Chinese Democracy – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Axl Rose & Caram Costanzo (among others)

Released: November 23, 2008

Rating: *

2008 was truly a great year for the hard rock scene with releases from Whitesnake, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Extreme and Buckcherry to name a few. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen that many quality releases in one year, and I’m not sure anyone was expecting that sort of significant output.

I’m also quite certain that no one would have predicted that 2008 would be the year that Axl Rose finally delivered the much-anticipated Chinese Democracy to an eagerly awaiting rock world. Calling it the most anticipated release of 2008 is both accurate and misleading since the same could have been said in 2000 – 2007. Truth is, no one was sure if or when this album would ever see the light of day and when the “announcement” was made that Axl was preparing its release I don’t think anyone was holding their breath. We’d heard this a dozen or so times before with as much or more conviction.

As the release date quickly approached, it sure seemed as if this time Axl was sticking to his proverbial guns. Singles were released via radio, movie soundtrack and video game. I’d done my very best to avoid listening to any tracks prior to the albums release, whether they were leaked or legit. If and when this album ever saw the light of day I wanted it to be new and fresh. I didn’t want the experience to be spoiled by bad bootlegged versions of half produced songs. I wanted to experience these tunes, in their entirety as Axl intended people to hear them.

Chinese Democracy was a legend long before its release. Axl Rose was the only remaining band member from the original line-up. All others had jumped ship or had been forced out. Album title aside, GNR was far from a democracy at this point. Axl called all the shots and had spent 15 years and $13 million building the perfect beast. He’d burned through multiple producers and countless musicians. Tracks from the album were reportedly recorded in 14 different studios. If it sounds confusing, so does the album. But, it’s pure Axl Rose.

To say I wasn’t curious would be an outright lie, but I was also very cautious not to expect too much from an album that began recording at the beginning Clinton’s presidency and was released as George W. Bush was completing his second term. At the same time, Appetite For Destruction was the soundtrack to my teen years, so I was hoping that Axl could pull off the improbable: an album just as exciting and memorable as the bands near perfect debut. Fact is, even if Chinese Democracy was half as good as Appetite, it would be a killer album.

The album’s first track is also it’s best. The self titled track is okay, but unfortunately it’s also as good as this album is capable of being. The self-titled tune makes it clear that this is not the same GNR. Gone are the loose, bluesy guitar licks of Slash and Izzy; in their place are more modern sounding, razor-sharp and at times industrial sounding guitar tones. You do however get Axl’s signature scream, as well as, his growl and squeal layered on top of each other.

Shackler’s Revenge is up next and its intro sounds more like Marilyn Manson than GNR. The pre-chorus actually has a danceable disco beat and the entire song has layers of Axl’s voice, a theme present throughout the entire album. Better is a modern rock (read boring) sounding ballad and Street of Dreams is a ballad that actually sounds as if it could have been recorded by the Use Your Illusion line-up. The problem I have with both of these songs is that at times it sounds is if Axl is literally sobbing the lyrics.

It’s at this point in the album that I wonder if the obscure song titles mean anything beyond their blatant obscurity. Once I reach the end of the album I realize they do not. Chinese Democracy is a complete train wreck on many levels. What made Appetite For Destruction such a power house is the collaborative efforts of 5 very different personalities. These differences created massive tension and the result was one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. It also created a check and balance system that would not have allowed this cat to get out of the bag. Chinese Democracy is all Axl all the time. With Slash he had an alter ego and the absence of that type of relationship is obvious on this album.

Chinese Democracy is the result of a mad man’s (literally) ego gone wild. The songs, at times, are a meandering mess of background noise and other computer programmable subtleties. The music completely lacks any emotion and is more distracting than entertaining. Axl’s strong point has always been that his raw performances only help to reinforce powerhouse lyrics. With Chinese Democracy the lyrics and the performance often sound like that of a man who has been beaten down as opposed to someone who used to do the beating. It’s a struggle to listen to, at times.

Chinese Democracy debuted at #3 and has since been certified platinum (1 million copies sold). Those stats don’t necessarily indicate a failure. When you take into account the band who recorded the album and how much money was spent in the process, calling this album a failure is completely accurate. I did not at all expect a duplication of Appetite For Destruction. What I did expect was an album that was equally strong, but perhaps in different ways. At 46, it wouldn’t have been as believable for Axl to write Out Ta Get Me as it was when he was 25. What I wanted was a World Champion, not a whiny bitch. I wanted a rock album, not an attempt to incorporate every style of music that has come and gone over the last 15 years.

