Chinese Democracy

Product Details

Track listing:

1. Chinese Democracy

2. Shackler's Revenge

3. Better

4. Street Of Dreams

5. If The World

6. There Was A Time

7. Catcher In The Rye

8. Scrapped

9. Riad N' The Bedouins

10. Sorry

11. I.R.S.

12. Madagascar

13. This I Love

14. Prostitute

Product Reviews

(3 stars) - Guns And Roses - Axl On His Own
So, is this really a Guns and Roses album? Only Axl Rose remains from the original band and only keyboard player Dizzy Reed remains from any former incarnations of the band. Chinese Democracy took over a decade to record with Axl pondering over every detail, recording and re-recording sections of tracks over and over again. The album involves several different guitarists including Buckethead, Robin Finck and several others who do their best to imitate Slash's patented slash and burn style. Mostly they succeed as there is some very nice guitar work to be found here and there on the disc. Rose still has enormous vocal ability and his famous scream is still there in force. In fact in some ways he is a better vocalist today than in his youth as he encompasses a wider variety of singing styles than with the band's earlier albums. Chinese Democracy could have been a complete train wreck, but in the end it is a decent piece of work that grows on you with repeated listens. I would not say it is a great album, but it is good hard rock that mixes classic G n R with more modern sounds. This album is not going to set the world on fire, and does not represent the second coming of 90's metal, but do I think it is better than some people have given it credit for.

(2 stars) - Not their best album
If you love GNR and must have this CD then by all means!!! However, I don't think that this was their best work. Does not even compare to Appetite for Destruction.

(1 stars) - a mishmash of different things/styles. Sorry but mostly it's awful.
Let me start by saying I am a huge G N' R fan. Have all their albums, have seen them live a number of times. Knew them and followed them from back in the Hollywood Rose/L.A. Guns days, glamming it up on Sunset in Hollywood. That being said, I was so wanting to like this album, and mostly was very disappointed with it.

The album is a mishmash of differing styles, there are a couple of highlights, for me being Catcher in the Rye. But starts out poorly with track 1, the title track, then the anchor really hits bottom with tracks such as Shackler's Revenge & Better. So that is 3 songs in, and it's already tedious/hard to listen to. Track 4 'Streets Of Dreams' tries to recapture November Rain from Use Your Illusion, but doesn't have near the magic of that song. Track 5 If The World sounds like a Michael Jackson outtake, and includes some very uninspired music. At this point, I am really regretting buying this CD, to say the least. Track 6 is a straightforward filler type song, by which time Catcher in the Rye is too little, too late in coming. The album meanders through the rest of it, some highlights but mostly repetitive/uninspired music. Track 11 I.R.S. has some old GN'R rock to it, but nothing to write home about.

I just cannot understand the some of the glowing reviews of this album, it really does stink. I could pull 2-3 songs off of it that even merit re-listening to, but nothing even remotely close to the Appetite/Lies/Illusion days -not-even-close-. It's obvious that Slash, Duff & the others really were key ingredients that made the group, they were indispensable and this album clearly illustrates that point. Sorry Axl, this is one boring album that was years in the making, but clearly probably should have remained unfinished...

(4 stars) - Great GN'R album!
I know alot of folks are bashing this and calling it a Axl solo cd, but let's take it for what it is. No, it is probably not as good as other GN'R albums but for 2008, it is a great rock album and a good GN'R/Axl album. Compare it to the other rock stuff coming out these days and it is way better. The whole album is good and definitely worth picking up used or new. Check it out!!

(3 stars) - SIX GOOD SONGS
JUST NOT ROCKIN ENOUGH FOR ME. TO MUCH WIMPY CRAP STUFF ON THIS DISC.MUST TRY ALOT HARDER IF HE CAN.HE NEEDS TO GET THAT FIRE IN HIS BELLY AGAIN, OR JUST RETIRE FROM THE MUSIC SEEN AS SOON AS POSIABLE.I WON'T HOLD MY BREATH.I DON'T CARE ANYMORE.

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