Guns N’ Roses | ||
| Allmusic Biography : At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts. They were not nice boys: nice boys dont play rock & roll. They were ugly, misogynistic, and violent; they were also funny, vulnerable, and occasionally sensitive, as their breakthrough hit, "Sweet Child O Mine," showed. While Slash and Izzy Stradlin ferociously spit out dueling guitar riffs worthy of Aerosmith or the Stones, Axl Rose screeched out his tales of sex, drugs, and apathy in the big city. Meanwhile, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler were a limber rhythm section who kept the music loose and powerful. Guns N Roses music was basic and gritty, with a solid, hard, bluesy base; they were dark, sleazy, dirty, and honest -- everything that good hard rock and heavy metal should be. There was something refreshing about a band that could provoke everything from devotion to hatred, especially since both sides were equally right. There hadnt been a hard rock band this raw or talented in years, and they were given added weight by Roses primal rage, the sound of confused, frustrated white trash vying for a piece of the pie. As the 80s became the 90s, there simply wasnt a more interesting band around, but owing to intra-band friction and the emergence of alternative rock, Roses supporting cast eventually left, and he spent over 15 years recording before the long-delayed Chinese Democracy appeared in 2008. Guns N Roses released their first EP in 1986, which led to a contract with Geffen; the following year, the band released its debut album, Appetite for Destruction. They started to build a following with their numerous live shows, but the album didnt start selling until almost a year later, when MTV started playing "Sweet Child O Mine." Soon, both the album and single shot to number one, and Guns N Roses became one of the biggest bands in the world. Their debut single, "Welcome to the Jungle," was re-released and shot into the Top Ten, and "Paradise City" followed in its footsteps. By the end of 1988, they released G N R Lies, which paired four new, acoustic-based songs (including the Top Five hit "Patience") with their first EP. G N R Lies inflammatory closer, "One in a Million," sparked intense controversy, as Rose slipped into misogyny, bigotry, and pure violence; essentially, he somehow managed to distill every form of prejudice and hatred into one five-minute tune. Guns N Roses began work on the long-awaited follow-up to Appetite for Destruction at the end of 1990. In October of that year, the band fired Adler, claiming that his drug dependency caused him to play poorly; he was replaced by Matt Sorum from the Cult. During recording, the band added Dizzy Reed on keyboards. By the time the sessions were finished, the new album had become two new albums. After being delayed for nearly a year, the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were released in September 1991. Messy but fascinating, the albums showcased a more ambitious band; while there were still a fair number of full-throttle guitar rockers, there were stabs at Elton John-style balladry, acoustic blues, horn sections, female backup singers, ten-minute art rock epics with several different sections, and a good number of introspective, soul-searching lyrics. In short, they were now making art; amazingly, they were successful at it. The albums sold very well initially, but while they had seemed destined to set the pace for the decade to come, that turned out not to be the case at all. Nirvanas Nevermind hit number one in early 1992, suddenly making Guns N Roses -- with all of their pretensions, impressionistic videos, models, and rock star excesses -- seem very uncool. Rose handled the change by becoming a dictator, or at least a petty tyrant; his in-concert temper tantrums became legendary, even going so far as to incite a riot in Montreal. Stradlin left by the end of 1991, and with his departure the band lost its best songwriter; he was replaced by ex-Kills for Thrills guitarist Gilby Clarke. GNR didnt fully grasp the shift in hard rock until 1993, when they released an album of punk covers, The Spaghetti Incident?; it received some good reviews, but the band failed to capture the reckless spirit of not only the original versions, but its own Appetite for Destruction. By the middle of 1994, there were rumors flying that GNR were about to break up, since Rose wanted to pursue a new, more industrial direction and Slash wanted to stick with their blues-inflected hard rock. The band remained in limbo for several more years, and Slash resurfaced in 1995 with the side project Slashs Snakepit and an LP, Its Five OClock Somewhere. Rose remained out of the spotlight, becoming a virtual recluse and doing nothing but tinkering in the studio; he also recruited various musicians -- including Dave Navarro, Tommy Stinson, and ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck -- for informal jam sessions. Remaining members were infuriated by Roses inclusion of childhood friend Paul Huge in the new sessions when both Stradlin and Clarke were excluded from rejoining the band. And a remake of the Rolling Stones "Sympathy for the Devil" was essentially the straw that broke the camels back, as Rose cut out some of the other members contributions and pasted Huge over the song without consulting anyone else. By 1996, Slash was officially out of Guns N Roses, leaving Rose the lone remaining survivor from the groups heyday; rumors continued to swirl, and still no new material was forthcoming, though Rose did re-record Appetite for Destruction with a new lineup for rehearsal purposes. The first new original GNR song in eight years, the industrial metal track "Oh My God" finally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1999 Arnold Schwarzenegger film End of Days. Soon after, Geffen issued the two-disc Live Era: 87-93. The year 2000 brought the addition of guitarists Robin Finck (of Nine Inch Nails) and Buckethead, and 2001 was greeted with Guns N Roses first live dates in nearly seven years, as the band (which consisted of Rose plus guitarists Finck and Buckethead, bassist Stinson, former Primus drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia, childhood friend and guitarist Paul Huge, and longtime GNR keyboardist Dizzy Reed) played a show on New Years Eve 2000 in Las Vegas, playing as well at the mammoth Rock in Rio festival the following month. On New Years Eve 2001, the band played almost the exact same set as the year before. An appearance at MTVs 2002 Video Music Awards helped garner interest in the new lineup, but a rusty performance from Rose and an interview where he said his new album wasnt coming out anytime soon didnt do much to further their cause. That summer, GNR started on their first tour in almost eight years, and they managed to fulfill all of their commitments in Europe and Asia. Sadly, they caused a violent and destructive riot in Vancouver when Rose failed to show up for the first date of their North American tour. While he was up to his old shenanigans with the retooled lineup, former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland, Slash, Sorum, and McKagan formed the successful Velvet Revolver in spring 2002. And so years passed and still no new GNR album, to the point where it became one joke too many. The album was long billed as Chinese Democracy, and occasionally session recordings would leak and make their way onto Internet file-sharing networks. A fascinating article written by Jeff Leeds for The New York Times, published in March 2005, revealed how tangled and costly the making of the album had become. According to the article, titled "The Most Expensive Album Never Released," Rose began work on the album in 1994 and racked up production costs of at least $13 million dollars. Producers involved with the album at one time or another included Mike Clink, Youth, Sean Beavan, and even Roy Thomas Baker. (Curiously, Moby claimed to have been offered the job as well.) Marco Beltrami and Paul Buckmaster were allegedly brought in for orchestral arrangements, and there was a revolving door of guitarists; Buckethead left the band in 2004, and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal eventually took his place. In 2006, the album seemed closer to release, as Rose began surfacing in public and even took his band on the road for some shows. The music industrys biggest boondoggle finally bore fruit in 2008 when Axl unveiled a record that was well over a decade in the making. While Chinese Democracy received many rave reviews, and the critical response was positive overall, the record underperformed (its almost impossible) expectations, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 when it came out in November. A worldwide tour followed. Guitarist DJ Ashba of Sixx:A.M. joined GNR in 2009, and the band continued working on new material and playing shows, with some of the bands former members occasionally dropping in for guest appearances. In 2012, GNRs classic lineup was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Slash, McKagan, Clarke, Adler, and Sorum reunited and performed a few Appetite-era songs with vocalist Myles Kennedy replacing Rose, who had declined to participate. Bumblefoot left the group in 2014, and in July of 2015, Ashba announced that he had departed from the band as well. In 2016, GNR embarked on the Not in This Lifetime...Tour, which featured Rose alongside a reunited line-up with guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, and several longtime touring members. The tour, whose title was a reference to a quote Rose gave in 2012, also found original drummer Steven Adler joining the band for several stops. A remastered version of Appetite for Destruction arrived in 2018 and included a previously unreleased single, "Shadow of Your Love," recorded by the original line-up. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 10 Title: Appetite for Destruction Released: 1987-07-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 53:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Welcome to the Jungle (04:33) 2 It’s So Easy (03:22) 3 Nightrain (04:28) 4 Out ta Get Me (04:23) 5 Mr. Brownstone (03:48) 6 Paradise City (06:46) 7 My Michelle (03:39) 8 Think About You (03:51) 9 Sweet Child o’ Mine (05:56) 10 You’re Crazy (03:17) 11 Anything Goes (03:26) 12 Rocket Queen (06:13) |
| Appetite for Destruction : Allmusic album Review : Guns N Roses debut, Appetite for Destruction was a turning point for hard rock in the late 80s -- it was a dirty, dangerous, and mean record in a time when heavy metal meant nothing but a good time. On the surface, Guns N Roses may appear to celebrate the same things as their peers -- namely, sex, liquor, drugs, and rock & roll -- but there is a nasty edge to their songs, since Axl Rose doesnt see much fun in the urban sprawl of L.A. and its parade of heavy metal thugs, cheap women, booze, and crime. The music is as nasty as the lyrics, wallowing in a bluesy, metallic hard rock borrowed from Aerosmith, AC/DC, and countless faceless hard rock bands of the early 80s. Its a primal, sleazy sound that adds grit to already grim tales. It also makes Roses misogyny, fear, and anger hard to dismiss as merely an artistic statement; this is music that sounds lived-in. And thats exactly why Appetite for Destruction is such a powerful record -- not only does Rose have fears, but he also is vulnerable, particularly on the power ballad "Sweet Child O Mine." He also has a talent for conveying the fears and horrors of the decaying inner city, whether its on the charging "Welcome to the Jungle," the heroin ode "Mr. Brownstone," or "Paradise City," which simply wants out. But as good as Roses lyrics and screeching vocals are, they wouldnt be nearly as effective without the twin-guitar interplay of Slash and Izzy Stradlin, who spit out riffs and solos better than any band since the Rolling Stones, and thats what makes Appetite for Destruction the best metal record of the late 80s. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 10 Title: G N’ R Lies Released: 1988-11-30 Tracks: 8 Duration: 33:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Reckless Life (03:20) 2 Nice Boys (03:03) 3 Move to the City (03:42) 4 Mama Kin (03:57) 5 Patience (05:55) 6 Used to Love Her (03:13) 7 You’re Crazy (04:10) 8 One in a Million (06:08) |
| G N’ R Lies : Allmusic album Review : Once Appetite for Destruction finally became a hit in 1988, Guns N Roses bought some time by delivering the half-old/half-new LP G N R Lies as a follow-up. Constructed as a double EP, with the "indie" debut Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide coming first and four new acoustic-based songs following on the second side, G N R Lies is where the band metamorphosed from genuine threat to joke. Neither recorded live nor released by an indie label, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide is competent bar band boogie, without the energy or danger of Appetite for Destruction. The new songs are considerably more problematic. "Patience" is Guns N Roses at their prettiest and their sappiest, the most direct song they recorded to date. Its emotional directness makes the misogyny of "Used to Love Her (But I Had to Kill Her)" and the pitiful slanders of "One in a Million" sound genuine. Although the cover shrugs them off as a "joke," Axl Roses venom is frightening -- theres little doubt that he truly does believe that "faggots" come to America from another country and that "niggers" should stay out of his way. Since he wasnt playing a character on the remainder of the album, theres little doubt this is from the heart as well. And what makes it harder to dismiss is the musical skill of the band, which makes the country-fried boogie of "Used to Love Her," the bluesy revamp of "Youre Crazy," and the tough, paranoid fever dream of "One in a Million" indelible. So, you either listen to the music and are satisfied or else listen to the lyrics and become disturbed not only by Roses intentions, but by the millions of record buyers that identified with him. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 10 Title: Use Your Illusion I Released: 1991-09-16 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:16:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Right Next Door to Hell (03:02) 2 Dust N’ Bones (04:58) 3 Live and Let Die (03:04) 4 Don’t Cry (04:44) 5 Perfect Crime (02:23) 6 You Ain’t the First (02:36) 7 Bad Obsession (05:28) 8 Back Off Bitch (05:03) 9 Double Talkin’ Jive (03:23) 10 November Rain (08:57) 11 The Garden (05:22) 12 Garden of Eden (02:41) 13 Don’t Damn Me (05:18) 14 Bad Apples (04:28) 15 Dead Horse (04:17) 16 Coma (10:13) |
| Use Your Illusion I : Allmusic album Review : The "difficult second album" is one of the perennial rock & roll clichés, but few second albums ever were as difficult as Use Your Illusion. Not really conceived as a double album but impossible to separate as individual works, Use Your Illusion is a shining example of a suddenly successful band getting it all wrong and letting its ambitions run wild. Taking nearly three years to complete, the recording of the album was clearly difficult, and tensions between Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Axl Rose are evident from the start. The two guitarists, particularly Stradlin, are trying to keep the group closer to its hard rock roots, but Rose has pretensions of being Queen and Elton John, which is particularly odd for a notoriously homophobic Midwestern boy. Conceivably, the two aspirations could have been divided between the two records, but instead they are just thrown into the blender -- its just a coincidence that Use Your Illusion I is a harder-rocking record than II. Stradlin has a stronger presence on I, contributing three of the best songs -- "Dust n Bones," "You Aint the First," and "Double Talkin Jive" -- which help keep the album in Stonesy Aerosmith territory. On the whole, the album is stronger than II, even though theres a fair amount of filler, including a dippy psychedelic collaboration with Alice Cooper and a song that takes its title from the Osmonds biggest hit. But it also has two ambitious set pieces, "November Rain" and "Coma," which find Rose fulfilling his ambitions, as well as the ferocious, metallic "Perfect Crime" and the original version of the power ballad "Dont Cry." Still, it can be a chore to find the highlights on the record amid the overblown production and endless amounts of filler. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 10 Title: Use Your Illusion II Released: 1991-09-17 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:15:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Civil War (07:41) 2 14 Years (04:21) 3 Yesterdays (03:16) 4 Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (05:36) 5 Get in the Ring (05:41) 6 Shotgun Blues (03:23) 7 Breakdown (07:04) 8 Pretty Tied Up (04:47) 9 Locomotive (08:42) 10 So Fine (04:06) 11 Estranged (09:23) 12 You Could Be Mine (05:44) 13 Don’t Cry (alt. lyrics) (04:44) 14 My World (01:24) |
| Use Your Illusion II : Allmusic album Review : Use Your Illusion II is more serious and ambitious than I, but its also considerably more pretentious. Featuring no less than four songs that run over six minutes, II is heavy on epics, whether its the charging funk metal of "Locomotive," the antiwar "Civil War," or the multipart "Estranged." As if an attempt to balance the grandiose epics, the record is loaded with an extraordinary amount of filler. "14 Years" may have a lean, Stonesy rhythm, and Duff McKagans Johnny Thunders homage, "So Fine," may be entertaining, but theres no forgiving the ridiculous "Get in the Ring," where Axl Rose threatens rock journalists by name because they gave him bad reviews; the misinterpretation of Dylans "Knockin on Heavens Door"; another version of "Dont Cry"; and the bizarre closer, "My World," which probably captures Roses instability as effectively as the tortured poetry of his epics. That said, there are numerous strengths to Use Your Illusion II; a couple of songs have a nervy energy, and for all their pretensions, the overblown epics are effective, though strangely enough, they reveal notorious homophobe Roses aspirations of being a cross between Elton John and Freddie Mercury. But the pompous production and poor pacing make the album tiring for anyone who isnt a dedicated listener. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 10 Title: “The Spaghetti Incident?” Released: 1993-11-22 Tracks: 13 Duration: 46:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Since I Don’t Have You (04:19) 2 New Rose (02:38) 3 Down on the Farm (03:28) 4 Human Being (06:48) 5 Raw Power (03:11) 6 Ain’t It Fun (05:05) 7 Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex) (02:39) 8 Hair of the Dog (03:54) 9 Attitude (01:26) 10 Black Leather (04:08) 11 You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (03:35) 12 I Dont Care About You (02:17) 13 Look at Your Game, Girl (02:34) |
| “The Spaghetti Incident?” : Allmusic album Review : As punk albums go, The Spaghetti Incident? lacks righteous anger and rage. As Guns N Roses albums go, its a complete delight, returning to the ferocious, hard-rocking days of Appetite for Destruction. The Gunners play Stooges and New York Dolls songs exactly as they do Nazareth -- as straight-ahead, driving riff-rockers. After the epic Use Your Illusions, the band sounds like its having fun, not caring about making "art" like "November Rain" or "Estranged." Unfortunately, the tacked-on Charles Manson song leaves a bad aftertaste, but not because of the song itself; the inclusion of the song seems like a publicity-seeking stunt, a way to increase their sales while trying to regain their street credibility. And as The Spaghetti Incident? proves, they didnt need to stoop so low. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 10 Title: Use Your Illusion Released: 1998-08-25 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:03:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Live and Let Die (03:04) 2 Don’t Cry (04:44) 3 You Ain’t the First (02:36) 4 November Rain (08:57) 5 The Garden (05:22) 6 Dead Horse (04:17) 7 Civil War (07:41) 8 14 Years (04:21) 9 Yesterdays (03:16) 10 Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (05:20) 11 Estranged (09:23) 12 Don’t Cry (alt. lyrics) (04:44) |
 | Album: 7 of 10 Title: 3 Original CDs Released: 2001-09-03 Tracks: 32 Duration: 2:13:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Welcome to the Jungle (04:33) 2 It’s So Easy (03:22) 3 Nightrain (04:28) 4 Out ta Get Me (04:23) 5 Mr. Brownstone (03:48) 6 Paradise City (06:46) 7 My Michelle (03:39) 8 Think About You (03:51) 9 Sweet Child o’ Mine (05:56) 10 You’re Crazy (03:17) 11 Anything Goes (03:26) 12 Rocket Queen (06:13) 1 Reckless Life (03:20) 2 Nice Boys (03:03) 3 Move to the City (03:42) 4 Mama Kin (03:57) 5 Patience (05:55) 6 Used to Love Her (03:13) 7 You’re Crazy (04:10) 8 One in a Million (06:08) 1 Since I Don’t Have You (04:19) 2 New Rose (02:38) 3 Down on the Farm (03:28) 4 Human Being (06:48) 5 Raw Power (03:11) 6 Ain’t It Fun (05:05) 7 Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex) (02:39) 8 Hair of the Dog (03:54) 9 Attitude (01:26) 10 Black Leather (04:08) 11 You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (03:35) 12 I Don’t Care About You / Look at Your Game, Girl (04:51) |
 | Album: 8 of 10 Title: Greatest Hits Released: 2004-03-15 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:18:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Welcome to the Jungle (04:33) 2 Sweet Child o’ Mine (05:56) 3 Patience (05:55) 4 Paradise City (06:46) 5 Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (05:36) 6 Civil War (07:41) 7 You Could Be Mine (05:44) 8 Don’t Cry (04:44) 9 November Rain (08:57) 10 Live and Let Die (03:04) 11 Yesterdays (03:16) 12 Ain’t It Fun (05:05) 13 Since I Don’t Have You (04:19) 14 Sympathy for the Devil (07:18) |
| Greatest Hits : Allmusic album Review : Otherwise known as the album Axl tried to kill, Guns n Roses Greatest Hits is essentially a last-ditch effort by Geffen to get some GNR product, any GNR product out on the shelves. And, really, who can blame them? When they originally planned to release the disc in time for Christmas 2003, they had been waiting 12 years for a new album of original material from Guns n Roses, and despite a flurry of activity in the fall of 2002 -- Axl unveiling his Frankenband at the MTV Video Awards then took them out on a tour that imploded almost immediately -- the label was still waiting for the forever-delayed Chinese Democracy a year later, so they were set to rush it out for holiday sales. While it didnt materialize for that season, it was ready to surface in March 2004, when Rose, supported by his numerous ex-bandmates, filed a lawsuit against Geffen claiming the record was unauthorized, would do damage to their reputation, and distract from Chinese Democracy, which was, of course, no closer to completion than it was a year prior. A week before its scheduled release, a federal judge denied the bands request for an injunction, and the record came out on March 23, 2004. Was it worth a lawsuit? For