It would be somewhat hypocritical of me to say that I think the lyrics are a little too misogynistic/immature for my liking as I do appreciate songs like It's So Easy and I Used To Love Her which have some very demeaning-to-women lines. I guess with AFD and Lies being earlier albums - when the band was a bit younger - it was a little more excusable to write such songs. But wait...
...Back Off Bitch is an early tune, along with Don't Cry was written when the band first formed. In fact, I have an audio cassette that I got in March of 1991 (I remember the date as I got it in Quebec City during March Break when I was in grade 12 - a Mount Ste. Anne ski trip where I didn't ski once!) that has an early demo of the song. It was a lot less produced than the version that made its way onto UYI 1 but was still exciting to hear since it was "new" GNR material. You have to remember, the much of the music world (myself included) was eagerly awaiting new Gunners material in the very-early 1990's.
By the time the two UYI albums came out, I guess I felt most of the other 29 songs were much better than Back Off Bitch. Admittedly, songs like Shotgun Blues and Get In The Ring also seemed a bit silly to me. They didn't stand up well next to the likes of Estranged, Locomotive, Breakdown, Dead Horse, and so many others.
As time has worn on, I rarely find myself listening to, or having the desire to listen to, either of the Illusions. They are good albums but are a little bit too overdone for my taste. However, Appetite will always be one of my favourites - it's a fantastic hard rock record.
A final note: Let's not bring up "One In A Million." Lord only knows what would happen if a song like that were to be released today.
Well, I was a really big fan about 25 years ago. I saw them twice during the Use Your Illusion tour and the shows were great. However, I think I grew out them (or the media told me to grow out of them - I never know if I am ever really thinking for myself) as years went by ...you know, bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam sorta replaced them, who themselves were sorta replaced by Oasis and Radiohead. U2 always remained the constant (and Pearl Jam returned). As for GNR, it didn't help that it took them 15 years to release a new record, which wasn't all that great. Not terrible, but nothing like the earlier ones.
I did see "them" again in 2002 - one of the first big return tours and it was a lot of fun. Saw them again in 2006 and it was terrible. I have skipped a few opportunities to see them again since then. However, I'd be curious/keen to see the reformed line up again. In the end, it might not be a great show but I am sure it would be interesting - and hopefully a lot of fun.
it would have been nice if Duff and Jerry had theirs friendship reunion somewhere in the emerald city if only with Fastbacks opening for the two
Seattle had its relevancy in the first steps of the newborn definitive line-up mark I after all
i'm too romantic however hehe