So they FINALLY released Chinese Democracy. Any thoughts?
Here is a topic near and dear to my heart!!! I LOVE my GNR!!!! I bought Chinese Democracy the day it came out and it is really good. Ok --it's not the original GNR or anything but it is typical Axl Rose for the most part. His voice sounds great (IMHO). There are several songs on it that I love and a few not so much but for the most part it is pretty good. Really like Shackler's Revenge and Riad n' the Bedouins.I wasn't expecting it to be GREAT, because it just couldn't be, no matter what Axl chooses to call his band, it's not THE GNR. To me GNR will always be Axl, Slash, Duff McKagen, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler but of course that will NEVER happen again! I had to settle for Velvet Revolver for the longest time and now I have Chinese Democracy also. So I will just be happy with that. What other choice do I have?
He sings it high, he plays it low
I think its way over produced. It sounds clean...but just a little too clean. The GNR that I know had this raw live-type element on their studio records...and thats what I loved most about them. And my mentor in my studio production internship said it best, "after 14 years of working on a record, how many original takes do you think are actually on there?" In my opinion...most of the time its those original takes that make a record magical. Other than that....I feel the same way about Chinese Democracy as I do about Metallica's St. Anger record...and that is, If they called it by a different band name as to set it in its own category away from the other records...its a really strong album. Like you said TBF, it is definitely Axl Rose...but not so much GNR.
Any fans of GNR in the house? I really like the original Guns lineup (Axl, Slash, Duff, Steven, and Izzy).
My favorite albums are of course Appetite for Destruction (my fav) and Use Your Illusions 1&2 (close 2nd). My top 5 favorite songs from AFD are Paradise City, Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child o' Mine, Rocket Queen. I have 2 favorites from UYI, November Rain and Estranged.
I'm a fan of Slash's playing, especially on those albums. Velvet Revolver didn't do much for me. I don't have his new solo album yet so I can't make a judgement on it yet.
Last edited by WalshFan88; 02-19-2011 at 07:40 PM.
Did someone say Slash???? Duff McKagan? Also loved Steve Adler! I'm with you about the lineup, don't like todays lineup. I don't feel that's Guns N Roses just because Axl is in it. Wasn't real happy when Steve was replaced by Matt either but I understand why they had to do it because of Steve's issues. He was (is) a mess.
So Austin, what do you think of Chinese Democracy? I went and bought it the day it was released and listened to it exactly 1 time. Wasn't too impressed especially since I waited so long for it. Love Velvet Revolver and Slash's new solo album tho. Definitely great stuff there!!
If you haven't ever seen it, check out the dvd from Live At The Roxy. WOW!! They will just blow you away on it. The version of Rocket Queen on it is amazing. Steve about jumps out of his seat playing the drums on it.
Oh yeah, answer to your question...yeah, I'm a bit of a fan!
He sings it high, he plays it low
I didn't like Chinese Democracy that well either. I just got today Slash's new album and it is really good. I dunno why I didn't like Velvet Revolver, maybe I'll like it better when they find a new singer. I'm not a Scott Weiland fan at all. He comes across as a..what's that word I'm looking for..starts with an A I think!
I don't have Live at the Roxy but you can bet I'll be looking for it now.
That was horrible!!! They sure didn't do Steven any favors in that did they. I'm a dreamer and hope it would happen but it never will. Slash did get up on stage and perform with Axl and the new GNR a week or so ago without killing each other. Step in the right direction I guess.
He sings it high, he plays it low