Released on this day in 1991, Guns N' Roses gave the world not one, but two albums at the same time: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.
Released on midnight of September 17, 1991, the Use Your Illusion albums were among the most anticipated in rock history. Predictions in the industry were of sales reaching the likes of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., this despite the fact that major stores K-Mart and Walmart refused to stock the albums due to the profanity present. Estimates suggested that over 500,000 copies of the two albums were sold in just two hours. Both albums ultimately underperformed expectations domestically but were still commercially successful, with Use Your Illusion I selling over 5 million copies and both being certified 7x Platinum. Use Your Illusion I debuted below Use Your Illusion II mainly due to the fact that the second album contained the main lead single of the two albums "You Could Be Mine".
Use Your Illusion I peaked at #2 on the Billboard albums chart and contained these singles: "Don't Cry" (#10), "Live and Let Die" (#20), and "November Rain" (#3).
Use Your Illusion II reached #1 on the Billboard albums chart because of these singles: "You Could Be Mine" (#29, and featured in Terminator 2: Judgement Day), "Knockin on Heaven's Door" (featured on the Days of Thunder soundtrack), "Yesterdays" (#72), "Civil War", and "Estranged".
The Use Your Illusion albums can be considered a single cohesive work, and certain elements of Use Your Illusion II underscore this intent. For instance, both albums have a version of the song "Don't Cry", and both have one cover song; "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan. Each also has at least one track sung by other members of the band.
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