Guns 'n Roses - Chinese Democracy (2008)

Download Album:

Purchase CD:  

By Tom Whitty

Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy Tracks 1. Chinese Democracy 2. Shackler's Revenge 3. Better 4. Street Of Dreams 5. If The World 6. There Was A Time 7. Catcher N' The Rye 8. Scraped 9. Riad N' The Bedouins 10. Sorry 11. I.R.S. 12. Madagascar 13. This I Love 14. Prostitute

I was nine when the "Use Your Illusions" albums came out. But I wasn't too young to appreciate the music.

Thanks to November Rain featuring heavily on commercial radio and TV, I became fascinated and fanatical about a band for the first time. I immediately went into the GNR back catalogue, eating up the music, learning the lyrics, and buying whatever merchandise I could find in my rural hometown in Victoria.

Guns N Roses triggered in me an eternal appreciation and thirst for music and I couldn't wait for the next album.

Then "The Spaghetti Incident" came out and I nearly cried.

What in the hell were these guys playing at, recording an album of other people's music, when their own was so much better! And with that, I made my transition to adulthood in a world sadly absent of any new GNR albums.

With the introduction of the internet, I began regularly scouring for any news of a new Gun 'n Roses material.

Over the years, I watched on with frustration as the release of "Chinese Democracy" became a joke, and I began to resent Axl Rose for destroying the name 'Guns N Roses'.

Eventually, I joined in the chorus of insults that were posted on YouTube videos of Axl generally making an ass of himself.

While I always loved the music (apart from "The Spaghetti Incident", which even I could admit sucked the big one), I no longer felt connected to what Gun 'N' Roses had come to represent.

I read Slash's autobiography earlier this year and felt further separated from what the Gunners had become, given the only original member was the man who had seemingly torn it all apart.

So now, while I type this with "Chinese Democracy" playing in my CD player behind me, I feel weird.

Can I actually give a neutral review of "Chinese Democracy"?

Axl feels like an ex-girlfriend who I once loved deeply, but who ended up breaking my heart. As a music listener, I want "Chinese Democracy" to be the greatest Gun N Roses album yet. Yet as a die hard fan - and someone who feels they have been ripped off over the years of silence - I want it to be a laughable monument to the arrogance of W. Axl Rose, the man who destroyed the real Guns N Roses.

"Chinese Democracy" opens with the title track. From silence, a rumbling synth fades up and is painted with atmospheric whispers, setting the tone for the album.

Expect theatrics.

A brutal guitar riff begins blasting away and there it is... Axl Rose's scream forcing its way into the mix, like an out-of-control car speeding towards you. As the music kicks straight into top gear, Rose's first lyric after seventeen years of silence says it all - "It don’t really matter".

Ignoring the grammatical error, Axl tells listeners right from the beginning to forget the hype, history and hurt, and just accept what he has to offer.

The song itself is an impressive opener. The chorus isn't the catchiest melody Axl has ever written and while some of the guitar lacks the bluesy touch Slash brought to the table, the solo in the middle section is inspired and dynamic. All in all (which is a lot to sum up), Chinese Democracy is a thunderous opening track.

Shackler's Revenge begins in a similarly brutal fashion, with harsh screeching guitars before a guttural vocal kicks in. The wheels start to fall off the wagon slightly when a disco drumbeat kicks in before a mediocre chorus, coloured with thick layered vocals and overplayed guitars.

Better follows, and is much… better.

The track was one of several demos that were released on a Gun N Roses fansite in 2006, and has also made it into the set the few times Axl and the new entourage have bothered to play live shows over the last few years.

It opens with the catchiest vocals on the whole album, and is probably as radio friendly as the new 'Gunners get. Again the song suffers from occasional over enthusiastic guitar riffs that are simply unnecessary distractions, rather than welcome additions to the arrangement.

Sadly things again stumble with the ballad, Street of Dreams.

The opening piano sounds dangerously close to November Rain and while the song attempts to make a similar grand statement, it lacks the heart and melodies that made November Rain a classic.

Axl's vocals sound over produced and there are no standout guitar riffs to speak of. If The World gets things back on track, introducing an industrial element that was greatly rumoured to be the direction Axl would be taking with "Chinese Democracy" a few years ago.

The chorus is melodic and moody, and much of the guitar features a Spanish feel, not unlike the classic Double Talkin’ Jive, though at a much slower tempo. There Was a Time follows a similar feel, relying on electronic beats to introduce the song. As strings are introduced the track takes on a much grander vibe.

There Was a Time is not unlike the material found at the end of "Use Your Illusion I", but that was hardly GNR's best material.

Catcher In The Rye sees us at the half way point, and provides an example of mediocrity that would never have been allowed on any previous Guns N Roses album. Despite guitar provided by Brian May, the song is monotonous at best.

Speaking of things Queen, Scraped opens with some classic vocal harmonies before kicking into a driving rock song. While Axl's vocal again sounds over produced, the guitars are classic and never fall into the 'too busy' basket.

Riad N' The Bedouins could have been a contender for an opening track, with its experimental atmospheric beginning. It soon becomes apparent why the song was buried further down the tracklist.

While the music is rocking, Axl Rose's vocals lack the melodic creativity he is known for. Again some overplayed guitar has me looking at my watch, wondering when this will end.

Perhaps realising his mistake with Riad N' The Bedouins, Axl titles the following song Sorry. Disregarding the vocals, the verses oddly remind me of David Bowie, while the heavy chorus has an Alice In Chains Feel to it. It's a sad and morose number, which provides some absolutely beautiful guitar work.

Like Catcher In The Rye, I.R.S. is another exercise in mediocrity. There is nothing particularly awful about it. It is just boring.

The only thing about the track that is worth checking out is the note Axl holds at the three minute and thirteen second mark : Amazing!

Having said that, if all I was into was long high notes, I would be in the crowd applauding every time some jerk took the stage on Australian Idol. I demand substance, and I.R.S. is void of it.

On Madagascar, for the first time on "Chinese Democracy", Axl Rose sounds old. Gone is the wild and reckless young rocker, with the energy of ten men. Replacing him is a grumpy old man who "…won't be told anymore".

The song was first unveiled in a 2002 when Axl & Co played an embarrassing version at the MTV Video Music Awards. Strangely the album version features the same sound bite from Cool Hand Luke that was used at the beginning of Civil War, as well as excerpts from a speech by Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

The second last track, This I Love, is another wander into ballad territory. The lyrics are a little forced (rhyming is not always necessary) and the overall melody could have been taken from a Disney musical.

Similarly, the bluntly titled closing track Prositute begins in a limp fashion. Eventually the drums and guitars kick in, but somehow the track just falls short despite a couple of raucous guitar breaks. It really is a disappointing closer to the album.

Sadly while "Chinese Democracy" has moments of brilliance, the majority of the album tries to compensate for mediocre songs with overzealous guitar leads and overproduction.

After 17 years, I guess anything Axl put out was going to be a disappointment on some level.

And to be fair, I wouldn't describe it as a laughable monument to the arrogance of W. Axl Rose. But "Chinese Democracy" is a long way from being the great Guns N Roses album it promised to be.

It's more "Spaghetti Incident" than an "Appetite For Destruction".

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

Download Album:

Purchase CD:  

Brought To You By The Dwarf