“The Spaghetti Incident?” – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: November 23, 1993

Rating: ***

Albums of this sort rarely do very well. In 1993 when this album was released, few bands were releasing an album of cover tunes, so at the time it seemed like a cool concept. Years later, almost every 80′s hair band you can think of sustained life by recording albums like “The Spaghetti Incident?”. Following the incredibly lengthy ( over 2 years) Use Your Illusion Tour, it was unlikely that Guns N’ Roses would be entering a studio to record a new album any time soon. Rather than make fans wait, the band released this album of cover tunes. Little did fans know that this would be the last album that anything resembling the original line-up would release.

Where Guns N’ Roses gets an “A” is in song selection. Most albums of this sort contain some fairly “obvious” tunes. Obvious because they sound like something you’d expect the band to play or because they’ve been covered a hundred times by a hundred different bands. Most often the songs on these albums are safe choices. Safe for the band and safe for the label. Hardly a conventional band, Guns N’ Roses chose to release an album covering some relatively unknown tunes. Most are punk songs, with a few exceptions. Highlights include Since I Don’t Have You, Ain’t It Fun, Hair Of The Dog and Attitude. The original version of the album contained a ”hidden” track called Look At Your Game, Girl which was written by Charles Manson. Yes, THAT Charles Manson.

Most of the tunes are left-overs from the Illusion recordings, with a few songs recorded specifically for this release. Fans of the band should own a copy of “The Spaghetti Incident?”, if for no other reason than to understand some of their influences. I truly believe that Guns N’ Roses wasn’t, in their mind, releasing an album of cover tunes. The way they saw it, they were simply trying to turn their fans onto some cool songs by some of their favorite bands. In the album credits, there is a note that reads, “A great song can be found anywhere. Do yourself a favor and go find the originals – GNR”. Perhaps if the band had more music in their catalog and this wasn’t the final recording by the original line-up than I wouldn’t have such a bittersweet opinion of this album. For those wondering, the album title refers to an argument between Axl Rose, former drummer Steven Adler and a bowl of spaghetti.

Use Your Illusion II – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: September 17, 1991

Rating: ** 1/2

Released as a double album, Use Your Illusion I and II are essentially two separate, full length albums comprising over 2 1/2 hours of music. I’ve always maintained that the two albums have vastly different personalities. Use Your Illusion I has more of an overall rock vibe to it and the songs, in my opinion, are a lot more fun. I’ve always liked this album far more than Use Your Illusion II. II has a far more serious tone and I’ve never felt that the album flows as well as its sister album. That’s not to say that it is completely void of highlights.

The album starts off in curious fashion with the extremely somber Civil War. With a sampled intro from Cool Hand Luke, it’s clear that Civil War is going to be a fairly ambitious tune. At nearly 8:00 minutes long, it’s an epic and very intense song. To this day I think it’s an incredibly odd song to start off an album. At the same time, probably because it’s Guns N’ Roses, it’s perfect.

Following Civil War is the somewhat forgettable and boring 14 Years. Clearly, this is a tune that would have been left off the Illusion album if there were only one. Use Your Illusion II redeems itself again with the extremely underrated, yet completely cool Yesterdays. With a jangley guitar intro reminiscent of Paradise City, it’s undoubtedly the album’s best track. While I am not a fan of the original version of the song, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is an appropriate cover tune. The band had been playing the song live, so it only made sense to record a studio version. I think cover tunes are the most successful when it sounds as if the band covering the song wrote it. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is an excellent example.

Where Use Your Illusion II takes a turn for the worse is Get In The Ring. This self-indulgent mess is an attack on all the band’s detractors, specifically several editors including Andy Secher, Mick Wall and Bob Guccione Jr. I say specifically because Axl Rose goes on a 35 second diatribe in the middle of the track, naming the individuals and their supposed offenses. It’s pure Axl, but adds nothing to the album. Following Get In The Ring is Shotgun Blues, another track that would have been left off if this were a single album. Breakdown is a completely underrated tune that very few Guns N’ Roses fans mention and does a great job of redeeming the album (temporarily).

Unfortunately, following Breakdown, Use Your Illusion II does a complete nosedive. Pretty Tied Up, Locomotive, So Fine and Estranged are so forgettable that sitting here writing this I can’t even hum the songs or recall any of their choruses. Two of the tracks, Locomotive and Estranged,  are quite lengthy making them seem even more difficult to digest. In 1991 I was still buying cassettes. The second “side” of this album starts with Pretty Tied Up and it’s not until the fifth song, You Could Be Mine, that you’ll find a song worth listening to. Even at that, it’s not GNR’s best. Next up is an alternate version of Don’t Cry with a completely different set of lyrics. Considering the band released the version found on Use Your Illusion I as a single, I’m guessing they felt that was the better tune (it is). Including this on the album was probably unneccessary and is the kind of the thing fans expect to find on box sets. The final song, My World, a pseudo-rap disaster. The band claims that they were totally unaware that Axl included it on the album. It’s awful. Listening to the second half, or in 1991, “side” of this album is nearly impossible.

