Who remembers the wait for "Use Your Illusion"?

[zigthis]

Wasn't it worse than this?  For me is was, and it seemed longer too.  I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.  We never even knew the title until the tour came out.  When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.  With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.  (Remember "Circus"?)  What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:  A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.  One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).  Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.  Izzy actually sings lead on one song.  When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard. 

Fuck, I'm officially old.  Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

[SLCPUNK]

To me it was nothing like this.

I think the internet, and the rumors that come with it, has made it much "worse".

Back in those days, you just were out of the loop and when you found out, you found out. I remember walking to the record store to buy the two tapes though. 

[Bandita]

Yea it was nothing like this back then.  Because we had to take the news for what it was worth and there was no outlet like message forums to dispute it or speculate on it.  You had to write into the mags and see if your letter got printed.

I had a few vinyl boots with demos of some of the UYI tunes which made me the envy of all my friends.

I had just started my senior year in HS when the UYI's came out.

I got my news from MTV (when they still cared about decent music) RS, Circus, RIP Magazine, and Metal Edge.

[dave-gnfnr2k]

How was it worst than this? The wait for uyi was like 2 years. CD has been waiting for about 6 years now.

[veritas55]

It helped that the wait was under 10 years for UYI.? But it was pretty unheard of for a major artist to tour for 4 months without the album coming out.? Now, it's GnR's specialty.

At the time, the press (and even some bandmembers) commented on how obsessive (and procrastinating) Axl was with the lyrics and the vocals, and how he just could not let the album go.? If they only knew!!

[newman]

It's funny - but Axl has been pulling this shit for years.  In fact, he kept throwing out release dates that came and went back then too.

Axl's sit down interview with Loder at his home in August of 1990, Axl said the plan was for the album to come out in either January or February and looking to start a tour in March 1991.  Well, all they did was RIR II in Jan.

At the start of the UYI world tour in Apline Valley in May 1991, Loder covered the opening night 2-hour MTV Special and stated that the album was coming out in July 1991 (likely from his interview with Axl)

It wasn't until Sept. 1991 that they came out.

Point is, even then we couldn't rely on the words straight from Axl's mouth. 

Unfortunately, it's looking like history may be repeating itself.

[madagas]

Nothing is worse than the wait for this. Off and on speculation about a "GNR record" since 1994. Are you kidding me?  

[bazgnr]

This is way worse.? ?The internet and it's accessibility to information, as well as rumors and misinformation, make the wait and speculation much more frustrating.? Last time, it was stories of being in the studio, cassingles of YCBM and Don't Cry, followed by a release date.? The end.

[BKinNYC]

I remember, and it hardly seemed like a wait at all. ?In between we had Civil War and YCBM to keep us happy.

Plus, like someone else said - there was no internet. ?So you relied on radio stations or your local record store to keep you updated. ?I remember the first time I heard Civil War - it was about halfway through the song, and I was like "shit - this sounds like a new guns n' roses song!" ?It totally came out of nowhere. ?

Ahh....those were the days. ?Damn, I'm old.

[Mike McKagan]

I wore out that goddamned cassette single with Arnold on the cover between July and September. 

I remember that the local college rock station in Indiana played both albums in their entirety without interruption the day before they went on sale. 

I taped "Don't Cry" off of the radio and listened to it for a week or two before they came out, and had to endure some stupid DJ talking over the intro.

Wow...bringing back the memories...

[The Legend]

Wasn't it worse than this?? For me is was, and it seemed longer too.? I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.? We never even knew the title until the tour came out.? When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.? With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.? (Remember "Circus"?)? What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:? A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.? One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).? Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.? Izzy actually sings lead on one song.? When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard.?

Fuck, I'm officially old.? Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

I remember the wait...

It was nothing like this.

It's been 15 years of silence, it's been 15 years of pain, it's been 15 years that are gone forever that we'll, never have again!

