I've been sittin' here
just wastin' time.
Drinking, smoking, thinking
trying to free my mind.
- "Wasting Time", Kid Rock (1998)
Well Axl Rose needed way more than a couple months in that smoky room. 17 years to be exact. That's how long it took to develop and produce Guns N' Roses' new album, "Chinese Democracy".
Overall it's a catchy record. A hard rocking title track kicks things off. And rock it does! One of the best lead-off songs I've heard. An okay industrial banger called "Shackler's Revenge" fills the #2 slot. "Better", a solid pop metal tune, follows... and is better than "Revenge". Batting cleanup is a kick-ass power ballad named "Street of Dreams", showcasing everything you'd ever want from Axl Rose. The rest of the disc streams in similar fashion.
Production quality is excellent. The sounds are layered, yet clean. Rhythms vary from simple to complex, but remain groovy and natural. Great diversity of tones, instruments and volumes too. There's cohesiveness throughout.
On another level though, I'm struck by a sense of deja vu. It's like Axl - holed up in his studio for the better part of two decades - picked up every cool lick and technique of the era and incorporated them into this record. The piano in "Street of Dreams" sounds exactly like a Queen tune from 1984.
"Better" has a distinct Linkin Park feel, alternating between a syrupy chorus and a growling metal verse. "If The World" at #5 contains a cool bluesy groove, but a Spanish guitar intro seemingly pulled from the opening to "Hotel California" unplugged. Track #6, an instrumental titled "There Was A Time", has an old school Metallica vibe with a touch of Neil Young and Erasure for balance. And I definitely flashed back to Rob Zombie's "Dragula" during "Shackler's Revenge" - truly not sure if that's good or bad.
Sonically, I'm more partial to this album than large swaths of the Use Your Illusions. That's thanks to masterful engineering and a much tighter set list. Of course, after 17 freakin' years you should have time to figure those things out. But I'm not inclined to rank ChiDem up with such masterpieces as the "White Album", "A Night at the Opera" or "The Joshua Tree" let alone "Appetite for Destruction".
Then again, maybe I should just shut up and rock. It's solid enough to enjoy.
Bottom line: B+ for hard rock, outstanding production, and a decided stick-to-it-tiveness. Demerits for derivative elements and too frequent pits of easy listening.
Time fills the pages
Turn the page
Time will not stop
It will have its way on you
- "Time Gone By", Izzy Stradlin (1992)
7 comments:
Phil, I agree completely with your analysis. I would add, though, that personally, I find Axl's tortured yowl a bit hard to take after 4 or 5 songs in a row, so I have yet to listen to ChiDem all at once. I attribute this to my mellowing due to age, as in the last week or so I have also bought new CDs by Beyonce, the Killers, and Kanye West, all of whom have more soothing vocals, and I have been able to listen to these CDs straight through. However, I think the new GNR easily stacks up against the 80s-90s versions, which tells me that it's always been Axl's band, and as talented as Slash et al. were, we now know who the real creative force was. More detailed analysis will follow, as I continue to explore this strangely compelling, old yet new work--it's like reconnecting with an old friend after some 16 years.
Since I made the mistake of asking for ChiDem for Xmas I have nothing but the tracks Phil has sent me (thank you) and have been forbidden to purchase early. That said I totally dig the opener, not so much Shacklers Revenge. I will take a small amount of issue with Dr B, Axl is indeeed a creative force, but it took 16 years for the force to control its' ego long enough to produce. Meanwhile Slash has fired on with some excellent work over the years, with little fanfare. I welcome Axl back, but like an old girlfriend who burned me, not so much and old friend. Nice to see(hear) you again, sorry you don't move me like you did back in the day.
Dr. B: I admit the omission of an important fact. That is, I never listened to ChiDem straight through in one sitting. This is due to the long process of finding tracks of suitable quality on the internet, then downloading. I agree totally about Axl's grating cat screech. Also, how the Gn'R sound is completely intact with a totally new line up.
Mucous: You know you'll take Axl back. At least for some re-booty. Slash's interim work is great. But I've always liked Izzy Stradlin's fly-under-the-radar rock & soul best.
As promised (or threatened), here is my detailed analysis of Chinese Democracy, a Track-by-Track Review:
1. Chinese Democracy
Fades in with ominous, half-understood vocals, then a couple of bass drum beats, followed by the classic “Welcome to the Jungle”-style guitar sound. Lyrically, the title seems to be a metaphor for a lost cause; Axl sings about waiting for a relationship to improve, but ultimately decides that it would just be a waste of time. As Phil notes, this is a great opening song, and it perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album.
2. Shackler’s Revenge
The lyrics are about negativity, revenge, and disbelief—in other words, the usual GNR subject matter. However, the song is compelling due to the somewhat industrial sound of the beats and guitar. Also interesting are the growly vocals, double-tracked with the more traditional Axl yowl, which unfortunately completely dominates the song by its conclusion.
3. Better
Phil described this one as similar to Linkin Park, and I can see his point; however, I would say that the last song, “Prostitute,” has more of that mash-up style of dance beats and hard rock. This song reminds me more of the soft-hard-soft structure of a lot of Nirvana and Pixies songs. The regular rhyme scheme of “Better” has a sing-song, wistful vibe, and it’s quite effective when the harder chorus kicks in with its disillusioned lyric of “now I know you better.” Axl’s vocals are at their best here, sounding rough and wounded at the same time.
