Chinese Democracy Review Thread

[ppbebe]

not that I totally agree with everything it says, but  I find this review very interesting. 


"Guns n Roses: Chinese Democracy

If Axl Rose spent fifteen years perfecting Chinese Democracy, I most certainly am allowed two months to get my head around it. I believe it?s called respect in some circles.

I don?t know about everybody else but for the last 15 years, I?ve been busy living my life and not sitting around waiting for Axl Rose to deem his masterpiece worthy of public consumption. On an unprecedented global scale, most reviewers of Chinese Democracy have found the story of the album a more interesting tale than the album itself - which is something akin to being asked what you did yesterday afternoon and responding with your life story. And now the Holy Grail is upon us, those same people have not really formulated much of an opinion on the album at all, which is actually a much bigger crime than the one Axl perpetrated in the name of art.

Chinese Democracy is full of holes, but then, so is the sky and that still seems to work just fine. The point everybody seems to be missing is that Chinese Democracy is a logical extension of all that came before. Let?s say that Live Like a Suicide was a band testing the water. Seeing that the water was good, Guns n Roses went on to record a great rock n roll album in the shape of Appetite for Destruction that was simply right place, right time. While that may be something of an understatement, I?m pretty sure of myself when I say that the rest of the band would have been happy to pump another out a year later straight off the cuff and be a ?real rock n roll band?.

Axl however, was never going to put an album out that, no matter how good the songs were, would put the band in the same league as the other guys that left Los Angeles with them. (Calling Bang Tango. Calling Faster Pussycat?). With Use Your illusion I & II, there was so much material - some instant, some that took years to realise its worth - that nobody could possibly compare them to Appetite. They did try though and all of them failed miserably.

Such is Chinese Democracy. With no members of the original band left (not that there were all the original members on any other releases), comparison is futile. Axl wins again. He may not be in the ball park he originally intended (that of creating another Day at the Races), but putting himself in a game with only him playing, how could he fail. As Jim once said ?How can you be late for your own show?? Actually that?s probably a question that Axl could answer better than anybody.

As the single Chinese Democracy shuddered its way into the world as a precursor to the album proper, it showed one thing. Slash or no Slash, the album was still going to be the equivalent of walking into a bar with nothing on but your pants. That solitary guitar at full throttle, not quite keeping a beat or pace with anything else, is most unnerving to say the least. It?s the aural equivalent of The Fellowship of the Ring simply because it?s a riff full of hope and suggested adventure, which is all any of us should ever have wanted from it. The fact that a couple of months on, none of us have a clue what the song is really about only serves to make it more important.

Once its big sister hit the racks, it became a free for all. The Big Web became full of people saying in equal amounts that it was ?utter shit? or the ?greatest thing ever? - both entirely based on a gut reaction, years of living with bootlegs or some basic need to say anything at all. In other words, pointless blabbing.

Personally, I find Shackler?s Revenge really weak, (though time may tell a different story), but Better is outrageously beautiful. Creeping at first, it daringly opens its coat to reveal a Matrix-like arsenal of hooks, melody and lyrics (complete with killer harmonies) fit for a king, allowing the album to settle into a groove that feels like home.

If Street of Dreams sprawls across the decks with ?that? piano that we?ve missed so much and makes us feel like we?re on home turf again, If the World rubbishes that idea with its dead beats and dumbed down slap bass. Coming on like the closing soundtrack tune from a movie you loved but likewise didn?t understand, it burrows itself under the skin and feels odd. The track doesn?t really go anywhere or do anything but repeatedly present itself and its looped five second rhythm to your psyche, so why it should linger long and hard is beyond me. This is disturbing but by now, the smart listener should have decided to quit trying to second guess where it?s going and settle in for the journey. The dumb listener on the other hand is busy typing comments into Big Web forums. I?m going to skip over There Was A Time. It?s one of those holes in the sky for me.

Then we come to one of the albums centrepieces. Catcher in the Rye is one of the most talked about songs on board but at six minutes forty, it falls short of what it?s trying so hard to be, which is November Rain bottled together with Queen?s Spread Your Wings. Scraped follows and does exactly what it says it will - but here comes the brute: Riad n? the Bedoins says more than anything what Chinese Democracy is about. You can?t do anything to this song. You can?t be angry, dance to it or drive to it - not without ripping out your gearbox anyway. I?ve tried. It hosts multiple threads of its own life and is going to stand out for a long time to come - and shit, that solo that kicks in towards the end has got it all!

As we ease our way towards the final act - almost as if somebody knew they were doing when they put the album together - the whole project falls into place track after track in a spectacular display of rock masterclass. Sorry begins the journey by posing as an understated ballad of sorts that bleeds and bleeds until there?s nothing left to give. Indeed, Sorry is so big, I still can?t fit it all in my head and to follow it with I.R.S. which parades its badass attitude with parade is genius. Then cometh Madagascar - the behemoth of the moment. A stunning foray into the outer reaches of the soul, this sums up Chinese Democracy for me. I won?t even attempt to justify it with words. This does for me what Dreamer (Tommy Bolin) does. It simply punches hard where you?re wounded. This Is Love then comes round the back for a fatal suckerpunch to the head. Frankly, it?s a mean way to finish off an album - and probably goes some way to explaining why Prostitute brings up the back end. This ?gang? of songs combined hit hard, hit fast and hit bigger than anything else I?ve heard in a long time.

