Babooshka Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 A lot of CD lyrics are like that. This I Love is the absolute worst. It has such a jarring nursery rhythm melody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManetsBR Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 It's weird to think that this song is already 14 years old. That' how old AFD was when Chinese Democracy started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appetite4illusions Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 The riff is very cool. How awesome was Axl's story behind the meaning of the song, though? Rhiad was Erin Everly's brother-in-law once upon a time. He was also a Snidley Whiplash, mustache-twirling villain. Something out of a Bond movie and he broke bread with some very prominent and important people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babooshka Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) What is so awesome or interesting about that? He was an arms dealer or something. I don't think that backstory added anything. And I don't even believe it. The song is probably about Slash in some way. Edited February 18, 2016 by Babooshka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appetite4illusions Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 It was so bloody bizarre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Boy Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I think Chinese Democracy is a great album! When it was first released, my response was pretty much just 'meh'.... I didn't think it sucked, but the whole style seemed so far removed from original GnR that it was too much of an adjustment to embrace it. But over a long period of time, the songs slowly crept up on me - recently I found to my surprise that one of them would play 'in my head', and I would be like what's that..? Oh shit it's off Chinese! So now I listen to it, or at least the first part especially, CD, Better, Shacklers, Street of Dreams, TWAT etc, and the songs are actually really good, the whole album deserves a lot more credit than it was ever given. But it was always going to be under rated given the circumstance. But I think given time now, it has been musically vindicated. I even move around a bit and pull a crunchy 'rock face' when the songs are cranked, lol. Anyway - one thing occurred to me about how I, and others, initially gave the album a luke warm reception. I'd forgotten that I had exactly the same feeling when UYI came out. I distinctly remember getting home excitedly and putting UYI 2 in the cassette player, pressing play, on comes Civil War and the rest, and I was like.. "wtf is this shit? It's nothing like Appetite.. what's with the pianos.. sounds like soft rock.. blah blah".... but soon enough UYI is a classic. Not in the vein of AFD, but classic in its own way (ok with quite a few fillers.) But looking back at the whole catalogue, it's obvious to me now that all of the albums are amazing in their own respects. So in summary, I think Chinese is definitely a 'grower', and yes it can be regarded as excellent musically, and perhaps classic. And I say I'd never thought I'd say it because my favourite sound/era of GnR is the exact opposite, the pre-AFD fast punk type tracks, Reckless Life, Shadow of Your Love and so on. And now we have (some of) the boys back together.. (hold your breath lol.) So nevermind the negativity, I'm fuckin stoked to be a GnR fan, it's good times for us *hopefully, haha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNRfanx6 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Well I was one of those people who downloaded every single leak that came out. So by the time the album dropped I was already very familiar with the material albeit some small changes. I loved the album the second I heard. If it sounded like AFD I would have been upset. I already bought that album. I want something new and fresh. Axl even said in an interview that he tried to recreate the AFD sound but it just sounded dated. Which is exactly true. You must change with the times or become a has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackieloveless Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I think Chinese Democracy is a great album! good for you , did you really need to create a thread to say that . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I can understand that it's not for everyone, like all things. But I didn't love the album upon the first play through, it took a a few listens. I didn't like dark side of the moon or The Wall the first time either, after a few spins things started to pop out and I started finding songs that I started to really like. Didn't like Shacklers at first, that intro was jarring, now!? I love the song, Better, Street of dreams etc. great songs CD is not a 10/10 record! it has flaws, but it is a good album, and it's probably the gnr record I listen to most... but I'm not saying it's the best guns album or anything like that! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Boy Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) GnR fan x 6 - Yeah I hear you. Although, when I heard the first Velvet Revolver tracks, Slither and so on, my first thought was, oh that's what I would expect a GnR record to sound like. As much as CD is an amazing piece of music, it doesn't have 'grab you' riffs as such, hence I think it's a grower. But I totally get that for Axl, the progression of his music has necessarily been the way it has, with CD being the culmination of his broad musical influences. Even before UYI came out, he said in interviews "I just want to bury Appetite" and "I don't want to live my life through that album." Yet 30 years later AFD is basically his legacy in the public eye, and he's spent the last 15 years opening with WTTJ almost every show.. so yeah I think he should be given the support he deserves on his own musical journey, and CD. If there's one thing to be said for GnR - in all its incarnations - it must be that it is one heck of a musically versatile band. I've made this point to people who scoff and say 'GnR were/are shit'. Even someone who doesn't like their music can't actually deny that they were/are musically diverse. Edited February 20, 2016 by Nice Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Nice Boy Posted February 20, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted February 20, 2016 19 minutes ago, blackieloveless said: I think Chinese Democracy is a great album! good for you , did you really need to create a thread to say that . ^^ Get that guy outta here. That guy right there. Are you listening to me Mr.Security man? That guy. Gone. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Boy Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) 33 minutes ago, Tom2112 said: I can understand that it's not for everyone, like all things. But I didn't love the album upon the first play through, it took a a few listens. I didn't like dark side of the moon or The Wall the first time either, after a few spins things started to pop out and I started finding songs that I started to really like. Didn't like Shacklers at first, that intro was jarring, now!? I love the song, Better, Street of dreams etc. great songs CD is not a 10/10 record! it has flaws, but it is a good album, and it's probably the gnr record I listen to most... but I'm not saying it's the best guns album or anything like that! Yes mate I feel exactly the same about Shacklers, i used to think it was wack, now i even love the disco/house type hi-hat drum pattern on the chorus, "donn't ever, try to tellll me..." it's just my luck i've started to actually appreciate cd just as its 'era' is over, ha. Edited February 20, 2016 by Nice Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackieloveless Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 ^^ Get that guy outta here. That guy right there. Are you listening to me Mr.Security man? That guy. Gone. hahaha , great answer I gotta give it up for that ..... as for security I just bought another ticket . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR DOOM Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 It's not a great album. The live performances and leaks of the songs we heard before the album dropped are all way better than the abominable album versions. Therefore I cannot agree that it is a great album, even though I like or even really like most of the songs (but not as presented on the album) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSoRose Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Man, I love all the final versions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 There is a lot of variety and that's great. On one hand all the changing styles/productions could be jarring or it's just entertaining. The way the first 7 tracks are ordered you go from high energy rockers through mid tempo songs to full epics. That's why I find it hard to stop listening to it. I'll admit after Catcher I'm done. So I often start with Scraped and those 7 tracks are great too. Chi dem, If The World, Scraped and Madagascar are probably my most played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskerTornado Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Enjoyed it in the leak days, the album release, and now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) It's timeless for me. I know that cause I've been listening to some of these tunes in some form for 10 years now. The album versions are great. 2 things that bother me is Oh My God didn't make it, (but maybe it will feature on the remix album) and the Catcher studio version that I love, but I just think the demo had like a 70's vibe to it and with May's (Axl and Caram) lead work it was magical. A whole album with that sound would have been very interesting. (and without the tape hiss) You can hear in the leaks they basically tried everything. Like in the 2006 leak of Twat, Robin sustains the last note of his solo (mid song) for much longer. Loved it. It's gone. All in all, if you like varied productions, 90's influences, and drama, Chinese delivers. It does feel like half an album though. Like UYI ended with Coma, and Chinese with Prostitute, but it's like a fake ending. Edited February 20, 2016 by Rovim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnfnrs1972 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I like all things GNR. Thanks to the Internet I have most of their stuff that would have been impossible to find otherwise. Chinese Democracy is my favorite GNR album ...... mostly because I had listened to their other albums for so long something new was refreshing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Cnut Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I've never understood how Chi Dem was soooo far removed from the GnR sound, it's really not, Chi Dem is an attempt at a WTTJ type opener, The