[nonlinear]

I think this wait is much worse.  the internet makes everything worse, because silly rumors spread like wildfire and it's so easy to check these boards all the time that I end up doing it every day.

it was way better back in the day.  And yes!  I do remember Circus, and the other ones like Metal Edge and wahtever else.

I also remember i had to save money up to get teh UYI tapes.  At first I could only afford one, so I got UYI II because it had you could be mine on it.  I think i dubbed UYI I from a friend, until I had enough $ to buy the actual tape for myself.  Ahh, those were the days!

I also remember listening to UYI (and a dubbed copy of Lies) on the bus on the way to Jr. High.  My walkman batteries would get low and the songs would play really slow, it was funny.

[BKinNYC]

I wore out that goddamned cassette single with Arnold on the cover between July and September.?

I remember that the local college rock station in Indiana played both albums in their entirety without interruption the day before they went on sale.?

I taped "Don't Cry" off of the radio and listened to it for a week or two before they came out, and had to endure some stupid DJ talking over the intro.

Wow...bringing back the memories...

Haha - that's great! ?Yeah, a local station where I grew up played both albums in their entirety, too. ?I remember when I heard November Rain for the first time, I thought the end was the start of another song. ?

On the day of the albums' release, we took off of school and waited outside the local record store. ?As soon as it opened, we (and a bunch of other people too) ran in. ?That was awesome, but unfortunately I don't think that's how it'll be this time around.

[gcluskey]

Fuck, the memories I'm recalling there, I too had the You Could Be Mine single on tape and played it all summer, I think Civil War was on it too. Yeah the wait for the album was exciting, it was always word of mouth from reading magazines and shit as to when we'd have the album and when it came out it was two albums. I couldn't afford both at once so I had to wait a few weeks before I got UYI II. It blew me away after too. They fuckin rocked! Spaghetti Incident didn't live up to the standard though. It was a bit of a let down but there's still some good covers on there

[gotohell]

the time between "Lies" and the "Use Your Illusion" CD's was only 3 YEARS
and,? we had 3 songs from the CD's pre-released one at a time during that period (although I do not know the dates on these 3 singles, they were spread out)
1- the Studio Version of "Knockin' on Heavens Door" hit the airwaves first, and was included on the "Days of Thunder" Movie Soundtrack
2- "Civil War" was realesed next (the first new GNR song to drop), it was included on a charity record called "Nobody's Child: the Romanian Angel Appeal"
3- next came the first new GNR Video for the single "You Could Be Mine", from? the "Terminator 2" Soundatrack.......


So, NO!, it was nothing like this, 1st - it did not take 15 years, 2nd we got official releases during that time, not live recordings and supossedly illegally leaked demo's..........a oh yeah, "Don't Cry" was already on radio & MTV before the CD's came out , so we had 4 OFFICIAL recordings already !

[JimMorrison4]

Not to mention that back then, people were waiting for albums that were really coming out. Whereas now, people are desperately waiting for an album that doesn't exist.

[BKinNYC]

Nice reply, gotohell.  That's exactly how I remember it....

But as for leaks, back then, where the hell would it have leaked TO?   

On a side note, I remember seeing the bootleg VHS of the Indiana concert at a record show back in '92.  I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be able to watch a live concert over and over again!  Now, we have everything instantly.  Wow, how times have changed...

[jazjme]

well actually bad apples leaked a few months before , back in the day, was played on radio and stuff.till it was pulled as it was an unfinished demo. But yeah those were great times, I had gotten the cassettes, a full week before the actual release date , and rocked out to them both nonstop. IN the car, at hokme, wherever. Even the night they actually released the Albums, I still went with friends to the record store at midnight, to just be apart of the commotion, lots of fun.

