Chinese Democracy - It is better than most debuts

By Steven Rosen

Yes, it has taken Axl Rose a decade and a half to finally pull it together. So what? Who cares if he's used five different guitar players (all in the hopes of finding someone who translates his ideas as beautifully as Slash but they don't), multiple digital engineers, and burned through a budget that would keep most small countries afloat for years? Back in the day, Steely Dan and Supertramp and Fleetwood Mac took years to make records. Ken Scott spent days with Supertramp just honing in on snare sounds. The result, of course, was Crime of the Century, one of the most astonishing albums ever released in terms of production quality, song composition, and musicianship. But we digress.

If Rose wanted to take his time, that's his choice. He's got the cash. And therein lies the problem: Anything short of another Crime of the Century - a true masterpiece - and Axl fans, Guns N' Roses fans, and curious onlookers were not going to be satisfied. Time whets the appetite and no matter how good Chinese Democracy had been, it could never live up to the expectations of a fifteen year, sitting on the edge of your seat anticipation.

That said, these are good songs. They are not necessarily Guns songs but they represent an above average selection of material for a Rose solo album. That's probably where he was going with it anyway; after several years had passed and he'd drained the life out of multiple players and ProTools engineers, the idea of a solo album (though he'd never call it that nor ever refer to it as a solo effort) must have become more attractive. It took the pressure off of him in terms of having to serve up a G N' R record and expanded musical horizons in terms of being able to bring in electronica; Black Metal; drum loops; and everything else you hear here.

In a recent issue of Rolling Stone, the headline read: “Fizzle of the Year - Chinese Democracy Finally Out - Few Care”. They throttled the album because it came out behind Kanye West and Taylor Swift to arrive at number three on the Best Buy (major chain carrying the album). What the hell is wrong with number three? Certainly you don't hear Axl crying about it.

This is a good record. Not as good as Appetite for Destruction, not nearly as heroic or muscular or engaging, but as a first attempt by a solo artist named Axl Rose camouflaged as the one-time lead singer for a band called Guns N' Roses, it is better than most debuts.

Axl made his bed (composed more of thorns than roses) and now he must lie in it. He brought the focus of the entire industry down on him and no one could live up to that.

And what happens next? Axl picks up the phone, calls Slash, and offers to become Velvet Revolver's new singer. They bring in the Chinese Democracy songs, the riffs Slash has been recording while looking for a new vocalist for VR, and they go back out on the road as Slash & Rose, a barely veiled banner for Guns N' Roses.

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