Maybe its directed more towards all the fake insiders and bullshitters then. I still think its mostly about Slash but I also think aspects of it cross over to other areas, the fans or certain fans being one possible area.

Following musical trends is a dangerous thing. Back in 1967, in trying to emulate the psychedelia of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Rolling Stones forgot what made them a great band and delivered Their Satanic Majesties Request, the least satisfying, most incoherent album of their career.

Not only have Guns N' Roses (or rather, Axl Rose and his revolving door of session musicians) repeated the Stones' mistake, they've taken a whopping 17 years to do so. The irony, of course, is that the results don't simply neglect GNR's strengths, they sound stuck in an early 1990s industrial rock time-warp.

Put simply, Axl's desperate desire to sound contemporary formed a toxic combination with his legendary indecision and perfectionism to (eventually) give the world Chinese Democracy; a sprawling, over-long mess of an album which only rarely approaches the giddy heights of their previous work.

In truth, however, it is wrong even to refer to 'their previous work' for the simple reason that this isn't the same band that came up with the blistering rock swagger of Appetite For Destruction. In fact, it isn't even a band at all. Having shed all but one of its original members, the Guns N' Roses of Chinese Democracy is nothing more than an assortment of hired hands biting their collective lip as their employer gives new meaning to the term 'vanity project'.

That isn't to say it's all bad. I.R.S. perhaps comes closest to revisiting former glories. A spectacularly angry and paranoid rant which namechecks the President, the IRS, and the FBI, it is mercifully devoid of the superfluous strings, electronic noodling and double-tracked vocals of much of the rest of the album. Street Of Dreams, on the other hand, is a pale imitation of what went before, specifically November Rain.

The aptly-named Sorry unintentionally strikes right to the heart of the problem. Rose sings of an unnamed nemesis, "I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me, you don't know who you can trust or who you believe" but he could be (perhaps subconsciously is?) referring to himself.

by James Hurley, MSN Music Editor

http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/music/g … &GT1=61501

Well my copies finally arrived through the post today so I can finally crank it through some speakers and listen to it properly.

1) Chinese Democracy - Better than I could have ever imagined from the boots a few years ago. Ron's rhythm adds punch and the drums in the intro add to the epic opening to the song. Depending what Axl truly means in the lyrics it could be one of his finest hours lyrically. A strong opener.

2) Shacklers Revenge - I like this track a lot more than most others seem to on here. Short, sharp, abrasive but also very catchy. Not a classic but it works for me, zany solo and demonic vocals puts in the category of fun rocker and in an album that suffers from self indulgence that's no bad thing.

3) Better - This song really delivers, it's the track it promised to be back in 06. The synths turned down, the guitars are cranked up, this is how the song is meant to sound imo. I like the guitar slide from Ron and I think this also song showcases the best of Finck. Probably the best rocker on the album.

4) Street of Dreams - I'd grown bored of this song a long time ago. Another lyrical high point for Axl sadly its mixed up with a lot of cheese. The outro vocals are hard to grow used to and sound awkward and squeezed in after years of listening to the boots and leaks. Might feel different if I was listening to it fresh but this one doesn't hit the mark anymore.

5) If The World - A nice surprise, I hated the leak but without me really knowing why the album version is really growing on me. Nice BH solo and Axls vocals sound nice and crisp especially on the chorus. Good effect on the La Da Da's as if your listening to it through a radio or something. A far cry from traditional GNR but it's really working for me right now.

6) There Was A Time - My favourite new GNR track in 06 now suffers from the aforementioned self indulgence. The first half needn't be so cluttered, the choir and squirrel noises are unnecessary and the new demon voice in the chorus doesn't fit the song at all. I still love that outro though.

7) Catcher in the Rye - Hard to get used to after the very basic 99 leak and again the intro's too busy, instead of the opening piano melody all that comes through is needless guitar noodling. The new solo works imo, May's solo didn't fit the song now it's been cranked up it was too soft, although it's a shame they couldn't find space for it somewhere. I absolutely love the outro guitar behind Axls vocals though I'm surprised more haven't mentioned it, it could well be Rons finest hour. Overall a highlight of the album.

8) Scraped - Nothing too clever here, basic chorus and a nice solo with a wall of rhythm behind the verses. Another catchy rocker, simple lyrics but I love the 'fuck you' tone to them 'Nothing's impossible, I am inconquerable' damn right!

9) Riad N' the Bedouins - Musically excellent but the lyrics really bring this track down for me, it's like Axl ran out of ideas. Or the whole things gone completely over my head I'm not sure which. Either way too many aaah aaahs and salvations/frustrations suggest to me he drew a blank on this one. Rons solo is no worse or better than BH's imo. Turn this one up and it still rocks however

10) Sorry - A truly awesome song, a 'big gun' if ever there was one. I'll refrain from calling it a classic so soon, but if it adopts that term in years to come I won't be surprised. The most interesting lyrics on the album, I don't care what people say Slash (and maybe Duff, Matt, Adler) take a whack on this song. Great solo from BH, reminds me of a classic Gilmour or Knopfler solo. Amazing vocals from Axl as well and the chorus just fixes itself in your head. I can't fault this track right now.