4. Street of Dreams
This is the “November Rain” of the album, starting with the Elton John-like piano opening, and then building to the power chords. Axl uses rhymed couplets at the beginning to great effect, then abandons the scheme when the song becomes faster and harder. By the end, the strings have come in, and it’s a full-on, old-school rock epic. The twist is with the vocals—Axl’s voice is processed in a way that suggests regret and lost innocence, and sounds like it has been distorted and/or recorded under water at times.
5. If the World
Interesting musical structure on this one—at various times the music drops out, with just the beat remaining, and then the song cycles back in a repeating pattern. The music matches the lyrics, in which Axl repeats “if the world would end today…there’s nothing more to say”; the tone is not despairing, but resigned, and the pattern suggests a cycle of renewal. The vocals sound pinched, but for the most part it works, and the other sounds are also intriguing, such as the acoustic guitar intro and the “wocka wocka” disco-style electric guitar throughout, combined with piano and strings. This one sounds as if it took a long time to put together.
6. There Was a Time
Would sound perfect on “Appetite for Destruction.” A big rock tune, with strings and piano accompanying it, as well as a choral intro and outro. Thematically, it has the same mix of romance and squalor that made “Sweet Child Of Mine” and others such iconic GNR songs, and the lyrics seem like specific recollections of key details—the kind that remain after an intense experience: “Broken glass and cigarettes/Writin’ on the wall/…Social class and registers/Cocaine in the hall…” Hard rock and melodies—an instant classic.
7. Catcher in the Rye
The song seems to refer to both the J.D. Salinger novel and the song from which its title was taken, as well as to the fact that John Lennon’s killer was a noted fan of the book: “How a body/Took a body/You gave that boy a gun…” In the end, I’m not quite sure what the point is, although it’s fun to hear Axl sing “Wish I had a gun” and “If I thought that I was crazy/Well, I guess I’d have more fun.” Combined with the nonsense “nana na na” chorus, I suppose the song is about the fact that the same shit happens every day, so what the fuck?
8. Scraped
Good, crunchy, hard riffs a la “Mr. Brownstone,” with the somewhat surprising message of “Believe in yourself” as the last line. Axl has long been an advocate of self-confidence, but rarely has he expressed it in such a positive way. An encouraging, uplifting addition to the GNR canon.
9. Riad N’ the Bedouins
A speed-metal song with a slightly more melodic chorus, this one’s lyrics are inscrutable: “Riad N’ the Bedouins say/That’s a war that you can’t win/But I have had enough of them…” Anti-Iraq War? Anti-Arab? Both? Unclear, but aggressive and provocative in the GNR tradition.
10. Sorry
From a slow beginning, the song builds to some killer “fuck you”-type sentiments, such as “I won’t do what you want/…I’m sorry for you/Not sorry for me.” Also, the only song on the album in which Axl threatens to kick your ass. Great for unleashing the inner 16-year-old.
11. I.R.S.
This song alternates between open, airy arrangements and dense, claustrophobic ones; however, even the denser passages have a pleasant rhythm and rhyme pattern. Lyrically, another revenge fantasy…Axl has always used his music to settle scores, so this one’s been building for a while.
12. Madagascar
The big cinematic song on the album, in a number of ways. First, another one in which every instrument (guitars, strings, horns, etc.) is thrown in for grand effect—it’s not messy, but rather multifaceted, and it rewards multiple listening. Second , the themes are of perseverance, forgiveness, and brotherhood, so it rises above the sometimes-adolescent sentiment of many GNR songs. Third, and most literally, samples from a number of films are used, in addition to a few from M.L. King. Pretentious and over the top, yes, but who can do that, and pull it off, like Axl? Even his re-use of the “Cool Hand Luke” dialogue is effective, and serves as a link to his earlier classic “Civil War.” One of the album’s triumphs.
13. This I Love
The “Stairway to Heaven” headbanger’s prom theme slow dance power ballad of the album. Strings, horns, power chords, lyrics about love lost—it’s been done a million times, but when it’s good, it can be great.
14. Prostitute
As I mentioned before, this is the Linkin Park-like song; as such, it’s accessible, fun, and a fine way to end the album, fading out with soft, orchestral sounds in the same way that the first song gradually faded in.
Ultimately, then, I’d give the album a B+. Musically, the album is excellent, and is every bit as vibrant as the best of GNR, or of any hard rock band, and if it weren’t for the somewhat arrested development of the lyrics and the sometimes grating vocals it would earn a solid A. For my taste, a few too many of the songs go over the same lyrical ground as before; as I wrote in another post, this is due to my impatience with the barrage of “fuck you, don’t tell me what to do” sentiments. Don’t get me wrong—I am totally down with the rebellion that rock music has always expressed, but these days I find myself looking for more constructive ways to express it, or to just chill out and be happy instead of dwelling on the negativity. In the same way, I prefer vocalists who have more than just a couple of tricks in their bag, but Axl does well with what he has to offer. So…if you are now or ever were a GNR fan, this album is well worth spending your time exploring.
Fuckin' A, Dr. B! Well said. Have you ever considered owning your own piracy?
Not sure what "owning my own piracy" means, but thanks...I hope you enjoyed my review!
I botched the quote. It should have read "Have you ever considered piracy?" You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts...
... or, you should have your own blog.
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