So, I find myself not able to wrap up Chinese Democracy eloquently at all. It?s an album that defies any categorisation. It?s too big. It?s too powerful. It does strange things. Full as it is of shock and awe, it all seems very normal and that?s when things are most dangerous. It?s never the kid on the corner full of booze who?s the real danger. It?s the guy with the scope behind the curtain you need to watch out for.

Sion Smith"

http://www.shakenstir.co.uk/index.php/reviews/guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy/reviews/5557/

[FunkyMonkey]

Guns N' Roses - 'Chinese Democracy'

February 18, 12:40 PM

by John McLaughlin, Denver Hard Rock Examiner

The powerful opening riff goes right through you and you just know ?Chinese Democracy ? is gonna be good.  The songs are huge productions.  Some include grandiose, orchestral string sections, choir sections, Elton John-style piano, and lots of guitar, while others are straight ahead rockers.  But none of the songs are convoluted.  Everything fits.  And Axl Rose proves he?s one one of the best vocalists out there.  His range and intensity are insanely good ? more impressive than on any of his past albums.
 
Speaking of guitars (my favorite part), each tune on this album boasts three guitar players and some have as many as five.  The credits list Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails), Richard Fortus (Psychedelic Furs), Ron ?Bumblefoot? Thal, Paul Tobias, and Buckethead.  If you don?t know who Buckethead is, you owe it to yourself to check him out.  He is the best guitar player alive and he can shred like Joe Satriani, rip like Kerry King (Slayer) or play with feel like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd).   Buckethead is simply amazing!  It is also rumored that Brian May (Queen) played the lead on ?Catcher In The Rye?.  This is quite the guitar army Axl put together.
 
The title track ?Chinese Democracy? and track three ? Better? are the ?hits?.  Both are rockin?, heavy numbers more akin to vintage Guns N' Roses.  Great riffs and layers of guitar.  Old time fans will love these two ?they remind one of the ?Appetite? days.
 
My favorite track on the album is called ?If The World?.  This one is a mellower tune that starts out with a middle eastern strumming, then moves quickly into a laid back, funky ?70s groove.  This song (and the whole album for that matter) displays Axl?s vocals.  I think most people hearing it for the first time won?t recognize it as GN?R, but  if you just keep an open mind and don?t get caught up in what you think it should sound like, you realize - it?s just a cool tune. 
 
Another great track is ?Sorry?.  Again, one of the slower selections on the album. The song  showcases beautiful, soulful, dreamy guitar playing by Buckethead - the solo has oodles of feeling.  Axl ?s dark,  stinging  lyrics cut like a knife ? he?s clearly sending a message to someone.  Whether he?s addressing ex-bandmates,  ex-girfriends, fans who second-guessed him or someone in his distant past is unclear.  Maybe all of the above.   Either way, he?s skewering somebody with the line  ?Truth is the truth hurts?.  This one also features Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) on backing vocals.  Great tune!
 
?Chinese Democracy? is an epic album!  It?s got  peaks and valley, it ebbs and flows, and it?s all over the map in terms of style.  And like all truly great albums, it gets better every time I listen to it.

http://www.examiner.com/x-3323-Denver-Hard-Rock-Examiner~y2009m2d18-Guns-N-Roses--Chinese-Democracy

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Hey McLaughlin, what's your username here?

 

[ppbebe]

a poster @ here would know it's difinetly not Brian May in the rye.

very fair review I can nod the writer in the most part.

more impressive than on any of his past albums.

This is quite the guitar army Axl put together.

 

?Chinese Democracy? is an epic album!  It?s got  peaks and valley, it ebbs and flows, and it?s all over the map in terms of style.  And like all truly great albums, it gets better every time I listen to it.

[Voodoochild]

but here comes the brute: Riad n? the Bedoins says more than anything what Chinese Democracy is about. You can?t do anything to this song. You can?t be angry, dance to it or drive to it - not without ripping out your gearbox anyway. I?ve tried. It hosts multiple threads of its own life and is going to stand out for a long time to come - and shit, that solo that kicks in towards the end has got it all!

Couldn't agree more.

[Buddha_Master]

Something fucking crazy. Its February 19, and I still keep going back To Chinese Democracy almost daily and fall in love with this album all over again. Seriously what the fuck? I like the reviews above for the most part. CD deserves every last bit of love it gets. So ridiculously good. CD is clearly one of the best Rock albums to ever come out. It resonates. Some of the best sex ever. I will forever have Axl's back. I could not be more appreciative towards a work of art then I am for Chinese Democracy. So bloody fucking thankful for this album.

[jarmo]

Something fucking crazy. Its February 19, and I still keep going back To Chinese Democracy almost daily and fall in love with this album all over again.

You're not the only one.

