My review of Chinese Democracy

[Towelie]

Here's my track by track review:

1. Chinese Democracy Great, powerful, atmospheric opener. I love the crunchy Nirvana-esque guitar riff, the grungey vocals and the whole production. 9/10

2. Shacklers Revenge My favourite song on the album. The tempo is infectious, both the rhythm and lead guitar are out of this world, Axl's vocals are tremendous and Ron's tapping on the final chorus is just insanely good. Excellent track. 10/10

3. Better What an opening trio, this song had hit written all over it. It's ridiculously catchy with a stellar vocal delivery from Axl and a very tasty solo from Robin. 10/10

Street Of Dreams This reminds me of something that would be on UYI. Beautiful, mournful lyrics, great melody and lovely piano. A highlight. 9/10

If The World Well, every album has a dud, and this is Chinese Democracy's. Sounds like a bad Bond theme. 3/10

There Was A Time Epic track, although it does tend to drag on. I don't see the point in three guitar solos. Just let Bucket do the whole thing and cut it down by a minute. 7/10

Catcher In The Rye I love this one. This song reminds me of The Beatles, especially with the "na na na" parts. There's a real melancholly to this track which makes it stand out from the rest. Bumblefoot's guitar at the end weaves perfectly with Axl's stunning third and final verse. The whole "on an ordinary day..." part gives me goosebumps. Magic. 10/10

Scraped Like many others, I loathe the opening part, but it kicks in to a pretty fierce riff-laden rocker with motivational lyrics. The last 30 seconds really kicks off, I wish that part was longer. Cool track. 7/10

Riad N' the Bedouins Like a nu-metal cover of Immigrant Song. Kinda fun if you're in the mood, but definately one of the weaker moments on the album. 5/10

Sorry Axl sounds bitter on this and the lyrics really give this song life. Bucket's solo is one of the best on the album too. 7/10

IRS The most straight forward rocker on the album. Insanely catchy with paranoid lyrics, a strong riff and even stronger vocals. Great track. 8/10

Madagascar Dramatic and moody track, with woe-is-me lyrics. Another strong track. 8/10

This I Love Axl sounding like he's writing a song for an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. It takes guts to do something this grand and pompous. A beautiful track with an ill fitting guitar solo. 9/10

Prostitute This is one of the rare subtle moments on the album. Axl's piano in the verses are gorgeous and the vocal delivery is superb. Last 30 seconds is very soothing and a beautiful conclusion to such a mad album. 7/10

[Steamboat]

Riad is my fave

[Chewbacca]

Nice. So far, Better is my favorite.

[Cosmo]

Whoah, so much hate towards If the World!! I love that track.. :confused:

[Gordon Comstock]

prostitute - 1/10

This alone proves you shouldn't even be here.

[iftheworld]

chinese democracy - 2/10

shackler's revenge - 1/10

better - 3/10

sod - 3/10

itw - 1/10

twat - 5/10

citr - 3/10

scraped - 1/10

ratb - 1/10

sorry - 1/10

irs - 5/10

madagascar - 2/10

til - 1/10

prostitute - 1/10

overall very disappointed by the album

certainly not worthy of the gnr banner

I see this cupcake has 21 posts. Your opinion doesn't matter go away.

[star]

/about time I reviewed UYI

[Guest siliconmessiah]

Axl was rushed to release this album

I think I know what you are trying to say, but I don´t agree with you. Axl seemed happy with the album in the interviews on their official homepage.

I think that if you want to, you can work on an album/piece of art/book forever, but that´s not how great things get made. Sometimes, we all need to get projects done and simply finish things up, whatever it may be.

Some of the worlds best albums is recorded and done in between one day and one month.

Edited May 30, 2011 by siliconmessiah

[YOUCOULDBEMINE.]

in all honesty:

Chinese Democracy: 8/10

Shackler's Revenge: 7.5/10

Better: 7/10

Street Of Dreams: 6/10 [The album version should've been like how they played it at Rock in Rio 2001]

If The World: 5.5/10

There Was A Time: 6.5/10 [The 2006 demo was way better than the album version]

Catcher In The Rye: 6.5/10 [Needed more rasp like in the acoustic version they played]

Scraped: 6.5/10 [i prefer the live version]

Riad N' The Bedouins: 6/10

Sorry: 7.5/10

Madagascar: 6.5/10

I.R.S.: 7/10

This I Love: 7/10 [The live version is Axl at his best tho]

Prostitute: 7.5/10 [The outro makes me jizz my pants]

Whole album: 6.4/10

This album needed his raspy voice like in the 3 songs on Bach's album

[wasted]

the songs on CD vary between being completely awesome and being epically awesome. sometimes it's hard to decide which are more awesome than others but needless to say that is very awesome in itself.

