"Bad Apples" is a hard rock composition written collectively by Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Duff McKagan, making it the only track on either of the Use Your Illusion albums credited to all four remaining original members of Guns N' Roses. The song emerged from the band's 1989 Chicago songwriting sessions, a period when the group relocated from Los Angeles to focus on new material amid mounting personal and professional distractions. Slash later recalled that despite chaotic circumstances during those sessions, the band managed to produce several strong compositions, citing "Bad Apples" alongside "Estranged" and "Garden of Eden." Musically, the track draws heavily from a Stones-influenced rhythm and blues tradition, channeling a raucous, direct energy rather than the more elaborate arrangements found elsewhere on the Use Your Illusion records. The recording features Slash on lead and rhythm guitars, Stradlin on rhythm guitar with additional keyboard textures including piano and clavinet, McKagan on bass, Matt Sorum on drums, and Rose on vocals. Lyrically, the song takes a confrontational stance against betrayal and exploitation, with Rose addressing those who failed to hold up their end of a relationship or arrangement. "Bad Apples" has remained a deep cut in the Guns N' Roses catalog, performed live only twice in 1991 and never released as an official single.
