Umm.. CD and Kanye West have ALREADY been out on one chart, and it said Kanye West beat CD .. which is really freaking sad, because Kanye West is a big pile of shiat.

...Chinese Democracy has only topped album countdowns in Brazil in Finland.


That sounds like a very confusing place.

It turns out that the people who made this band big have kind of moved on... I was in seventh grade when Appetite came out. It was the most awesome thing ever to me... when I was 12. [Well, I still think it's a great album, but that's not the point.] Since then, there have been a string of abominations, screwy tours that fark over the fans, piss-poor live TV performances, and this album has had 27 release dates.

It's time to admit this band just isn't relevant. Especially since it's not even the Guns N Roses we all loved when we were younger -- that lineup was pretty key. Not that we'll ever see them play together, but if they did reunite, they'd make a TON on the tour.

Is the album for sale in China? Because that would be cool if it hit #1 there.

serpent_sky: It turns out that the people who made this band big have kind of moved on... I was in seventh grade when Appetite came out. It was the most awesome thing ever to me... when I was 12. [Well, I still think it's a great album, but that's not the point.] Since then, there have been a string of abominations, screwy tours that fark over the fans, piss-poor live TV performances, and this album has had 27 release dates.

It's time to admit this band just isn't relevant. Especially since it's not even the Guns N Roses we all loved when we were younger -- that lineup was pretty key. Not that we'll ever see them play together, but if they did reunite, they'd make a TON on the tour.

In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

bronyaur1:

In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

Very true, though I don't think Velvet Revolver worked at all. Guns N Roses was a sort of perfect storm.

And Axl's voice was unique -- but it worked with the music -- and that went a long way. Without Slash, he almost sounded like nails on a chalkboard at times.

I did give it a listen. How did I get it? Let's just say I didn't get it at Best Buy and let it go at that.

Anyway, there are moments on the album that sound great, but the whole album is suffocated by Axl's megalomania. It's not enough for him to make a pretty good record: he wanted to make The Best Farking Rock Album Ever, and so these songs are just overstuffed with Big Musical Idea after another.

There was a great record in there somewhere, if it had come out, I don't know, about 15 years ago.

I really loved GnR when I was a teenager, and I still have some GnR on the ipod. I guess I will buy this album. I can't say I was really waiting for it though. Right now I'm listening mostly to Christmas music.

Maybe make it exclusive to a single retailer wasn't such a great idea after all.

jake_lex: There was a great record in there somewhere, if it had come out, I don't know, about 15 years ago.

I once interviewed a band, and their guitarist said he hated one of their albums because they over-thought everything and went back and re-recorded things that, in retrospect, sounded better the way they demoed them. And he said they learned a lot from that, because they left their new [at the time] album as they wrote it, and worked with a much more organic, let it flow, style, and it showed.

A lot of times, creativity is about flow. My writing suffers if I over-think, over-tinker, or struggle to make it "perfect." My music does, too. But when I just relax and go with it, things come out how I want them to, and they work.

I wonder what the earliest scrapped versions of the album sounded like, and if the greatness that could be there was.

bronyaur1: In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

Although, Izzy Stradlin did write all of the good songs. Slash may be a more talented performer, but Izzy leaving was the death knell of the band.

I think that it looks like it did fairly well in the charts. Sure 2nd place is the first loser, but it still looks like it did alright.

Classic GNR Reunion in 3....2......

I think Chinese Democracy is awesome, personally. Not worth the wait, and not the earth-shattering masterpiece Axl set out for (I think), but still pretty damn good.

mofroe: bronyaur1: In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

Although, Izzy Stradlin did write all of the good songs. Slash may be a more talented performer, but Izzy leaving was the death knell of the band.

hey Duff had some good basslines too. He'd do some pretty creative fills and not just play along to the basic structure all the time.

speaking as someone whos high school career ended with the last GNR album this isn't GNR, this is Axl rose with some other folks. It's like the flock of seagulls that only has the guy with funky hair in it released an album. It's not the original, it's not something I'm gonna pick up nor have any interest in.

serpent_sky: jake_lex:

I wonder what the earliest scrapped versions of the album sounded like, and if the greatness that could be there was.


Almost two years ago I found a version of I.R.S. online. Now that I've heard it off of Chinese Democracy, the original is SO much better.

/album is meh

There are a couple of good tracks, but it's embarrassing in context of its melodramatic backstory and delay. Spending that much money and that much time, really? Really Axl?

The new Killers album mentioned in the article is also a disappointment. Sounds like they've become my generation's ELO. Hot Fuss such a great album, what the hell happened?