[Use Your Delusion]

chinese democracy - 8/10

shackler's revenge -4/10

better - 9/10

sod - 9/10

itw - 4/10

twat - 9/10

citr - 5/10

scraped - 5/10

ratb - 4/10

sorry - 8/10

irs - 7/10

madagascar - 9/10

til - 6/10

prostitute - 7/10

Its not the songs I have a problem with on the whole its the terrible mix, whoever mixed the album needs to put their head in a blender, I could have done a better job. Where's Mike Clink when you need him eh?

Edited May 30, 2011 by Use Your Delusion

[Cosmo]

Chinese Democracy - 8/10

Shackler's Revenge - 6.5/10

Better - 9/10

Street Of Dreams - 6/10

If The World - 8/10

There Was A Time - 9/10

Catcher in the Rye - 5.5/10

Scraped - 5/10

Riad N' The Bedouins- 4/10

Sorry- 6.5/10

IRS - 8/10

Madagascar - 8.5/10

This I Love - 7/10

Prostitute - 8/10

Yeah, that's how good I think is is.

[seely]

My review from a while back:

1. Chinese Democracy: Great, in-your-face rocker, makes for a great start to the album. Mean vocals, great riff, icredible solos, and nice fretless work from Bumblefoot. Lyrics could be a bit better, but all round a great song. 9/10

2. Shackler's Revenge: Short and sweet. Guitar intro is a little off sounding, but the song itself can't be faulted. Very catchy, straight to the point, good lyrics. Not too keen on bumble's solo however.... 8/10

3. Better. All round great, first of the album's many classics. Catchy riff, great lyrics, brilliant solo by robin, and heavy as fuck. Why this wasn't promoted more or given moe attention is beyond me, it's a true modern GN'R classic 10/10

4. Street of Dreams: Very UYI- sounding song. Dizzy and Robin both shine here. Great lyrics from Axl, though the vocals are a little weak at times. One of the more 'instant' songs on the album, IMO. 8/10

5. If The World: One of the most experimental tracks GN'R have done here. Bucket's skill at different styles of guitar come into focus here. Very catchy song, the solo is fantastic. Structurally, a relatively straightforward number, however the depth of the song is impressive. 8/10

6. There Was A Time: Staggering. Easily the best thing on the album here. Epic in every sense of the word. Axl’s lyrics are heartfelt, and powerful. The guitar work amazing. Any doubts as to whether Robin or Bucket were right to fill Slash’s shoes are put to rest here. Robin’s solo is amazing, then along comes Bucket and follows it up with something even more epic. The song is heavy as hell. Brain’s drumming is thunderous, the band is on fire. 10+/10

7. Catcher In The Rye: A great piano ballad, showing the more harmonious side of the band more. Bumblefoot shows he is more than just a shredder guitarist with an impressive solo, better than Brian’s on the demo version, IMO. Great lyrics, piano work, a great song to chill to, and rounds off the first half of the album with style. 10/10

8. Scraped: One of the more industrial numbers. The layers of vocal harmonies at the start are pretty bad, it just doesn’t seem to fit, (IMO of course..). The song itself, when it kicks in, is solid though (despite later returns of the multi-layered vocals of the intro). Uplifting lyrics, cool solo’s and a mean rhythm section holding it all together. Lyrics are great to motivate yourself and as a big ‘fuck you’ to any haters or doubters. 7/10

9. Riad N’ The Bedouins: A strange number. Cool, atmospheric, if slightly long intro. The main riff is beastly, and Tommy’s bass groove is unforgettable, one of the songs where he really gets to shine. The lyrics are strange and nonsensical, but Axl’s delivery is good, reaching some of his highest notes on the album. A solid, instant, catchy number. 8/10