Geffen, probably, since its good for them to get new GNR in the stores, but its also easy to see why the band was irked by Greatest Hits, since it bears all the hallmarks of a slapdash compilation, hastily assembled by the label as a way to buy time between releases. There are no liner notes, the cardboard packaging is flimsy, the remastering isnt notable, and any compilation that contains more songs from The Spaghetti Incident? than G N R Lies is unbalanced. That said, it does offer the biggest hits -- "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child o Mine," "Patience," "Paradise City," "Dont Cry," "You Could Be Mine," "November Rain," "Live and Let Die" -- which may satisfy some fans. Still, theres not only a number of hits and important songs missing -- anywhere from the charting singles "Nightrain" and "Estranged" to the essential album tracks "Its So Easy," "Mr. Brownstone," and "Used to Love Her," among many others -- the preponderance of epics, ballads, and covers (a full five of the records 14 tracks are covers, including their horrid version of the Rolling Stones "Sympathy for the Devil," previously unavailable on any GNR record) gives an inaccurate portrait of the band, effectively neutering its reckless rage. It also could be argued that this is all a question of semantics, since this is the "greatest hits" not the "best of," and all of these tracks were big radio hits and therefore fulfilling the promise of the title. However, Guns N Roses arent necessarily a band thats well suited to hits compilations, since their albums capture the raw, messy vitality of their music. Here, they sound tamer than they ever were, even if the song selection does follow the charts closely. But even if you sympathize with the bands argument that this is not an especially flattering picture of the band, its easier to sympathize with the label since there are undoubtedly some fans that would like a hits comp, no matter how uneven it is, but the label has been stuck with no more than a whisper of a promise of a new GNR record for so long theyve been left to manufacture their own. If that angers Axl, maybe he should finish that damn album while a handful of people still care. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 10 Title: Chinese Democracy Released: 2008-06-18 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:11:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Chinese Democracy (04:43) 2 Shackler’s Revenge (03:36) 3 Better (04:58) 4 Street of Dreams (04:46) 5 If the World (04:54) 6 There Was a Time (06:41) 7 Catcher in the Rye (05:52) 8 Scraped (03:30) 9 Riad N’ the Bedouins (04:10) 10 Sorry (06:14) 11 I.R.S. (04:28) 12 Madagascar (05:37) 13 This I Love (05:34) 14 Prostitute (06:15) |
| Chinese Democracy : Allmusic album Review : To put Chinese Democracy in some perspective: it arrives 17 years after the twin Use Your Illusion, the last set of original music by Guns N Roses. Consider that 17 years prior to the Illusions, it was 1974, back before the Ramones and Sex Pistols, back before Aerosmith had Rocks and Toys in the Attic, back before Queen had A Night at the Opera -- back before almost anything that Axl Rose worships even existed. Generations have passed in these 17 years, but not for Axl. He cut himself off from the world following the trouble-ridden Use Your Illusion tour, retreating to the Hollywood Hills, swapping every original GNR member in favor of contract players culled from his mid-90s musical obsessions -- Tommy Stinson from the Replacements, Robin Finck from Nine Inch Nails, Buckethead from guitar magazines -- as he turned into rocks Charles Foster Kane, a genius in self-imposed exile spending millions to make his own Xanadu, Chinese Democracy. Like Xanadu, Chinese Democracy is a monument to mans might, but where Kane sought to bring the world underneath his roof, Axl labored to create an ideal version of his inner world, working endlessly on a set of songs about his heartbreak, persecution, and paranoia, topics well mined on the Illusions. Using the pompous ten-minute epics "Estranged" and "November Rain" as his foundation, Axl strips away all remnants of the old, snake-dancing GNR, shedding the black humor and blues, replacing any good times with vindictive spleen in the vein of "You Could Be Mine." All this melodrama and malevolence feels familiar and, surprisingly, so does much of Chinese Democracy, even for those listeners who didnt hear the portions of the record as leaked demos and live tracks. Despite a few surface flourishes -- all the endless, evident hours spent on Pro Tools, a hip-hop loop here, a Spanish six-string there, absurd elastic guitar