 



/jarmo

[loretian]

Something fucking crazy. Its February 19, and I still keep going back To Chinese Democracy almost daily and fall in love with this album all over again.

You're not the only one.

Ditto again!  I was just listening to it last night, into the early hours of this morning.

[D]

That was a really great review up above.

I haven't listened to it in a bout 2 weeks. I'm gonna have to stick it back in my CD player


I still think If The World and Sorry are the two best songs on there.

I really wish they'd get released as singles.

Street of Dreams is rumored to be the next single but man, Sorry and If The World in my opinion have a much better shot at crossing over.

[oldgunsfan]

That was a really great review up above.

I haven't listened to it in a bout 2 weeks. I'm gonna have to stick it back in my CD player


I still think If The World and Sorry are the two best songs on there.

I really wish they'd get released as singles.

Street of Dreams is rumored to be the next single but man, Sorry and If The World in my opinion have a much better shot at crossing over.

This album still has ton's of potential singles:
Street of Dreams
If the World
TWAT
Catcher
Scraped
Sorry
IRS
Madagascar

It'll definitely have legs once they start touring

[kmorgan]

Something fucking crazy. Its February 19, and I still keep going back To Chinese Democracy almost daily and fall in love with this album all over again.

You're not the only one.

Ditto again!  I was just listening to it last night, into the early hours of this morning.

I agree.  I can't take it out of my CD player.  I feel like there is so much there I'm missing, so I have to keep listening to it over and over to try and figure it all out. 

Anyone that listens to the music without thinking about all the drama that has surrounded it has to appreciate it.  Everytime I listen, I love it more.  I am so happy to hear Axl singing again.

[gilee7]

I haven't listened to it in a bout 2 weeks. I'm gonna have to stick it back in my CD player

Are you serious? I can't even go a day without listening to it.

[faldor]

I haven't listened to it in a bout 2 weeks. I'm gonna have to stick it back in my CD player

Are you serious? I can't even go a day without listening to it.

I haven't listened to any other CD's since Nov. 23rd.  I listen to the radio on occasion, hoping to hear new GNR, but other than that when I'm not listening to Howard Stern, I'm listening to CD.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I haven't listened to it in a bout 2 weeks. I'm gonna have to stick it back in my CD player

Are you serious? I can't even go a day without listening to it.

I haven't listened to any other CD's since Nov. 23rd.  I listen to the radio on occasion, hoping to hear new GNR, but other than that when I'm not listening to Howard Stern, I'm listening to CD.

I still hear Better regularly on Octane.

And I heard Riad on the Boneyard. 

Odd.

[Naltav]

Something fucking crazy. Its February 19, and I still keep going back To Chinese Democracy almost daily and fall in love with this album all over again.

You're not the only one.

 



/jarmo

No, you're defenitly not alone!   

I'm trapped in Prostitute! Can't get enough of that track!   

[faldor]

I've woken up to Chinese Democracy every day I've needed an alarm since its release. Prior to that it was AFD for 2 years.  Only problem is I usually lay in bed and listen to it until it gets cut off during "This I Love" at the 1 hour mark.  That's the signal that it's now really time to get up.

I didn't realize The Boneyard played new GNR, I thought Octane were the only ones.  I'll have to check that out. I'll switch over to Boneyard AFTER I hear them on Octane.  That is a little strange they play Riad. 

[Voodoochild]

Why? Riad is a kick ass song!


I heard If The World last night on Big Brother Brasil.

[-Rob-]

'chinese democracy' is the best guns album to date, and in my top 5 favorite albums of all time. it's been available to buy for nearly 3 months and i still find myself spinning it on a daily basis. no skips whatsoever. epic amazing from start to finish.

[fishtifer]

I end up skipping most of the songs on the album now, I could only stomach If The World, Street of Dreams, Sorry and Scraped for only a few listens. I still love Shacklers Revenge, Better and Madagascar. I'm starting to think this album was Axl's "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace". Everybody was so looking forward to it after such a long time since the last one and it's cool to enjoy it the first time but after a while it feels like an over produced cheesy product that will end up in clearance bins everywhere. Does anybody get the urge to watch The Phantom Menace now?

 

[-Rob-]

I end up skipping most of the songs on the album now, I could only stomach If The World, Street of Dreams, Sorry and Scraped for only a few listens. I still love Shacklers Revenge, Better and Madagascar. I'm starting to think this album was Axl's "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace". Everybody was so looking forward to it after such a long time since the last one and it's cool to enjoy it the first time but after a while it feels like an over produced cheesy product that will end up in clearance bins everywhere. Does anybody get the urge to watch The Phantom Menace now?

the only "urge" that i received after reading your .... well, let's face it, dissing of the album, was to tell you that maybe this isn't the right place for you. judging by what i can see, most of us here realize just how powerful and epic this album really is. if you have the urge to mention how much you think it sucked, why don't you go and join one of the many other gnr "fan" sites who seem to encourage that type of thinking.  referring to the album as "cheesy" and "belonging in the bargain bin" only re-inforces that you are a lying troll who is only here to instigate and be a shit stirrer.