Editors Blog
Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses / Photo by KMazur/WireImage.com
First Listen: New Guns N' Roses Single Reviewed
SPIN's Steve Kandell weighs in on the official first release from the most-delayed album EVER!
By Steve Kandell 10.22.08 10:19 AM
Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses / Photo by KMazur/WireImage.com
Maybe it's the fact that I'm listening to it on my computer and not, say, in a car, that makes it feel less than real. After all, we've been here before: (alleged) tracks from the mythic, Sasquatch-like Chinese Democracy leaked last year, and we downloaded them, tentatively, straining to hear some sort of genetic connection to the Guns N' Roses we all remember and romanticize. It seemed as if this long story was going to come to an end with a whimper. And a shrug. And here we are again, only without the shady back-alley torrent-site-dealings or fear of RIAA reprisal.
More on SPIN.com:
>> Chinese Democracy Song Released to Radio
>> Chinese Democracy Songlist and Album Art Unveiled!
>> Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy Finally Issued Release Date
"Chinese Democracy," the first single from the actually-existing Guns N' Roses album of the same name, was released today. Officially. Legally. (The album is available November 23, exclusively from Best Buy. Unless of course, it isn't.)
Once that weird shock wears off, there's the small matter of, you know, whether or not it's any good. Which is to say: Is it as bad as we all assume it's gonna be?
Answer: Kinda, but then again, not really!
Those fearing/expecting an overly synthesized, 1999-vintage techno-metal can rest easy-ish. Once the overture of muffled voices, ominous drums, and plinky Edge-ish guitar gives way to a thick, muscular four-chord riff and that Axl banshee wail, only the most stubbornly jaded will manage to suppress the goosebump reflex. The verses are double-tracked: half high-pitched Axl, half guttural, growly Axl. But then a funny thing happens before the song gets to the chorus: IT FUCKING ENDS.
Sure, there's some suitably Slashy wankery from, oh, I don't know, Bumblefuck, the guy who plays with a honey-coated beehive on his head, or whichever other guitarist is currently under contract, but it's a bit confounding that the first (official, legal) taste of the Most Anticipated Album, Like, Ever -- and from the human who wrote "Paradise City," no less -- is utterly and completely hook-free. I've listened to it 12 times in one sitting and cannot hum a bar.
Then again, I was able to listen to it 12 times in one sitting. Maybe we should take our victories small, and wherever we can get them.
Now (Finally) Hear This: Guns N' Roses - "Chinese Democracy"
Who care about the (probably crappy) album, when do I get my Dr. Pepper?
This song is utterly pitiful even for an act that has been going through the motions of keeping their commercial prospects alive for more than a decade.
Give it a listen and ask yourself if the revamped lineup of this band sounds as bored playing it as you are hearing it.
It is nothing new but is not in any way a reformulated tribute to their hits of the past either.
Jason Daniel Baker
What are you TALKING about? That song is killer - As for the reviewer who asks, "Is it as bad as we all assume it's gonna be?" -- Why on earth would you think it going to be bad???? It should be frickin brilliant. Think about it: One of the most legendary frontmen ever took a ton of time off, went through a shitton of hugely talented musicians and took as much time getting everything exactly the way he / they want it. Why would that sound like something that would suck??? Talk about BS! Oh, and no hook? That riff is bombastic - if that doesn't bait the hook, I don't get it.
Totally agree with the review: 17 fricking years and the best Axl can come up with for a musical hook is a goddamn 1-3-4 chord progression that's been around since long before Deep Purple wrote "Smoke on the Water"? That's not impressive.There is nothing even slightly interesting about the vocal: Axl started overdoing the double-track, high-low thing on the overblown 'Use Your Illusion', and it got old real quick. It always seemed to me like a trick to disguise the fact that neither his highs nor his lows were that great to listen to on their own (or not after he shredded his high range doing 'Appetite for Destruction' at any rate).GnR will always be like the Sex Pistols - they made one amazing, definitive statement of an album (Appetite for Destruction/Never Mind the Bollocks) and that was all the world really needed from them. Everything after that could only be a let-down. And sure enough, that's exactly what this is.
