Guns N’ Roses

Chinese Democracy

November 31, 2008

**** / ****

By Mr. Marlowe

Released 2008

My all-time favorite joke is the one where the music critic asks Axl Rose, “when is the next Guns N’ Roses album coming out?” and Axl replies, “sometime this year.” Then of course, it doesn’t come out. Not this year. Not any year. Wash, rinse, and repeat. As Yogi Berra once quipped, “it’s deja vu all over again.”

Fast forward 17 years and the day Axl has promised a half dozen times is upon us: the release of Chinese Democracy, the first album of new Guns N’ Roses material since 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and II. My God, I thought this day would never come. But alas, November 23, 2008 is indeed the day “Guns N’ Roses” has returned. Amazing!

So how does the most anticipated album of all-time play after nearly two decades of speculation, tirades, feuds, and controversy? The answer is very, very well.

This I Love and Catcher in the Rye pick up where the Illusion albums left off. Overly dramatic, chock full of overdubs, exploding with memorable guitar solos, and featuring Axl’s paranoid ‘us-against-them’ snarling balladry, This I Love and Catcher in the Rye are the most instantly catchy and sappy tunes on the album. The former is also the album’s centerpiece, both chronologically and musically, and reminds exactly why so many loved the second wave of G N’ R the Illusion albums ushered in.

With Dizzy Reed’s manic piano noodling and layers of frenzied guitars performing sonic gymnastics over Axl’s screeching, wailing, and opining, Rye and This I Love are both the sequels to Don’t Cry and November Rain, respectively, and their antitheses. Where the Illusion tunes had sorrow and hope as their main ideas, the latter have sorrow turning into utter desolation and solitude, a fitting summary for this G N’ R conglomeration. For you see, Axl is the only remaining member of the original Guns N’ Roses, and it shows.

The lack of original members on Chinese Democracy most assuredly has something to do with this album’s almost entire dismissal of G N’ R’s first album, Appetite for Destruction. Indeed, those looking for ugly, balls-to-the wall aggression or stadium ready Appetite for Destruction rock n’ roll will be gravely disappointed in Chinese Democracy. Outside of Scraped and the album opener, Chinese Democracy, the most straightforward and aggressive rock songs on the album (and decent ones to boot), that era of G N’ R seems to have left Axl’s radar.

It is this divergence of taste and style where hardcore G N’ R fans will most likely leave this G N’ R ship dismissing Chinese Democracy as “shit that ain’t the real Guns N’ Roses.” And indeed, this album probably shouldn’t be called Guns N’ Roses, but for those willing to look beyond what they think Guns N’ Roses is and will always be, there is much to admire and enjoy in this new contingent of brilliant musicians.

Rather than make Appetite for Destruction Part II or Use Your Illusion III, Axl brings in a variety of new styles never before present under the G N’ R banner. From the flamenco funk disco rock n’ roll ride of If the World to the hip-hop metal genius of Better (probably the best track on the album), the operatic majesty of Madagascar (which uses samples of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the same clip of Cool Hand Luke G N’ R used in their own Civil War) to the pure pop bliss of Street of Dreams, Axl and his team have stepped it up big time as they fire on all cylinders. With seemingly unlimited funds, a giant ego, and the best session men in the business, Axl has made a record that indulges all his interests, all his tastes, and all his whims. And it works.

If a listener comes into Chinese Democracy pondering the legacy of Guns N’ Roses, the absurd and astonishing 17 year history of this album, and/or carries all the expectations that go with that sort of thing it is impossible to see Axl’s effort as anything less than a failure. And really, any album with those expectations is bound to meet the same fate. On the other hand, if a listener takes Chinese Democracy on its own terms and considers it merely as a new record by a new artist then the wonderful variety of tunes, awesome musical precision, and excellent aural bliss becomes readily apparent. The Guns N’ Roses of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s this is not, but what Chinese Democracy has going for it makes it nearly as good if not better and more complete than any G N’ R album ever. And perhaps more importantly, Chinese Democracy reminds us that rock n’ roll isn’t a dinosaur just yet, that it can continue to evolve, continue to rock, and continue to be as vital a part of the music scene as any other genre. Indeed, Chinese Democracy is all these things and one of the best albums of 2008.

Best Songs: Better, Street of Dreams, Catcher in the Rye, This I Love, Madagascar