Chinese Democracy HTGTH member reviews

[gunns1]

The only song I cant really learn to love is Scraped,
when there is overdubbing of Axls voice in the chorus towards the end,
where he sings really high its hard to hear what he's singing, and in hes second voice he sings normally,
it clashes too much, and its something that I just cant really appreciate it.

I would of preferred the 2002 Axls high vocals on madagascar aswell,
but other then that, everything else Im loving more and more with each listen.

[faldor]

I love "Scraped"!  Loved it from my first listen.  I even love the intro which everyone seems to hate.  It's weird how there's so many differing opinions when it comes to GNR songs.  And it's the same for all their albums, maybe less with AFD.  But certainly with the UYI's and now CD.  "Scraped" and "I.R.S." are in my top 3 and they happen to be in a lot of people's bottom 3.  And "Better" for me falls somewhere in the middle, while most people rank it near the top.  Not sure if it's like that for all/most bands and their fans.

[ppbebe]

ok it's like an ongoing love affair. I can't say how it is yet.

but i can say that the flow is brilliant.

chinese => shacklers=> better,
street of dreams=> if the world=>there was a time=>catcher,
then
scraped=> riad=>sorry=> irs,
Madagascar=> this i love=>prostitute





especially

[crazycheryl]

It is a work in progress for me too. I have yet to find more time to listen to the tracks but I try to get at least three a day in the car. I love Chinese Democracy, shackler's, and Better. The others are starting to grow on me but overall I think there are too many ballads. I was hoping to rock my tits off and although the musical arrangements are brilliant, except I really don't like Bedouins, I think most of the tracks are rock ballads. It could be a reflection of where Axl's head is at this point or maybe a long time ago and there will be more to come. Like I said, the complexity is brilliant but since I've grown into an adult more, I really kind of hate listening to ballads. I think marriage does that to me too. But this is just my opinion. My girls fell asleep in the car on our way home from Thanksgiving visiting relatives after Better was over.

All in all it's not going to stop me from continuing to listen and buying anything else Guns puts out.

[GNR4L]

Shacklers Revenge, Street of Dreams, and Catcher in the Rye around getting alot of spins in my household.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I love "Scraped"!  Loved it from my first listen.  I even love the intro which everyone seems to hate.  It's weird how there's so many differing opinions when it comes to GNR songs.  And it's the same for all their albums, maybe less with AFD.  But certainly with the UYI's and now CD.  "Scraped" and "I.R.S." are in my top 3 and they happen to be in a lot of people's bottom 3.  And "Better" for me falls somewhere in the middle, while most people rank it near the top.  Not sure if it's like that for all/most bands and their fans.

I guess sports fans eat that song up.

I like the intro too!  Axl is kinda showing off his voice and range, like he's saying, "I can still hit those notes motherfuckers!"

Scraped is the perfect driving song.

[ecwfan]

                 My Own personal review is that there is ....11 tracks I love on the album and 3 I don't. I'm a Guns n Roses fan but even with more listens I can't like the tracks I will list .Here goes....

Shacklers Revenge:

                     I really have no clue what Axl was thinking here. The song starts out all like he was possessed by a demon and then he starts it. I like the guitar work but the song even with repeated listens never measures up to me.

If the World

                       Never can dig this. Just too....whats the word....too un-Guns n Roses. I like the attempt here. But I just don't feel anything for this track at all.

Sorry

                     I've played this for friends and they'll say "WTF ?" . Its not a good one either. Its a whole head shaking in disbelief. I know Axl loves this track. That its his favorite...but I just can't dig it.

                       
                                 Beyond those 3 I love the album.....the rest are awesome fun.

[mECHsLAVE]

                 My Own personal review is that there is ....11 tracks I love on the album and 3 I don't. I'm a Guns n Roses fan but even with more listens I can't like the tracks I will list .Here goes....

Shacklers Revenge:

                     I really have no clue what Axl was thinking here. The song starts out all like he was possessed by a demon and then he starts it. I like the guitar work but the song even with repeated listens never measures up to me.

