G'N'R Chinese Democracy LP


I just bought one today at Best Buy ($19.99).on 180g. vinyl.
Only listened to two sides so far. Not impressed with the SQ. Anyone else had a chance?
maril555
Hi Phasecorrect

There were no official videos from ChiDem so no Axl swimming with dolphins. Of all the GnR songs the one I just could never like no matter how hard I tried was Estranged.

Anyway on ChiDem there is one song that you may consider bombastic but it is actually, I think, one of the best songs on the album. There Was a Time

Lots of stuff going on in the song. I especially like all the guitar solos.
can it be any worse or more bombastic than use your illusions? cmon ...orchestras, keyboards,....videos with dolphins and helicopters...kind of like seaworld and a bad elton john cover band...pass
I think some songs sound like the original GnR. The Blues to me sounds like it was a B-Side from the Use Your Illusion albums. Madagascar seems also like an extension of Use Your Illusion type songs. A lot of songs really are Axl letting loose with the stuff going on in his head. Better and Sorry come to mind. I know it has been denied but I still think Sorry is Axl's message to Slash.

IMO I think Chinese Democracy should have also been an Axl Rose solo release or one of those concept albums that a lot of bands puts out to break up the sound they are known for.

Still though I do like the new line-up of hired guns Axl has. (Pun intended) Especially Richard Fortus and Bumblefoot. I do miss Buckethead. I know he is weird and his gimmick often frowned upon but man could that guy play precise and fast.
I haven't listened to it in quiet some type maybe I'll through it on tonight, I have made some upgrades to the system, so we shall see.

@Sonofjim agreed it should have been an Axl Rose release.
This album is a therapy album, Axl bearing his soul to his ex. Now listen up,it went from Sweet Child of Mine to You Should be Mine to the songs on Chinese Democracy.I wasn't impressed with this,it lacked the punch and intensity of GNR.
I lucked out at Best Buy one day and they had the Chinese Democracy LP for $1.99. I guess Best Buy wanted to just wash their hands completely of the exclusive deal they had made. That and I guess clear out inventory.
Two years later and little or no expectations, I found this album at 1/2 Price Books for $9.99. It really should have been released as an Axl Rose solo album, this is not GNR. More like Queensryche if you ask me. It's also not at all bad, in fact quite good IMO. Also don't understand the knocks on SQ. It absolutely sores on my system.
My opinions aren't among the most popular on these forums and that's fine. That's why they're mine. For $9.99 this was a pleasant surprise. Best album ever? Of course not. It was the victim of high expectations and really was doomed before anyone even heard it. Worth a revisit for anyone who enjoyed the 90's progressive flavored metal of Queensryche and the like.
Agreed SQ isnt that great, even the free DL's included with the vinyl arent that great, but there are some very good songs on the album.
I'm really going to get slammed, but I liked the Velvet Revolver albums, but I loved Stone Temple Pilots. Scott Weidland is great singer, and that band absolutely rocked (thanks to the DeLeo Bros). Of course he's a drug addict, so who knows if/when STP will ever come out with anything good again. Core/Purple and 4 where all great albums.
Ya'll are too late with the Dr. Pepper offer. They put up an entry form that ended midnite I think on Sunday.
Chazro,

The Velvet Revolver project was great. Both albums. Too bad Slash had to pick a lead singer with a drug problem, you would have thought he learned something from his own dealings.
Weiland just released a new solo album...

Gawdbless,

Yes, it is absolutely true. Dr Pepper came out with a statement last week saying they would honor the free product to everyone in the U.s...
I read on the BBC website that there is a Free can of Dr Pepper for every US resident if Guns & Roses bought out an album in 2008. If that is correct, does anyone know to claim it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7744641.stm
I suppose I'll get slammed for this but, and mind you I don't buy many Rock albums any more, I happen to really dig the Velvet Revolver albums!
Almost all mystical long gestation albums are a disappointment. Prince's Black Album and the Beach Boy's Smile come to mind. With that said, I like the fact that Axl did this album his way, without the expectation of the call and response vox around Slash's guitar playing. That past sound would have come across as a Tribute Band. It is strangely wierd but it is also strangely composed in the songs that are offered up, with many mid-song mood shifts, almost like a Broadway soundtrack.
13 yrs 11million dollars, the collapse of Geffen records, 4 guitar players, 3 drummers and numerous studio musicians. It all breaks down to an Axl Rose solo album. GNR's demise occured 15yrs ago.

That being said the tracks are not bad at all. However, the tracks do show their age and sound like the 3rd cd of the Illusion albums.

The only reason its called Guns n Roses is that Axl owns the rights to the name.(Slash and co. if not so high might have fought him on this in 91).

The guy can't even tour the album because right now he doesn't even have a band in place. I have a 9 track copy that was leaked out some time ago so I don't have the liner notes. I am curious how many musicians are listed as being in the band over the last 13 yrs....

Final analysis: Too little, way too late Axl...
The half of it, that I've gotten through, is not very inspiring.
Maybe one song stood out.
I'm still under impression, I'm the only one here who actually listened to it.
about a year ago I got FREE tickets to guns and roses and I ended up leaving fairly early. So I wasn't expecting much of this release.
How could anything that took so long and had so much hype not suck? OK that wasnt cool and I will have to decide for myself but I never have been very optomistic.
Like he needs another decade to work on it, and Slash to play guitar on it. Sucks.
Yeah, yeah, that's funny Tvad.
You're probably not aware of the fact, that it likely took Axle Rose to write this a lot longer, that it took Bethoven to write his 5th. Obviously we're talking highest quality here.
Tvad good one! You have a real appetite for destruction ! Which I must agree does give this album sonic benefits . I use a bottle of export in both hands, kind of like tuning beaks. Cheers!
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