Clearly, I prefer Use Your Illusion I over II. While they both sold very well, II has sold more, so obviously mine is not the popular opinion. I’m okay with that. Use Your Illusion I is loaded with kick-ass tunes that more than make-up for the short comings found on this album.

Use Your Illusion I – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: September 17, 1991

Rating: ****

When Guns N’ Roses released Appetite For Destruction, I was in the 8th Grade. By the time they got around to releasing their next full length album(s) Use Your Illusion I & II, I was a Junior in High School. Three long years had gone by. An eternity as far as music fans who are constantly looking for new material are concerned. Sure they had released G N’ R Lies, but that was an odd compilation meant to hold fans over while they completed work on their new studio album.

For three long years, fans waited for Guns N’ Roses to complete work on their follow-up to their mega-hit Appetite For Destruction. It seemed like every time you read an interview, the release date was getting pushed out further and further. The band began writing and rehearsing in Chicago, but that soon proved to be fruitless. They headed back to L.A. During this time, the band did perform various live shows including Farm Aid IV in Indiana. This would be original drummer Steven Adler’s final appearance with the band. Adler would play on one track from the Illusion albums, Civil War, which has said to have been recorded anywhere from 30 – 60 times due to Adler’s condition. In one of rock’s most ironic moments, Adler was eventually fired due to his drug addiction(s). Adler would be replaced by Cult drummer, Matt Sorum who would help contribute a different overall sound to the Illusion albums.

I’m not sure when, but at some point word had leaked that the new Guns N’ Roses album would be a double album. What would this mean? Would it be packaged as one album, or would fans have the option of buying them individually. I’ve often thought that these two albums and the way they were released served as some sort of social experiment. While they both have sold  7 times platinum, everyone I have ever spoken to insists that Use Your Illusion II is a far superior album. I seem to be the only one who believes otherwise. In addition, there are those who believe that double albums are the curse of any band (see Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness….  The Beatles White Album).

I could be wrong, but I think that Use Your Illusion I & II were the first albums to receive a midnight release. As the release date drew nearer, it was this kind of special attention that the albums were receiving. The albums were released on September 17, 1991, but the band had started the Use Your Illusion World Tour the previous May in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. It may have felt like Guns N’ Roses had disappeared, but they were not forgotten. In their first week of release, Use Your Illusion I would sell 685,000 copies and II would sell 770,000 copies.

I’ve heard that the songs on I were largely written before or around the same time as Appetite For Destruction while the songs on II represented post AFD song writing. This probably explains why I prefer I over II. I find I to be more listenable from start to finish. That being said, I does get off to a rocky start with Right Next Door To Hell which is probably the albums worst song. Regardless, it does become immediately clear that these albums would be metal than the classic rock sound found on AFD. With piano and slide guitar, the bluesy Dust N’ Bones (sung by Izzy Stradlin) got things moving in the right direction. Live And Let Die is a tasteful cover tune that sounds right at home with the rest of these songs, but it’s the haunting Don’t Cry that first lets the listener know that these two albums are far more ambitious than the band’s debut album.

Following Don’t Cry is a string of some of the best tunes found on the Illusion albums. Perfect Crime is a quick hitting, frantic mess that is tons of fun. The boozy, all acoustic You Ain’t The First lightens the mood a bit and is one of the band’s unspoken gems. Celebrating “past” addictions (yeah, right) is the foot stompin’ Bad Obsession. With kick-ass harmonica provided by Michael Monroe, ragtime piano and wicked slide guitar this is probably my favorite track from the Illusion albums. Back Off Bitch is one of the album’s weaker moments, but the less than traditional Double Talkin’ Jive is another album highlight and has a killer acoustic outro.

Over the years, Guns N’ Roses, specifically lead singer Axl Rose have become known for projects of an enormous scale and undertaking. November Rain is probably the best example of when this grand vision produces spectacular results. November Rain is both beautiful and painful and quite often at the same time. This is not a by-the-numbers ballad. This is a heart wrenching tune of a failed and broken relationship. Complete with string arrangements and stunning background vocals, this is Axl Rose’s greatest accomplishment. It also showcases some of Slash’s most tasteful guitar solos.

