First time listening to the entire Chinese Democracy album - WOW

[Lumikki]

I wasn't overly thrilled with CD when it was first released, but it's grown on me over the years. I recently realized I love/like at least half of the songs on there and some of the musical arrangements are just beautiful (I love the outro on Prostitute for example). Things that are awesome about CD:

 

Street of Dreams - I love the whole song. It's underrated imo and I wish they would play it live.

Better - Awesome song and it's starting to become even... better... now that Slash and Duff are adding their own twist.

Prostitute - The most beautiful song on the album for me. I love it.

Madagascar - Also underrated imo. Genuinely like the lyrics of that song and its over-all melancholy.

TWAT - Not my favorite, but it's a great song.

Sorry - I like how slow and heavy that song it. And Axl's lyrics are hilariously whiny. Amusing.

This I Love - Is beautiful as an instrumental version I like the piano and the melody, but the lyrics are terrible imo and ruin the song.

IRS - Okay. Not great, but not bad either. I don't mind when it comes on.

If The World - A bit boring, but sometimes when I'm in the right mood for it, I enjoy it.

Catcher In The Rye - I don't like this one personally, but if I'm trying to be objective, its's not a bad song. Some even say one of the best on there.

 

There's no excuse for Scraped, Shackler's, Chinese Democracy and Riad though as far as I'm concerned These are just terrible and give me a headache. I don't get why Axl, Slash and Duff insist on playing Chinese Democracy and This I Love. Both awful. Better is fine, but why not switch CD and TIL out for Street of Dreams, TWAT, Prostitue or Sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2016 by Lumikki

[Silverburst80]

Yeah there's just not much i like about the album at all, not feeling Axls voice on it though i do respect some of the arrangements and musicality. I only really like Better but even then i prefer the Bumblefoot acoustic version that's not even on the LP!

[sanity_lost]

14 hours ago, Lumikki said:

I wasn't overly thrilled with CD when it was first released, but it's grown on me over the years. I recently realized I love/like at least half of the songs on there and some of the musical arrangements are just beautiful (I love the outro on Prostitute for example). Things that are awesome about CD:

 

Street of Dreams - I love the whole song. It's underrated imo and I wish they would play it live.

Better - Awesome song and it's starting to become even... better... now that Slash and Duff are adding their own twist.

Prostitute - The most beautiful song on the album for me. I love it.

Madagascar - Also underrated imo. Genuinely like the lyrics of that song and its over-all melancholy.

TWAT - Not my favorite, but it's a great song.

Sorry - I like how slow and heavy that song it. And Axl's lyrics are hilariously whiny. Amusing.

This I Love - Is beautiful as an instrumental version I like the piano and the melody, but the lyrics are terrible imo and ruin the song.

IRS - Okay. Not great, but not bad either. I don't mind when it comes on.

If The World - A bit boring, but sometimes when I'm in the right mood for it, I enjoy it.

Catcher In The Rye - I don't like this one personally, but if I'm trying to be objective, its's not a bad song. Some even say one of the best on there.

 

There's no excuse for Scraped, Shackler's, Chinese Democracy and Riad though as far as I'm concerned These are just terrible and give me a headache. I don't get why Axl, Slash and Duff insist on playing Chinese Democracy and This I Love. Both awful. Better is fine, but why not switch CD and TIL out for Street of Dreams, TWAT, Prostitue or Sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This forum is fun because we have a big group of fans who like completely separate things about this band. What is one fan's favorite thing about GNR another fan absolutely hates about them. Then, of course, all the opinions in between. Of course we have the fans who curse the existence of Chinese and those of us who like it. Even of those of us who like it we like different aspects of it. I enjoy seeing all these differences.

Shackler's seems to be one of those songs than not many fans like much, but it is one I like a lot. It is a song that really grew on me. The vocal layering really bothered me at first. I am not sure why, but it just did. I kept listening to it because liked the beginning of the solo and a few other instrumental aspects. At some point I got used to the vocals. Then, without me noticing, that turned into liking the vocals. It was a sudden startling realization that I was listening to it more than some of the other songs I thought I liked better and that I liked the entire song a lot. 

