I don't know where I read this, but for the average band, its debut album becomes its greatest artistic achievement because those are the songs they've worked on for most of their lives. Lyrics that began as scribbles in a high school journal have been tweaked to perfection. Guitar riffs that began as jams in a friend's bedroom become flawless over time. A band spends years honing these songs, perfecting them in bars and dives along the way, readying them for the debut album. By the time the second album rolls around, a band finds itself with a scant eight months to write and record a dozen new songs to equal or exceed the previous album they spent their whole lives creating. So it only goes to show that the longer a band has to create an album, the better it should be.
It took Guns N' Roses fourteen years to make Chinese Democracy.
Let's get all the bullshit out of the way. Yes, this album took an incredibly long time to come to fruition. Yes, it cost more to create than most of us will ever see in our lifetimes. And yes, Axl Rose is the only original member left in the band. Many people will argue that this isn't "the real" Guns N' Roses. I'm sure Steven Adler didn't think Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were "the real" Guns N' Roses. I'm sure Tracii Guns didn't think Appetite For Destruction was "the real" Guns N' Roses. "But it's not Guns N' Roses without Slash!" they'll say. And I'll say Chinese Democracy wouldn't be half as great if Slash and the original band members were onboard. Have you ever listened to a Velvet Revolver album?
Chinese Democracy is not Appetite For Destruction II. It's not Use Your Illusion III. Chinese Democracy is the next step in the evolution of Guns N' Roses. And simply put, it's a great fucking album. It's a wall of sound: layers upon layers upon layers of guitars, industrial noises, pianos, synths, symphonies, horns, and of course, Axl's unmistakable and strong-as-ever voice.
There are many standout tracks on this disc. Better is the closest thing Appetite diehards will find on this disc to quench their thirst for the past. But even as it keeps one foot in yesterday, it still boasts a contemporary edge: an Axl falsetto over industrial drums and noises before the guitars kick in.
If The World, a song many are claiming sounds like it should be a James Bond theme, is a slow and slinky number that would make a great striptease song. There Was A Time starts with bells over a funky dance beat before giving way to the guitars in the chorus. TWAT is followed by Catcher In The Rye, my favorite song on the disc. For fans of November Rain, the album contains If The World (formerly known as The Blues), Axl's greatest power ballad to date.
I'm not going to tell you this album is perfect. I could've done without This I Love, a straightforward ballad with no big payoff. Unlike most of the songs on the disc, there are no changes in structure or volume in this song; it's just kind of there from beginning to end. Because of this, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
But I'm not going to let one bad song ruin a whole disc. Chinese Democracy is a great album, worthy of the Guns N' Roses name. Should it have taken 14 years to come to light? No. Should it have cost as much money to produce as it did? No. Is it a bit excessive and self-indulgent? Hell yes. Fourteen different studios were used in the making of this album. Six different people are credited with playing guitar on There Was A Time. But you know what? Rock 'n' roll is excessive and self-indulgent. And if Axl decides to take another fourteen years to release an album, so be it. I'll be here waiting.
Because I know it'll be worth the wait.
Chinese Democracy
