'Chinese Democracy' exceeds lofty expectations

A few weeks ago I wrote about how anticipation can create life-changing events. I said long waits for some of these events may pay off with exciting rewards, such as loads of great memories from a family trip. Or they may lead to the ultimate letdown because expectations are so high the end result could never live up to the hype you give it, like “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
I talked a little about Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” an album that came out Sunday, Nov. 23, only 17 years after the last Guns N’ Roses albums of original material, “Use Your Illusion I and II.” I had high hopes for “Chinese Democracy,” mainly because I was a huge fan of the band as a youngster, but I feared the final product would be a letdown.
Not only is it not a letdown, it’s easily the best rock and roll album of the decade, and it may rival the band’s debut classic, “Appetite for Destruction,” as the best album of all time.
That’s a bold claim – one many hard rock fans will say is sacrilegious – but it’s one I will bravely back, no matter what others may hurl at me.
Why is it so good?
Two words: Axl Rose. As the frontman of the group, and the band’s lone original member, Axl would be what you would get if you created a person using the DNA of Brian Wilson, Robert Plant, Elton John and Freddy Mercury. In other words, he’s a musical genius with the voice of a god, a golden inner melody and the showmanship of a craftsman who knows how to rock a crowd.
Axl employs all of these strengths in “Chinese Democracy.” The album is a no-holds barred, unapologetic testimony of more than a decade’s worth of what must have been a painstakingly meticulous recording process – one that saw Axl surround himself with completely new players and one that probably ended his relationships with a number of people, including former band members, girlfriends, producers, managers and anyone else who didn’t share his vision.
It’s not that Axl doesn’t believe in collaboration – this is a band effort, as current and former members share songwriting credits with Axl in all but one song – but people who wanted to do so had to be thinking in massively epic scales, as nearly every one of the 14 songs on this album go way beyond the ordinary verse-chorus-verse structure perfected by the Beatles.
Starting with the title track, which starts with more than a minute of Chinese banter, similar to the banter on U2’s underrated “Zooropa,” and ending with the slow orchestral fadeout of the final track, the majestic “Prostitute” (that’s probably the first time those two words have been used together), each song on “Chinese Democracy” rewards people with layers of first-rate instrumentation that will provide something new with each listen.
Produced by Axl and Caram Costanzo (who is also responsible for producing Pearl Jam’s best album, No Code), “Chinese Democracy” sounds like it took more than a decade to make. That’s good, because if it sounded like Metallica’s horribly produced “Death Magnetic,” I’d probably be too sick to write this. But that’s not the case, and instead I’m writing about how much I like the album.
The naysayers may say it’s not a true Guns N’ Roses album without the contributions of Izzy Stradlin, Slash and Duff McKagen, three of the other original members. I’ll argue and say they’re not missed.
Listen to Brain’s drums on “Prostitute,” Tommy Stinson’s bass on “Shackler’s Revenge,” Dizzy Reed’s piano on “Street of Dreams” and the guitars by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Buckethead, Richard Fortus, Paul Tobias and Robin Finck throughout the album, and you’ll find yourself asking “Who’s Izzy, Slash and Duff?”
Once again, Axl’s lyrics make little sense, but it’s fun trying to decipher who he may be talking about. At times, the lyrics act as a metaphor about the process of making this album, but at other times they appear to be songs about a relationship with a girl that may or may not be over.
Personally, I don’t want to know what specifically they are about, because it’s great knowing my interpretation may be different than another’s, and they may all be different from Axl’s intent. That’s art.
I’m happy “Chinese Democracy” exceeded my lofty expectations, especially since I didn’t give it much of a chance to do so. I just hope I don’t have to wait another 17 years for another album by the band, but if I do, I hope it’s as good as this one.