10. Sorry: Haunting, moody, atmospheric, strange. Lots of words can describe this song. The best ones are simply that it kicks arse. There is an eerie ambiance to the song. Bucket’s solo is hauntingly memorable. A great set of lyrics, sort of a more mature version of 'Get In The Ring'. Unforgettable choruses, heavy and thunderous guitars. One of the best of the album. 10/10

11. I.R.S.: solid, punchy number. It grows with time. More of an industrial feel, but sleazed up a lot credit to Bumblefoot. The lyrics are mean and aggressive, the last verse is venomous, topped off with an incredible scream from Axl, backed by a shredding, skilful solo from Buckethead. Solid and powerful. 9/10

12. Madagascar: Along with 'If The World', probably the most experimental song on the album. Gloomfull, scene-setting French horns introduce the song, followed by Axl’s lyrics of forgiveness, sorrow and despair. A solid solo from Buckethead underplays the montage of quotes and speeches memorably. The drumming is great here. Simple, but unforgettable. 10/10

13. This I Love: Axl's masterpiece. The darker, evil sister of Street Of Dreams and Sweet Child O' Mine. Axl's capabilities on Piano are demonstrated wonderfully here. Passionate, deep lyrics, and Robin's amazing solo overplays an incredible instrumental part. These two minutes alone are two of the finest on the whole album. Axl’s screaming of the final chorus towards the end, and the final verse are some of the finest performances he’s ever given. The song is, put simply, incredible. 10/10

14. Prostitute: IMO, the most underrated song on the album. The lyrics seem to deal with a range of topics. They're a message to the fans, his naysayers, former lovers and band-mates all at once, but all in different ways. The whole band comes through to shine here. Heavy as sin, and epic as hell. The final two minutes fade the album out beautifully. Someone once described listening to the ending as imagining Axl walking down a long, long corridor, finally leaving through the exit at the end, forever. A pretty accurate description. If this was the final bit of studio work to come from Guns, this would be the best ending we could have wished for. Just behind 'There Was A Time' for best song on the album. 10/10

Overall album revew: 10/10

[Towelie]

My review from a while back:

1. Chinese Democracy: Great, in-your-face rocker, makes for a great start to the album. Mean vocals, great riff, icredible solos, and nice fretless work from Bumblefoot. Lyrics could be a bit better, but all round a great song. 9/10

2. Shackler's Revenge: Short and sweet. Guitar intro is a little off sounding, but the song itself can't be faulted. Very catchy, straight to the point, good lyrics. Not too keen on bumble's solo however.... 8/10

3. Better. All round great, first of the album's many classics. Catchy riff, great lyrics, brilliant solo by robin, and heavy as fuck. Why this wasn't promoted more or given moe attention is beyond me, it's a true modern GN'R classic 10/10

4. Street of Dreams: Very UYI- sounding song. Dizzy and Robin both shine here. Great lyrics from Axl, though the vocals are a little weak at times. One of the more 'instant' songs on the album, IMO. 8/10

5. If The World: One of the most experimental tracks GN'R have done here. Bucket's skill at different styles of guitar come into focus here. Very catchy song, the solo is fantastic. Structurally, a relatively straightforward number, however the depth of the song is impressive. 8/10

6. There Was A Time: Staggering. Easily the best thing on the album here. Epic in every sense of the word. Axl’s lyrics are heartfelt, and powerful. The guitar work amazing. Any doubts as to whether Robin or Bucket were right to fill Slash’s shoes are put to rest here. Robin’s solo is amazing, then along comes Bucket and follows it up with something even more epic. The song is heavy as hell. Brain’s drumming is thunderous, the band is on fire. 10+/10

7. Catcher In The Rye: A great piano ballad, showing the more harmonious side of the band more. Bumblefoot shows he is more than just a shredder guitarist with an impressive solo, better than Brian’s on the demo version, IMO. Great lyrics, piano work, a great song to chill to, and rounds off the first half of the album with style. 10/10

8. Scraped: One of the more industrial numbers. The layers of vocal harmonies at the start are pretty bad, it just doesn’t seem to fit, (IMO of course..). The song itself, when it kicks in, is solid though (despite later returns of the multi-layered vocals of the intro). Uplifting lyrics, cool solo’s and a mean rhythm section holding it all together. Lyrics are great to motivate yourself and as a big ‘fuck you’ to any haters or doubters. 7/10

