Once you get over the initial amazement that after 15 years and 20 million dollars the almost mythical Chinese democracy has finally seen the light of the day, you realize that the album holds up its mythical status. Axl Rose is the only remaining founding member still in the band with keyboardist dizzy reed sticking with him from the use your illusion days. Other than that there is a barrage of guitarists on the album including the infamous Buckethead, Richard Frotus, Robin Finck and Ron Thal "Bumblefoot". Tommy Stinson plays bass on the album whereas the drum parts are covered by frank ferrer and brian mantia. Chris Pittman on keyboards finishes this bunch of talented musicians put together by Axl Rose, which have been referred to the best backup band in the world by many. However, Chinese Democracy comes together as the fruitful expedition of these musicians and mostly of Axl Rose himself. As axl rose promised there is something for everyone in the album and the fans, who are not stuck in their rejections of the album due to the lack of the founding members in guns n roses, will mostly certainly love the album. One thing is for certain the album is nothing like most of the stuff in modern music today. At times it shows shades of many of Axls influences; it has the dirty rock n roll of led zeppelin, the magnitude of queen, the melancholy of Pink Floyd and even the piano influences of elton john. Additionally, the quality is also infinitely better than the leaks which are all over the internet.
The album begins with the title track Chinese Democracy, there are already indications that you are in for an epic journey. The inaudible Chinese voices add to the sense of resistance found in this song. This resistance has not paid well financially (apart from the 20 million spend on building chicken coups for Buckethead and a million hours of digital audio tape) as the chinese government has banned the album in the country, seems like the album has won the race against actual democracy in china, something which many people were not counting on. The song begins with a generic riff followed by the trademark Axl rose growl signaling the return of guns n roses. Axl almost precariously sings "When all i got is precious time" in the album. The musical layers in the song are an exemplification of the point that Axl has definitely preferred the grand to the subtle in this album, here is where Izzy Stradlin proved to be an amazing songwriter and perfectly complemented and maybe even sometimes restricted Axl in terms of songwriting. However, Chinese democracy allows Axl complete freedom and the album is nothing short of brilliant. The song in itself is not the best on the album but its highly symbolic as the title track and hits in the right chords in setting the listener up for the album. Overall rating 6/10
It is followed by Shacklers Revenge, which can be labeled as straight out metal and seems to be the most straightforward thrash metal song on the album and the guitars as extravagant. The song was originally released on Rock Band 2 and I am sure most people have difficulties grappling with the intensity of the song. Axl almost sounds demonic in the song while singing "Dont ever try to tell me how you were there for me". The lyrics suggest loneliness and a notion of self sufficiency and control as Axl sings "nobody is stopping you now". This theme of lyrics is prevalent throughout the album. The song in itself is pretty catchy. 6.5/10
The third song is "Better", it is the second single released from the friendly and seems to be one of the more radio friendly songs on the album with muddled guitars and a loopy chorus. Axl’s vocal range(and multiple digital effects) are also clear to see in this song. The major theme of the song is about a brokenhearted lover and one can only conjecture who the song could be about. Axl suggests that he knows better in the chorus and the release of the album along with the lyrics of the songs do suggest that Axl is a man reformed, although he probably still has complete disregard for what people want him to do. Exactly why he spent so many years perfecting every note in the album is anyone’s guess. The solo has a lot of shredding involved, probably why Bumblefoot was brought in. The song kicks up a gear with axl screaming followed by digital effects seemingly coming from Chriss Pittman. All in all this one song that people can mostly easily remember, especially with the "na-na-na-nas" as the end and I read somewhere that it debuted at number 45 on the billboards top 100 singles so dont be surprised if it shoots up quickly. Overall rating 7/10
Street of dreams follows, this song originally emerged as "The Blues", the song has a grand feeling to it and is one of the love ballads on the album. The album seems like it could fit right in on the Use Your Illusion albums, probably as the fourth part of the trilogy of estranged, november rain and dont cry. Don’t expect any more dolphins if Axl ever does decide to make a video for this song though. Axls voice is harmonized with heavy guitars in the back and a string of musicians seemed to have contributed on the song as is the case in many of the songs. The solo in particular is great, it has the blues feeling combined with technical brilliance. It seems to be played by Buckethead on the album. The overarching theme is again heartbreak as axl exclaims "What I thought was beautiful don’t live inside of you anymore". Overall rating 7/10