The somewhat ethereal, sedated tone of The Garden helps the listener recover from the emotionally draining November Rain, but Garden Of Eden is a full on smack to the back of your head. The lyrical content of Don’t Damn Me is a classic GNR and has a killer bridge right before the guitar solo. With a killer chorus, Bad Apples could be a sister song to Bad Obsession. Dead Horse is probably the third track I would have left off of the album.

Closing out the album is the epic Coma. At over 10 minutes long, this tune often times sounds like several songs pieced together. At times it kicks ass, while others you find yourself thinking, “When’s this thing going to end?” It’s complete rock star self-indulgence that usually occurs when a band is powerful enough to be calling the shots.

If you look at the song writing credits of the tracks I highlighted it’s probably pretty clear that I am drawn to Izzy Stradlin’s songs more than any other. This probably also explains why I prefer Use Your Illusion I over II since that is where you will find most of his work. It’s unclear if Guns N’ Roses intended listeners to treat these as two independent albums. If that were the case, I have to believe they’d have separate album titles. I happen to believe that I is a superb album, but not as good as AFD. The question is, do I and II work well together?

G N’ R Lies – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Guns N’ Roses & Mike Clink

Released: Nogvember 29, 1988

Rating: *** 1/2

Following the massive success of and subsequent supporting tours for Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses would take an extended break. No one including the band, their management or Geffen Records had any idea how long this “break” would last. When a band or an artist is hot, the last thing a record label wants to hear is that they are taking a break. The only place a band can make money is in the studio or on the road.

Often times, labels will compensate for this inactivity by releasing some sort of compilation album. Greatest Hits, Best Of, # 1′s or possibly a live recording. All are exceptional ways for a label to give rabid, record buying fans new “product”. In 1988 Guns N’ Roses released G N’ R Lies which was an odd compilation of sorts. The first half (or as we called it in 1988, “Side”) of the album was a previously released, “live” EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide. The second half of the album consisted of 4 newly recorded acoustic tracks.

The four live tracks, were in fact, not live. These were studio tracks with crowd noise added for effect. Guns N’ Roses was hardly the first band to “fake” a live album. Read some of my previous posts regarding live albums and you’ll soon find that I think most (bootlegs aside) are BS. Regardless, in 1986 when the band recorded the EP they were hungry and trying to create some interest in the band. For that, I say job well done. Of the 4 songs, two were cover tunes; Nice Boys (Rose Tattoo) and Mama Kin (Aerosmith). Nice Boys is an appropriate blues rock song and Mama Kin definitely sounds like a young band emulating their heroes. Not ironically, GNR had spent some time opening for Aerosmith during their Permanent Vacation Tour. The remaining tracks, Reckless Life and Move To The City, were written by the band. Reckless Life is forgettable, but Move To The City (the addition of horns on this track is a pretty good indicator that this was not a live recording) kicks ass and is very much a pre-cursor to what would become Appetite For Destruction.

The acoustic recordings on the album, in my opinion, are far superior to the “live” tunes. Getting the second half of the started is the album’s only single and the incredibly somber Patience. This all acoustic track, completely void of any rhythm tracks (no bass, no drums), made musicians out of anyone who could whistle. While not as grandiose, Patience foreshadows where the band was headed with songs like November Rain. Used To Love Her revealed a comedic side to the band that we’d hear again on You Ain’t The First. You’re Crazy is an acoustic version of the same song found on Appetite For Destruction. It’s not only an acoustic version, but it also has a much slower tempo, lending to the overall completely different mood than the original version. When I was 13, I preferred the version found on Appetite For Destruction, at 36 I prefer the version found on this album. The final cut, One In A Million, grabbed a lot of attention for its use of the “N” word, but is my least favorite track on the album. It’s not that I’m that easily offended, I simply find the song boring.

In 1988 there is very little that Guns N’ Roses could’ve done that wouldn’t have been successful. This was their time. The album cover was wonderful jab at all the negative press the band had received (earned?). Ironically, they’d spend the next three years recording their magnum opus Use Your Illusion I & II which, for the longest time, had an indefinite release date. Until then, fans were given this odd, eight song release to hold them over.

Appetite For Destruction – Guns N’ Roses

Producer: Mike Clink

Released: July 21, 1987

Rating: *****

I’ve been casually writing album reviews for a few years now. Both on my blog(s) and on another hair metal related website. I originally started posting reviews of lesser known albums so that younger readers could explore some albums other than the obvious choices. Albums I felt deserved as much attention as the heavy hitters. Eventually I got around to reviewing the more popular albums, as evidenced by my blog. For whatever reason I never got around to reviewing this monster. It wasn’t an accident. I purposely avoided it. Now that I am sitting here writing this, I can’t tell you why. This album deserves as much attention as any other. Perhaps, subconsciously, I felt there was nothing else to say about Appetite For Destruction.