[dave-gnfnr2k]

the time between "Lies" and the "Use Your Illusion" CD's was only 3 YEARS
and,? we had 3 songs from the CD's pre-released one at a time during that period (although I do not know the dates on these 3 singles, they were spread out)
1- the Studio Version of "Knockin' on Heavens Door" hit the airwaves first, and was included on the "Days of Thunder" Movie Soundtrack
2- "Civil War" was realesed next (the first new GNR song to drop), it was included on a charity record called "Nobody's Child: the Romanian Angel Appeal"
3- next came the first new GNR Video for the single "You Could Be Mine", from? the "Terminator 2" Soundatrack.......


So, NO!, it was nothing like this, 1st - it did not take 15 years, 2nd we got official releases during that time, not live recordings and supossedly illegally leaked demo's..........a oh yeah, "Don't Cry" was already on radio & MTV before the CD's came out , so we had 4 OFFICIAL recordings already !

And the live version of live and let die they did for the VMAs or AMAs i forgot which it was

[echrisl]

I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.

I thought this was funny ... I've waited through three years of high school (I started as a GNR fan my sophomore year) and four and a half years of college (so far ...) for Chinese Democracy.  So, I guess I'm going to say no, this has been worse.   

[gotohell]

Nice reply, gotohell.? That's exactly how I remember it....

But as for leaks, back then, where the hell would it have leaked TO?? ?

On a side note, I remember seeing the bootleg VHS of the Indiana concert at a record show back in '92.? I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be able to watch a live concert over and over again!? Now, we have everything instantly.? Wow, how times have changed...

yes it is very differnet, but mostly how much easier it is to get stuff nowadays
I remember I had a VHS or the 1986 show at the Roxy, thought that was the greatest thing on earth, I also had Demos/& Live of "Gnr Lies" before it came out , I also had demo's of "Back Off Bitch", "Dont Cry" & "November Rain" before even Lies was released, Bootleg Vinyl was the way to go Back Then, we has one record store in the Boston area with the balls to carry Boots, and GNR had a huge section

[grog mug]

I was 7 back then, but I do remember GN'R being the biggest band.  If only they could repeat history, but actually give us a release date to go on this time!

[Z]

This wait goes far beyond the wait for UYI.

GNR hit the road and UYI was released a mere 3 months later.

We even had a release date in Nov. of 2002 that got pulled.

Tomorrow looks like a wash. ?Don't know about you all but I'll be around for another 5 weeks.

I still have faith Axl will keep his word.

[stvyrayvhn]

Wasn't it worse than this?? For me is was, and it seemed longer too.? I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.? We never even knew the title until the tour came out.? When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.? With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.? (Remember "Circus"?)? What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:? A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.? One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).? Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.? Izzy actually sings lead on one song.? When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard.?

Fuck, I'm officially old.? Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

I remember the wait and did all of the same stuf you did.  I blew off school to go get the CDs.  I still have those magazines you speak of.

[MATT-A-REAL-FAN]

Wasn't it worse than this?? For me is was, and it seemed longer too.? I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.? We never even knew the title until the tour came out.? When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.? With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.? (Remember "Circus"?)? What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:? A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.? One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).? Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.? Izzy actually sings lead on one song.? When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard.?

Fuck, I'm officially old.? Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

I wore out that goddamned cassette single with Arnold on the cover between July and September.

I remember that the local college rock station in Indiana played both albums in their entirety without interruption the day before they went on sale.

I taped "Don't Cry" off of the radio and listened to it for a week or two before they came out, and had to endure some stupid DJ talking over the intro.

Wow...bringing back the memories...

 I second? ALL of this!!!!? My brother had the tape single w/ Arnold and we wore the fucker out between us and his buddy he lent it to.
I remember when MTV News bulletins would announce something GN'R related and if you didn't see it -you heard about from a friend and then had to tune in every hour to see the repeat,which was like 90 fuckin' seconds of news that satisfied you a little while longer.
 I bought Circus religiously hoping to find out anything! In a way the rumors weren't as bad,because you only heard them here and there and if it sounded too outrageous you debunked it yourself and told the kid to fuck off.?
 I remember hearing that "Don't Cry" was years old and it finally made the UYI albums and I thought to myself "Why would they have a great song like this and hold on to it for so long?? Why would they do that? What are they doing?"?
 