Blues is a moderner version of your November Rain Estranged type ballads, for all the chat about it being 'experimental' (though no one apart from people on GnR forums really call it that anyway) it's pretty much a one man attempt to make a GnR album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Jay Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Chi Dem sounds like It's So Easy with the in your face punk riff, and You Could Be Mine at the end. It has that dark vibe over the chinese flag with flames. It's a very colorful album. Shackler is kinda blue. Better is definitely green, SOD is more of a blue-pink redish, ITW green-yellow, TWAT black-grey-purple, Catcher yellow, Scraped red, Riad black and blue, Sorry red, IRS yellow, Madagascar black green, TIL black purple, Prostitute indigo. That make the cover looks like If The World, Madagascar and Better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swedish Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 On 2016-02-20 at 2:31 AM, Nice Boy said: I think Chinese Democracy is a great album! When it was first released, my response was pretty much just 'meh'.... I didn't think it sucked, but the whole style seemed so far removed from original GnR that it was too much of an adjustment to embrace it. But over a long period of time, the songs slowly crept up on me - recently I found to my surprise that one of them would play 'in my head', and I would be like what's that..? Oh shit it's off Chinese! So now I listen to it, or at least the first part especially, CD, Better, Shacklers, Street of Dreams, TWAT etc, and the songs are actually really good, the whole album deserves a lot more credit than it was ever given. But it was always going to be under rated given the circumstance. But I think given time now, it has been musically vindicated. I even move around a bit and pull a crunchy 'rock face' when the songs are cranked, lol. Anyway - one thing occurred to me about how I, and others, initially gave the album a luke warm reception. I'd forgotten that I had exactly the same feeling when UYI came out. I distinctly remember getting home excitedly and putting UYI 2 in the cassette player, pressing play, on comes Civil War and the rest, and I was like.. "wtf is this shit? It's nothing like Appetite.. what's with the pianos.. sounds like soft rock.. blah blah".... but soon enough UYI is a classic. Not in the vein of AFD, but classic in its own way (ok with quite a few fillers.) But looking back at the whole catalogue, it's obvious to me now that all of the albums are amazing in their own respects. So in summary, I think Chinese is definitely a 'grower', and yes it can be regarded as excellent musically, and perhaps classic. And I say I'd never thought I'd say it because my favourite sound/era of GnR is the exact opposite, the pre-AFD fast punk type tracks, Reckless Life, Shadow of Your Love and so on. And now we have (some of) the boys back together.. (hold your breath lol.) So nevermind the negativity, I'm fuckin stoked to be a GnR fan, it's good times for us *hopefully, haha This is so extremely accurate! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lies They Tell Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 On 18.2.2016 at 8:04 PM, Babooshka said: What is so awesome or interesting about that? He was an arms dealer or something. I don't think that backstory added anything. And I don't even believe it. The song is probably about Slash in some way. Damn some of you are stubborn with the "It's about Slash" mentality. Honestly I don't think even one song on the album is about Slash. Even Sorry makes more sense when you know it's about the media. The thought that Axl would lie so blatantly about Erin Everly's brother-in-law is pretty far-fetched. Seriously, wouldn't you think someone would expose his lies immediately if he was telling such lies about other people. Why would he even lie about it? Because you want the song to be about Slash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philipm787 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I just listened to the whole of Chinese again, and even though I'm a staunch supporter/lover of classic Guns, I genuinely like the album. There are bits and pieces that I think are truly mind blowing that I absolutely love (Better, TWAT, Sorry, Madagascar, Catcher), but there are also parts that I also think are truly awful (If the world, scraped, Rhiad), also some of Axls singing is slightly painful. I think the album really needs 3-4 listens before you can really appreciate it or even contemplate reviewing it. I think Chinese is the evolution of where Axl wanted to go with his music/sound, and whether that should have been under the title Guns N'Roses is a whole other discussion. I think the album could have done with a couple of Slash solos and Izzy's simplicities, but then it wouldn't have been an evolution of Axl's sound would it. Axl is going back to his old partners in crime now as the Chinese era as a whole was a failure and he knows now that no matter what he does, Classic Guns will always be in the fans hearts, and rightfully so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6lake sa66ath Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 On 3 February 2016 at 2:23 PM, maynard said: Lol at the stolen intro Can you clarify what this is all about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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