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Re: Chinese Democracy now $1.99
It's up to them what they do of course, I just feel its a shame when an album as good as CD was comes out so quietly. They're great songs.
No, they aren't - not as released at least. There's one great song, a couple good songs (maybe) and a bunch of filler that was thrown together. There's nothing amazing outside of TWAT on the album. There just isn't. It's a decent album that isn't up to GnR standards. All the promotion in the world wasn't going to save this album. It was doomed years before they released it.
- mickronson
- Rep: 118
Re: Chinese Democracy now $1.99
I have to agree with buzz, again. It's not that great bar a couple of songs which could have been better. This isnt gnr the band, this is just gnr the brand, much like The Drifters.
Re: Chinese Democracy now $1.99
Soon after the record came out he could've done any number of shows in the States and not have been considered a sell out, it would've given him a cooler rep to boot;
Fallon, Colbert, Conan, etc.
Fallon's show didn't exist back when CD came out. Kimmel would've been a good substitute. All the rock acts seem perform on there, including Slash.
I was actually kind of suprised that Axl didn't AT LEAST do a spot on Kimmel. I thought I remember Andy Gould being tied somehow to production on Kimmel's show.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Chinese Democracy now $1.99
monkeychow wrote:They're great songs.
No, they aren't - not as released at least.
I disagree with that.
In terms of "as released" - well I think the studio version of "Double Talking Jive" absolutely sucks compared to the kickass way slash played the outro it during the UYI tour. Hints of it are on the album but not the real magic.
Then there's the fade out at the end of nighttrain on AFD.
Or contraband from VR. Goods songs - that are not captured all that well in the recording. Slash is playing the solos in that shit live now at least twice as cool as the studio cut IMO.
So yeah...I know people compalin that the album version of a song like Madagascar 'looses something' compared to the essenance of the song we saw at like RIR3 - but I also think that's not all that unusual for GNR type material. But that doesn't mean the songwriting isn't good.
There was a Time, This I love, Street of Dreams, Madgascar and Catcher in the Rye are amazing songs.
And it fails me how people love UYI songs and hate Chinese. Not that I don't also love UYI. But they just arn't that different.
A song like Breakdown is really not all that different from Catcher.
Street of Dreams is the same kind of work as Don't Cry or Yesterdays.
I understand people miss the slash influence and the whole naming debate - but on a pure songwriting level - the songs are very good - and I really don't see that they're all that different from historical GNR songs, it's not like there's been a drop in songwriting standard.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Chinese Democracy now $1.99
You just need to raise your standards, that's all. If those songs are amazing, the album takes off with Axl twiddling his thumbs.
I'd be interested to see your standards applied to old GNR though.
Song writing wise I think there are masterpieces in the back cataloge...
But there's also songs that are not as good as Chinese. Some of those have great peformances that save them...but I just think it seems like when people look at chinese democracy all of a sudden every song has to be genius
or the album sucks...
but then it's fine for UYI to have a "You Aint the First" or a "So Fine" or lies to have "Used to Love Her" - which are all songs I enjoy - but songwriting wise they're far below Madagascar or Catcher to me.
Which isn't to say chinese over all is better or worse than any other release...just that the good songs on chinese take their place with the good songs on other GNR records.
