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Review: Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy”

November 26, 2008 10:45 AM

What? Can it be?  Rock’s biggest punch-line for the last decade or so has finally been released?  You probably thought it would never happen and who can blame you?  After a seemingly endless pile of collaborators, probably countless hours of studio time, and a good half-dozen or so false release-date estimations, it’s no wonder you were skeptical.  But it’s finally here! (Note: It is only available in hard-copy at “Best Buy,”)

Could Axl Rose pull off a GNR album with him as the only original member?  The answer is a surprising yes!!! By all accounts, “Chinese Democracy” should be an overcooked, over-thought mess.  It isn’t.  Amazingly, Axl has mustered up that old GNR energy while most of his original band has defected to Velvet Revolver.  Considering that it’s been 17 years since the “Use Your Illusion” double-whammy and 15 years since “The Spaghetti Incident” covers album, this is an incredible feat.  If you liked the old band, you should like the new one as well.  If it was never your taste, it still won’t be, but this album is consistent with the rest of the band’s catalog. 

Axl is still an angry, hard-charging, take-no-prisoners kind of vocalist, sounding like the forgotten lovechild of AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Janis Joplin.  His voice is still in great shape and he can yelp with the best of them. 

I wasn’t so sure about the title track the first time I heard it but after repeated listens, I have warmed up to it.  Like many of you, I’m guessing, it’s been a while since I’ve really listened to a Guns N’ Roses album.  When you don’t release an album for a decade-and-a-half and you have such a distinct sound, it can be like a forgotten acquired taste at first.  “Chinese Democracy” is a hard-rocking, loud face-slap of a track. It takes a minute to fade in and get itself in your face, but once it fully announces itself, you will be wide awake.  Monster metal riffage is all around, provided in various places by no less than five guitarists.  Axl enters with a scream, harmonizing with himself in both a low scowl and a high whine.  It’s as if no time has passed at all.  He still has the same attitude.  He’s still kind of scary, but he still has his rock star chops after all these years. 

“Shackler’s Revenge” is next.  It announces itself with a clattering metallic riff, before morphing into an industrial-fueled, death-metal-like elastic bounce.  The guitars sound electronically infused. After a menacing beginning, we get a catchy chorus.  It bounces back and forth and then we are handed a killer guitar solo.  You will essentially forget that Slash is nowhere to be found!  It’s remarkable. 

“Better” is a straight up classic GNR track.  It stands up next to their best and is the best song on this record.  With subtle electronic elements, the band’s sound has effectively grown.  The song was written by Rose and one-time Nine Inch Nails guitarist, Robin Finck, and the two are able to effectively meld their two distinct sounds. It enters with a hauntingly eerie whimper and then fully wallops you with its sheer rock force.     The song is melodic, until Axl authoritatively declares, “Now I know you better!”  It makes you want to thrust your fist into the air in excitement.

“Street Of  Dreams” is next, with the band in piano-ballad, “November Rain” mode.  Keyboardist Dizzy Reed stands as the band’s second longest serving member, and he and Rose can still churn cheese into hard rocking magic.

“If The World” is next, with a pseudo-Eastern sounding, trippy beginning.  It has an almost chilled reggae bounce.  If Rose weren’t delivering his high-voltage scream, before the heavy guitars enter, it almost sounds like something you might find on a Thievery Corporation record.  This is a surprising groovy track for GNR and proof of the band’s significant metamorphosis. 

“There Was A Time” begins with what sounds like a haunted boys choir before Axl starts singing over what sounds like a whirling music box.  As is the case with a lot of these tracks, a trip-driven backdrop gives way to a hard-rocking chorus. 

“Catcher In The Rye” is another stellar, catchy ballad.  It’s not soft.  It still rocks pretty hard, but its melody is right up front.  It’s unapologetically appealingly pop-driven, much like many of the band’s best tracks.  Reed gets to break in with a piano solo, before various guitarists chime away and Axl sings an anthemic “Na Na Na Na Na” section.  Yes, GNR are back in a big way. This should be a big single. 

“Scraped” begins with Rose harmonizing with himself in his signature style, before it breaks into an old time hard-rocking jam.  “Don’t you try to stop us now, cuz I just won’t let you,” Rose says as if hushing his critics.  This is song has a “Welcome To The Jungle” level of fury.

“Riad N’ The Bedouins” is next.  It starts with subtle sonic textures before rock riffs pummel on in.  This track was meant for slam-dancing.  It changes tempos several times and new sonic elements come and go, but it has pure hard-edged momentum on its side.  Guitarists Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and Buckethead attack their instruments with shredding guitar-god glory and the results will leave you awe struck. 

“Sorry” plays like a slow, angry letter perhaps to a former band-mate.  It still rocks effectively and stands well with the other tracks, but it just may be the weakest track on here.  Tune-wise it works, but tone-wise it seems somewhat petty.

“I.R.S.” has a loungy beginning before it bounces into a riff-heavy section where Rose sings “Gonna call the president. / Gonna call a private eye. / Gonna get the I.R.S. / Gonna need the F.B.I.”  It’s again, not the strongest track here, but it still has the right energy in place. 

“Madagascar” begins with a subtle, sad synth section before what sounds like a drum-loop ushers the song along.  Rose is all forceful rasp until the track kicks itself up a notch and he’s able to give out a real yell.  Synth strings make the track sound important in between guitar work-ups.  Then in an unlikely DJ-like section, the song samples Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, along with dialogue snippets from the movies “Mississippi Burning,” “Braveheart” and “Cool Hand Luke.”  Longtime fans will remember that the latter slice of dialogue was used as the opening to the Guns N’ Roses classic, “Civil War.” Perhaps Rose is trying to jar the memories of his listeners.

“This I Love” is another piano ballad.  It’s a little on the mellow-dramatic side, but it works.  Still, by GNR standards, this is pretty schmaltzy. Even the guitar solo doesn’t really do it much good. 

The album ends with a song called “Prostitute.”  Back in the day, Rose and his cohorts were pretty racy and took every opportunity to offend.  It seems that on this record, these tendencies have been turned down.  This song is another hard-charging vague rock declaration of love and underestimated power. It’s not racy in any way other than its title.  It sums up the record well, though and stands as one last statement of defiance. 

The fact that “Chinese Democracy” exists as an album is pretty amazing.  (Its long gestation period is almost as head-puzzling as former Replacement, Tommy Stinson’s presence on the record. That, in itself is pretty remarkable!) With this record, Rose has done the impossible.  He’s delivered a decent record full of future hard-rock classics!  People said he couldn’t do it, but he knew better!   

November 26, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)

User Comments

Posted by: stevo dilldo | Nov 26, 2008 11:22:44 AM

Posted by: jebmonk | Nov 26, 2008 7:00:43 PM

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