guns n roses is back, and that sentence would not be complete without the modifier, "finally," attached. much time has passed with band members changing as if they were stuck in a revolving door, news of chinese democracy's release arriving and disappearing as if the product of some ancient propaganda machine, and live dates being scheduled then cancelled like so many fig trees on a hillside near ninevah but at last, here it is.
sunday, november 23rd, at a best buy store near you.
i have listened to chinese democracy a couple of times now as it is streaming on the band's myspace page. it is what i expected, imperfect, ambitious, hard-rocking but oriented by pop hooks.
i have also read some bad reviews of chinese democracy, which i disagreed with. yes, it took 14 years, but who cares? it is 2008 now and here it is. on its own merits is it worth listening to or purchasing? it certainly is.
it probably took 14 years to arrive because rose craved perfection. that was always the sense i got of the situation. is he angry perhaps at his former bandmates and did revenge perhaps fuel his ambition on this project? probably. still, here it is-do you like it?
i did not love the original incarnation of guns n roses. i did like their hard-rocking style. i did like many of their songs, but ultimately i could never claim them as among my favorites because in certain ways axl resembled a caveman. i have to give him credit though for growing and evolving. i remember reading somewhere that he had said u2's 'one,' was the greatest rock ballad ever, (and that it helped him in some way get through his own depression.) this was one of those moments when it occurred to me the angry screamer from gnr was growing up.
as it relates to chinese democracy, i am willing to give rose a wide berth. even the name of the record is interesting, (and again, ambitious.) the title track is reminiscent of 'welcome to the jungle,' in how it builds to a rocking crescendo and if rose is lacking in throat compared to his former self, he makes up for it through innovation. there is a wide variety of songs therein including: 'better,' 'in this world,' and 'i.r.s.,' which are my early favorites. even madagascar with the voice of dr martin luther king dubbed in brings a certain thoughtfulness to a genre of music not exactly known for invoking the sages.
on chinese democracy ambition is king and certainly enough to make the record worth buying. it is bombastic, innovative, listenable and memorable. i expect it will be among the biggest selling records of the xmas season, (which may not be saying much,) but it seems to me axl rose delivered on his ambition to re-establish himself in the pantheon of today's top rock and roll stars, (a place seemingly occupied these days by lousy disney acts and worse; kid rock.) i don't know how long it is exclusively at best buy, (hopefully not long,) but i expect you will want to buy this record.
also, in an interesting marketing promotion, the dr pepper corporation is giving away free 20oz. dr pepper's. in march of this year they released a statement that they would give away a free dr pepper if the album dropped this year and so, they are making good on their promise with a one-day-only downloadable coupon on their website. free stuff is rare so go get it after midnight tonight.
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