I’ve been waiting for this album for 15 years. Or have I?
Entire musical genres have risen and fallen in the time since the last Guns N’ Roses album was released. Without wishing to retread the long and winding history of “Chinese Democracy”, the end result is an Axl Rose solo album in all but name.
The title doesn’t so much signify Axl’s opposition to one-party rule in the middle kingdom as his idea of his own endless struggle against overwhelming forces; a more appropriate title would be “Axl Rose: Mein Kampf”. Every song relates his struggle: against ex-lovers, ex-bandmates, record companies, the media and just about everybody else to release this album, keep the name Guns N’ Roses alive and generally stick the finger at everyone who doubted him. In essense, “Chinese Democracy” is about the process of recording “Chinese Democracy” and Axl’s own overblown egomania.
The years of obsessive construction and sprawling vision are palpable. Each and every track assaults the listener with a phalanx of guitars and arrangements. “Madagascar” is probably the worst offender in this respect, going as far as to sample Martin Luther King (“Free at last”) to a crescendo of guitar solos. Thankfully Axl’s vocals remain as strong and compelling as ever, lending a (somewhat) coherent narrative to what would have otherwise been a cacophony of the last 20 years of rock compressed into 14 tracks.
Fans who preferred the raw intensity of “Appetite for Destruction” over the expansive rock opera of “Use You Illusion” will be less enthused. On “Appetite”, GNR were defined as much by Slash’s thrusting solos and Izzy Stradlin’s swaggering rhythms as Axl’s wailing vibrato; “I.R.S.” and “Better” come closest to the classic formula.
The angry, decadent rebellion of the old Guns was always balanced by the unsentimental romance of tracks like “November Rain”. On this album, Axl again mixes rage with melancholy. The aggression of the opening one-two of the title track and “Shackler’s Revenge” is tempered by the regrets of “There Was A Time” and “Streets Of Dreams”, while ” This I Love” goes further into an unabashed lament for a love lost but still felt.
But the overall statement is one of defiance; on even on “Sorry”, he declares:
I’m sorry for you, Not sorry for me
You don’t know why, I won’t give in
To hell with the pressure, I’m not caving in
The final track, “Prostitute”, strikes a more conciliatory note, asking not for forgiveness, but understanding for the tortured state of being Axl Rose and doing what he has to.
If my affections are misunderstood
And you decide
I’m up, to no good, don’t ask, me to enjoy them, just for you
Ask yourself what I would do
To prostitute myself
To live with fortune and shame oh yeah
So is this the album I’ve been waiting 15 years for? Which is not to ask has it been worth the wait – no album could be – but rather, does it work? In the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century – after grunge, Britpop, nu-metal, garage rock, post-punk, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, the “Macarena”, Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Alanis Morissette, the Spice Girls, “My Heart Will Go On”, Korn, Limp Bizkit, N’Sync, Eminem, the Strokes, “Hey Ya!”, 50 Cent, Kanye, Avril Lavigne, the Arctic Monkeys – does Axl Rose’s vision of rock still hold any relevance? Does this witch’s brew of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Queen, Hanoi Rocks, Elton John and Nine Inch Nails filtered through Axl’s wailing vocal, countless guitarists and years of remixes result in anything worthwhile?
Ultimately, the story of “Chinese Democracy” is more epic than any of the tracks on the album itself. Is it possible that the world’s biggest rock group can implode, lose all but one of its original members,go through multiple cancelled tour, arrests, lawsuits, lineup changes, Buckethead, 15 years and $13 million in recording costs and complete a triumphant comeback? Ironically for an album which attained mythical status during its gestation period, the question is still: do you believe?
4 Burning Cigarettes out of 5
The Maldives might be underwater, Chelsea Clinton might be running for President and I might be playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2024 on Playstation 8 when the next GNR album is released. I don’t intend to wait a moment for any of those events, but right now “Chinese Democracy” sounds as vital as any rock album released in years.
November 30, 2008 at 12:04 pm
excellent post again mate, although I do realise your views have alot more to do with symbolism as compared to the art itself, from your past 2 reviews on music at least
January 15, 2009 at 6:07 am
Great review! Just gave the album a listen, and although I haven’t quite been waiting for this album for 15 years(!!), yes, I agree, it is a quintessential rock album.