Chinese Democracy

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Seventeen years after Use Your Illusion I&II, Axl Rose delivers an album which for all intents and purposes should be called 'Use Your Illusion III'. I must ask, WTF has he been doing for the last fourteen years? Why spend all this time, fire and alienate all the members of the band, have all this endless talk about a new sound, re-record over and over, spend a reported eleven million dollars on p... read more

Description: 17 years in the making and beholden of a level of hyperbole verging on mythology--one that couldn't even be derailed by Axl Rose staffing his ever-changing troupe with people named Buckethead, Bumblefoot and Brain--Chinese Democracy would disappoint even if it arrived in a puff of smoke and nullified the impact of The Dark Side of the Moon, Revolver and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (not to mention Appetite for Destruction). And it doesn't do that, obviously. In fact, straight off the block it's in danger of rear-ending the Guns N' Roses legend, with the title track offering little beyond big production and "Shackler's Revenge&quo 17 years in the making and beholden of a level of hyperbole verging on mythology--one that couldn't even be derailed by Axl Rose staffing his ever-changing troupe with people named Buckethead, Bumblefoot and Brain--Chinese Democracy would disappoint even if it arrived in a puff of smoke and nullified the impact of The Dark Side of the Moon, Revolver and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (not to mention Appetite for Destruction). And it doesn't do that, obviously. In fact, straight off the block it's in danger of rear-ending the Guns N' Roses legend, with the title track offering little beyond big production and "Shackler's Revenge" and "Better" emulating Linkin Park's industrial block building with a guttural vocal that threatens to turn the whole thing into a parody. But a desire to progress the G N' R template finds its feet as "If The World" unfolds into an improbable eastern drum 'n' bass orchestral trip-hop odyssey with some coarse riffing and the attitude of old is run through Pro-Tools and made 21st Century-proof on "Scraped" and "Raid N' the Bedouins". But if this album is to be remembered for anything in particular it will be the sky-reaching ambition of the balladry; "Sorry" with its "Nothing Else Matters" vibe and interlaced vocal choreography is cathartic and proud, "This I Love" sees Axl's larynx stretched and twisted, literally wringing the emotion from within, and "Catcher in the Rye" is one real moment of universal appeal. Chinese Democracy tries to be a lot of things but really works where Axl is left to be Axl and "November Rain" is left sounding like "Kumbaya". --James Berry ... (more) (less)