back. The hits still sound great and larger than life, but the other stuff sounds like one or two songs rewritten about twenty times. And millions of people bought both of these albums because of bloated egos and greed. 

I came into listening to Use Your Illusion hoping to find some forgotten brilliance buried within. I didn't.

I've been listening to Stereophonics since the 90’s. They have eight albums. I love three of their songs and a cover. I dig “Traffic,” “Have A Nice Day,” but only because it was in Dawn Of The Dead, “Dakota,” and their cover of “Who’ll Stop The Rain, which I've listened to A LOT!

I was hoping for one good song here, so expectations weren't that high. Kelly Jones has a stunning raspy voice, so that's why I always check out their records. His voice is the reason their cover of “Who’ll Stop The Rain” is so good. Check it out!

Graffiti On The Train, starts off too slow, doesn't pick up enough steam when it does rock out, and then Jones’ voice should totally nail the shit out of the old school roadhouse blues number “Been Caught Cheating,” but it misses the mark. It’s too clean cut, when it needs to be dirty and raw. I'd love to hear him sing that after a night of drinking and smoking. Unless he's on the wagon, then just smoking. 

Tomorrow I listen to Depeche Mode Violator, Pavement Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, and Depeche Mode Delta Machine. 

Here's April's Playlist!