Guns n' Roses chinese democracy
Discussion
I certainly wasn't expecting it to be the best album in the world...ever. But its just mediocre at best isn't it. Your right, no album is worthwaitng 15 years for but in the space of 15 years you could reasonable expect a decent musician to come up with something at last half decent.
Put it this way, if this were a new release for a new band, it would sink without trace.
Put it this way, if this were a new release for a new band, it would sink without trace.
I've had a few listens to the entire album and 'This I Love' and 'Sorry' are epic songs...
'Better' is a fantastic track but i've been hearing it for a good couple of years now so the impact is gone. Same with 'Street of Dreams' though i remember it being called 'The Blues'
To be honest the album suffers from the modern world, in the sense that it took so long to arrive, so many tracks have been floating around in various states of mix for some time which detracts from the 'wow' factor of the album.
Other than that a few tracks sound a little 'busy' with perhaps a little too much production and over-dubbing.
It's certainly not an 'easy' album to get the whole effect quickly and it's certainly a very challenging listen but many of the songs are top-rate and Axl's song writing and lyrics are still up to the mark.
If anything it's actually a more consistent album than the UYI albums which IMO had one album of killer tracks between them.
So overall i'd say 8.5/10.
Now lets hope Axl gets off his backside and ups the anti on his output and number of live performances..
'Better' is a fantastic track but i've been hearing it for a good couple of years now so the impact is gone. Same with 'Street of Dreams' though i remember it being called 'The Blues'
To be honest the album suffers from the modern world, in the sense that it took so long to arrive, so many tracks have been floating around in various states of mix for some time which detracts from the 'wow' factor of the album.
Other than that a few tracks sound a little 'busy' with perhaps a little too much production and over-dubbing.
It's certainly not an 'easy' album to get the whole effect quickly and it's certainly a very challenging listen but many of the songs are top-rate and Axl's song writing and lyrics are still up to the mark.
If anything it's actually a more consistent album than the UYI albums which IMO had one album of killer tracks between them.
So overall i'd say 8.5/10.
Now lets hope Axl gets off his backside and ups the anti on his output and number of live performances..
Fire99 said:
I've had a few listens to the entire album and 'This I Love' and 'Sorry' are epic songs...
'Better' is a fantastic track but i've been hearing it for a good couple of years now so the impact is gone. Same with 'Street of Dreams' though i remember it being called 'The Blues'
To be honest the album suffers from the modern world, in the sense that it took so long to arrive, so many tracks have been floating around in various states of mix for some time which detracts from the 'wow' factor of the album.
Other than that a few tracks sound a little 'busy' with perhaps a little too much production and over-dubbing.
It's certainly not an 'easy' album to get the whole effect quickly and it's certainly a very challenging listen but many of the songs are top-rate and Axl's song writing and lyrics are still up to the mark.
If anything it's actually a more consistent album than the UYI albums which IMO had one album of killer tracks between them.
So overall i'd say 8.5/10.
Now lets hope Axl gets off his backside and ups the anti on his output and number of live performances..
I think that's a fair assessment. Though I don't think I'll ever like "Rhiyad". I'm not a fan of shackler's revenge either. It sounds like Axl took a really good song then buggered around with it too much trying to be clever. I'm really glad catcher's on there.'Better' is a fantastic track but i've been hearing it for a good couple of years now so the impact is gone. Same with 'Street of Dreams' though i remember it being called 'The Blues'
To be honest the album suffers from the modern world, in the sense that it took so long to arrive, so many tracks have been floating around in various states of mix for some time which detracts from the 'wow' factor of the album.
Other than that a few tracks sound a little 'busy' with perhaps a little too much production and over-dubbing.
It's certainly not an 'easy' album to get the whole effect quickly and it's certainly a very challenging listen but many of the songs are top-rate and Axl's song writing and lyrics are still up to the mark.
If anything it's actually a more consistent album than the UYI albums which IMO had one album of killer tracks between them.
So overall i'd say 8.5/10.
Now lets hope Axl gets off his backside and ups the anti on his output and number of live performances..
Reviewed in Kerrang this week. Summary of the review:-
Sounds dated - tracks written in the 1990s showing their age.
Varied, complex, but not epic.
They liked 'There Was a Time' and 'Madagascar'.
Sounds overcooked, and though it is "occasionally impressive, not once does it manage to sound exciting".
Overall rating 2/5
Probably not the review Axl wanted after 15 years.
Sounds dated - tracks written in the 1990s showing their age.
Varied, complex, but not epic.
They liked 'There Was a Time' and 'Madagascar'.
Sounds overcooked, and though it is "occasionally impressive, not once does it manage to sound exciting".
Overall rating 2/5
Probably not the review Axl wanted after 15 years.
I've dipped into this album a few times, but only just had the time to give it the first proper listen and I'm torn. As people have said, no album is worth a 15 year wait. If you look at it in those terms, dissapointment is guaranteed.
The main problem as far as I'm concerned is that it never sounds very cohesive. There are some nice guitar lines, some half decent vocals and the (predominantly misguided) attempts at modern instrumental effects occasionally show promise, but they never sound like they're intended for the same track. It sounds like an album written by a committee.
However, I really don't think it's that bad. Very few tracks are instant classics - I don't remember Sweet Child O'Mine having a massive impact on me the first time I heard it - yet I reckon this album will be a grower. I can't see it ever being a classic, but maybe it'll provide the inspiration for greater things... a proper reunion perhaps. Wouldn't it be great if this was the difficult sixth album, followed by a real come back.
