Is anyone else still digesting Chinese Democracy?

[Bumble's Bridge Pickup]

Complexity and rock music do not go hand in hand

Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Use Your Illusion albums, King Crimson, Rush, Yes?

take the use your illusion albums out of there and you raise a good point

You wouldn't say songs like Locomotion, Coma, Estranged, November Rain, etc are complex? I'd say Estranged and Locomotion are bordering on prog rock.

No, I wouldn't say they're that complex at all. Not nearly in the same league as King Crimson, Rush, Yes, or Pink Floyd. We're talking about a band that had Steven Adler and Matt Sorum at the drum kit here... What is so progressive about Locomotive and Estranged? I think the beauty of Use Your Illusion is it manages to sound so deep without venturing into the odd time signatures, clever key changes, and complex song structures you get with progressive rock bands. It's true blue hard rock to the bone, but delivered in a way nobody had really heard before, at least all on one album. Still, that doesn't make it complex or progressive, it just makes it a solid rock album of damn good songs.

Yes, and CD is like all those 70's prog bands neither - the oddest time signatures are 3 bars of 3/4 and a bar of 5/4 in Better and a bar or two of 9/4 in Shackler's, and there are no key changes or complex song structures really, or anything unlike UYI in that sense.

EDIT:

It's true blue hard rock to the bone, but delivered in a way nobody had really heard before, at least all on one album.

I wouldn't say that... Physical Graffiti?

Edited September 13, 2010 by Jyrgen

[ManetsBR]

I still listen to it almost everyday and it sill amuses me.

[sweetness]

EDIT:

It's true blue hard rock to the bone, but delivered in a way nobody had really heard before, at least all on one album.

I wouldn't say that... Physical Graffiti?

Physical Graffiti doesn't have the heavy punk/metal influence you get with songs like Right Next Door To Hell, Perfect Crime, Garden of Eden, Shotgun Blues, or Don't Damn Me.

Edited September 13, 2010 by sweetness

[jmapelian]

it's been fully digested

[Bumble's Bridge Pickup]

EDIT:

It's true blue hard rock to the bone, but delivered in a way nobody had really heard before, at least all on one album.

I wouldn't say that... Physical Graffiti?

Physical Graffiti doesn't have the heavy punk/metal influence you get with songs like Right Next Door To Hell, Perfect Crime, Garden of Eden, Shotgun Blues, or Don't Damn Me.

Ah, very much true. Hm... what'd I suggest next

[Best Regards]

Complexity and rock music do not go hand in hand

Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Use Your Illusion albums, King Crimson, Rush, Yes?

take the use your illusion albums out of there and you raise a good point

Agreed. Chinese Democracy is far more complex than anything the UYI albums had to offer.

[kyrie]

I don't know about the rest of you all, but I still find myself digesting Chinese Democracy. By that, I mean, I don't feel as though I have traveled every road that Chinese Democracy has to offer. Songs like Sorry and This I Love are so complex and emotionally charged that, in most cases, it would take repeated listens over a period of time before one is able to fully appreciate their grandeur.

Nearly 2 years after its release, I still find myself discovering meaning behind songs that previously went un-noticed.

I know alot of people think a new album would be great, but the truth is, we have no reason to complain. Chinese Democracy is a great album that takes time to understand and fully appreciate.

I'd be just as happy to get a remix of Chinese Democracy (as Brain hinted) as I would be if they were to release another album full of unheard material. I'd like to hear an Axl and orchestration only version of TWAT. I think adding a little background saxophone would be cool. Maybe a straight up club mix of Shackler. Guest vocals: Dr Dre.

Does Chinese Democracy still have un-tapped potential for you?

I tried it with ketchup and it was hard to digest. I found the secret was adding a bit of melted butter and lemon. Voila! It goes down smooth and easy with a chilled white wine.

Honestly, I have no idea what to make of this thread. It's a CD that has some songs I love (There Was a Time, Madagascar, This I Love, Catcher in the Rye), a number that I like, and one or two that I'm not overly fond of (Rhiad... not my cup of tea, it never was back from when it was first played). In the end - it's one of the better albums in the past ten years, in my opinion, and one of the few albums I purchased in 2008 (or 2009, or 2010 for that matter). Saw the band twice in 2010 and they won over some non-fans I took with me, and both of them, not knowing the band's history, were impressed with CD songs - one chose Sorry as her favorite (she liked it better live than the album version), the other liked the "mellow stuff" (If the World being one of those).

It's an album that has a lot of different approaches and styles, and given music has strayed into "every song must sound the same" territory since the UYI days, some people may have trouble digesting it...

but again, butter and lemon. And white wine.

Edited September 14, 2010 by kyrie

[sweetness]

Complexity and rock music do not go hand in hand

Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Use Your Illusion albums, King Crimson, Rush, Yes?

take the use your illusion albums out of there and you raise a good point

Agreed. Chinese Democracy is far more complex than anything the UYI albums had to offer.

Chinese Democracy is way more complex than Use Your Illusion, but not in a good way...

[Bumble's Bridge Pickup]

EDIT:

It's true blue hard rock to the bone, but delivered in a way nobody had really heard before, at least all on one album.

I wouldn't say that... Physical Graffiti?

Physical Graffiti doesn't have the heavy punk/metal influence you get with songs like Right Next Door To Hell, Perfect Crime, Garden of Eden, Shotgun Blues, or Don't Damn Me.

Ah, very much true. Hm... what'd I suggest next

How about News Of The World by Queen?