17 years in the making, Chinese Democracy, is finally released to the world at large… It is the newest studio album form Guns N Roses (minus the original band)and definitely redefines who GNR really are.
From listening to this album, one can tell what songs were created when in those 17 years in the abyss. You get a mix of that old school Guns N Roses as well as the adapted GNR — by adapted, i mean a lot of these songs have been tweaked for the modern rock age we live in today. That is no means a bad thing, but it did take me for a loop when i first listened to the album.
Like the Use Your Illusion I & II, you have you mix of dirty distorted rock songs, love ballads and everything in between, which makes for an all-around listening pleasure.
Here are a few songs that stood out for me:
Rhiad And The Bedouins – this song is classic GNR, screaming guitars, heavy drums, tricky bass lines, and that Axel Rose voice that makes the track a crazy banger but at the same time, tames the beast of a song! This song will make u want to lift/run like no other — total pump up music
If the World – i would have to say that this song is that “adapted GNR.” its smooth with the clean staccato guitar, and of course you cant forget that spanish guitar whcih accents the song in just the right places. The production work on this is very modern, (probably created later in the span of the album) and is a pleasure to listen to.
The Blues – To say that this is the new November Rain would be an overstatement, but a lot of the song did remind me(structure wise) of that great, never-gets-old classic track. It is one of those Power ballads that GNR seem to execute very well. Instead of taking the dark, minor sound of November Rain, they made it very “majorish” and of course added the pop sensibility. It was almost like an Opus form the olden days, just building, letting go, layering, in just the right places. To me it was an overall powerful track, and the lyrics support it as well.
After writing this post i realize that i actually enjoy this album, and I’m sure it will get more listens in the future (unlike that new Weezer album)