Just picked up GNR - "Chinese Democracy"

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Kevin Kelly

New DJ
Aug 31, 2006
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One word......

Wow!

I won't bother going into a full blown review as there are several out there already but I will say that Axl's voice has never sounded better. The cd sounds incredible and the dynamics range from soft piano with Axl singing very softly and...dare I say...pretty - like? (is that a word?)....to him growling and screaming like he did way back in Welcome to the Jungle. As you probably know it's available at Best Buy only and cost me $12. I was very tempted to buy the vinyl for $20 (which also included the mp3 format of the whole album for your iPod, etc) but I didn't.

There are those that will comment saying that GNR isn't the same without Slash and company but after hearing this all I can say is "Slash who?"

It's that good...

You may laugh but this cd could break records...for some of you younger folks that were in elementary school when the last cd of new music by GNR came out - you might scoff but this cd has been a long time coming...could this turn out to be the greatest selling cd of all time? Could it beat Appetite for Destruction? (28 million) Only time will tell.......until then, RUN! Don't walk to Best Buy and pick one up!

Obama making history? Pbbttt....whatever...THIS is history!!!!!!!!!
 
Sorry Kevin 20 yrs of recording and retaking should allow it to be flawless and the vocals mixed down over and over again will allow for a great recording. I think it will be a sorry effort seeing it done live. Thats of course if He Mr Guns and Roses alone decides to show up. His track record for missed shows is likely the only becoming award of record he truly deserves. Sorry I cant get escited this time around. Atleast AC DC has continued to take care of their fans and cover their tour date commitments,
 
I downloaded last night (pre-ordered it from Itunes) and I put it in the class of Metallica's St. Anger. It falls in the "we waited all this time for THIS" category. I listened to it all the way through once, and will most likely never listen to it again.
 
PAtrick you got to admit its better than anything U2 or Oasis has ever provided us though.LOL
 
djdawg said:
One word......

Wow!

I won't bother going into a full blown review as there are several out there already but I will say that Axl's voice has never sounded better. The cd sounds incredible and the dynamics range from soft piano with Axl singing very softly and...dare I say...pretty - like? (is that a word?)....to him growling and screaming like he did way back in Welcome to the Jungle. As you probably know it's available at Best Buy only and cost me $12. I was very tempted to buy the vinyl for $20 (which also included the mp3 format of the whole album for your iPod, etc) but I didn't.

There are those that will comment saying that GNR isn't the same without Slash and company but after hearing this all I can say is "Slash who?"

It's that good...

You may laugh but this cd could break records...for some of you younger folks that were in elementary school when the last cd of new music by GNR came out - you might scoff but this cd has been a long time coming...could this turn out to be the greatest selling cd of all time? Could it beat Appetite for Destruction? (28 million) Only time will tell.......until then, RUN! Don't walk to Best Buy and pick one up!

Obama making history? Pbbttt....whatever...THIS is history!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

im sorry to hear that you picked up Chinese Democracy...
 
upon listening to it the second time. I must say that there a couple songs worthy of a release if it had followed the lose your illusion efforts. It stands no close second to Appetite however as it was truly the greatest work by Guns.
 
Jon Tuck said:
It stands no close second to Appetite however as it was truly the greatest work by Guns.
Click to expand...

There's not much that has ever been released by any hard rock/metal croup that stands close to Appetite

Then again Appetite is second to Back in Black
 
Jon Tuck said:
upon listening to it the second time. I must say that there a couple songs worthy of a release if it had followed the lose your illusion efforts. It stands no close second to Appetite however as it was truly the greatest work by Guns.
Click to expand...

Well at least you gave it a shot Jon...I don't understand how someone can pass judgement on something after listening to it only one time through....???? I mean if you're not a GNR fan then you won't like the cd no matter how many times you listen to it...

I think GNR...er, Axl...was in sort of a lose-lose situation. If he made a record that was essentially "Appetite for Destruction Pt 2" then he would've been accused of selling out, no creativity, just using the GNR name, etc but as Chinese Democracy clearly demonstrates, he can make a GNR record that STILL has the GNR sound (his voice, screaming guitar solos...yes, without Slash) yet also has an updated sound. I've listened to it straight through several times now and I really can't believe the difference in his voice...I have never heard it like this. His signature sound is there (the scratchy screaming that people love or hate) but on some songs his voice is almost unrecognizable (check out If The World...an almost jazzy song...when the guitar solo kicks in it reminds me a bit of Joe Satriani) and he is reaching notes that I have never heard him hit before. This is a GNR record for sure but it also demonstrates that Axl has matured musically and each time he ventures into something different he hits a home run.

I am completely surprised for sure...well worth the wait. Incredible cd...AND the critics agree with me! Ha!!
 
well Dawg I dont agree as I originally mentioned his voice can sound as unbelieveable as a recording can offer, You ever heard Paula Abdul live? Britney Spears untouched? I am willing to bet the free Dr Pepper I gained that Axl cant sound like this live no matter how he brings the masking tools unless he lip syncs. You have drank the kool Aid that Axl created over 17 yrs. Masking, altering, mixing down anything is possible. Lets see him perform unplugged then I will buy the book.
 