By 1987, hair metal had taken over the world, but it was also starting to become polluted with band-wagon-jumpers. As a result the quality of the music had become diluted. If the music and genre were going to sustain any life, some new blood would have to be injected into the scene.  Poison released their debut album, Look What The Cat Dragged In, just a year earlier and was a huge success. Unfortunately, as much as I like the album, because of the band’s image, Look What The Cat Dragged In only supported what detractors had been saying about hair metal (although that label had yet to be coined) for years. These bands cared more about their image than they did their music.

Appetite For Destruction was released during the Summer of 1987. Welcome To The Jungle was the first single released from the album, but it (initially) went largely unnoticed. I religiously watched Headbanger’s Ball and distinctly remember the first time I saw the video for Welcome To The Jungle. Although I couldn’t put my finger on it, I knew this band was “different”. I was also, admittedly, not a fan of the song the first time I heard it. The second tune I heard from the album was Paradise City on Chicago’s own WVVX. Scott Loftus was a big fan of the band (that or he knew they’d be huge) and WVVX was the place to hear “deep cuts” from albums, as opposed to the singles. I heard Paradise City long before it was released as a single and this is the track that sold me on Guns N’ Roses. With its jangley guitar intro, Paradise City had a sound that was familiar yet fresh at the same time.

Nearly a year after Appetite For Destruction was released, Geffen would release the second single from the album, Sweet Child O’ Mine. This single was an enormous hit and it was at this point that the record and ticket buying public began a love affair with Guns N’ Roses that would quite honestly last for five years. During their reign, it actually appeared as if Guns N’ Roses were on their way to becoming the biggest rock band in history. Bigger than The Rolling Stones, bigger than Led Zeppelin and, yes, bigger than The Beatles.

After 23 years of listening to this album, I am actually indifferent to the opening track, Welcome To The Jungle. It’s not my favorite GNR song (not by a long shot), but I do feel it is the perfect track to open this album which introduced the world to Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler. It also has a unforgetable intro and the lyrics pretty much state what this band is all about. For me, the album truly gets under way with the second track, It’s So Easy. This song, musically and lyrically, is the equivalent of getting punched in the face. If Welcome To The Jungle set the tone for the album, It’s So Easy let the listener know that this was not your average spandex and Aquanet band from The Sunset Strip. I saw GNR on the “Bare Bones” leg of the Use Your Illusion Tour and when they played this tune there was an enormous surge of energy that started at the back of the stadium and didn’t stop until it reached the stage. Completely surreal. Out Ta Get Me further informed the listener that these guys were more likely to beat the shit out of you than sign an autograph.

Nightrain and Mr. Brownstone were direct reflections of the band’s lifestyle. These guys weren’t singing generic songs about “partying”, they were telling you exactly what they did and they weren’t rookies. Paradise City is one of the album’s highlights and is a timeless rock n’ roll anthem. I don’t think any other song on the album showcases the band’s hunger more than this one.

My Michelle further depicts the seedier underbelly of LA that Guns N’ Roses called home. Yet, Sweet Child O’ Mine is a complete contradiction. With It’s So Easy Axl more or less threatens to rape a woman (Ya get nothin’ for nothin’ if that’s what you do. Turn around bitch I gotta use for you. Besides, you ain’t got nothin’ better to do, and I’m bored) and on Sweet Child O’ Mine he confesses to being weak at the very sight of his girlfriend (Now and then when I see her face, she takes me away to that special place. And if I stared too long I’d probably break down and cry). No doubt a reflection of the lead singer Axl Rose’s multiple personalities.

You’re Crazy is one of the band’s unspoken gems, but Rocket Queen is the GNR’s greatest accomplishment. I always know I am talking to a true Guns N’ Roses fan when they list Rocket Queen as their favorite tune. This epic track lures the listener in for a haunting six-minute journey. Rocket Queen is essentially two songs and the last 2 1/2 minutes feature some of my favorite guitar work of all time. One of the greatest rock tracks of all time.

This was the beginning of the journey for Guns N’ Roses and their’s was a classic rock n’ roll tale of debauchery. This album resonated with so many people because it wasn’t really defined by trends. For all practical purposes, this is a “classic rock” album. It’s not heavy metal and it’s certainly not hair metal. Most importantly, it’s real. The songs on Appetite For Destruction were a true reflection of the band’s lifestyle. Because of that lifestyle, the band was destined to implode. But for five years, GNR owned the airwaves and every rock n’ roll stage across the globe. More importantly, GNR proved that there was substance (and not just the illegal kind) to be found on The Sunset Strip.