Man, you mean something that had a "great buzz" on the internet didn't live up to sale expectations? shiat, fark, this is the first time anyone has ever overestimated the ability of the internet as a marketing tool.

I think the biggest mistake was making the tracks available to hear on myspace early. I was planning to buy the album on it's release day out of hopeful curiosity. But I listened to the tracks on myspace before that, and learned that the album was actually awful. No more curiosity. No more hope. No reason to purchase the album.

If I were Axl or the record company and had that piece of crap album on my hands, I never would have made it available for preview before hand. I'd have kept that thing veiled in as much secrecy and mystery as possible. That way I could have made at least a few bucks before people discovered it was terrible.

I wonder if maybe Axl isn't the big douche everyone thinks afterall. Maybe he knew in his heart that album was genuinely horrible and rather than let his loyal fans pay their hard earned cash for it on faith alone, he gave them a chance to hear it first and see that it sucks. That way he could move on with whatever's next for him without the obligation of Chinese Democracy hanging over him forever without anyone having to buy an album they're not going to like.

ekdikeo4: Umm.. CD and Kanye West have ALREADY been out on one chart, and it said Kanye West beat CD .. which is really freaking sad relieving, because Kanye West Guns and Roses is a big pile of shiat.

In the battle of the egotistical blowhards, I'll take the one who's actually talented.

I can has Botox?

I have a feeling that Chinese Democracy would have longevity over anything Kanye West makes though.

Rap/Hip-hop is very temporary. It's the computer hardware of music.

/not a GNR fan.

redstarr01
I think the biggest mistake was making the tracks available to hear on myspace early. I was planning to buy the album on it's release day out of hopeful curiosity. But I listened to the tracks on myspace before that, and learned that the album was actually awful. No more curiosity. No more hope. No reason to purchase the album.

I came here to say THAT.

I probably wasn't going to buy the Axl Rose solo album, but hearing it in its' awfulness sealed the deal for me.

devilskware: mofroe: bronyaur1: In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

Although, Izzy Stradlin did write all of the good songs. Slash may be a more talented performer, but Izzy leaving was the death knell of the band.

hey Duff had some good basslines too. He'd do some pretty creative fills and not just play along to the basic structure all the time.

Duff is ok, but it's his sound that makes him unique, even though his fills are great as well.

/izzy is THE most talented person in thnat band.

barneyfifesbullet: DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE???

The Used Bin at FYE?

Chinese Democracy could have benefited from another decade or two in the studio, imho.

It's not really Guns anyway, it's the Axl Rose Band.

Not a bad album, though.

FeedTheCollapse: barneyfifesbullet: DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE???

The Used Bin at FYE?

I Lol'd

Never mind the missing original band members (particularly Slash and Duff). What Axl has put out sounds nothing like a GNR album. The closest he comes is with "Better" which is one of few tracks I actually find catchy.

Appetite for Destruction and the Use Your Illusion albums were blues-oriented straight rock albums with riffs to kill for. After repeated listens, Chinese Democracy I would put more in the vein of pop metal (although that may be too strong of criticism). I think Axl has always wanted to be seen as an Elton John-style songsmith (apologies to Bernie Taupin), and now he's "freed" from Slash's guitar and Duff's bass (the most underrated element of AFD) to pursue piano-driven songs to his heart's content. But it has turned CD into too much "November Rain" and not enough "Mr. Brownstone." Axl would have been better served just releasing this album as a solo project.

And one more thing: Buckethead may be an amazing guitarist, but his solos and add-ons during the middle of verses are downright distracting. He does not fit this album at all.

album is good, but sales are a bust because you can gets it on the internets and no one was waiting 10 years for The Axl Rose experiment album

Fail tag, really? I'm guessing most rock musicians would sell their soul to get a #2 album in this age of pop/rap

bronyaur1:
In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

Disagrees

i listened on myspace. twice. the first time i listen to anything, i listen with my gut. if i don't get moved in the first few bars or so, i move on. i did this with most songs on CD; just jumped to the next track. but then after a day or two i returned to listen with my ears. i thought it was away overproduced, with too much "stuff" in it. axl's voice was processed to hell and back (probably necessary) but even protools pitch correct would have sufficed instead of the whole synth layering. that said, i liked some songs. in my fantasy world, i'd strip out a lot of the stuff and go straight piano with some simple accompaniment.

it's not GNR. it's KFC with only 2 herbs and spices.

