and on 3rd and 4th listen, Finck's solo is pretty damn good....it matches the lyrics, simple and soulful.

One thing I will say that disappoints me about the reviews is that it seems that no one has caught on to how overtly fragile Axl is and how overtly open his lyrics are about his broken relationships. He veers from cocksure, to doubting, to lonely, to utterly broken hearted and vulnerable. He did this before but not on this level. Now, that is probably due to not having Izzy as a partner to offset Axl's way of writing. There is nothing loose and fanciful on this record.

As a comparison, Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks is known as the number one heartbreak, lovesick album  over the last 30 years. This sounds crazy, but Axl's album is very very similar in it's overall theme. Actually, I am suprised that someone like David Fricke from Rolling Stone did not pick up on it. Whatever...I am rambling.

your posts scare me....my two least favorite tracks off afd are those two songs. However, AFD is one of the best hard rock albums of all time. No question. Chinese is only comparable to UYI. It stands up nicely with those two albums.

The problem with This I Love is that it is just very direct for today's radio. It is piano, orchestra and Axl for 3 minutes...most people would have changed the channel by the time Axl made it to the other instruments coming in. The ballad will be a tough choice. I don't have the answer.