GNR Evo members' Chinese Democracy reviews thread

Smoking Guns

7.5/10......Compared to music out there today, its great. Compared to back catalogue, worst GNR album not including TSI. Its not organic, its too contrived and a stripped down version of this album could have been classic. Sorry is the best song on the album. Better and CD are really good too.

Will

Good reviews so far guys, keep em coming I'm not listening to the album in full until I own the official disc. Think its out on Monday over here so will pick it up then and throw up a review.

ShoGunslinger

Streaming just now.....

Chinese Democracy: Intense as the very first time I heard it! Great song!
9/10

Shackler's Revenge: Solid effort, but I'm not sold on it yet.
6/10

Better: Another awesome song! Finished product does it much justice over all the demos and leaks.
9/10

Street of Dreams: Towering ballad! Already one of my favorite GnR songs ever.
10/10

If the World: Like it, but it didn't blow me away. With all the talk of it being like a Bond theme, I guess I expected a more clean sound to it.
6/10

There was a Time: I've enjoyed this one since day one. Another where the final product is more satisfying than any demo.
9/10

Catcher in the Rye: My favorite track on the album! It is so much better because I really didn't like it when I first heard it. There's a lot going on there.
15/10

Scraped: The first song I thought of as filler. I've only heard it once as it hasn't had a chance to grow on me yet.
4/10

Sorry: Pink Floyd did come to mind,but then for some reason this one reminds of what should be on the soundtrack to a modern day Spaghetti Western. Enjoyed the vocals comepletely.
7/10

Riad and the Bedouins: Probably my least favorite track so far. I can't put away the initial "Immigrant Song" comparison with the intro vocals.
3/10

IRS: I seem to like this a lot more than many of the EVO posters. Maybe I just like it when Axl lashes out with some paranoia?
8/10

Madagascar: Love it! Love the vocals, the guitar, the dialogue sampling, the sheer epic nature of it!
10/10

This I Love: In my opinion, the worst of the ballads on the album. Too theatrical for my tastes...works good as a Meat Loaf song.
4/10

Prostitue:Way to wrap up the album! Good closing track. Not as epic as Madagascar or TwaT is(either of those would have been excellent to close this CD too.
8/10

All in all this album is all I expected. It is much better than most of the UYI stuff and to compare it to Appetite would not do justice to the years, experiences and maturity that Axl shows on these tracks. Those who are looking for the sex and drugs in their GnR; he's been there and done that. Now, middle aged, Axl has opened himself in these songs and shown the depth that is characteristic of his age. Chinese Democracy is a all I hoped it would be. Thank you Axl, for not compromising.

Smoking Guns

Is my 7.5/10 going to be the lowest rating? Shit. Maybe it will grow on me.

FlashFlood

CD - Always liked it, loves bbf's additions 7.5/10

SR - Best song on the album? No. But this album NEEDS this song - it is the most straight forward on the album, doesnt have any bullshit, and rocks. One of the few lovers of the solo...it is the guitar interpretation of a machine gun mass murder. 6.5/10

Better - Not much i can say about this that hasnt been said. In so many ways such a solid track all around. 8.5/10

Street of Dreams - Beautiful piano work, emotional guitar playing, great outro. Loved this song since i heard it. 8.5/10

If the World - Elements of the song that are great, elements of the song that suck. lets meet in the middle. 5/10

TWAT - Had tears in my eyes when i first listened to this song in demo form. So much about this track is perfect. I'm knocking off .5 points for choir. 9.5/10

Catcher - Some of the best harmony work Axl has ever done. One of the lyrical highlights on the album. Great classic rock feel. 8/10

Scraped - Am i the only person who likes the intro? maybe. This song has my second favorite lyric on the album "All things are possible/I am unstoppable" 8/10

Sorry - Very contemporary. Big highlight on the album for me. So dark, so moving, easy to relate to. Love the guitar work in the chorus. 9/10

Riad and the Bedouins - Another song I have loved since I first heard it. I was dying for a studio version for the longest time. Thanks bucket. 8.5/10

IRS - THANK THE LORD that this version is superior to the demo form. Demo was sooooooo weak. In this song, the ends justify the means...great ending picks the song up. 7.5/10

Madagascar - I have no idea how this song fell so far out of favor with GNR fans. My brother went to the listening party last night with this as his favorite new track...left feeling the same way. Good song, but may not stack up with the rest of the album. 7/10

This I Love - Well I told you my second favorite lyric, and this one has my first. "I've searched the universe/and found myself within her eyes." Some may say corny, yes, but maybe its the context for me. This song is beautiful, I love the simplicity. 9/10

Prostitute - Had doubts about this song as a closer...boy was I wrong. this song, when it follows up This I Love, is unbelievable. It really felt more last night that axl was literally singing to the fans.
"Its Not A Question Whether My Heart Is True,
Stream Line
I Had To Pull Through,
Look For A New Beginning,
On You,
Woah, I Got A Message For You,
Open A Way, Its What I've Got To Do...
Give What You Have, For What You Might Lose"
9/10

i don't know how the math on that comes out, probably like an 8.3 or something, but that is the wrong way to grade this album. what i heard last night, listening to the album in its entirety was an unbelievable sonic experience. so while the critic in me may want to give this album a B, the fan in me can't find a letter that comes before A.

estrangedpaul

So its finally here! What an album - I wish I'd never heard any of the songs and was listening to it fresh again. Oh well, have to make do. I bought it a day early in a shop here in Ireland. I felt nervous buying it. Its so surreal.

I love complexity, I love epic, but I also simple, hard rock, as well as melodic ballads when done right. I'm a guitarist so solos and riffs are important. And some random experimental stuff is also good also. Thankfully, nothing has been compromised - this album has it all. Here is my review song-by-song, solo-by-solo and I also discuss what each song may be about.

Chinese Democracy - The original 2002 bootlegs didn't blow people away, but studio is a different story entirely. And Caram Canstanzos intro is just amazing. It seems to be a bunch of Chinese people (probably rebels) talking and whispering, as if something big is about to happen (a rebellion, or this album). Cool lyrics too, with Axl appearing to use the metaphor of the struggle for Democracy in China to describe his own struggle against authority. He is the rebel here, willing to take as much time to do what he needs to do, in spite of the weight of pressure from everyone else. The only thing other people will never take from him is time, but has he wasted too much of that? The rest of the album will allow everyone to make up their own mind.

This song also provides a great introduction to the lead talents of Robin Finck and Buckethead. Finck's extended bends trademark and Buckethead's unique take on shred combine in a brilliantly melodic way - not typical GnR style, but still fun to listen to.

Song: 7/10
Solos: 7/10

Shackler's Revenge: Weird when first listened to, but does this song grows after a couple of listens. This is the best rocker on the album. So energetic, a wonderful chorus, in particular the bit after the bridge, where it breaks back into the chorus. Its got an energy that so many other rock bands wish they had. Bumblefoot's finest lead moment on the album - his shred works well here. And Brain is on fire in the pre-chorus.

Lyrically, this song may well have been the last song Axl wrote before the album was released. "I got an itchy finger and they'll be hell to pay, I'm gonna pull the trigger and blow them all away", surely refers to the release of the album. Its no surprise it was the first song officially released. This is his announcement: "I'm back," and he can't wait to show everyone what he has been working on.

Song - 9/10
Solo - 6/10

Better - The full-on knock your head off trio of rockers which opens the album concludes with the song that had the biggest impact upon first listen of that 27-second snippet nearly three years ago, and certainly was the one that elevated most fans' interest in the album above a simple curiosity. Although time has eroded that impact, its still unquestionably the greatest riff-fest on the album and without doubt the finest hour of Finck, who wrote the song and also produces his best solo on the album, an ultra-melodic lead that seems to come out of nowhere. Hardly surprising that this song, along with Madagascar, is the one thats changed least over the years.

The song is a straightforward song of heartbreak, the style of which only Axl could pull off without sounding cheesy. Might not be a song that old fans want to listen to a lot anymore, but bound to be a favourite among new fans of this lineup.

Song - 8/10
Solo - 9/10

Street Of Dreams - The intro to this track sounded fresh again, even though this song has been around for a long time. Not the best version of this song by any means. Musically, its a fairly straightforward piano pop affair, however the star here is Axl. Great vocals, which again only Axl could pull off without sounding cheesy. It seems to refer to the loss of innocence.

Just as notable are the solos, again Finck is on fire, and Buckethead shows his melodic side at the end too.

Song - 6/10
Solos - 8/10

If The World - This is a true demonstration of Buckethead's willingness to experiment, but doesn't work as well as could be expected. While in theory, it should have appealed to those fond of the more experimental stuff on the Use Your Illusion albums, this song lack the edge of those tracks. Overall its a decent track that can be fun to listen to, but one of the weaker tracks on here. Buckethead's electric solo is fun and well-structued but composed of generic pentatonic licks, surprisingly for such an experimental song. Much better is the acoustic outro solo, the best part of the song. The lyrics appear too simplisic to refer to anything more than a simple ode to unrequited love.

Song - 5/10
Solos - 7/10

There Was A Time - Does anyone still listen to this first 4 and a half minutes of this song? Just kidding, Axl actually produces some of his best lyrics and
melodies on this song. Robin Finck also continues to shine with a nice solo. But both Axl and Robin are overshadowed by a monster of a solo from Buckethead. Its structured perfectly, the use of repetition reinforces the emotion, there is nothing random here, everything is perfectly placed. This is the moment where everyone stopped caring about Slash no longer being in the band and starting pining for Buckethead.

If this song had been played live in 2002, would the tour still be considered a joke? Would people still make fun of Axl replacing the beloved Slash with
some guy who wore a KFC bucket on his head? Would the tour have been a success? We'll never know. But what a shame we may never get to hear this solo being played live by the original creator.

This is the best ode to lost love on the album - more complex and interesting with some nice imagery and Axl really sounds like he is in emotional agony here.

Song - 8/10
Solos - 10/10

Catcher In The Rye - Perfect as simple piano pop, underscored by the less is more approach of Queen guitarist Brian May. Or so it used to be. What the hell happened? There is guitars trying to follow the piano melody (why), Bumblefoot shreds out of place in the middle and again at the end in the mess that is the outro. Originally this song was the album's "Patience". The sudden change in melody for a brilliant vocal outro which takes over the song and sticks in your head. Now your too busy being annoyed by in-your-face guitar to notice. A shame really, and while other songs on the album are maybe made slightly better or slightly worse with constant tweaking, this one has been the biggest disappointment. Ok, ok, its still a good song, but there is way too much going on to notice. It does receive extra kudos for the nice lyrics about John Lennon's death - a refreshing change from the rest of the album which focuses on unrequited love in the previous tracks, and the paranoia and animosity towards old foes in the tracks following.

Song - 6/10
Solos - 1/10

Scraped - Rubbish intro, and the song isn't much better. Lyrically, its back to the paranoia and animosty again - this is the musical representation of his "there are loads of people who tried to stop me from being here" quote in Rock in Rio 2001. Its quite positive however and seems to be his way of telling people "keep believing, don't ever give up, no matter how many people try to bring you down and stop you". And its not just talk. Chinese Democracy is his way of showing what can happen when you adopt that same attitude. Musically, however, there is nothing particularly amazing going on. Nice solos though.

Song - 4/10
Solos - 7/10

Riad N' The Bedouins - Nice intro, reminiscent of the title track with what appears to be a load of Chinese people saying "Nihau" (hello in Chinese) over and over again. However, this time the song itself is not about the Chinese but some middle eastern nomads, who, this time, are the enemy. What has this got to do with Guns N' Roses? Who cares when the song rocks this hard? Nice hard rock song with some seriously heavy riffs, and its not hard to see why Axl chose this song to play live in 2002 - great headbanger even if its a bit strange. However, Bumblefoot's shred-fest solo sounds like a quick cut-and-paste job. Its a cool solo, but like Catcher In The Rye, doesn't really fit. Sorry to critisize Ron Thal again, because he's a nice boy. But if this album tells us anything, its Nice Boys (Don't Play Rock n' roll)!

Its appropriate that it follows on from Scraped, as yet more people are telling Axl what he can't do but he don't give a fuck about them coz he is crazy!! This is a more angrier put-down than the more positive and care-free Scraped.

Song - 6/10
Solos - 4/10

Sorry - The best song on the album and one of the greatest GnR tracks ever. Musically, its Pink Floyd but even better, it builds and builds into an awesome and heavy chorus that will stick in your head forever and forever. That Buckethead co-wrote this track and fires off a wonderful bluesy solo that would make even the great Slash himself green with envy, further reinforces his importance to this process and the disappointment
he is no longer around.