 The same thing was when we were trying to get tickets for the show in Dec. of 1991. We talked about if we should camp out for them (remember when people did that?!?) at the local video store,West Coast Video,since that was a TicketTron broker (TicketTron was another company like TicketMaster that was bought by TM to solidify their monopoly on the industry. Bastards.)

 Couldn't camp out (we were freshman!-and our parents couldn't help us at the time) and they only had one show scheduled (Dec 16th,'91) and had to rely on one friend's mom to buy them,since she was the only parent with a had a credit card. (that's unreal now too!) Sold the fuck out in like 5? minutes.
 
 The 3 of us were looking in the paper and trying to get them from scalpers. I distinctly recall talking with a ticket broker and debating him that his price was too high and it went against the Pennsylvania law that says the resale amount must not be higher than $5. Tickets were $20 each (can't even get fuckin' concert shirt that cheap any more!) and he wanted like $50 or $75 or something for each. I said "This isn't legal!" and he says "You want the tickets or not?!?" and I'm like "NO!" and hung up.
 Thank God they added a another show for the 17th and we got the tix in time over the phone.

 This wait in no way compares with any of that though. ? The years it's been since the "TSI" have been unbearable.? Rumor after rumor have ended with disappointment. Every year you psyche yourself up to have a letdown. (save for this year,as I did see them in concert twice and I still believe Axl's word on this year.)
 The internet has made it 1000 times worse! Now,you have every Tom,Dick and Harry with a fuckin' "source" who can make shit up and have it seem believeable and post it anywhere with virtually no censorship. Look at that recent Chicago Virgin store rumor. I wanted to believe that so bad!

 I hope to God that it really will surface and I can not only enjoy it but,shove it in every motherfuckers face who said it would never come out!!?

? ?MATT

[Hoosizzit]

Who bought the "Days of Thunder" ?soundtrack....just to listen to Knockin'on Heavens Door? ? (1990..i think ) ? ?Only way to get the GNR fix until Illusions came out. ? This time is much worse !

[Groovie In VT]

Who bought the "Days of Thunder"  soundtrack....just to listen to Knockin'on Heavens Door?   (1990..i think )    Only way to get the GNR fix until Illusions came out.   This time is much worse !

I bought it and still have it on cassette in a box someplace. Funny thing is I have seen the movie a million times but I can't ever remember hearing the song in the movie. Anyone know what part of the movie it was in?

[Z]

I bought the Romanian relief fund cd just to have Civil War 

[Bill 213]

I remember like a few weeks before the UYI's were out, they were already bootlegged. ?I had both of them on tape....they had the cover art all faded and were blank on the inside........the tape was so generic looking and they sounded like shit, but I had them first. ?We got them at bootlegger's stand in NYC for like $20 each.

[metallex78]

I only properly got into GN'R in 1992, so the wait for TSI to come out wasn't that long considering I had 4 albums to tide me over until the next release. But waiting 3 years from AFD to UYI is nothing compared to waiting 13 years (or possibly more) after TSI for CD...

I REALLY hope we get it this year!

[1badapple]

I remember like a few weeks before the UYI's were out, they were already bootlegged. ?I had both of them on tape....they had the cover art all faded and were blank on the inside........the tape was so generic looking and they sounded like shit, but I had them first. ?We got them at bootlegger's stand in NYC for like $20 each.

I remember paying 30 bucks for the tapes a week before they actually came out. I used to have a friend back then who's stepdad was involved in music somehow and he always got advance copies of things. This kid would use his stereo that had high speed dubbing and sell tapes for 15 bucks each and like dumbasses, we'd all pay it just to have the shit before anyone else. I had all kinds of shit usually a week before actual release back in those days. I never understood why the advance copies he got NEVER had cover art. It was always a white cover that said " for promotional use only-not for sale" or some shit like that.

But, yeah, this wait has been far worse than the wait for Illusions, in my opinion.