9. Riad N’ The Bedouins: A strange number. Cool, atmospheric, if slightly long intro. The main riff is beastly, and Tommy’s bass groove is unforgettable, one of the songs where he really gets to shine. The lyrics are strange and nonsensical, but Axl’s delivery is good, reaching some of his highest notes on the album. A solid, instant, catchy number. 8/10

10. Sorry: Haunting, moody, atmospheric, strange. Lots of words can describe this song. The best ones are simply that it kicks arse. There is an eerie ambiance to the song. Bucket’s solo is hauntingly memorable. A great set of lyrics, sort of a more mature version of 'Get In The Ring'. Unforgettable choruses, heavy and thunderous guitars. One of the best of the album. 10/10

11. I.R.S.: solid, punchy number. It grows with time. More of an industrial feel, but sleazed up a lot credit to Bumblefoot. The lyrics are mean and aggressive, the last verse is venomous, topped off with an incredible scream from Axl, backed by a shredding, skilful solo from Buckethead. Solid and powerful. 9/10

12. Madagascar: Along with 'If The World', probably the most experimental song on the album. Gloomfull, scene-setting French horns introduce the song, followed by Axl’s lyrics of forgiveness, sorrow and despair. A solid solo from Buckethead underplays the montage of quotes and speeches memorably. The drumming is great here. Simple, but unforgettable. 10/10

13. This I Love: Axl's masterpiece. The darker, evil sister of Street Of Dreams and Sweet Child O' Mine. Axl's capabilities on Piano are demonstrated wonderfully here. Passionate, deep lyrics, and Robin's amazing solo overplays an incredible instrumental part. These two minutes alone are two of the finest on the whole album. Axl’s screaming of the final chorus towards the end, and the final verse are some of the finest performances he’s ever given. The song is, put simply, incredible. 10/10

14. Prostitute: IMO, the most underrated song on the album. The lyrics seem to deal with a range of topics. They're a message to the fans, his naysayers, former lovers and band-mates all at once, but all in different ways. The whole band comes through to shine here. Heavy as sin, and epic as hell. The final two minutes fade the album out beautifully. Someone once described listening to the ending as imagining Axl walking down a long, long corridor, finally leaving through the exit at the end, forever. A pretty accurate description. If this was the final bit of studio work to come from Guns, this would be the best ending we could have wished for. Just behind 'There Was A Time' for best song on the album. 10/10

Overall album revew: 10/10

Awesome review mate. I agree with pretty much all of it (except for the praise you gave If The World).

[loko]

+ 1

except ITW 9/10

and CITR 7/10 (demo was better, had some kind of magic touch)

[Kosonen]

Chinese Democracy .......8/10

Shackler's Revenge ..... .5/10

Better ...................... .7/10

Street Of Dreams ....... .7/10

If The World................8/10

There Was A Time ..... .8/10

Catcher in the Rye .......6/10

Scraped .................... 7/10

Riad N' The Bedouins.... 8/10

Sorry........................ ..8/10

IRS - ..........................2/10

Madagascar .................4/10

This I Love ................. 9/10

Prostitute .................. 7/10

[JayceAce23]

Here's my updated version of a review I posted awhile back....** denotes I updated the rating/comments

C.D.- Whipsaw riff, Axl turns in a solid vocal and some strong lyrics here. Still felt was missing the hook though. 7/10

Shackler's- It took awhile, and many listens---but this has grown on me---originally rated it 5.5---but I think I "get it" abit more now. The slithering snaking riff and the layered vocals are cool. Pounding rhythms, and insane guitar work----good song, still sounds a bit Zombiesque to me, albeit a bit jumbled -6.75/10**

Better- Sing song intro segues into a driving Illusions meets 2000's riff then segues into some of the craziest shit I never expected to hear from GNR. It all works masterfully. Axl's lyric of "This melody inside of me still searches for solution" was worth the price of admission alone. 9.75/10

Street of Dreams- Heartfelt, Emotional, Great guitar with alot going on. Very good song, but not on par with Nov. Rain or Don't Cry IMHO. Stands on it's own as art, doesn't compare to the classics, but it doesn't have to. 8/10*