If the World

                       Never can dig this. Just too....whats the word....too un-Guns n Roses. I like the attempt here. But I just don't feel anything for this track at all.

Sorry

                     I've played this for friends and they'll say "WTF ?" . Its not a good one either. Its a whole head shaking in disbelief. I know Axl loves this track. That its his favorite...but I just can't dig it.

                       
                                 Beyond those 3 I love the album.....the rest are awesome fun.

Hehe, that's funny.   Sounds like this album actually will be considered a classic.   When someone else's least favorites are your favorites then you know it's a great album. 

Sorry and Shacklers are two of my favs, along with Blues and title. 

Shacklers is just awesome to me.  The guitars are great, esp that little breakdown before the end, like an old Megadeth breakdown or something- very cool, very metal.   Axls vocals drive the song along, and I find myself playing it over and over.

Sorry is addictive as hell.  The Dracula line is a little silly, but I'm sure Axl has his reasons.   He saves it with the "Nobody asked you...." powerful vocals, and let's face it... the chorus is very catchy.  Love it. 

If the World is one of my least favs, I'm with ya on that one.   But I've seen others list it as one of their favs, which just proves my point...

[ppbebe]

yeah. how can a rock fan dislike shacklers sorry, or irs. 

and how can a music fan dislike if the world.


but some people can even love bon jo.... oh well, teastes differ.

[ecwfan]

yeah. how can a rock fan dislike shacklers sorry, or irs. 

and how can a music fan dislike if the world.


but some people can even love bon jo.... oh well, teastes differ.

                              I never posted I didn't like I.R.S . Shacklers just doesn't do it for me. I tried over and over....and I won't even get into "Sorry". I like Axl like the next fan but no clue what was going on in that track....I wanted it to end.

                              But the rest of the album is good. Just those clunkers for me.

[D]

yeah. how can a rock fan dislike shacklers sorry, or irs. 

and how can a music fan dislike if the world.


but some people can even love bon jo.... oh well, teastes differ.

I dont see the need to throw that up

I love Bon Jo............ and I love Shackler's Sorry and IRS

so I guess that kills that argument.

I can see how some may not like the numetal/Rob Zombie flavor of Shackler's. ITs personally one of my favorites.

IRS is probably  my least favorite if I had to choose a least favorite. And when we are talking least favorite, that means Its just an 8.5 instead of a 9.

[GNR4L]

yeah. how can a rock fan dislike shacklers sorry, or irs. 

and how can a music fan dislike if the world.


but some people can even love bon jo.... oh well, teastes differ.

I dont see the need to throw that up

I love Bon Jo............ and I love Shackler's Sorry and IRS

so I guess that kills that argument.

I can see how some may not like the numetal/Rob Zombie flavor of Shackler's. ITs personally one of my favorites.

IRS is probably  my least favorite if I had to choose a least favorite. And when we are talking least favorite, that means Its just an 8.5 instead of a 9.

I don't see Shacklers as a NUmetal song, more like a industrial track ala NIN.  Sorry is really a good song, same with If The World im surprised that alot of people don't like it. Especially If The World.

[Chief]

I decided to take a little while to listen and absorb the album before attempting to write a review --

This album and all it represents is remarkable!  After all of the delays, rumors, time off and misconceptions, Axl and GNR finally delivered!  We may never know the whole story of what all happened behind the scenes, but Chinese Democracy provides a lot of clues.   I think it is a deeper album than many people give it credit for and I've been trying to understand what is behind some of the songs because on first listen they are not entirely clear.  It's a good sign for me because an album that takes more time to appreciate tends to stay longer in the Cd player and the consciousness.  I find that every time I listen, it sounds better and new things pop out of the music.  It sounds wonderful on a good pair of headphones too.