[babydolls]

god, it was different then!  i didnt have MTV and my local newsagent only got hit Parader, Rip, Circus, every now and then - they were never a guarantee on the shelves (like the bought occasional copies from the back of a van!). Got Raw and kerrang though, ah those poster specials!
days of thunder soundtrack - oh god yes, and hearing a snippet on the radio and cursing my sister for not letting me tape it as she was taping some god awful pop.
marching into Woolworths and buying them and feeling so fuckin pleased with myself.  promised myself when the "next" album/s came out, I wuld be celebrating with champagne... still gonna happen - the bottle is chilling and has been for some time!

[BD888]

You also have to add that in '89-'91 there were a ton of great rock albums coming out by other bands regularly, not like now, where rock music is in the doldrums.

[doooodickiebr]

ya'll have to understand....people never change.  Axl has been playing these games for years, and everyone expects since he's older and "wiser" now it'll stop.  Not likely!  I love the man as much as anyone, but c'mon already!

[Edward Rose]

Wasn't it worse than this?  For me is was, and it seemed longer too.  I starved through all of high school without a new GNR release.  We never even knew the title until the tour came out.  When they said Adler was gone it was like stunning news.  With no Internet to grab bootleg recordings from or get an amateur review of the show, we could only read those stupid magazines.  (Remember "Circus"?)  What little news there was, it came in slow moving little snippets:  A slow song written in 1986 is on there called November Rain.  One song is eleven minutes long with no chorus (Coma).  Axl is pissed about "Jumpin Jack Flash" and won't put it on the album.  Izzy actually sings lead on one song.  When the tour started, it was like a mission to find someone that had gone to a show in another town and grill them on every note of new material they had heard. 

Fuck, I'm officially old.  Get off my lawn...

-=ZIG

Can you brief me on this one? (JJ Flash) I don't remember hearing about it back then.

I DO remember seeing Guns at two of the MSG warm up shows in... I think it was May of 1991. After the albums came out I made this cassette tape with the hit songs on it... plus Double Talkin' Jive. I always liked that song for some reason We had alot goin' on back then, so I can't say I waited anxiously for UYI. (sp?)

Then I saw Guns again @ Giant's Stadium w/ Metallica. Then the last time in the 90's I saw them was at Hartford Civic Center in March of 1993. (Quick train ride from N.Y.C.)

I feel spoiled this time around though, having seen Hammersmith, most of the U.K. tour and MSG. ChinDem? I think I'm more excited about the cover art and liner notes than the music. 

[zigthis]

Here's my counter:

Yea, obviously I know this has been over 14 years and that was three or four, but time isn't everything, and in this case (for me anyway), time is relative.? Stay with me here...

I'd say I'm the typical demographic for a GNR fan: white male born circa 1970's.? When you're a kid with no real responsibilities going through the crap of being in school and the craziness of growing up, things like music are so much more a part of your life and your routine.? Suffice to say it really, really sucked to go through all the emotional crap of high school without that soundtrack/outlet/mental crutch whatever you wanna call it.? Fuckers...

Also, this time around, aside from being busy with my adult life (work, house, kids, etc.), I happened to have 'discovered' Jimi Hendrix, and waded eyeballs deep into Jimi albums, bootlegs, retrospectives, history, and analysis.? This has kept me plenty occupied, and I've been able to endure the wait for this 'Neverending Album' alot better than I fared last time.?

For better or worse, I'm now taking a Hendrix-ian approach to being a GNR fan, enjoying the standout live performances more than the studio tracks, finding embryonic versions of various songs, tracing the development of this and that, analyzing various causes and effects in the historic timeline.? It's been fun, although doing so on Wikipedia has not been fun.  More on that later...

So if Chinese Democracy and Black Gold came out in the same month I think my head would asplode.

-=ZIG

/Listening to "Room Full Of Mirrors" from Royal Albert Hall 1969
//Next up:? "Civil War" from Farm Aid 1990
///Life is good...

