Here Today... Gone To Hell!

https://www.loudersound.com/features/in-defence-of-chinese-democracy-guns-n-roses-misunderstood-gem

Good CD read here...
Reflects many of my thoughts.
Hope you enjoy it!

Splash

/Mike

Interesting. I have to disagree though, when he says TIL is overwrought, and especially when he says the pre-chorus on Shackler works. That is one of the standout points of the album that does not work at all IMO.

Very accurate.

Good article.

I agree 100% that "if this was the album that the now-reunited lineup decided to put out in 2019, it’d be heralded as a thunderous comeback and end up topping a ton of end-of-year-lists."

I think the main reasons why CD did not get more acclaim are (not in any order):
1. no supporting videos
2. lackluster promotion by management (the band toured the hell out of the album though)
3. a splintered music market

But overall, CD is a great album IMO and I never tire of listening to it.

I agree that overall it's a great album, and that it would her been "better" received if it were the reunited lineup... BUT... If it were the reunited lineup it would be a much different album. I think the lineup reset would have greatly effected song choice. There is a chance that CD if held until 2019 would have contained unheard "CD2" songs in place of some tracks like (IMO) Shacklers and Scraped. Those are tracks that I see the new lineup struggling to wrap their heads around. I think those are just too Bucket influenced.

The only point you make that I really wonder about is video. On one hand the major role video had in album promotion has died. MTV is dead as a music platform, sure there is YouTube and VEVO the these videos launch on and get millions of likes, but you really need to look for what you want to see. On the other hand I wonder if in 2008-2009 a few videos did hit, how would the visual of a band that was Axl and a bunch of guys that no one has ever heard of impacted sales? Would people that bought it not knowing the line up changes have walked away having seen a video that cemented it wasn't Axl, Slash, and Duff?

Well that never-officially-released video for Catcher in the Rye didn't feature any band members; it was purely conceptual.

Another reason Chinese Democracy didn't receive acclaim is the years-long delay (something the articles alludes).  Did the delay affect the actual music?  Maybe not.  However, public perception of the music was indeed hindered by the delays; many were tired of the album before they even heard it.  Is that fair?  Maybe it isn't.  But it's still another reason.

For us old timers, a new Gnr album was constantly talked about by the band members and press starting in 1994! The reality is that it was 14 years with a never ending, changing group of musicians. 1994 to 2008! I’m gonna go to my grave believing that Chinese Democracy should have been a two CD release just like the Illusions. Once Axl and the record company  got the golden parachute deal from Best Buy, they had the chance to reward the fans for all their loyalty and patience. It also would have allowed him to show his entire artistic vision for the project.  ;)

It was never listened to fairly at all. People were lining up to take shots at it before they'd even heard a note. 

The fans who just couldn't wrap their head around this band continuing without Slash and Duff, missed out on both a very good album as well as some terrific live performances through the years. Now that the group is back together, and these songs are being played live..the album will get some believers that weren't there before. It may take a long time, but the music was good and that doesn't change.

I'd say the delay made the album become a joke, the album wasn't of course, but when there are countless references to it as a punchline to various comments then it was on a hiding for nothing. It becomes a source of ridicule that nobody other than die-hard fans wants to be associated with, there was no street cred in owning it, so the perception destroyed the reality. Without a supporting video to some form of a viral marketing campaign, it was doomed to fail as a commercial success. The art in the substance paints a different picture though in my view, still a regular player in my playlist.

The entire article summed up in one line : "Still, though: at its very worst Chinese Democracy is merely ‘OK’, while at its best it’s nothing short of fantastic."

I think that is how most see it.  The difference in perception comes down to what sort of percentage you attribute to each label.

Myself?  The "fantastic" truly is.  It's also few and far between.  And the "OK" is by far the dominant description.

I think 'There Was A Time' is a legit contender for a top ten GNR song.  But I don't think any other track on the album can even sniff a GNR top 20.

And that matters.  Or at least, it should in my view. 

The other songs I really like are 'Chinese Democracy', 'I.R.S.', 'Madagascar', 'Prostitute'.  Round out my top 5 of the album after after TWAT.  Are these truly remarkable songs though?  Not really.  I would never object to any of them in a current setlist.  But would I bat an eye if none of them were ever played again?  I would not.

Wouldn't change a word.  Spot on.

But I would add that it's kind of a joke the way a lot of folks give Axl a complete and total pass on all the marketing failures.  The man didn't lift a finger.  I get being mad at how some things were handled.  But talk about a crippling case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

You know, it is really strange that after doing a trilogy of epic videos for UYI among several others for that album, Axl did nothing with his magnum opus, CD. I never thought about that before.