ITW- Never saw this coming musically. I loved the demo of this song, and I loved the finished product even more. James Bond meets Javier the flamenco guy @ Foxy Brown's place. Blaxploitation groove & The rolling AM radio effect is sweet! The last guitar run to close the song with the riffing over the top is such a cool moment for me. 8/10

TWAT- Truly wall to wall jam packed song. Never did it for me the way it did it for some, but can't argue with the attention to detail and effort put in here. 8/10

Catcher- A spritely, epic jaunt that touches on Elton & Queen. Definitely Axl, Definitely solid. 8/10

Scraped- Not a Huge fan of the opening, and it took a few listens, but this one grew on me--The pounding rhythms and manic intensity is pretty sweet. Solo is one of the highlights to me. 8.5/10*

Riad- Finished version surprised me. Good production, again a bit jumbled for me. Overall decent but again felt that it was missing that certain hook"y" ness of GNR big guns past. 7.5/10

Sorry- Floyd meets Sabbath @ Axl Rose's house. A biting, vivid piece of art. 9.75/10

I.R.S- Sleazed up riff, good groove. Felt the lyrics were a bit weak here.. (and Axl's one of my favorite lyricists of all time!) 7.75/10**

Madagascar- Epic in it's scope, for me it fell short. The music is done well, just felt jumbled to an extent. 5/10*

This I Love- This song is one of the most soul-baring pieces of music I've heard--It took balls to put this out . One of those songs that makes you feel what the person who wrote it felt. Axl's vocal on this piece was fucking heartwrenching. Definitely stands up with NR, Est, & DC. 10/10

Prostitute-This song has grown on me a great deal. A snap to the drums and overall feel of the song that is fairly uncommon these days. Captures a feeling nicely. Fire & Ice IS a good description. 8/10*

Overall, I give the album as a whole 8/10. Wasn't revolutionary, and didn't change the world as some had hoped. It was ambitious, bombastic, and an entertaining, adventurous musical journey. However-based on some of the moments on this record I, like many others don't think Axl has showed his hand quite yet in terms of releasing his best work. In fact I would bet that he hasn't. THAT is pretty exciting. Despite not generating the hoped for buzz.....

Chinese Democracy proved one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt-----love him or hate him---NO ONE makes music quite like Axl Rose.

[betterman]

Its not the songs I have a problem with on the whole its the terrible mix, whoever mixed the album needs to put their head in a blender, I could have done a better job. Where's Mike Clink when you need him eh?

You have to be kidding, right??

This is one if not the best mixed "mainstream" album this century and is the best example of not sell your soul to the loudness-war-devil!

[Chewbacca]

CD: 9/10

Shackler's: 7/10

Better: 11/10

SoD: 8/10

ITW: 6/10

TWAT: 10/10

CITR: 10/10

Scraped: 8/10

RATB: 6/10

Sorry: 8/10

IRS: 9/10

Madagascar: 7/10

TIL: 8/10

Prositute: 9/10

As a whole: 8.8/10.0

[W. Axl Kev]

Good review. Agree with the majority but my favourite has to be Prostitute.

[bumblerose]

Chinese Democracy: 7/10 Shackler's Revenge: 8/10 Better: 8/10 Street Of Dreams: 6/10 If The World: 6/10 There Was A Time: 9.5/10 Catcher In The Rye: 7/10 Scraped: 6.5/10 Riad N' The Bedouins: 2/10 Sorry: 7/10 Madagascar: 7/10 I.R.S.: 7/10 This I Love: 7/10 Prostitute: 8/10 Whole album: 7.5/10

Rhiad was a terrible song which I never listen to. Some of the songs like catcher are great but sounds messy and overproduced. Scraped is catchy but don't like Axls weird voice thy changes into strong voice, plus you can hear a glitch here and there in the sound. Took me a while to like Shaklers but now I love it. Street of dreams is ok buying think I overheard it when the leaks were out and sorta lost interest. There was a time is epic and buckets parts are amazing. Prostitute should be the next James Bond Theme tune.