"Bumblefuck". bahahaaa!
Too true. It's cool to hear Axl's wail during that intro, but you just keep on waiting for that monster hook that you can really sink your teeth into, which never arrives. Still, not a bad track.
First off, "bumblefuck" is just about spot on. Axle do yourself a favor and realize your 40 years old and surround yourself with people your fans can identify with. Ok, I simply made a list of things that I want to touch on regarding this song, the review and New GNR (a lot like New Coke)..
1) The very first part of the song that made me cringe was the "welcome to the jungle " scream intro into the lyrics...Come on Axle, don't plaguerize your own material.
2) The song is fairly hard hitting and feels a little like GNR in the Use Your Illusion days, but just as the reviewer says, as you are starting to feel the blood flow getting ready for the chorus to sweep you off your feet and make you rejoice about someone finally playing rock and roll again, the song doubles back into it's starting point and does this a few times and then ends.
3) I can't believe no one has brought this up...But is the irony of this albums title and track completely lost on Axle? "Chinese Democracy" = exactly what everyone of his former band members accuse him of turning the band into.
4) After reading the lyrics to this song, I can say without question, the irony is lost on Axle....He is actually trying to make a political statement of some kind here and that makes me even more irritated. Axle we want you to kick our ass with rock and roll and the underbelly of all that exists in that world. Most GNR fans don't want you to become the next Rage, U2, or any of the other countless **** groups who decided they would use their limited scope of reality to make political statements.
5) Who am I kidding though...Axle isn't the same guy that kicked our ass 20 years ago and the cast of characters are not even remotely interesting when compared to Slash, Duff, Izzy, etc...As twisted as it is to say, the worst thing that happens to great rock and rollers is they clean up, get older, don't live the lifestyle they so desperately want to sing about anymore. It's hard to watch childhood heroes that we all remember from their 20 somethings, try to relive the experience in their 40's and 50's....
Wow, so we're going to tear down a song that we all listened to two years ago and said, "Hey, you know, I think the title track is the worst out of the bunch." Yeah, compare the track Chinese Democracy with a Sweet Child O' Mine or November Rain and you aren't going to look at it particularly favorably... but lets be realistic and compare it to Think About You or 14 Years or another 9th or 10th track, as it is. Perhaps it was a poor choice to release as the first single, but it only bodes well for the rest of the album.
Here you go JIMBO. From http://www.chinesedemocracy.com/
Many fans and new fans will be thanking Axl Rose for their free DR PEPPER Soft Drink!
Dr Pepper is making good on a promise to provide every person in America a can of the soft drink if “Chinese Democracy” were to arrive in 2008, and has revealed details of the plan.
“We never thought this day would come,” Dr Pepper Vice President of Marketing Tony Jacobs said Wednesday. “But now that it’s here all we can say is: The Dr Pepper’s on us.”
Interested fans are being asked to visit DrPepper.com (http://www.drpepper.com) on Nov. 23, the day “Chinese Democracy” is released in the U.S. exclusively via Best Buy. After registering online, fans will receive a coupon redeemable for a 20-ounce Dr Pepper wherever the drink is sold.
The twist: The coupon is available for only 24 hours and will expire on Feb. 28.
Anyone who would give any credence to a SPIN review of anything associated with Axl Rose is clearly limited in scope. I'm pretty sure just about any other rag would have a more objective view.
I've noticed that most reviewers of any new GN'R are saying it doesn't compare to "Sweet Child O Mine", "Welcome to the Jungle", or "Paradise City". Of course it doesn't compare. Your first time hearing a song you aren't going to get the same feeling that you get from a 21 year old classic. KISS' "Psycho Circus" wasn't "Detroit Rock City" or "Rock and Roll All Nite". "Dani California" isn't "Under the Bridge" or "Knock Me Down". A new Zeppelin album wouldn't be "IV". Accept the new album for what it is... NEW, and instead of all the criticism on how long it took to come out how about some respect for Axl, despite the temper and other personality downfalls, the fact that "Chinese Democracy" took this long and he never gave up on it is deserving of respect. I'm sure if this album was hidden under a different band name the reception would be much different. Listen to the new album enjoy the music.
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