Chinese Democracy starts off with a bang and some strong guitar from Ron really accenting the song well.  It is really mixed great and sounds very good.  This song rocks and really changed my mind because before I thought it wasn't very memorable.  I think the lyrics reflect political and some personal struggles as well.

Shackler's Revenge is different and took a while for me to warm up to it.  I really like the dichotomy of the disco-ish part starting "Don't ever..." and the verses.  The darkness of the low vocals are a real highlight as well as the crunching guitar parts.  Very wild guitar solo by Ron too, and somehow it fits the song!  I like how they fit in a bluesy guitar part right near the end too.

Better is a song that has it all I think, and I've loved it from the start.  Very catchy, great introspective lyrics and a good beat with some killer guitars.  The part that starts "I never wanted you to be..." is always piercing.  Somehow they fit all of the different parts together into a complete song.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else Robin came up with because his solo on this song is one of his best.

Street of Dreams, or the Blues as I prefer to call it, is another highlight with a very sweet solo from Robin and a great Buckethead ending solo following the vocal melody.  I love this song because it has some great piano by Dizzy, and an unusual structure - especially the part that starts "What this means to me..."  I think this song could really be a hit and it feels somewhat like a Use your Illusion song.  I could do without the lyrical changes however but overall I still love this song.

If the World was kind of shocking to me at first but I am growing to really dig it because it is different from what they have done in the past.  It is a little reminiscent of a song that is from a movie soundtrack so it wasn't surprising that they added it to Body of Lies.  I'm not sure what that quiet panned interlude is there for though, but Buckethead shines once again as he plays a very tasty, bluesy solo.

There was a Time is simply epic and is probably my favorite song of the album at the moment.  It has some devastating Buckethead versatile soloing and great lyrics and very nice orchestral arrangement.  This song is the whole package!  When they get this down, it's going to be a monster in the live show!

Catcher in the Rye is another one that really grew on me - I love the outro part the best.  It's a great song about the loss of innocence and John Lennon's death but at the same time it has some deeper meaning hidden in there.  Love the harmony vocals on "Guess I'd have more fun", very well done!!  The only thing that I didn't like was the mix of the guitar solo at the end, I think it could have been more back in the mix and less busy.

Scraped - Great rocker, which really benefits from the mastering of the album.  I like the attitude of this song and it has a very nice soloing/riffing near the end with a killer scream!
I noticed that some of the descending chords are a little similar to Locomotive.  Many of these songs have certain flavors of the past while still sounding new.

Riad and the Bedouins is a song I wasn't really into before when they first played it but they transformed it into a kick ass rocker which I really dig.  I'm still trying to figure out what it means though.  Buckethead's solo is pretty crazy but it somehow fits in the song and the orchestral breakdown in the middle of the solo is a really cool touch.

Sorry is another which took a little while to warm up but it is very scathing and I love the lyrics.  Great background vocals by Baz and once again Buckethead plays a killer solo.

I.R.S. wasn't one of my favorite but I dig it now, the final version really rocks and has one hell of a scream and Buckethead solo.  Some of the lyrics seem to be about Axl's struggles to keep the band going.

Madagascar is a very emotional song, and I really like it but sometimes I feel like listening to it and sometimes I don't.  I'd love to hear a version of this song with an epic solo!

This I Love - This tune is very personal and you can hear it in the vocals and lyrics.  I really feel for Axl hearing this one and it is a testament to his tenacity that he was able to put it out.  When the guitars and drums kick in, it just feels classic.

Prostitute -  This tune is excellent, very light and dark as some people have mentioned in the past.  It seems like it is about selling out and how people look at Axl.  The orchestral ending seems very calming and peaceful after the jarring guitars.

My favorite songs on the album right now are: There was a Time, Better, Street of Dreams, Catcher in the Rye, Sorry, This I Love, Prostitute, and Chinese Democracy. 
It feels great to listen to this album and they accomplished so much after so long, it's amazing to think about sometimes.  Chinese Democracy is even better than I expected and is growing with each listen.  The production is great overall and the mastering was amazing because they didn't use a ton of compression.  It's so great to have the quiet parts be quiet and then kick in to be louder as the guitars come in.

Some of these songs will become classic GNR tunes in my opinion. I can't wait to see what is in store next!!

[Buddha_Master]

Awesome review man. Some thoughts from reading it.

If The World. Alright look. When My headaches arise and I have to take my medicinal herb, sometimes I need to just kick back to some music. So listening to Chinese Democracy was bound too happen at some point when taking my medicine, and some songs, when I am medicated (legally mind you), really jump out at me. In fact I sometimes have to go right to them, unlike how I usually listen to CD (listening from the beginning of track 1 all the way through 14). Anyway, If the world. Fucking trippy. I love it. Can't get enough of it. Middle part is fucking saweet(!)

... You know I respect you Chief but I respectfully feel the need to stick up for this part. The quick go to quiet then tripped out Axl, the fading trick stereo panning, then the fucking drums kicking in, oh yes. I dig that shit. Other main go to's when medicated are TWAT, Catcher in the Rye, and Sorry (usually followed closely by Prostitute and sometimes TIL).

Goddamn I love Chinese Democracy. Question.

Is it alright for an agnostic to believe that this Chinese Democracy album is a gift from the music gods?

[Billo]

       Well all i really can say is that Im SO HAPPY with this CD....I just think its awesome..i love how all the songs are different and love all the changes in the songs....Its a very produced CD and i love it..U hear diff things all the time...........
Id give it a 9 or 9.5 out of 10

My Fav songs at the moment are Sorry and This i love.....I really like the new versions of CD and IRS too

Verry HAPPY.

[ppbebe]

                              I never posted I didn't like I.R.S . Shacklers just doesn't do it for me. I tried over and over....and I won't even get into "Sorry". I like Axl like the next fan but no clue what was going on in that track....I wanted it to end.

                              But the rest of the album is good. Just those clunkers for me.

I know thus i said 'or'

I understand sorry might be a bit unusual for you.

yeah. how can a rock fan dislike shacklers sorry, or irs. 

and how can a music fan dislike if the world.


but some people can even love bon jo.... oh well, teastes differ.

I dont see the need to throw that up

I love Bon Jo............ and I love Shackler's Sorry and IRS

do you?  I mean do you know what's bon jo is? I don't. it was like jon doo or whatever when i wrote it.

[Buddha_Master]

Bon Jovi.

... ewwww (Jarmo can I put out a request for a face that is throwing up?)

[jarmo]

Bon Jovi.

... ewwww (Jarmo can I put out a request for a face that is throwing up?)

Code:

:puke:

/jarmo

[Farid Bak]

  priceless 

[Chief]

Right on man.. maybe i have to be in a different state of mind to appreciate it more.  I do know that certain songs have really grown on me and the more i listen the more I take in and get from the music.  That's one reason I love all music so much, honestly.

I think it is perfectly fine for an agnostic person to think that this is a gift from the music gods!

Awesome review man. Some thoughts from reading it.

If The World. Alright look. When My headaches arise and I have to take my medicinal herb, sometimes I need to just kick back to some music. So listening to Chinese Democracy was bound too happen at some point when taking my medicine, and some songs, when I am medicated (legally mind you), really jump out at me. In fact I sometimes have to go right to them, unlike how I usually listen to CD (listening from the beginning of track 1 all the way through 14). Anyway, If the world. Fucking trippy. I love it. Can't get enough of it. Middle part is fucking saweet(!)

... You know I respect you Chief but I respectfully feel the need to stick up for this part. The quick go to quiet then tripped out Axl, the fading trick stereo panning, then the fucking drums kicking in, oh yes. I dig that shit. Other main go to's when medicated are TWAT, Catcher in the Rye, and Sorry (usually followed closely by Prostitute and sometimes TIL).

Goddamn I love Chinese Democracy. Question.

Is it alright for an agnostic to believe that this Chinese Democracy album is a gift from the music gods?