Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy

my, my, my, i’ve been a bit slow to get this one done. apologies. i’ve been quite busy lately. too busy for the internets? no way.

well, was it worth the wait? … that seems to be a popular question to ask lately, but is it a relevant one? i mean, did we really think that this album would be worth the wait, that somehow the longer an artist takes to record an album, the better it turns out? of course not. well, i hope not. i think that fans of the band had hoped for the album to turn out really well, and that sentiment was definitely shared by those higher-ups who care about the album’s sales, but if this album’s gestation period has any bearing on my overall listening experience, i wouldn’t really know.

i think that it’s very easy to fall victim to the strong urge of dismissing chinese democracy entirely without really discussing it: “this record would’ve been more relevant in 1997,” etc. it’s awfully tempting because of the amount of hype that has surrounded this album for so long. we’re all tired of hearing about it and just want it to go away. being one of the most anticipated albums ever, however, i think it’s worth at least a listen to see what kind of work went into it and to see if that work paid-off.

having familiarized myself with the g n’r discography prior to listening to chinese democracy certainly helped me to develop some grounded expectations for what this disc would sound like. it’s not difficult to see this as the logical “next step” for axl to be taking, and definitely not the utter flop my gut was telling me it’d be. the use your illusion discs make this outing particularly understandable; chinese democracy is just the more consistent, focused younger brother of the two. although, while the earlier g n’r stuff helped to prepare me for how this album would sound, it’s definitely far more detached from the g n’r “sound” than anyone could have expected.

while i was listening to this record, it helped to think of it not as a guns n’ roses album, but as an autonomous axl rose project. that way, it doesn’t have the weight of appetite for destruction to bear on its shoulders (although i realize that it is difficult, if not impossible, to divorce one from the other completely). otherwise, the urge to dismiss this album for not being as good as appetite becomes too much to bear. put simply, this material does not stock up to appetite, but it also doesn’t try to. there are very few efforts put forth on this record to pander to fans who may be nostalgic for the g n’r of 1987. because we’re not privy to the metamorphosis that took place between the use your illusion albums and now, and because the near 20 year gap and complete change in personnel distance this from anything g n’r have done, it’s best not to think of it as a g n’r album. call it the debut from axl rose & the revolving doors.

speaking of the band, while they do shine here and there, they have little personality. this record is such a medley of styles and influences that there is no real moment where i get the feeling that i know who guns n’ roses are anymore. i don’t hear a guitar part at any point on this album and think “that’s buckethead playing!” because there’s very little of his own style that’s incorporated into these songs. the same can be said for josh freese, a drummer who i’ve grown to follow and admire. his arrangements here are not unlike his contributions on avril lavigne’s best damn thing: boring and safe.

i suppose that one could argue that the lack of individuality among the band members signifies that this project was in some way successful, since it is a very consistent record. for what it’s worth, the new g n’r, all known for their playing and personalities elsewhere, have managed to gel and work together as a band; however, considering how often axl relies on them to carry a song, and how bland the results are, i’m forced to question whether or not i can call this a successful collaboration. everyone featured on this record has a unique history of their own, and yet the songs they’ve come up with make it seem dubious that such great talent were even involved in the songwriting process.

two songs in, and i’m struck by how nü-metally they sound. “better” is a plastic, glossy mess— much akin to axl rose’s face these days. axl’s voice is distorted beyond recognition, making him sound more like a dentist drill than a singer, and although i was intrigued by how abrasive he sounded, any interest he may have garnered was instantly neutered by the safe, three days grace-sounding hard rock.

this is pretty much the case for the majority of the album. any time the band or axl manage to peak my interest, the other responds with cliché. “catcher in the rye” is musically one of the strongest songs on the album, but the lyrics and overall concept are abysmal. furthermore, many of the songs are difficult to connect with because they either sound too cold and over-produced, or they are too self-indulgent and melodramatic in terms of their subject-matter. “street of dreams” sounds like something written for a musical: it’s very theatrical and i always picture axl walking to a corner of the stage as if he’s delivering a soliloquy. this direction is an interesting extension of the queen-inspired theatricality that g n’r used to be known for, but unlike freddie mercury, axl doesn’t have the band or the songwriting skills to back him up.

essentially, that’s what the main flaw of chinese democracy comes down to: poor songwriting. as far as the sound is concerned, axl found a level of production that suited his needs and that lifted his songs to extraordinary levels, a fact which is demonstrated by the poorly mixed batch of songs that had been leaked months prior to chinese democracy’s release. the arrangements this time around are immaculately detailed, from the lush strings to each of the main instruments employed by the band. the songs are just as big as the production they require, but where this lack of modesty hurts axl & co the most is in the songwriting department. while most artists put out an album every year or two, axl has kept this one going for 14, so it’s no surprise that these songs consist of a million ideas going at once,  all competing for the spotlight. this dischordance within the songs emphasizes the lack of conceptual cohesion amongst the songs themselves, which is something that the spotless production cannot hide. the problem with use your illusion II was that it was weighed down by its own sense of importance, which made that album such a schizophrenic mess. chinese democracy manages to be far more coherent a record, still wearing its self-importance on its sleeve, but only suffers from having an abundance of ideas.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, chinese democracy, guns n roses