One of the more humble beginnings on the album belong to "If the world", the acoustic guitars at the start have a Spanish feel to them and almost surprises the listener. The album constantly throws the listener off guard. The song is full of effects as well and frankly it is one of my least favorite tracks on the album because even though it is a good song to listen to I have a feeling most people will not remember it in the long run. However, it still remains to be seen whether the album in itself will stand the test of time. Overall rating 4.5/10
‘There was a time’ makes up for everything that is lacking in if the world. In one word the track is epic, the track is a almost 7 minute journey that the listener embarks upon as soon as the song starts and the is constantly engripped by till the song ends. Axl shows his class as a songwriter and a singer on the song but the best part about the song are the multiple solos and you could almost expect Slash to show up on a skateboard playing the solo in the video as it has a very estranged feel to it but Buckhethead goes further than slash and really the solos stand out as musical masterpieces in themselves. Expect this song to be played by people for a long time to come; definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album. Overall rating 9/10
Catcher in the rye is a weak follow up to there was a time. It lacks everything epic in there was at time. Brian May’s solo is replaced and the new solo is not nearly as soothing. The song though is on the softer side and does have a soothing effect. Not much to be remembered again. Overall rating 4/10
Scraped seems like an outlet for an angry Axl rose proving he is not going to be stopped now. The song is a reflection of how Axl feels about the press and pressures exerted upon him by people. It is a straight out rock song with simplistic lyrics as opposed to many of the ballads on the album and it is also relatively shorter than most of the other tracks. The song seems perfectly fitted with modern rock.Axl even seems to rap with himself in the middle of the song, Thank God there was nothing more of that sort in this album. Overall rating 5/10
Sorry is another track which seems to be directed at the press but the song in itself is nothing short of brilliant. One of my favorite track on the album. The lyrics and vocals are very powerful and this is as close to ask comes to laying down a simple rock masterpiece on the album. The lyrics at time are seemingly juvenile but they fit in perfectly with the theme of the song. Axl sings "I don’t wanna do it" in some weird accent which makes the listener chuckle but otherwise the rest of the song is very emotional. Overall rating 9/10
Riad N The Bedouins opens with sounds of super Nintendo effects but quickly picks up with the guitar and then Axl growling at its peak. This song seems to have come at the longest since the demos and is a song that many of the man’s will probably like to listen to. However once again it doesn’t seem to have a lasting effect on the listener but it’s fun to see Axl has not lost his ability to exercise his freedom of speech after one in a million. Overall rating 5/10
I.R.S. is one of the tracks which gained major popularity after it was leaked on the internet and the lyrics seem to be cheesy but this is one of the more radio friendly songs along with better. Although as a ballad it is weaker than street of dreams, sorry and there was a time. The song is however very catchy. Overall rating 7/10
Madagascar is another exemplification of the grand and epic status of the album. It seems that Axl rose has attempted to incorporate everything into this one single song. The song was originally played at the MTV VMAs in 2002 and the song has not changed much since. The horns and Martin Luther King’s speech are still a part of the song and go to show some of the reasons why it took so long to make this album. It has been suggested a lot of times that this song is written about by Axl for his old band mates but nothing has been confirmed by the enigma of the man that is Axl rose. Overall rating 6.5/10
‘This I love’ seems to be one of the most shocking songs on the album for me, in an album full of effects and multiple layers of music. This song is the most stripped down and bare track with Axl Rose showing his ability as a songwriter again. His powerful voice sounds amazing over the soft pianos and the lyrics are simple but really do pack a punch emotionally. It is not a song that most people will grow a liking to instantly but it’s a song you can listen to over and over again the entire night. The chorus is very powerful and the solo is brilliant. Overall rating 8/10
The last song is the bluntly labeled song Prostitute, although the title suggests that guns are going back to their old themes about the downside of LA but the song is another love ballad and the song is in perfect harmony. The vocals and the music complement each other and the song is not just filled up with heavy guitars, the perfectionist nature of Axl Rose seems to have produced another winner in this song. Overall Rating 7.5/10
Overall the album is nothing short of a masterpiece and is sure to be a Success. Looking forward to the next Axl. Overall album rating 8.5/10
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