It’s been far too long since I’ve posted. I know. The horrific combination of preparing for the new house and working my buns off to make money with Hotcakes New Media is keeping me from doing frivolous things, like posting here! So I thought I’d take a moment and talk about music; In particular, the new Guns n’ Roses album.

Now, you all know I have a yearly ritual of posting a “year in review” at the end of December, and one post is usually dedicated to bands who I believe to have been influential in moving the music industry forward. Guns n’ Roses will most definitely be a part of this list, in fact, I will likely just be copying and pasting most of this article. But I thought this album deserved it’s own post, as it deserves to be listened to now, not only in a month from now.

By now you may have guessed that this will be a positive review. It is; But it is so much more than that. This album is truly spectacular in ways most people won’t grasp, so I’m hoping this post helps people REALLY listen to the music, and appreciate the depth that is has.

First, let’s preface this with a bit of history. I’m not going to go in great detail, and I may have some facts slightly off, but this is close enough to give you an idea of where the album comes from. In 1991, GnR released it’s double album Use Your Illusion I and II. In 1994, they announced that they were working on a new album, despite losing the original drummer, and began recording songs sporadically until about 1996. In 1996, Slash left the band (and eventually ended up with Velvet Revolver). A few years later, bassist Duff McKagan leaves the band as well, leaving Axl Rose as the sole original GnR band member. In 1999, they announce they are working on the album Chinese Democracy and release one single. From 2000 to 2008, a bunch of weirdness occurs. Axl Rose discovers electronica music and begins experimenting with loops and effects. GnR goes on tour in 2002 to promote the album, which was still not released, and riots ensue when the band no-shows a couple of venues. Axl Rose cycles through band member after band member, including the guitarist from NiN, an avant-guard guitarist called “Buckethead” and a number of others. Meanwhile, it’s been more than 10 years since the album was announced, and the rumours of the album begin surfacing again. Everyone is skeptical, and Dr Pepper, in an interesting marketing idea, announces that they will give a free can of their soda to every person in America if GnR releases Chinese Democracy in 2008. In November of 2008, hell freezes over; The album is released. Dr Peppers for everyone!

Now that you have the history, it’s a little easier to understand where this review comes from. The fact is that this album is a masterpiece, but it is NOT Guns n’ Roses. It is clearly an Axl Rose solo album. Axl wrote the music, created the album, and did everything his way (hence various band members leaving due to him being a control freak). If you can listen to the album without the assumption that this is classic GnR, it will go a long way to appreciating the album for what it is.

One thing that is fascinating about the album is that, due to Axl going through so many different band mates during this time, the album is incredibly dense and layered with a variety of different styles. You can clearly hear the electronica influence, but you can also hear Buckethead’s unique guitar style, some jazz chord patterns, some old rock, and more. There is orchestration. There is piano. There are tender moments. There are rockin’ guitar solos. And it all blends in perfectly.

The album really sounds a little bit like a rock opera due to the technicality and orchestration of most of the songs. This is not an album that the average rock fan will really be into. This is clearly not generic rock with simple chord patterns. This album features some spectacularly complex and unique song writing and instrumentation. As a result, it initially sounds “odd” because you can’t follow the song like other generic radio-friendly tunes you hear these days. You have to listen to the music several times, keep an open mind, and hear the subtle nuances that make this album pure genius. You have to be a fan of MUSIC, not a fan of rock, nor a fan of GnR. 

Make no mistake; This album is epic, and will inevitably go down as one of the best rock albums ever written, but it will take time for this to happen. The songs on this album are classic, timeless, and unique. 

Was it worth the wait? Every minute. Here’s hoping we get another epic masterpiece from Axl Rose in 2018.

A7

Tags: a7, chinese democracy, gnr, guns, guns n roses, Music, review, roses

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 4:35 pm and is filed under Music, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.