Use Your Illusion II is more serious and ambitious than
I, but it's also considerably more pretentious. Featuring no less than four songs that run over six minutes,
II is heavy on epics, whether it's the charging funk metal of "Locomotive," the antiwar "Civil War," or the multipart "Estranged." As if an attempt to balance the grandiose epics, the record is loaded with an extraordinary amount of filler. "14 Years" may have a lean,
Stonesy rhythm, and
Duff McKagan's
Johnny Thunders homage, "So Fine," may be entertaining, but there's no forgiving the ridiculous "Get in the Ring," where
Axl Rose threatens rock journalists by name because they gave him bad reviews; the misinterpretation of
Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"; another version of "Don't Cry"; and the bizarre closer, "My World," which probably captures
Rose's instability as effectively as the tortured poetry of his epics. That said, there are numerous strengths to
Use Your Illusion II; a couple of songs have a nervy energy, and for all their pretensions, the overblown epics are effective, though strangely enough, they reveal notorious homophobe
Rose's aspirations of being a cross between
Elton John and
Freddie Mercury. But the pompous production and poor pacing make the album tiring for anyone who isn't a dedicated listener. [
UYI II was also released on LP.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine