I can’t believe it. Guns N’ Roses is finally releasing the long awaited ‘Chinese Democracy’ on November 23, 2008. MySpace is currently streaming the album in its entirety – which I’m listening to now. Axl sounds good…at times great and sometimes not so good…and the band is tight – with some excellent guitar solos. Even if you’re just mildly curious, it’s worth checking out. There’s certainly a mixed bag of music, and I’ve found myself listening to some of the songs more than once to get a better feel for them.

Guns N’ Roses on amazon.com

Chinese Democracyon amazon.co.uk

Opening track “Chinese Democracy” has a cool intro, and rocks out with cool vocals – Axl sounds great, using the lower register of his voice.

The vocals are questionable on “Better”.

There’s a mix of the old, familiar “Axl voice” from the days of ‘Appetite for Destruction’ and ‘Use Your Illusion’ throughout ‘Chinese Democracy’, and a more… theatrical … voice, like on piano based “Street of Dreams” and “This I Love” – which includes a great guitar solo, and dare I say – a harp? Are they the new “November Rain”? Wow – “If The World” grooves with a fat bass and a mix of funk, rock, contemporary jazz feel, an electric Santana/Slash-like guitar solo, an acoustic spanish-like acoustic guitar solo, and a soulful, high pitched vocal delivery by Axl. Hmmm. Different. I’m undecided on this one. There’s A LOT going on here. I *think* it could grow on me.

“Scraped” is a strong rock track. It has that old school Guns N’ Roses feel with catchy backing vocals. At times, “Sorry” is somewhat reminiscent of Pink Floyd, with its dark mood and lyrics. I like the laid back groove – with spanish style acoustic guitar subtly played throughout, and a beautiful electric guitar solo. Not sure about the vocal delivery during the first verse, but sounds much better as the song goes on. There’s even some whistling tucked back in the mix toward the end of the song, which brings back memories of “Patience”, however the song sounds nothing like it. This could be another grower. Actually the more I listen to it, the more I like it – and – according to information on Wikipedia, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, a longtime friend and supporter of Axl Rose, recorded backing vocals on “Sorry” at Electric Lady Studios, which is interesting, considering I’m a huge Jimi Hendrix fan (Electric Lady Studios was created by Hendrix).

I’m sure for those who sit down with this album and really take it all in, there will be a good mix of opinions regarding favorite and least favorite tracks. It certainly makes for good, maybe even heated, discussion, especially amongst old school Guns N’ Roses fans.

The entire album probably won’t be streaming on MySpace for long, so this is a great way to preview the album before you buy – if you decide to buy, that is.

It’s hard to believe that ‘Chinese Democracy’ is actually released. Whether it’s any good or not, could this have been the most anticipated album in the history of rock music? Has the fire burned out or has it been worth the wait?

Chinese Democracy Track Listing:

1. Chinese Democracy
2. Shackler’s Revenge
3. Better
4. Street Of Dreams
5. If The World
6. There Was A Time
7. Catcher N’ The Rye
8. Scraped
9. Riad N’ The Bedouins
10. Sorry
11. I.R.S.
12. Madagascar
13. This I Love
14. Prostitute

Guns N’ Roses MySpace

Guns N’ Roses Official Website

By: Jenny May