Reviewed by: Nick Southall
Reviewed on: 2004-03-17

Posted 03/17/2004 - 08:42:34 AM by JBurggraaf:
	See, this is the problem with the cannonization of certain albums within the "great rock pantheon". People are afraid to critise it, and the mythology around the album builds until some see the album (often a band's first) as their great artistic statement, of which any followups are inferior by design. If you ignore Use You Illusion I & II you are missing out on a great chunk of the bands' actually musical legacy. Yes, obviously with that much material there are bound to be some dissappointments, and songs that look/sound awful with 12+ years of hindsight. Guns have done a lot of band things (that live album for one) and of the track selection there are a few things I would change out as well, but overall its a pretty servicable collection for those with no real knowledge of the band and especialy for those not carrying around the bagage of waiting for a new Guns album all this time.
Posted 03/17/2004 - 08:58:31 AM by NickSouthall:
	Whilst I agree wholeheartedly about mythmaking and the canon (tune in next week to find out more! [although I am much more amenable to the idea of mythmaking, especially consciously]), in the case of Guns 'n' Roses, their debut really was their best. Sure there are some great moments on UYI1+2 ("Estranged"! Even "Coma", for comedy-industrial value), but Appetite quite simply rules. They should've stuck to having Izzy write most of it, instead of letting Axl do all the piano ballads.
Posted 03/17/2004 - 01:00:58 PM by JBurggraaf:
	If you're still around, I actually have a question about the disc - Are you basing your review off the known tracklist or do you have an actual copy? I ask because I'm interested in the "remixing" alegation with the (failed) band injunction. Has anything been done to the songs remixing wise? anything, a note, a retracking, anything that is not the orginal mastering from the albums? Thanks.
Posted 03/17/2004 - 01:04:25 PM by JBurggraaf:
	And really, there's nothing wrong with piano ballads, per se, but I know what you're saying. I will give credit to Axl for (around the time of the release of UYI) fessing up to his love of Elton John, Queen (where a lot of influence on those albums comes from), etc, instead of the cliched name dropping heavy metal/hard rock bands (sabbath, led zep).
Posted 03/17/2004 - 01:48:24 PM by NickSouthall:
	I am, alas, going off the tracklisting, which I burnt together from what I already have. Promotional copies wre not, understandably, easy to get hold of! Hearsay has it that little was done to them, though.