 

[Fitha_whiskey]

1 hour ago, sanity_lost said:

This forum is fun because we have a big group of fans who like completely separate things about this band. What is one fan's favorite thing about GNR another fan absolutely hates about them. Then, of course, all the opinions in between. Of course we have the fans who curse the existence of Chinese and those of us who like it. Even of those of us who like it we like different aspects of it. I enjoy seeing all these differences.

Shackler's seems to be one of those songs than not many fans like much, but it is one I like a lot. It is a song that really grew on me. The vocal layering really bothered me at first. I am not sure why, but it just did. I kept listening to it because liked the beginning of the solo and a few other instrumental aspects. At some point I got used to the vocals. Then, without me noticing, that turned into liking the vocals. It was a sudden startling realization that I was listening to it more than some of the other songs I thought I liked better and that I liked the entire song a lot. 

 

Your first paragraph x1000...

Absolutely no question that GnR is the most polarizing huge rock band that ever existed. 

[SWINGTRADER]

I listened to it all the way through for the first time since 2008. I think I gave it a 4/10 when it was first released. After listening to it again, I am forced to change my rating, I now give it a 3/10. Just terrible, sounds worse now.

Everything about it is awful. Even the album cover and booklet. 

 

[Live Like a Suicide]

On 06/05/2016 at 3:52 AM, Sprite said:

Let's just ponder for a moment and say Slash and Duff were on the album instead Stinson and the other lead guitarists. And let's say they called it "Use Your Illusion 3" because I think most are able to see CD is more like a continuation in that direction than a return to Appetite. I don't think it's presumptuous to say Slash and Duff are into the album. So track list stays the same and the general song structure is the same like what we've seen so far. 

I know I'm DEEP in the "what if drawer" right now.. but what if that were the case? Is UYI 3 universally praised? From my experience on this forum and in person, most people take issue with the name and lack of Slash. Not necessarily the music. I think we're a symbolic species and image is very important and often times the first thing that's looked at regardless of being fair or right. I think it's reasonable to assume had Slash been on that record and it kept its general feel, many more people would have given it the time of day. But again I'm way off in la la land here so it's just a though experiment really. 

I agree with this. I would also wager that if the next GN'R album predominantly features Chinese Democracy-Era stuff, people would still eat it up and praise it because of Slash and Duff.

[pbj_jam]

This album is a desert island album for me, took me a long time to even like it. CD made me love Axl and his music even more.

 

I just want a new album.

[Nosaj Thing]

20 hours ago, SWINGTRADER said:

I listened to it all the way through for the first time since 2008.

You do like to waste your time.  I listened to that piece of shit in full in 2009.  Will never do again.

[NicoRourke]

On ‎10‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 10:22 AM, weaponsnflowers said:

That's for sure. Just great.

This. Totally agree. In fact it's my favorite album of all time. But then it's all subjective.

[SWINGTRADER]

3 hours ago, Nosaj Thing said:

You do like to waste your time.  I listened to that piece of shit in full in 2009.  Will never do again.

The only reason I listened to it again was because of the discussions on here lately about the album. I had forgotten half the songs on that thing, Just wanted to make sure it was still the same piece of shit I listened to in 2008. It turned out to be a worse experience the 2nd time around. I still can't believe someone as talented as Axl could come up with such crap.

2 hours ago, NicoRourke said:

This. Totally agree. In fact it's my favorite album of all time. But then it's all subjective.

wow.

I am curious to know what your top 5-10 albums are

Edited June 12, 2016 by SWINGTRADER

[Sprite]

I listened to it again with headphones on last night and it's just fantastic. My favorite album definitely. At least it gets more spins than anything else over the last 8 years. I really love how Axl evolved with the times (albeit by '08 it already had the 90-ish vibe). To me it showed not wanting to be stagnant and wanting to be fluid and creative with the art he puts out. Picaso didn't paint the same picture twice. I know a lot really only want an artist to stick to their niche which for a lot of people is 70's hard rock for Axl, but to criticize him for evolving his sound to match his environment? And to do it from a keyboard? Irony.