This is Axl's most direct, venomous assault on his foes; all the media whore references strongly suggest Slash is the victim of Axl's animosity this time. Axl pulls no punches in telling his side of the story. In addition, Axl rejects any feelings of sympathy from his former bandmates. While they may look at Axl and feel he has a loner and a hermit, he sees it differently and has no envy for Slash's media-centred life. Axl wouldn't change a thing and regrets none of his decisions. He even goes as far as to tell his ex-bandmate that "nobody cares about you." Ouch!!!

Song - 10/10
Solo - 9/10

I.R.S. - Nice sleezy rocker, continuing the theme of paranoia and animosity this time possibly directed towards those out to sue him and take all they can. Nice alterations with the quieter acoustic parts which make the heavier parts rock even more. Finck produces two nice solos but is once again over-shadowed by Buckethead's excellent structured shred solo, the highlight of the track.

Song - 6/10
Solos - 8/10

Madagascar - The opening lyrics of this song sum up the album - he's sick of all the things people have done to him - ex-bandmates, ex-girlfriends - as well as what he perceives as the lies and accusations thrown at him by journalists and just about everyone, and now he is going to respond and do something about it. However, this song is less angry and less venomous than the previous four, and seems to leave the door open to reconciliation under the right circumstances. The song title, referring to an island in the middle of nowhere is a metaphor for his feelings of isolation from all his old bandmates and much of society in general. This song hasn't changed much over the years and that just as well as its perfect as it is, and is perhaps Chris Pitman's greatest contribution to the album. The guitar melodies in the chorus are reminiscent of old GnR, with high-pitched lead parts played under Axl's vocals, and definitely has an Estranged feel to it.

The middle solo and the quotes telling a story is awesome, and very unique, not something ever heard before. It is ingenious, although some might argue that using direct quotes from people who were describing the worst effects of war and civil rights struggles as a metaphor for Axl's own personal struggle is a bit over-the-top. However, thats a bit simplistic. Using this sample collage, Axl is descrbing how these people inspired him to stand up for what he believes in no matter how many people leave the cause or compromise, even when he is finally left alone. This fits in with the Chinese Democracy rebellion theme of the album. What Buckethead plays underneath fits perfectly.

It is a powerful song, an epic in under five minutes. If this had been around during Use Your Illusion, it probably would have stretched to at least seven, for better or worse. Perhaps, Axl has taken all the accusations of pretentiousness and over-the-topness on Use Your Illusion to heart. Maybe he has compromised (the longest song on the album is less than 7 minutes, compared to four on UYI II alone). Evidently, accusations of over-production haven't had an effect on the album.

Song - 9/10
Solo - 7/10

This I Love - This is the most mythical song of all and GnR fans must have thought they'd never get to hear it. The first few seconds suggest something
different is going to happen and still sounds like an out-of-place last minute thought. Once the lyrics start, its back to the original theme of the album,
unrequited love, which Axl once again pulls off without sounding cheesy. Good tune. As for the solo, this is one song that is crying out for Slash. Or
Buckethead. What Finck plays is ok, but this was the perfect opportunity to show what he could do and pull of an epic solo.

Song - 7/10
Solo - 5/10

Prostitute - Ignoring the opening line, this is a great song. Contains a great anthemic, sing-along chorus. Wonderful vocal melodies in the chorus and with the light-verse, heavy chorus, its not surprising that Youth considered it a cross between November Rain and Nightrain. Lyrically, this is another brilliant ode to Axl's refusal to compromise, even for lots of money, as so many of his colleagues are accused of having done.

The only disappointment are Buckethead's solos - they are ok, nothing special.

Song - 9/10
Solos - 6/10

Overall, I think the album is incredible; when I listened to it back-to-back for the first time I thought - wow, this sounds so fresh. Some songs have grown on me, some have gotten boring, some have changed for the better, some for the worst. Thats one of the things that make the whole thing so goddamn interesting. Lyrically, the first half of the album is mostly about lost love, and the second half is animosity and paranoia towards his enemies. With some exceptions, mainly Catcher In The Rye, which is a nice, refreshing change. There are no complaints here; this album is what it is; not AFD II, not quite UYI III, although its diversity means it will appeal to old, new and even non-GnR fans alike. In particular this is an album for guitar players, possibly the best in a long, long time. When is the last time you listened to a new album and thought: I wanna learn all those songs straight away?

