Definitely not my favorite band, but they do have some great songs. I mean, everyone likes “Sweet Child of Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle,” right?
And the band certainly had style.
Richard Fortus, Duff McKagan, Axl Rose, Steven Adler, Slash
Basically just good old-fashioned hard rockers, the group also had a reputation for hard partying and rebelliousness as well. That last bit earned them comparisons to the Rolling Stones and the moniker of “the most dangerous band in the world.”
This particular album was a bit of a departure for GNR, moving them from heavy-duty hard rock to some lighter stuff, with a little blues, punk, and even some classical thrown in.
The cover was done by Mark Kostabi, a real honest-to-goodness artist (and a bit of a favorite of mine).
Most of his stuff involves bland, mannequin-like figures in surrealistic settings, with nods to major works from the past. Here, for example, is a fave of mine ripping off Diego Velazquez:
And here he is appropriating Giorgio Di Chirico:
Can you guess whose is whose?
The Use Your Illusion cover was something of a departure for Kostabi as well. It’s definitely a different style. And the artist this time is no less than Raphael himself – in particular, his masterful School of Athens.
Now, can you find the two figures?
Kostabi actually has something of a reputation as well, being seen by many as a commercial sellout. I still like him though.
Kostabi did eight other album covers, including the very similar Use Your Illusion II and one for the Ramones.
Here are a couple of other GNR covers I like:
And let's end with a very inappropriate (but extremely funny) parody:
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