1988年、Live ?!*@ Like a Suicideにアコースティックソング4曲を加えたミニアルバム『GN'R ライズ』をリリース。『アペタイト・フォー・ディストラクション』に続くオリジナルアルバムまでの繋ぎとして発表されたこのアルバムは、1989年5月にはチャート2位までランクアップし、ファーストアルバムと共に全米アルバムチャートのトップ5にランクインさせた。今までにアメリカ国内だけで500万枚以上、全世界累計では1200万枚以上も売り上げている。
1991年、4年ぶりとなるオリジナルアルバム『ユーズ・ユア・イリュージョン I』、『ユーズ・ユア・イリュージョン II』を2枚同時リリース。世界中のチャートで1位、2位を独占。この2枚のアルバムは、全世界累計で今までに各1500万枚以上も売り上げている。同年秋、イジー・ストラドリンが脱退。元Candy[2]、元Kill For Thrillsのギルビー・クラークが加入。
Had Use Your Illusion II been combined with Use Your Illusion I, keeping only the best material while dropping the filler, it would have been one of the best rock albums ever recorded. Instead, great songs like "Civil War", "14 Years", "Estranged", and "So Fine" compete with the inexcusable "Get in the Ring" and the well-intentioned but off-target cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". There's no point to the second version of "Don't Cry", either. On the other hand, when Guns N' Roses were good, they were very, very good, and some of the material on this album is unsurpassable. --Genevieve Williams
Part one of Guns N' Roses' ambitious second album is arguably the better of the two. It certainly rocks harder, though this seems to be more coincidence than anything else; which songs went on which CD looks to have been a random selection. Use Your Illusion I stays closer to the band's bluesy hard-rock roots, with guitarist Izzy Stradlin contributing some of the best songs, including "Dust N' Bones" and "You Ain't the First". "November Rain" (clocking in at over nine minutes) became an instant classic, and there are a fair number of straight-ahead rockers, such as "Perfect Crime", "Don't Damn Me", and "Garden of Eden". Taking the best from this album and Use Your Illusion II would have made a killer single CD, but there's enough good stuff here to make it worthwhile. --Genevieve Williams
A glimpse of the future, and not because of its huge influence and umpteen million sales. The poor-little-rich-boy protest "Out ta Get Me" intimates that Axl Rose's egotism and martyr complex were soon to grow bigger than his head; still, Appetite's night-train wreck of punk and metal sounds and sensibilities make it more than just an emblem of its time. Whether GN'R are dancing with Mr. Brownstone, penning a callow kiss-off letter to some chick named Michelle, or passing out on somebody else's sofa, this was and remains a savage journey to the heart of the American--or at least the Hollywood--dream. --Rickey Wright