11) IRS- Meh, bland middle of the road rocker. I don't hate it but it's far from great. I've never understood the medias love for this song every review of leaks always called this a track to look out for. Beats me as to why. Highlights are the obvious scream/solo combo at the end of the track. The rest is just power chord mediocrity. The last real rocker on the album is probably the worst.

12) Madagascar - Another one I've gotten tired of. I love the concept and the structure and it has that epic sound I think it was looking for. Unfortunately though it just doesn't quite deliver. Axls vocals sound I'm sure deliberately tired and old but there's a fine line because he nearly sounds like he just can't sing, again perhaps deliberate, but it's a big risk to take, and I don't think it comes off.

13) This I Love - Growing on me, slowly. I wasn't struck on first listen and I'm still not feeling it like some seem to. Uncharacteristically very basic in structure and production for one of Axl's babies. I do quite like the solo though, admittedly it's just begging for 'you know who' but I don't think it's a bad solo by any means. Borders on the sappy but I love the rawness to it, there's pure pain dripping through the song. (Which whilst I'm thinking of it, really saddens me, Axls been in a bad place for a long time judging by these songs or at least he was in the 90's hopefully he's a somewhat happier person now.)

14) Prostitute - Sounds like something by Evanescance mixed with Linkin Park (ironically it was probably written before either of these bands existed). I like it though, fire and ice was a perfect description, crank this one up and wait for it to kick in. The orchestration is a nice way to close the album, even though I think it was the perfect opportunity for BH to really go to town.             

If I had to put a score on this album I think it sits somewhere around the 7.5/10 or 8/10 mark.

I haven't found the so called production issues to have affected my listening experience yet, which I'm relieved about. The new tracks are welcome additions and If The World was a nice surprise. Ironically and sadly two of the tracks I'm least impressed with are the two songs that got me into new GNR in the first place, Madagascar and The Blues. Maybe they're victims of too much listening over the years. However on the whole I genuinely love this album, it suffers from bloated self indulgence at times, but then again so did UYI. As others have said it also flirts with greatness. All I wanted after following this saga for what feels like a lifetime (yet is a decade less than some of you) was for CD to do justice to the GNR name. The name of my favourite band had been dragged through the mud by the man who loved it the most, if after everything the album was not half bad it might have been just enough to restore some pride back in the step of GNR fans. I'm pleased to say for me at least, he did it. Was this album worth the wait and the heartache, no, but it is damn good.

Guns N' Roses - 'Chinese Democracy' (Polydor) Released: 24/11/08
It certainly causes a stir...

by Greg Rose
Saturday, November 22, 2008

3/5

With most of the world expecting an overblown ego trip and the rest past caring, countless years and line-up changes later, Guns N' Roses' ‘Chinese Democracy’ finally arrives. Anything other than a complete disaster has to be heralded as a triumph for Axl Rose – and he just about manages it.

The fact that it has been completed at all is quite remarkable considering the amount of legal wrangling and false starts that have hampered the record. But there is little point if it is not worth listening too. Of course, it isn't ‘Appetite For Destruction’. There are unsubtle nods to the band's early behemoth, but the rapid recklessness of their 1987 debut is not relevant decades on. Also, without the original Guns – especially the fluent excesses of Slash's solos - it feels the new players are imitating rather than innovating. 

It is difficult to capture the same breakneck speed though when 12 of the 14 songs insist on straining themselves far past the four minute mark. Epic tracks are created not through length and pomp but with purposeful progression. Rather than build from playful or solemn beginnings into staggering finales such as on the likes of ‘Paradise City’ and ‘November Rain’, ‘Better’ and ‘I.R.S’ begin rugged and workmanlike and maintain their pace.

There is variety though, especially in the instrumentation that seeps from the seams of ‘There Was A Time’ and ‘If The World’. Axl's much-documented desire for grandeur amongst the grit of Guns N Roses is partially satisfied, with the songs satiated with pianos, strings and computer effects. These do add an extra dimension compared to the throwaway tosh of ‘Riad N' the Bedouins’, but extinguish any possibilities of spontaneity - it sounds planned within an inch of its life.

‘Scraped’ is almost a Muse song, its warped fret wizardry melding with paranoid intensity, and is strangely exhilarating. The military sobriety of ‘Madagascar’, morphing into sampling of Martin Luther King Jr, is another departure, an attempt at a meaningful moment that comes across over-thought and undercooked. However, despite there being few stand-out moments, ‘Chinese Democracy’ is saved by the very reason it isn't better - it's creator.

Axl's lyrics are as insipid as ever but somehow match the idle anger that festers in his finest flashes. He labours over slow songs, seemingly still aching over Stephanie Seymour and everybody else he has crossed in the mess of his middle years. He screeches his distinctive wail in the harder numbers and rubs his mark over every inch of the record. It's loud and abrasive, then slumps into brooding fits of melodrama. It's ambitious but doesn't seem to be going anywhere. It flirts with brilliance but flits it away in gluttony and overexertion. Above all, it certainly causes a stir, but since when did Guns N' Roses need an album to do that?

http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/albums/4 … sed-241108