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I think we can all agree that Chinese Democracy is one of the most underappreciated albums of the past 20 years


Caught_in_a_Coma

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I don't know if it is the most underappreciated record of the last 20 years, but it sure is underappreciated. I guess, a lot of people didn't really give it a chance. It's a good album (with Rhiad being the only crappy song). But it is more like an Axl Rose solo album than a Guns N' Roses album. And some people genuinely don't like the album, the music, and that's fine. It is not for anyone, I think.

But IMO it is one of the most interesting records. Sound and production wise, and also I dig the songs themselves of course, plus the whole mythology of the recording and the history of the album.

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"I think we can all agree that Chinese Democracy is one of the most underappreciated albums of the past 20 years"

 

Why should it be? I mean, you like it and that's ok but others simply don't. So it is what it is.

I don't say TSI or Lies are underrated just because I like them more than others here.

It's the same

 

Sorry for that configuration,

I'm technically very limited

Edited by Free Bird
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I don't know if there's any way to quantify what is MOST under appreciated, because that will be different for different people. Having said that, I do think CD was under appreciated. I think that if it had been released under a different artist name, it would have been given more of a chance. People had expectations of what a Guns N' Roses album would sound like, and there was so much chatter about it, and I don't think most albums could have lived up to that. The style of CD doesn't float everyone's boat, and that is what it is.

There are songs on it I intensely dislike, but there are also songs I detest on AfD (Think About You...ew) and UYI.

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17 hours ago, stella said:

I don't know if there's any way to quantify what is MOST under appreciated, because that will be different for different people. Having said that, I do think CD was under appreciated. I think that if it had been released under a different artist name, it would have been given more of a chance. People had expectations of what a Guns N' Roses album would sound like, and there was so much chatter about it, and I don't think most albums could have lived up to that. The style of CD doesn't float everyone's boat, and that is what it is.

I agree more or less. CD is under appreciated in the sense that it's not crap or an indifferent, generic rock album; there are interesting and brilliant ideas in it. Imo it would have been more appreciated (maybe still not so much by the portion of GnR fans who are hard rock/heavy metal purists, but by a broader rock audience) if it had not been so overproduced, had been released some years earlier and had been released under another name.

Edited by Blackstar
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I haven't listened to enough albums to say it was the most under appreciated album in the last 20 years and even if I did, the resounding answer would be no.

However, I do enjoy it very much (I'm a fan of industrial rock so that factors into it with the heavily layered production, effects, etc). I'm also a big fan of Robin Finck so that has some pull also (NIN is my second favorite band behind GNR). No album could ever live up to the hype Chinese Democracy had. There are a lot of tracks that I thoroughly enjoy - Scraped, I.R.S., If The World, There Was A Time. It's not even close to being a timeless album like AFD or either UYI, but I still enjoy it as a casual listen. I also agree with others in mentioning the mystique around the album. All the turnover in members, changes in direction, past history of the songs, etc. Chinese Whispers is a great read. 

Seeing Chinese Democracy (title track not album) performed live with Slash and Duff, was fucking awesome. Axl kills it. One of his stronger songs of the night, vocally. 

All personal opinion of course. I get it's a very polarizing album and most complaints are valid. It's crazy to compare the raw ferocity of AFD to the clinical cleanliness of CD. There's no comparison.   

I've always mentally considered it Axl's solo album and not a GNR album so that helps, ha. 

Edited by Reclamation Project
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Most hilarious/depressing NuGNR moment was the Rock in Rio performance of It's So Easy. My favorite AFD song played by a clown show iteration of my favorite band. 

30 people on stage including a guy with a KFC bucket on his head and a raincoat then all hell breaks loose. 

*middle finger and then points*

"That guy GONE. Get GOING! Hand me that shirt. HAND ME THAT SHIRT!!! Thank you." :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Edited by Reclamation Project
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1 hour ago, Free Bird said:

"I think we can all agree that Chinese Democracy is one of the most underappreciated albums of the past 20 years"

 

Why should it be? I mean, you like it and that's ok but others simply don't. So it is what it is.

I don't say TSI or Lies are underrated just because I like them more than others here.

It's the same

 

Sorry for that configuration,

I'm technically very limited

I couldn't agree more. All time there is somebody starting a thread like this one about CD. After all these years and the amount of times this issued has been debated. I believe it is time to knock it off!

No matter how many times it's brought up the fact remains that people who don't like CD they are not gonna change their minds about it.

In my case the more people try to establish CD as underrated masterpiece, the more I hate the fuckin album

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3 hours ago, Caught_in_a_Coma said:

This was something I was thinking about tonight

I totally agree with you :headbang:

But we would separate the fanbase here and the critics and other musician reviews. The fans in this forum (mostly) hate that CD, but the critics really appreciate it, and we could add Duff and Slash opinions, they really love the product (and fans outside this forum of course).

Edited by Juliette
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The lineup with Buckethead and Finck was the best and most interesting NuGuns lineup imo, musically and visually (well, with the exception of Axl's jersey-cornrows look and his overall state at that time). If it had not been named "Guns 'n' Roses", even the performances of GnR classics would have been more well-received or at least accepted as another approach by a former GnR member's new band.

As I said before, there are factors (the name, overproduction and delay) which imo deprived CD of the chance of better reception in general. Other than that, it's merely a matter of personal taste. For example, I'm not a Queen fan; I don't reject them or distaste them, I just can't relate to their music, and this extends to other music that is heavily influenced by them.

Edited by Blackstar
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Don't know about most, but I definitely do think it's underappreciated. There are a lot of people here who refused (and continue to refuse) to give it a fair chance.

CD is not the masterpiece some people like to hail it as, but it also isn't "garbage" or THE WORST THING EVAH like others claim. It's a good album with some highlights and some lowlights.

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5 hours ago, Caught_in_a_Coma said:

This was something I was thinking about tonight

It's still a bloated overproduced piece of bile that had potential. And it should've come out 6 to 8 years sooner. End of story. 

Edited by username
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4 hours ago, Nosaj Thing said:

Worst piece of shit of the last 20 years.  With that I can agree.

Come on, its not that bad...but I haven't listen to it since the release...

the major problem is: its not a real GnR record. Then comes the wrong vibe of it. Its overproduced. Pitmans sound effects sound like the cheapest thing in modern rock...Axls voice on it is annoying. No hit single. Weird art works (It almost continues with TSI). 

But I has some interesting ideas. 

Will I ever listen to the record again? No way.

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