Jon Tuck said:
well Dawg I dont agree as I originally mentioned his voice can sound as unbelieveable as a recording can offer, You ever heard Paula Abdul live? Britney Spears untouched? I am willing to bet the free Dr Pepper I gained that Axl cant sound like this live no matter how he brings the masking tools unless he lip syncs. You have drank the kool Aid that Axl created over 17 yrs. Masking, altering, mixing down anything is possible. Lets see him perform unplugged then I will buy the book.
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Ha...ok...listen to This I Love...it's basically him and piano...yeah, he still has it and then some.

For what it's worth...remember about 5-6 yrs ago when he went on tour? He kicked it off in your great country in Canada and something happened and they didn't get into the country...the next night, second show was in Seattle....guess who was there! Me! (and as you know the rest of the tour was cancelled) He sang Chinese Democracy at that concert and his voice was unbelievable. I think he will have no problem playing live...I heard it myself! (who knows if he will tour to support the cd...not sure if it's needed to be honest)

I love what the Boston Herald said about the cd and I agree:

What are the dudes who said Guns N’ Roses doesn’t work without Slash going to do now?

First things first. “Chinese Democracy” is great - you can hear it right now as a free stream on MySpace [website] and buy it Sunday at BestBuy. It’s not “Appetite for Destruction,” but it’s way more consistent than the bloated “Use Your Illusions.”

Forget that we’ve chased the carrot of new G N’ R tunes Axl Rose has cruelly dangled before us for 17 years. Forget that this is likely the most expensive album ever made at a reported $13 million. Forget that the cast from “Appetite” is long gone. Just listen and you’ll hear the awesome opus Rose intended “Illusion” to be. Because Slash, Izzy Stradlin and the rest ruined Rose’s vision of “Illusion,” “Chinese Democracy” is defined by their absence.

“Chinese Democracy” succeeds because Slash is missing. Slash fans need to face facts: the guitarist was never right for Rose (too much Joe Perry, not enough Brian May); post-“Appetite,” he’s consistently failed to capture his early mad-hatter-run-amok fury.

The guitarists on “Chinese Democracy” - Buckethead, Bumblefoot, Richard Fortus, Robin Finck and Paul Tobias - use Slash’s dirty blues as a starting point but take it places G N’ R’s iconic axe-man could never, and would never, want to go. And the results are wicked cool.

“I.R.S.” tilts between a gentle lilt and a classic “Appetite” grind. Beneath the lilt are lyrical blues lines. Over the top of the grind are supernovas that reference Tom Morello, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vernon Reid and Slash, too. “Scraped,” “Better” and “If the World,” all vaguely electronic, use this same approach: bursts of straight, lyrical rock guitar, bursts of fast, twisted notes that sound like they’re coming from a malfunctioning cyborg.

The absence you notice most is Stradlin.. G N’ R’s second guitarist wrote the band’s straightest rock songs (“Patience,” “Mr. Brownstone,” “Think About You”). No Izzy means no good Stones’ cops. And because Rose doesn’t do simple well without Stradlin, the weakest tracks on “Chinese Democracy” are its most typical, specifically the title track and “Shackler’s Revenge.”

But no Izzy means Rose is free to write what he wants: sagas equal to his best “Illusion” experiments. Half of “Chinese Democracy” consists of big, bold, piano-driven operettas directed at his old band mates, himself and his haters.

“Sometimes I feel like the world is on top of me/breaking me down with an endless monotony,” Rose sings on “Scraped.” Then he adds, “like a daily affirmation, I am unconquerable.”

So what’s Rose retained from his past life? His Queen fascination is in full bloom. His wicked yowls, howls and growls remain intact, and his obsession with “Cool Hand Luke” has held - this time incongruously paired with Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” sound bites and Kashmir-like strings on “Madagascar.”

Oh, and there’s his ego. Now everybody knows Slash wasn’t the genius in the band.

Download the brooding, black, brilliantly un-“Appetite” tell-off, “Sorry.”
 
LOL if he shows he can remove any doubt. To count the first single as a tribute to his voice I cry Bull dung I must say Its hard to tell Axl isnt just singing backup on this track. Who's the other voice in the forefront?
 
djdawg said:
Well at least you gave it a shot Jon...I don't understand how someone can pass judgement on something after listening to it only one time through....????
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Someone walks up to you and stabs you in the leg, you ask them to do it again just to make sure you don't like it?

You go to a restaurant to get sick from the meal because it tastes so bad, do you go back the next night just to make sure you don't like it?

You go to a movie and have to walk out of it because it is so bad, do you go back the next day just to make sure you don't like it?

I don't get why this concept it so hard to understand. When something is so bad, so vile, so irritating that is makes you want to vomit, why would you subject yourself to it a second time just to make sure you heard it right?
 
patrickrlewis said:
Someone walks up to you and stabs you in the leg, you ask them to do it again just to make sure you don't like it?

You go to a restaurant to get sick from the meal because it tastes so bad, do you go back the next night just to make sure you don't like it?

You go to a movie and have to walk out of it because it is so bad, do you go back the next day just to make sure you don't like it?

I don't get why this concept it so hard to understand. When something is so bad, so vile, so irritating that is makes you want to vomit, why would you subject yourself to it a second time just to make sure you heard it right?
Click to expand...

Once again, Coldplay comes to mind.... I don't know why. :sqerr::sqlaugh:
 
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