Average rating of songs: 7.1/10 (applying the highest standards)

estrangedpaul

My God didn't realise how long that was - I have way too much time on my hands!

misterID

Chinese Democracy

A once great song weighted down with needless vocals and guitar. After a few listens its not as bad as it struck me the first time.

rating: 5 Good.

Shacklers Revenge

Much better than the original that floated around. Leaner and meaner. Not my favorite but not bad.

rating: 5 Good

Better

The demo(s) was better. Hate the drum fills. Overall, its a fantastic song but not as great as it was.

rating: 7 Very Good

Street Of Dreams

Lame new title, needless guitar. This song has gone through so many changes and better variations that it baffles me as to why we ended up with this one.

rating: 5 Good

If The World

Fan-fucking-tastic. This was my least favorite of the leaks and is now my favorite. The production and added guitar was exactly what the doctor ordered. I would buy the album for this song alone.

rating: 9.5 Excellent

There Was A Time

Heart breaking. My favorite song as been completely shit on. There is just too much going on and the added cookie monster, deathmetal vocals in the chorus (eerily similar to the song St. Anger) is awful. I dont know what else to say.

rating: 2 Poor

Catcher In The Rye

Fantastic song. Love it.

rating: 8 Excellent

Scraped

Great rocker the album was desperately in need of.

rating: 7 Very Good

Rhiad

Another fantastic song. Great additions including a steller intro. I actually like the Bumble solo as well.

rating: 8 Excellent

Sorry

Very good song. Average lyrics. Could have been better, but the music is great. The highlight is the chorus and ending.

rating: 6.5 Very Good

IRS

What do you know, the exact same "sleazy" guitar that shows up on Chinese Democracy and Street Of Dreams shows up here. The song has been bogged down with more noise. One of my former favortes that's taken a fall.

rating: 4.5 Fair

Madagascar

meh....

rating: 5 Good

This I Love

This took a few listens to get into and I can say for sure that I love it. Very nice, simple broken hearted ballad. Very beautiful.

rating: 8 Excellent

Prostitute

My favorite of the album. One of the best songs Axl has ever written. The added samples in the intro go a long way. Even Bumbles guitar doesn't hurt it.

rating: 10 Classic

Overall, the album is Very Good, not great, not as great as it could have been.

Rating: 7

Over excess isn't the word I'd use... More like Gluttony. And for all this talk about the "sleazy" guitar that sounds exactly the same each time its used... Here's some advice, Axl, if you wanted real sleazy guitar... There's this guy... His name is Slash... Maybe... Give him a ring... If that's what you were looking for this entire time and felt that's what the album needed to be released. Maybe there's a sub conscious thing going on there... I don't know. I'm just as confused.

One thing is, there is no demo hangover; if I had never heard the demos I'd feel the same exact way... Actually, I'm wrong. Without the demos I would be let down on biblical porportions and I would have walked away feeling cheated for actually giving a shit about this album. The demos are this bands saving grace.

Chinese Democracy shows me that this band has been suffering a slow death since the exit of Buckethead. An exit that's had more of an impact than people think. The album has no real identity. Not like the demos had. All in all, this album is a smorgasboard... Reeking of someone who couldn't make up there mind or choose a direction... Of someone who was stuck. Chinese Democracy has flashes of sheer and breathtaking brilliance that sinks under its own weight. This almost feels like a slow suicide... leaving me with more than a touch of saddness.

Where Do You Go Now, Axl? I have to admit, as a disappointed fan, I'm still interested.

Olorin

Scotland now has Chinese Democracy!!

Comin Thro' The Rye - By Robert Burns 1796

O Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!

Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain,
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.

The "pre Brian May 99 demo" original!

What a night, a little birdy told me of a independent record shop selling CD in the city of Glasgow. Thats about 40 minutes from by car on a good day, with no congestion. I only found out at 5.00 tonight and I knew the store closed at 7pm so I thought fuck it, and I left home at 5.15. I actually got most of the way there with no hold ups, but I hit really bad congestion coming into the city centre and was stuck in a jam for about 30 minutes. At 6.45 I started to panic, I was so close to the store but the traffic was a nightmare.
I seen a dodgy looking side street and shot up it and parked up, I would never park anywhere like that normally, especially in my dads car. But this is Chinese Democracy and patience is a long forgotten virtue.
I had about 10 minutes to get there and I ran as fast as I could about a mile through the city centre to get there before closing. 6.58 I arrived, the store was empty and the guy was just chilling behind the counter, they had quite a good selection of rock and metal and I gravitated to the GNR section and sure enough, there it was.
£12.99 I paid for it, I was going to ask if there had been many people in to buy it, but I was too knackered.
I walked out with a huge grin on my face and sauntered back through all the hustle and bustle to the, thankfully, fully intact car.