[gcluskey]

Its great hearing all these stories, reminds me so much of my own youth. I first heard GNR in '88, I was 12. I taped Appetite off a neighbour after hearing some older kids playing a bootleg concert in school. I got so absorbed into GNR as a kid and its stayed with me although I've way more access to up to date info now and I can watch so many performances now. Seeing Live at the Roxy was such a dream come true back in the day, I've lost my video recording of it since but that was magic. Seeing them in Slane '92, Ireland was like being in heaven for me. Those were the days of buying cassette singles and bootleg tapes and GNR were in every magazine going. I couldn't believe it when Steve got booted out but I knew they'd carry on. When Izzy left it was the same, there was always so much scandal and rumours around GNR. I loved the guys to bits, bought every T-shirt there was and I must say, the T-shirts before UYI were the coolest amd still are, check them out! Anyway getting back to it all. The wait for UYI was grand. There was always some news about them and it was the old band, they were all together and I was happy listening to my GNR records over and over. There was amazing hype when the word of the new albums release cam out. Years have passed now and Axl has survived along with the name Guns n Roses and again is stirring up the fans like he always has, including a whole new generation of them, into a frenzy of excitement. only now there's so much more access to information and stuff about them but Axl still can keep us in the dark about somethings like the release date of this new album. Holy fuck, this is great, sure it's doing my head in a bit but I'm fuckin exciting, man!! I know its coming and when it finally does we're gonna be having some fun on this forum posting reviews of Chinese Democracy and analysing the new sounds and lyrics and stuff! There was a whole different excitement back in the days but times change and GNR has been reinvented. I still love old GNR but I'm happy to embrace this new era and enjoy the new music

[ibelieveinaxl]

it was a long wait....they had to put out lies to satisfy our hunger....but the wait since 92 for new material has been a nightmare......back then the new cd was coming out in 93 or 94...i guess that didnt happen...............

[gcluskey]

Who bought the "Days of Thunder" soundtrack....just to listen to Knockin'on Heavens Door? (1990..i think ) Only way to get the GNR fix until Illusions came out. This time is much worse !

I bought it and still have it on cassette in a box someplace. Funny thing is I have seen the movie a million times but I can't ever remember hearing the song in the movie. Anyone know what part of the movie it was in?

Its playing really quietly in the background, almost inaudible, during a scene before a race where they're fixing up the car and Tom is talking to his friend or someone. I studies that flippin film looking for it

[gmGnR]

You also have to add that in '89-'91 there were a ton of great rock albums coming out by other bands regularly, not like now, where rock music is in the doldrums.

yep, at least other bands were around.  Maybe I just dreaming this but I think I remember some papers back then talking about the UYI as the most anticipated rock album(s) in history.... sounds familiar.

I agree the wait seemed longer back then (altough I KNOW IT"S NOT), probably because I was much younger and time didn't go as fast as it does now.

I also haven't been hanging around for CD to come out, although I have been this year because of all the official news coming from the GNR camp...  Thought we were gonna get something after Oh My God in 98 but then didn't think about it. Certainly didn't worry about it after Axl said "Soon is not the word" in 2002.  2006, much different.

[freedom78]

I was in middle school at the time, and my first exposure to GNR was when I saw Farm Aid on TV and mentioned to some friends that "the singer from Guns N' Roses" didn't have a very good voice (sorry...I grew up on Bon Jovi, which is much "cleaner," but I'M REFORMED!).  Then I bought that same friend UYIII for his birthday, listened to YCBM repeatedly that weekend, and became obsessed.  So, there was no wait for me.

Then they toured with Metallica, but because of previous riots, I wasn't allowed to attend...I'm still a touch bitter about that.

[Slashead]

I became a fan in 1990. So, waiting for UYI wasn't too long.

GN'R started touring in May 91 and the album got released in September...

[pollyblue]

i don't remember. but i know my nepfew bought the cd's and i could only affort the cassettes. made me jealous.