The story, 15 years, 13 million plus, the most expensive album of all time.
Think for a moment what this album cost Axel Rose. It cost him Slash, his band, he had to endure fifteen years of “when’s the album out?” All this against a period of american musical decline from 1995 to now. Well, the album’s out. So I guess the question is- was it worth it? Simple answer- yes. More complex answer- yes- without reservations. It’s bloody brilliant.
In an era where selling out has become so commonplace that the word has no meaning to the younger generation, Chinese Democracy rears its dinosaur head without compromise. This is rock with edge and attitude. The "rock" of today sounds drab and amaturish next to it.
It’s kind of a wonder to me that the album’s not over-produced. That said, the sound layering is more complex than any previous Guns release. They are times it feels like a wall of sound instead of a four man garage band. It’s here there will be some who don’t like it, I know a lot of people who like their rock and roll stripped and primitive and I’m one of them. Yet, the sitars, recorded speeches, sweeping string sections and keyboards don’t lessen the impact of the music- the best of it is downright brutal.
What makes Axel such a great vocalist is not just his utterly phenomal top end. It’s that his voice is constantly on the ragged edge of being out of control. That makes anything he sings sound dangerous. He’s as good as he ever was. And his lyrics are better. He's matured from fist pumping arena slogans to dancing with introspective middle age. Don't fret, his lyrics are still rebellious and in your face. But you get the impression he's been beat-up along the way and has a bit of a different perspective.
There are so many guitarist laying down tracks on this album, it's hard to tell who did what. The best of these is obviously Buckethead. And boy, can this buckethead guy play. While not the most melodic of guitarists, he is certainly technically brillant. In “Better” he reels off leads so fast, one might think it’s the second coming of Yngwie Malmsteen. One can only hope Buckethead rejoins for the inevitable world tour. I saw Guns with Bumblefoot and two other lead guitarists- for a total of three!- and they were all good, but none were great.
The two best and already most famous tracks on GNR's new album album are “Chinese Democracy” and “Madagaser”, worth the cost of admission alone. These are two songs that should be celebrated as high points in rock history.
Axel is back, baby.
But I have to ask: is there anybody listening? Will this album, as good as it is, and as silly as it makes the “rock stars” of today look, reach a wider audience?
No. It'll be #1 for a few weeks and fade rapidly out.
I think it should relaunch the heady days of arena rock, but with all the sophistication of today’s technology and the album’s completely relevant sound. But it won’t. That’s why listening to it is a little bitter sweet.
Look, Axel is an ass, he’s a prima donna and an egotistical perfectionist. But he’s also a real artist, and the best singer since Plant. He's put out one of the very best rock albums in recent years. But the days of rock energizing a generation or causing riots when an album is released or, gasp, making people feel or care about anything, are long gone.
I only wish I was wrong.