[Matt13]

Here's my track by track review:

1. Chinese Democracy Great, powerful, atmospheric opener. I love the crunchy Nirvana-esque guitar riff, the grungey vocals and the whole production. 9/10

2. Shacklers Revenge My favourite song on the album. The tempo is infectious, both the rhythm and lead guitar are out of this world, Axl's vocals are tremendous and Ron's tapping on the final chorus is just insanely good. Excellent track. 10/10

3. Better What an opening trio, this song had hit written all over it. It's ridiculously catchy with a stellar vocal delivery from Axl and a very tasty solo from Robin. 10/10

Street Of Dreams This reminds me of something that would be on UYI. Beautiful, mournful lyrics, great melody and lovely piano. A highlight. 9/10

If The World Well, every album has a dud, and this is Chinese Democracy's. Sounds like a bad Bond theme. 3/10

There Was A Time Epic track, although it does tend to drag on. I don't see the point in three guitar solos. Just let Bucket do the whole thing and cut it down by a minute. 7/10

Catcher In The Rye I love this one. This song reminds me of The Beatles, especially with the "na na na" parts. There's a real melancholly to this track which makes it stand out from the rest. Bumblefoot's guitar at the end weaves perfectly with Axl's stunning third and final verse. The whole "on an ordinary day..." part gives me goosebumps. Magic. 10/10

Scraped Like many others, I loathe the opening part, but it kicks in to a pretty fierce riff-laden rocker with motivational lyrics. The last 30 seconds really kicks off, I wish that part was longer. Cool track. 7/10

Riad N' the Bedouins Like a nu-metal cover of Immigrant Song. Kinda fun if you're in the mood, but definately one of the weaker moments on the album. 5/10

Sorry Axl sounds bitter on this and the lyrics really give this song life. Bucket's solo is one of the best on the album too. 7/10

IRS The most straight forward rocker on the album. Insanely catchy with paranoid lyrics, a strong riff and even stronger vocals. Great track. 8/10

Madagascar Dramatic and moody track, with woe-is-me lyrics. Another strong track. 8/10

This I Love Axl sounding like he's writing a song for an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. It takes guts to do something this grand and pompous. A beautiful track with an ill fitting guitar solo. 9/10

Prostitute This is one of the rare subtle moments on the album. Axl's piano in the verses are gorgeous and the vocal delivery is superb. Last 30 seconds is very soothing and a beautiful conclusion to such a mad album. 7/10

Three years ago called. They want their review back.

[Izzyslash]

chinese democracy - 4/10

shackler's revenge - 4/10

better - 5/10

sod - 4/10

itw - 1/10

twat - 6/10

citr - 6/10

scraped - 3/10

ratb - 3/10

sorry - 6/10

irs - 3/10

madagascar - 3/10

til - 4/10

prostitute - 5/10

My current feeling. Fresh for about a month, so dated today.

Compared to other GNR records, i believe i'll even spin TSI? more than this one in the future.

[WhazUp]

CD: 8/10

Shackler's: 9/10

Better: 7/10

SoD: 7/10

ITW: 6/10

TWAT: 10/10

CITR: 10/10

Scraped: 8/10

RATB: 5/10

Sorry: /610

IRS: 4/10

Madagascar: 4/10

TIL: 8/10

Prositute: 9/10

The album is hit or miss for me. I LOVE Catcher In The Rye and There Was A Time but feel like Madagascar and IRS are totally forgettable.

IMO the best feature of the album is the dynamic production. Even though the instruments are all cluttered and the songs are over-saturated with unnecessary sounds and instruments, at least the sounds are dynamic and crystal clear

[star]

Chinese Democracy - Song 5/10 - the strapped onto intro is just.. meh..

Shackler's Revenge - Song 4/10 - sounds like something from a video game..

Better - Song 6/10 - Robin Finck solo 9/10

Street Of Dreams - Song 7/10 - Buckethead 9/10 - Piano 9/10

If The World - Song 7.5/10 - starts off great, then becomes wishy washy..

There Was A Time - Song 3/10 - Guitars 8/10

Catcher in the Rye - 3/10 - Original Brain May Leak 8/10

Scraped - Song 1/10 - how did this ever make onto CD? - they should have scraped it..

Riad N' The Bedouins - Song 3/10

Sorry- Song 2/10 - long, bloated, I feel sorry for this track..

IRS - Song 5/10 - repetitive

Madagascar - Song 8/10

This I Love - Song 7/10 - Robin Finck solo 9/10

Prostitute - Song 8/10 - probably the most balanced track on the album..

Chinese Democracy 5/10

Edited May 31, 2011 by star