What the Chinese Democracy tracklisting should have been:

1. Get in the Ring, part 2
2. Get in the Ring, part 3
3. Get in the Ring, part 4
4. Get in the Ring, part 5
5. Get in the Ring, part 6
6. Get in the Ring, part 7
7. Get in the Ring, part 8
8. Get in the Ring, part 9
9. Get in the Ring, part 10
10. Get in the Ring, part 11
11. Get in the Ring, part 12
12. Get in the Ring, part 13
13. Get in the Ring, part 14
14. November Rain, part 2

I think everyone would have purchased that one.

Also, replacing Axl with the lead singer of the Offspring was probably not a good idea.

MensRea: Never mind the missing original band members (particularly Slash and Duff). What Axl has put out sounds nothing like a GNR album. The closest he comes is with "Better" which is one of few tracks I actually find catchy.

Appetite for Destruction and the Use Your Illusion albums were blues-oriented straight rock albums with riffs to kill for. After repeated listens, Chinese Democracy I would put more in the vein of pop metal (although that may be too strong of criticism). I think Axl has always wanted to be seen as an Elton John-style songsmith (apologies to Bernie Taupin), and now he's "freed" from Slash's guitar and Duff's bass (the most underrated element of AFD) to pursue piano-driven songs to his heart's content. But it has turned CD into too much "November Rain" and not enough "Mr. Brownstone." Axl would have been better served just releasing this album as a solo project.

And one more thing: Buckethead may be an amazing guitarist, but his solos and add-ons during the middle of verses are downright distracting. He does not fit this album at all.

Probably the most underrated GnR song, and this is almost 100% dead on, they worked better as a blues rock band so I am still waiting for the actual GnR reunion, which I foresee happening since the album didnt sell a ton its first week.

Buckethead may be good solo but his riffs on this album seemed forced and usually out of place.

steamingpile: Buckethead may be good solo but his riffs on this album seemed forced and usually out of place.

THIS. I really like this CD, but I hate some of Buckethead's stuff on it. Shackler's Revenge is the only song on the album I can't stand.

/Street of Dreams and Madagascar FTW

bronyaur1:
In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent was Slash.

Borne out by the amazing quality, sales numbers and popularity of Slash's post-GNR efforts.

/Izzy says hello - that's where the good songs came from
//Not that Slash isn't a talented guitar player

Slaxl: I think that it looks like it did fairly well in the charts. Sure 2nd place is the first loser, but it still looks like it did alright.

Yeah, but as you should well know, Slaxl, "fairly well" is nowhere near good enough for an album with this kind of history....

bronyaur1: serpent_sky:

In other news, the only guy in that band with an unusually high level of talent hat was Slash.

/dusts off hands

They offered the entire album streamed online. Why would they expect huge sales?

Does Axl still have beef with these guys?



/Get ini the Ring is one of the most baffling songs ever

The Killers beat Axl Rose's act to the top of the British charts on Sunday and so far Chinese Democracy has only topped album countdowns in Brazil in Finland.

It's kind of like, "we got Norway, in Kenya!"

Meh, I liked it.

/subby

MacG
I guess I will buy this album. I can't say I was really waiting for it though. Right now I'm listening mostly to Christmas music.

Wow. That speaks volumes. If you'd rather listen to farking Christmas music than this album....I'm....just, wow.

/I HATE Christmas music

MensRea: And one more thing: Buckethead may be an amazing guitarist, but his solos and add-ons during the middle of verses are downright distracting. He does not fit this album at all.

Actually, it's Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal's overdubs and fills that don't work. Buckethead's stuff fit the songs quite well (see: Sorry, This I Love, If The World) and they sounded fine. When he left and Thal came in, Axl apparently wanted Ron's contributions heard. The changes from the demos have been for the worse in terms of Ron's contributions (see: the solo in Riad, covering up Bucket's spanish guitarwork in If The World).

Nothing against Ron as a guitar player; his stuff just didn't jive with the already-existing songs like Buckethead's did.
/Don't even get me started on them doing away with Brian May's work...
//Catcher in the Rye, we barely knew ya

steamingpile: Probably the most underrated GnR song, and this is almost 100% dead on, they worked better as a blues rock band so I am still waiting for the actual GnR reunion, which I foresee happening since the album didnt sell a ton its first week.

If the song "Sorry" really is about Slash like some think, then I don't see a reunion happening any time soon.

balthan: "Sorry" really is about Slash like some think, then I don't see a reunion happening any time soon.

The multiple accents he uses in that song are hilarious.

/but i don't want toooo dew eeeeet

yay! suck it, whatever your name is.