The problem with Chinese Democracy is that I feel like I could tell Axl how to improve every song on the album

[Randy Lahey]

The problem with Chinese Democracy is that I feel like I could tell Axl how to improve every song on the album. Does anybody else feel the same way?

[Facekicker]

The bad stuff is so glaringly obvious I can only come to the conclusion that Axl spent too long listening to it to notice and his employees were to afraid to speak up for fear of losing their pay check.

[WhazUp]

I totally agree. There is quite a bit of stuff I would go in and change.

One of those changes I have in mind would be to simplifiy the arrangments by reducting the amount of layering throughout the whole album so it highlights certain parts and musical sections rather than just being very disjointed (the studio version of Catcher is a big offender of this IMO). Combine this with getting better takes of certain things and I feel like the album would be a totally different animal

Edited October 14, 2013 by WhazUp

[DR DOOM]

Sticking Ron and Frank on there for what appears to be no good reason is a big un, also how come nobody told him his vocal on The Blues sucks compared to 01?

[ARBeast]

The problem with Chinese Democracy is that I feel like I could tell Axl how to improve every song on the album. Does anybody else feel the same way?

The problem with Chinese Democracy is that I feel like I could tell Axl how to improve every song on the album. Does anybody else feel the same way?

No, but I do feel that way about Ashba's solos. And Beta's managing skills.

Edited October 14, 2013 by ARBeast

[SMG]

True.

[RussTCB]

The problem with Chinese Democracy is that I feel like I could tell Axl how to improve every song on the album. Does anybody else feel the same way?

No. I can do that with many albums I've heard throughout history that have been massive hits.

[Rovim]

There is no problem. The album is great, if you're into that kind of music.

No album is perfect anyway. The flaws are there, but I don't think they diminish the experience.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Rovim

[HubbaBubba]

Inb4 get slash and izzy to write the riffs instead. Sigh.

Good point you make. Alot of us feel the same way, probably because it was tinkered with for so long.

There is no problem. The album is great, if you're into that kind of music.

No album is perfect anyway. The flaws are there, but I don't think they diminish the experience.

What kind of music is it tho?

[axlsalinger]

I'd like to hear some specific examples. For example, I know some people will say remove the choral start and end of TWAT, but I like it.

Biggest one for me is the mix on Catcher - I'll bet they probably have like 30 different mixes of these songs, but for Catcher it is basically a great song with a shitty mix.

[Rovim]

I'd like to hear some specific examples. For example, I know some people will say remove the choral start and end of TWAT, but I like it.

Biggest one for me is the mix on Catcher - I'll bet they probably have like 30 different mixes of these songs, but for Catcher it is basically a great song with a shitty mix.

Yeah Catcher was watered down from that classic sounding demo, but It's still a great song to me.

Too much going on, especially in the start of the song and the outro. I like Bumble's outro, but I felt they went for that whole back and forth thing that Axl and Slash did so well together, but here it was more fighting for space with the singing and the guitar.

But it's not a problem imo. If I never heard the demo, it wouldn't bother me as much.

Axl's clean vocals on I.R.S and raspy vocals on Madagascar and Streets Of Dreams come to mind too. I would put clean vocals on Maddy and SOD and raspy on I.R.S but again, not a problem.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Rovim

[HubbaBubba]

I'd like to hear some specific examples. For example, I know some people will say remove the choral start and end of TWAT, but I like it.

Biggest one for me is the mix on Catcher - I'll bet they probably have like 30 different mixes of these songs, but for Catcher it is basically a great song with a shitty mix.

The 'textures' on the final mix of the song cd, especially during the verses. Through headphones there's too much going on.

It'll be a weak song whatever you do, but that's how I'd improve it.

Your avatar always makes me want to laugh. Then cry.

[rocknroll41]

I agree with the OP. I feel like if I were involved with the making of CD and was not a "yes man" who was afraid to step up and say how I feel, I would have said that the record feels over-produced and that the songs need to be recording in a more raw aspect with not too much going on so that the record is easier for people's ears to digest and maybe even easier to relate to.

Edited October 14, 2013 by rocknroll41

[Rovim]

I agree with the OP. I feel like if I were involved with the making of CD and was not a "yes man" who was afraid to step up and say how I feel, I would have said that the record feels over-produced and that the songs need to be recording in a more raw aspect with not too much going on so that the record is easier for people's ears to digest and maybe even easier to relate to.

But that's not what Axl was going for. If you want a raw sounding record, I would look somewhere else. Axl is heavily influenced by Queen and imo, you can hear it in the songs he was responsible for even on the Illusions.

He likes them layers. And the musical layers are a big part of what gives Chinese it's character and charm imo. You always hear something new on repeated listens. It has it's downsides, but to me it seems like the record Axl wanted to create.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Rovim

[axlsalinger]

I've been cranking If the World and Prostitute a lot lately, and when you think about it they really don't sound too busy, they're well recorded and obviously a lot of time was put into them but I don't really feel they're over-produced. Same with Sorry.

[Guest cbgnr666]

I think someone should have told him too leave OTGM,Think about you,My Michelle,Anthing Goes,Your're Crazy off of Appetite and then remove most of the songs from UY2 and combine whats left into a new improved Appetite.

[IncitingChaos]

Axl should have said screw the band and made an acoustic record by himself.

[saber_]

Sorry Randy, but I don't think you're the man for the job. You would put way too many references to movies that really don't make a lot of sense.

[HubbaBubba]

I think someone should have told him too leave OTGM,Think about you,My Michelle,Anthing Goes,Your're Crazy off of Appetite and then remove most of the songs from UY2 and combine whats left into a new improved Appetite.

Take You're Crazy off appetite to improve it....

What I tell yous bout smokin!

[Bobbo]

Naw. The problem is that they're just shit for the most part.

[liers]

Yes....

Get rid of the over production, replace TIL with Atlas, replace ITW with silkworms, replace Better with DJ Ashba's version.

[Rovim]

Yes....

Get rid of the over production, replace TIL with Atlas, replace ITW with silkworms, replace Better with DJ Ashba's version.

We don't even know anything about Atlas. (sound wise)

Edited October 14, 2013 by Rovim

[Gordon Comstock]

I've actually been listening to the '07 demos recently... Damn those were good versions of the songs. I think one of the worst decisions before the record came out was having Ron lay guitar parts on the verses of CD. The demo is way better than the final version.

I think the leaks fucked over the final product a lot more than people realize, not even because we heard those versions of the songs, but because we got attached to those versions. So when the final product had all this extra shit going on, a lot of peoples initial reactions were "no, strip it back down!"

That said, CD is still my favorite record, ever.

[axlsalinger]

Better is an interesting example where it sounds overproduced as hell, like Axl threw everything but the kitchen sink into it, then tossed in a kitchen sink just to be sure. But it all kinda works on that one. Just pretty up the chorus and maybe it's a huge hit.

Also, this is so obvious is amazes me that it wasn't done, but he should have recorded vocals for Ron's acoustic version of Better in 2010, added some extra band instrumentation, and released it as a single.

[wasted]

It's only really on Catcher and IRS where I think it's a bit over down because they are more acoustic grunge tracks. Catcher seems like an epic Lies song but at the same time the subject matter really suits all the Universal Disney Psychedelia. But they are my favorite tracks to play on a stereo.

Edited October 15, 2013 by wasted