effects -- this is an album unconcerned with the future of rock & roll. One listen and its abundantly clear that Axl spent the decade-plus in the studio not reinventing but refining, obsessing over a handful of tracks, and spending an inordinate amount of time chasing the sound in his head -- thats it, no more, no less. Such maniacal indulgence is ridiculous but strangely understandable: Rose received unlimited time and money to create this album, so why not take full advantage and obsess over every last detail? The odd thing is, he spent all this time and money on an album that is deliberately not a grand masterpiece -- a record that pushes limits or digs deep -- but merely a set of 14 songs. Compared to the chaotic Use Your Illusion, Chinese Democracy feels strangely modest, but thats because its a single polished album, not a double album so overstuffed that it duplicates songs. Modest is an odd word for an album a decade-plus in the making, but Axls intent is oddly simple: he sees GNR not as a gutter-rock band but as a pomp-rock vehicle for him to lash out against all those who dont trust him, whether its failed friends, lapsed fans, ex-lovers, former managers, fired bandmates, or rock critics. Chinese Democracy is the best articulation of this megalomania as could be possible, so the only thing to quibble about is his execution, which occasionally is perplexing, particularly when Rose slides into hammy vocal inflections or encourages complicated guitar that only guitarists appreciate (its telling that the only memorable phrases from Robin Finck, Buckethead, or Bumblefoot or whoever are ones that mimic Slashs full-throated melodic growl). Even with these odd flourishes, its hard not to marvel, either in respect or bewilderment, at the dense, immaculate wall of god knows how many guitars, synthesizers, vocals, and strings. The production is so dense that its hard to warm to, but it fits the music. These arent songs that grab and hold; theyre songs that unfold, so much so that Chinese Democracy may seem a little underwhelming upon its first listen. Its not just the years of pent-up anticipation, its that Axl spent so much time creating the music -- constructing the structure and then filling out the frame -- that theres no easy way into the album. That, combined with the realization that Axl isnt trying to reinvent GNR, but just finishing what he started on the Illusions, can make Chinese Democracy seem mildly anticlimactic, but Rose spent a decade-plus working on this -- he deserves to not have it dismissed on a cursory listen. Give it time, listening like it was 1998 and not 2008, and the album does give up some terrific music -- music that is overblown but not overdone. True, those good moments are the songs that have kicked around the Internet for the entirety of the new millennium: the slinky, spiteful "Better," slowly building into its fury; the quite gorgeous if heavy-handed "Street of Dreams"; "There Was a Time," which overcomes its acronym and lack of chorus on its sheer drama; "Catcher in the Rye," the lightest, brightest moment here; the slow, grinding "I.R.S."; and "Madagascar," a ludicrous rueful rumination that finds space for quotations from Martin Luther King amidst its trip-hop pulse. These arent innovations; theyre extensions of "Breakdown" and "Estranged," epics that require some work to decode because Axl forces the listener to meet him on his own terms. This all-consuming artistic narcissism has become Roses defining trait, not letting him move forward, but only to relentlessly explore the same territory over and over again. And this solipsism turns Chinese Democracy into something strangely, surprisingly simple: it wont change music, it wont change any lives, its just 14 more songs about loneliness and persecution. Or as Axl put it in an apology for canceled concerts in 2006, "In the end, its just an album." And its a good album, no less and no more. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 10 Title: 2 for 1: Appetite for Destruction + G N’R Lies Released: 2011-04-08 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:27:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Welcome to the Jungle (04:33) 2 It’s So Easy (03:22) 3 Nightrain (04:28) 4 Out ta Get Me (04:23) 5 Mr. Brownstone (03:48) 6 Paradise City (06:46) 7 My Michelle (03:39) 8 Think About You (03:51) 9 Sweet Child o’ Mine (05:56) 10 You’re Crazy (03:17) 11 Anything Goes (03:26) 12 Rocket Queen (06:13) 1 Reckless Life (03:20) 2 Nice Boys (03:03) 3 Move to the City (03:42) 4 Mama Kin (03:57) 5 Patience (05:55) 6 Used to Love Her (03:13) 7 You’re Crazy (04:10) 8 One in a Million (06:08) |