It's just great though. I'm really into the vibe of If the World. It's so laid back yet heavy. It's an interesting blend. Scraped gets a bad rap around here. That might be the most Appetite track there if you scrape away the "polish". It's got a heavy rhythm section and great lead guitar.. what more could you ask for from Axl in 2008? Somewhere out there exists a raw, raspy version. 

Riad works and might be the heaviest song on the album. I think the noodling style solo works well with the vocals that interlude between clean and raspy. 

Sorry is Axl's take on the Wall, from outer space. It's completely psychedelic and I like to think that video was real because it really captured the eeriness quite well. 

The lyrics are so perfectly GNR too.

It's just a great album for me. 5/5 stars. 

[Sprite]

I've been thinking about the demos and the production lately and I'm really starting to appreciate the production on the final album more and more. I think the demos imprinted in our minds a certain concept of how that album would be and that is ok, but I think there is an element of unfairness when using it to judge the album too. The demo wasn't the product the artist wanted put out. It was a rough draft, nothing more. It's like being mad that Yesterdays traded in it's Stonesy vibe on the demo and replaced it with more southern rock on UYI2. There is a time and place for both but ultimately the one the artist puts out is what we should truly judge as fans I think.

I'll also admit I'm not proficient enough to even pick out all the sounds I'm hearing. I know a big gripe the album gets here is what's called the "layers" of guitar or orchestration. I think most who critique it in that way are probably in the same boat as me. Can anyone hear the sub bass actually? Or who cares that they used a 5th player as opposed to having 2 do everything. Uncle Axl is great at hosting family feasts, bring the kids! So why even let it bother? Sometimes it's fun to put our pre conceived notions down and just let something be. Listening to CD from a clean slate perspective and not reading the liner notes about how many were on that song, or thinking Axl actually got a guy with a KFC bucket to replace Slash, he's gone insane, or even from the mythical perspective it garnered over the years, and Axl himself for that matter. If you just take it for what it is, Axl nailed it. It works perfectly as the next in line album from the Guns catalog and as a few on here have pointed out it really sets the bar high for the next record. GNR have scope and I think it's underappreciated by a lot of the fan base.

Can GNR even afford an "Izzy" album as so many want as the next in line if they have taken on the arty wing of the hard rock genre? They are the Led Zeppelin of the generation. Really Guns have become the Led Zeppelin of America. I think Axl likes to evolve sounds to keep up with the changing times. The stuff I thought last year is different than how I feel this year type thing. So unless we are getting an anthology, I expect the next record to be more in line with If the world than dust n bones, Slash & Duff or not. Maybe today his writing style is different though. ACDC and Guns stadium tours can change a man so anything is possible.

To me CD is more in line with GNR's sound that any other solo album from the original 5 and that's no slack to Izzy, Slash or Duff, but I think the work speaks for it self if you are willing to judge it fairly and from a neutral perspective. Axl took elements of AFD and UYI and churned out CD. He blended sounds well. I usually only hear one style in the other's solo stuff so I think it's cool Axl is willing to experiment. High risk, high reward kind of situation. 

[Sprite]

What I always liked about Guns was the duality in their music. It's been a theme since the beginning. From the breakdown in Welcome to the jungle or the difference in lyrics between It's So Easy and Think About You. Even Lies had this effect. And of course the UYI's were pretty vast too. Like Coma is an event to listen to. Or Estranged and Get in the Ring are on the same record. Even TSI? gave us a 50's cover, Beatles Tribute, Manson cover and Fear all in one.

I think Axl likes this concept of duality or playing with the edge of things. And I think it's a hard concept to write music in because it takes a little more introspective thought. 

That's why I like Chinese. The title plays with the duality aspect and so does the music. I like the blend of all the styles. Like If the World. That might be one of the heaviest rhythm sections in all of Guns catalog and it's blended with very beautiful flamenco guitar. There was a time begins with a choir before letting us know about who she gave head while the 500 piece orchestra whistles. Catcher is Chinese's Coma in that it begins with a heartfelt message, has the breakdown, then comes in with a mad rush of thought in the end just like a psycho. 

I think the next record has to have this same concept.