Chinese Democracy
OK. So you all heard that Axl Rose’s oft delayed and tweaked upon album was leaked last week via Bit Torrent. Purely as a reporter and so that I could offer a report to all of you I tracked down said leaked tracks and forced myself to listen to them. Could Axl redeem himself after a horribly embarrassing “comeback” on the MTV Video Awards in 2002? It was hard to say what was worse – an award show for a medium no one used on a network that didn’t even show them or an overweight Axl with shaved eyebrows gasping for breath and missing his cues. Fortunately Brittany Spears made a comeback attempt a few years later making everyone thankfully forget about Axl’s weirdness.
But I digress. So here’s the question. How’s the album?
It’s actually not bad. Some tracks really grew on me. Surprisingly only about half the tracks released have that industrial vibe that everyone was talking about. And even a lot of the industrial sound is more unique than you expect. This isn’t the industrial sound of NIN in the mid 90′s nor old school Ministry. It’s it’s own thing.
Weirdly though some tracks have much more of a 70′s vibe to them than a heavy techno or industrial sound. I swear one song is an unholy collaboration between classic David Bowie, Elton John, and Guns and Roses. (Oddly one of my favorite tracks on the album)
Several songs, including several of the more industrial stuff, I’ve found myself listening to over and over again.
But is it GnR? Not if you’re expecting something like their classic stuff. And there aren’t any songs that grab you with a catchy track. Slash is much missed in that regard. If there was going to be an heir to GnR I’m afraid Velvet Revolver’s first album is it. This album I feel about more like VR’s second album. Technically better in many regards and it has more soul but it lacks that catchy feeling that made you listen to the band in the first place. And of course VR’s first one was itself only on par with the last album of GnR – and a lot of people didn’t like The Spaghetti Incident.
So have at it. Have you listened to it? And all you haters who say GnR is just slock rock needn’t speak.
Is it worth releasing? I hope they do if only because I think what was released still could use some work. (It’s being reported as near complete – and some are but some have some questionable mixing in them) There’s a lot of potential here. I just can’t see the new generation jamming out to GnR’s excesses by what I hear here. Use Your Illusion or Appetite for Destruction this ain’t. It’s more The Spaghetti Incident.
I should add that a lot of these tracks have been released before or played live over the years. It’s the other stuff that’s most interesting.
No comments? Wow. I thought a bunch of people would have hit the torrents.
I will say this. I’ve read in a few places that these tracks were pretty close to release. No way in my opinion. The sound levels in particular were pretty bad. Plus, while it might have been intentional, Axl is singing off tune in a few places. Like really flat or sharp.
I think it’s interesting for what could be. But the big problem, as I said, is that nothing is catchy. Which almost guarantees it won’t be a big commercial hit.
Comment by Clark — July 2, 2008 @ 11:35 am
OK I’m glad to see you mention the questionable mixing. I’ve only heard a few tracks so far but they sound like demos to me.
And his voice sounds rather shaky to me. And I mean that figuratively, not literally, although it may be literal at times, too. I know he’s aged a lot but I’ll be surprised if his vocals sound like this in the final mix.
Comment by Susan M — July 2, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
Yeah I think a lot of the vocal problems are due to mixing. But I suspect they’d be touched up in final mix by taking samples from one take over an other. Fairly common in postproduction. Which is why some people who sound horrible live can sound great in studio. They just keep doing takes until they hit the note. Then you can mix and match vocal tracks (or even instrumental tracks)
Not that I ever expect this album ever to be released. I just don’t think it’d be a commercial hit. Plus it’s been so long it would have to be fantastic to get beyond both the hype and the skepticism. And it just isn’t that great. At best it is a solid B.
Comment by Clark — July 2, 2008 @ 2:38 pm