DVD Review: Guns N' Roses - Under Review - Use Your Illusion I and II

The first time I ever heard of Guns N' Roses was in 1994 and I was twelve. The first song of theirs I ever heard was "Sweet Child O' Mine", and I fell instantly in love with it. Then I heard "Don't Cry" and "November Rain" and I fell in love with Guns N' Roses. Later on I saw the music video of "Sweet Child O' Mine" on MTV and then I fell in love with Axl.

When I first heard about them in 1994, they were on their decline but I didn't know anything about that. No one had ever talked to me about them before 1994, I had not seen any of their music videos, or heard any of their songs on the radio. As far as I knew, they were the hot new band on the rise.

Consequently, I had no idea about the hype over the release of their albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. It was the first time in music history that anyone had ever released two albums simultaneously. Guns N' Roses: Under Review - Use Your Illusion I and II puts the spotlight on the band and the release of these two albums.

Guns N' Roses: Under Review - Use Your Illusion I and II is an unauthorized documentary about the making of the two albums, the Use Your Illusion Tour, the band and their fiery chemistry and eccentric personalities, and of course, most importantly, the music. This DVD consists of interviews and comments from various people who knew them, who worked with them, and who otherwise followed their career.

As I've said before, I've been a fan of Guns N' Roses since I first heard "Sweet Child O' Mine", but I'm not the fanatic type, so I never really made the effort to find out more about them as individuals or about the history of the band. I loved their music - I bought their albums, listened to them, and screamed and played a mean air guitar to them, and that was the extent of my admiration for them. It was a highly enlightening experience for me watching this documentary about how they started out, what people thought about them, and of course, most entertainingly, Axl's diva temperament.

Article Author: Betty Wong

An avid reader with strong ideas and opinions, Betty Wong enjoys sharing her thoughts with anyone who cares to ponder with her about what the world is about. She is passionate about art, music, and literature and spends most of her time immersed in one or the other. …

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