Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy: A convoluted album of genius

Nov 21 2008 By Steve Wollaston

Guns n' Roses: Chinese Democracy (Geffen/Black Frog)

hark back to Nine Inch Nails territory and a genre that has been and passed a decade ago.

Other songs like ‘Prostitute’ and ‘If the World’ show a very emotive side to the album with a sweeping and grandiose sound, there are even some quite beautiful Moby-esque moments to some tracks, non are more epic than ‘Madagascar’ – a real Axl Rose speciality with brooding lyrics, horns and Martin Luther King samples.

Mix that style in with some truly belting rockers and stand-out tracks – ‘Sorry’ and ‘Better’ and the quality in depth here is unquestionable. ‘Riad N' The Bedouins’ should never have made the cut - with so many years of material you don’t expect to see filler.

The album lacks a killer hook, a ringtone classic like ‘Sweet Child’ or ‘Paradise City’, but there are no real weak points aside from the aforementioned track.

Huge tracks like ‘Catcher in The Rye’, ‘There Was a Time’ and ‘IRS’ are belting tunes, but despite their brilliance sometimes it feels like a group of toddlers have been experimenting on a fret-board, there is a LOT of guitar shredding and inventive guitar playing, some truly stunning axe-playing but at times the guitars are that complex it’s almost off-putting. Slash’s cowboy boots were always going to be big Cowboy boots to fill; trouble is it feels like there about 8 people trying at times.

On a vocal level Axl Rose has lost none of his unique range – or so it seems, the snarling high-pitched milk-curdling banshee wail is still as awesome as it ever was, but now just like the record itself it seems complex, there are a lot of layered vocals, enhanced and effected vocals – sometimes it is hard to see where Rose ends and the computer effects begin.

When he is playing it straight on epic ballads like ‘Street Of Dreams’ it’s really great that the rock world has THAT voice back again. The track ‘This I Love’ is something that you would never expect to find Axl Rose singing – you could almost see it as part of the soundtrack for Phantom Of Opera…. yet it is tortured and compelling listening.

The constant theme through the album seems to be lost love, whether he is over it or not is anyone’s guess after 15-years. This is not a Guns and Roses album, this is an Axl Rose project, he has enlisted a highly talented bunch of hired ‘Guns’ and brought it all together to make a very strong, inventive, thrilling and convoluted 14-track album. Guns n' Roses in its’ previous form would never have made this album, perhaps that’s why the band disintegrated, musically this is a natural progression from the overblown monsters that were Use Your Illusion 1&2, it is however as far removed from Appetite for Destruction as it could be.

Does it live up to the hype? No - of course not, but it is a very, very good record, Rose has crafted a sprawling masterpiece of psychedelic rock, hard-hitting metal, epic ballads and even pop. Thank god the rap with NBA legend Shaquille O' Neal didn’t make the final cut though, mind you even Brian May got axed.

If we are top believe long time Axl associate Sebastian Bach this is actually the first album of four, exciting stuff – if we live long enough to see it.