The main problem as far as I'm concerned is that it never sounds very cohesive. There are some nice guitar lines, some half decent vocals and the (predominantly misguided) attempts at modern instrumental effects occasionally show promise, but they never sound like they're intended for the same track. It sounds like an album written by a committee.
However, I really don't think it's that bad. Very few tracks are instant classics - I don't remember Sweet Child O'Mine having a massive impact on me the first time I heard it - yet I reckon this album will be a grower. I can't see it ever being a classic, but maybe it'll provide the inspiration for greater things... a proper reunion perhaps. Wouldn't it be great if this was the difficult sixth album, followed by a real come back.
S7Paul said:
Well, Slash, Duff & Matt are potentially available, as is (I believe) Steven Adler - so a choice of 2 drummers. However, I'm not sure how pally they all are at the moment, and it would mean Duff sidelining his own band. As they say though, money talks!
er... what do you mean by available? Thought they were all tied up with Velvet Revolver...?Think Adler is still hacked off at being dumped...
Velvet Revolver are probably more like the band that G'n'R could have become, and as much as I like them the X factor is missing in my opinion.
The Guns n' Roses of the 1980's was the result of a 'perfect storm'. Everything just came together - the people, the music, the times, the attitudes etc, to produce one of rocks greatest albums (Appetite for Destruction). They will never top that, nor would I want them to.
The Guns n' Roses of the 1980's was the result of a 'perfect storm'. Everything just came together - the people, the music, the times, the attitudes etc, to produce one of rocks greatest albums (Appetite for Destruction). They will never top that, nor would I want them to.
Podie said:
S7Paul said:
Well, Slash, Duff & Matt are potentially available, as is (I believe) Steven Adler - so a choice of 2 drummers. However, I'm not sure how pally they all are at the moment, and it would mean Duff sidelining his own band. As they say though, money talks!
er... what do you mean by available? Thought they were all tied up with Velvet Revolver...That said, my only experience of Velvet Revolver live (Live Aid) was a massive dissapointment.
thehawk said:
Velvet Revolver are probably more like the band that G'n'R could have become, and as much as I like them the X factor is missing in my opinion.
The Guns n' Roses of the 1980's was the result of a 'perfect storm'. Everything just came together - the people, the music, the times, the attitudes etc, to produce one of rocks greatest albums (Appetite for Destruction). They will never top that, nor would I want them to.
Currently reading Slashs autobiography. Good read and gives the story of how it all happened, more thanks to chance and drugs than anything else.The Guns n' Roses of the 1980's was the result of a 'perfect storm'. Everything just came together - the people, the music, the times, the attitudes etc, to produce one of rocks greatest albums (Appetite for Destruction). They will never top that, nor would I want them to.
thehawk said:
Chris71 said:
That said, my only experience of Velvet Revolver live (Live Aid) was a massive dissapointment.
They were brilliant. the only band that played with any spirit on the entire day of 'falseness'The odd thing is that (to me at least) all the really memorable bits of the earlier G'n'R tracks aren't Axl's vocals, they're Slash's riffs & solos. In my view HE was the sound of G'n'R. This is borne out by the excellent cover versions that VR used to do, with Scott on vocals.
Negative Creep said:
Not very impressed so far, it's more Use Your Illusion than Appetite. It really doesn't feel like something that's 17 years of work
To be honest you've gotta think how long ago Apetite for Destruction was written. Use Your Illusion (1 & 2) were an indicator of where things were going.The lead song of Chinese Democracy had elements of Apetite but to be honest i never expected much of a homage to that era.
As people have said it was a time when perhaps the band was most as a 'band'
Personally i find Kerrang totally out of sorts these days and are just too cool to be cool. (if that makes sense). So i wouldn't expect any different on a review of what is effectively a 'classic rock' album these days.
17 Years work is probably way off the mark. Its 17 years of work/faffing/legal/delays/more delays/more faffing/bit of work but it's still a relevant album and still shows what a rough diamond Axl Rose is as a songwriter.
Regarding Velvet Revolver. To be honest, Slither and Fall to Pieces are ace songs but pretty much everything else on both albums has made virtually no impact on me at all.
I think Slash and Duff are great and compliment eachother really well. They can also write good riffs etc but, dare i say it, they need the lunacy of Axl to make epic songs/albums IMO.
Chris71 said:
Well exactly, Velvet Revolver is - personnel wise - far closer to classic GnR than the current incarnation is. Can you imagine Fall To Pieces or Slither with Axel on vocals? That would fit nicely somewhere between Appetite For Destruction and Use Your Illusion.
.
Have to say the first time I heard Slither I wondered if it WAS Axl singing, sounded like a classic GnR track..
I've listened to CD, it's ok, then I thought f
k it and put Appetite on and that was better.I'm geeting the impression I might be the only one who actually prefers Use Your Illusion to Appetite For Destruction. 
Don't get me wrong, Sweet Child, Nightrain and Paradise City are just about my favourite GnR songs, but as an overall album I prefer Use Your Illusion.
(Just don't mention The Spaghetti Incident)
Don't get me wrong, Sweet Child, Nightrain and Paradise City are just about my favourite GnR songs, but as an overall album I prefer Use Your Illusion.
(Just don't mention The Spaghetti Incident)
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