Chinese Democracy - Has the wait been worth it?

By Neil Daniels

After X amount of years and a gazillion dollars does anybody really give a damn about Chinese Democracy and Axl Rose’s notoriously manic obsessions? Has the wait been worth it? Is it actually any good?

Well, early sales figures suggest that there’s still a broad fan base out there that do give a damn. The wait hasn’t been worth it. And it is actually pretty good... in parts.

Unsurprisingly, the album has split the critics ranging from grovelling reviews in some major music magazines (they’re probably hoping for an exclusive with the man himself) to vicious attacks on Axl and his baby. The credits in the album’s sleeve notes reads like the end credits to a major Hollywood historical epic. And the promotional TV advert likening the release of the album to some major global, political and social events only proves Axl’s incredible arrogance, but I guess that’s why a ridiculous amount of people find him so alluring. He’s a wee bit odd is Axl.

Chinese Democracy is bloated and over-produced; there’s so much going on it requires a lot of time and patience, which most people don’t have if truth be told. There are countless overdubs and huge sounding guitars layered together. But I’m surprised at how well-written some of it is and how mature the sound is. You have to listen to it with an attentive ear (preferably through ear / headphones) to fully appreciate the musical depth of the songs. There are loops, horns, strings, choirs, female backing vocals and even electronica. But sometimes it’s all a bit too much.

Axl’s voice has come a long way; he doesn’t sound like the guy who, twenty years ago, screamed through the likes of “Night Train” and its siblings on Appetite for Destruction. His voice is deeper and occasionally more meaningful. But that’s partly the point. Admittedly, I was expecting something more akin to the Use Your Illusion albums but Axl has created something more baffling and contradictory. It’s the complete opposite of the stripped down, Punk tinged Hard Rock of their brilliant debut album.

He’s never gotten over his love of ELO, seventies Elton John and David Bowie and early Queen (I’d say pre-The Game), and on Chinese Democracy he’s extended his commitment to his favourite bands. A couple of standout rockers are “Riad n' the Bedouins” and “Catcher in the Rye”. The title-track is a solid opener and “Better” is easily one of the finest songs onboard. But “Shackler’s Revenge” is a jumbled mess and “If the World” is pretentious and overwrought. The fact of the matter is an analysis of Chinese Democracy could go on and on and on…kinda like the making of the album.

At the end of the day Axl doesn’t really give a fuck what we think. The end.

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