http://the-screen-door.blogspot.com/2011/11/guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy-album.htmlThree years ago Chinese Democracy was unleashed upon the world and sadly the rock press had little to say about it. This amazed me because we live and die for artists willing to burn themselves at the stakes and yet no one bothered to really see what was being expressed inside of the record. A distressing reality is that as most acts are unwilling to let us behind their own private curtain in fear of alienating the audience or daring to be uncommercial. If Adele has taught us anything in the past year, it?s all about being genuine and not hiding behind melodies, hooks and razzle-dazzle videos. The world seeks artists whom they can see eye-to-eye with. When Axl Rose and his new incarnation of Gun N? Roses unleashed Chinese Democracy in November of 2008, instead of having people dissect and relish it everyone appeared to throw up a collective sigh. Instead of focusing on the music most of the press focused on who wasn?t playing guitar, how long it took and the behind the scenes drama in bringing the album to store shelves. In their ever reaching goals to stake claim to dwindling readership most forgot to hone in on what matters above all else; the music. As Rose and his new musicians trekked through the battlefields of heartache and despondency they came ready armed with a guitar army and a pained voice which evoked the siege of one?s eternal chill. We chastise artists when domestic bliss interferes with record making and yet when Axl Rose releases a collection of songs where he explains the emotional holocaust of his life, few took note.
Chinese Democracy is a testament to one man?s anguish and how he tries to wade his way through this existence. These fourteen songs are a series of brave and stark revelations that define his reality. Whether he?s pulling this from within or not you can?t say but I?ll go on the line and say I personally believe these are first person narratives. His vocals are too heated and ardent for them not to be. I can?t help but feel that in a different time and place where one was able to digest, experience these songs visually or even share a sort of recurring affair with them on the radio they would have found a way to seep themselves into people?s minds and hearts and then eventually through intense sing-a-longs in concert. Plain and simple, the world judged a book by its cover and missed out on one of the most emotionally bare records of the last decade.
The album opens with a punctured riff and an anguished howl that commences a dark and tormenting journey. The title cut, ?Chinese Democracy? was inspired by the Martin Scorsese film Kundun. Rose caught it on television and seeing this world religious lead be alienated and exiled from his home is something Rose can relate to. In previous interviews he has delved into the deep psychological drama that scarred him during his formative years in Indiana. He left for Los Angeles because he had nowhere else to roam. Since then, he?s lived a nomadic life out of the public eye never revealing too much of himself, except in his music. The theme of being held back but always trying to break on through begins here as he tackles political social and severely delicate issues. ?Shackler?s Revenge? is an upsetting tale of dealing with demons of the past and trying to reconcile the loss of love (?I don?t believe you?). The wailing chorus is severe and there is a clear-cut accusation here with no holding back. People use words to express their care but all too often it?s spoken by people where honesty is not one of their virtues. ?Street of Dreams? feels like a sequel of sorts to ?November Rain? and ?Estranged?, albeit shorter. An overriding question is whether you find your way back as Rose looks inside the mirror attempting to make sense of what went wrong (?What I thought was beautiful/ Don?t live inside you anymore?) with someone he once felt was so pure and perfect. Originally titled ?The Blues?, its arrangement is a variation of the trails his idols Queen and Elton John previously traveled. To be this extreme and spew forth as much indignation Rose does, you have to apprehend that he feels this way because he experienced overpowering love. When Rose puts his heart into something it?s all-in. His life appears to be a series of life altering experiences where he attempts to shield away the demons of the past. However, when the music ends he?s not left with beauty but anguish which he can file away into a closet of pain. It?s almost as if he?s trying to will those who wronged him to see the error of their ways in the hopes the love they shared will return. You sense he knows this is hopeless, but once you?ve experienced a deep love, you always hold out hope it will return one day...
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