I slotted it in and set off for home. There is something about the accoustics in cars and vans, when you turn up the volume and get intuned to driving, the music sounds fantastic.
This was suprisingly good, even though I have listened to all the leaks to death and been listening to the latest batch all week - this still sounded fresh.
Its the first time since Oh My God I have heard new GNR material off an official cd. It sounded great! I mean really great! I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed that journey home, and drove around for a while longer than I needed just for the disc to end.

It was really odd, I bought that cd for a mere £12 and halfway home I realised; I didnt give a damn how much money it cost to make, how long it took, how many people came and went from the project, no other original members etc - all the stuff bogging down reviews and influencing opinion.
I had bought this cd for a few pounds and the pleasure I got from listening to it was immense. The music for the most part is outstanding, its a wonderful collection of songs and thats all that should matter. Its cost me very little and gave me a lot. After the long frustrating quagmire thats been the whole Chinese Democracy build up, I think I, and everyone else , has lost perspective in what it actually means just go out and buy a new album and see if its any good.
This album is extremely good, much better than what the bitter politics of the creation process and the familiarity of the leaks would like to have us believe.

Bono

= 1
cool = 1/2

Chinese Democracy - a really good rocker that becomes an average song half way through. Maybe average is a bit harsh but most Gn'R songs seem to get better as they go on. This one starts to sputter after an amazing start.
:mosh::mosh::cool:

Shackler's Revenge - I've actually had to rethink my opinion of this song. In earlier reviews I said it was just noise but it's the only song on the album that I disliked at first but have now started to grow fond of. I think it's got good melody in the chorus, the verses are pretty cool. I actually like this song now
:mosh::mosh:

Better - Awesome. Catchy, fresh, classic Axl vocals. I'm probably in the minority here but the addition of the guitar slide is really cool I think. Also Robin's solo at the end(though short) is wicked. I like this song alot the first time I heard it and it's never grown old.
:mosh::mosh::mosh:

Street of Dreams - This song is the epitomy of cheese. Possibley the worst vocal performance by Axl ever. I can hear the comments from "Joe public" right now. "That sounds fucking gay", "Man Axl sounds like a pussy". Musically it's not much better. It just sounds like suck ass wimpy song. If it wasn't for the "What this means to me is more than I know you believe" this song would be 4:46 of utter cheese and suckiness.

If the World - Awesome. Completely original when you think of what's typical Gn'R. Strong vocals and great musicianship. It's just so unexpected yet it's totally expected. This is the first time on the album where it really hits you that this is a new GN'R and it's not such a bad thing.
:mosh::mosh::mosh:

There was a Time - Almost epic but too messy and it doesn't go anywhere. Way too much production and not good production. Trys to hard. Has it's great moments but drags at times. Nice guitar solo but not something I'm willing to wait 6 minutes for. It's that kind of song that could've been classic but it's "so close yet oh so far" making it average in my opinion and not this "classic" most fans seem to believe it is. I find it boring and that's almost the worst thing I song can be.
cool

Catcher in the Rye - Shit. This song sucks now. Ruined by a classic case of not knowing when to say "enough is enough". Is there a worse produced song in music? How'bout that lame ass piano "shredding"? totally pointless and rather annoying. Bad vocals, stupid na na's. This song would benift huge by being rerecorded with simply, drums, acoustic guitar and vocals(one set not a bunch of fucking layers) but sadly it's easily the low point of the album.
cool

Scraped - Weird. I'm not sure about this song. It's kinda funky but I'm not sure if I like it or if I'm annoyed by it. One listen I like it the other I'm like "this sucks." The intro is completely ridiculous in a very stupid way. Axl's voice changes way too many times. It's like o.k. buddy we get it your voice isn't the same but trying to impress us with 12 diferent voices makes us hate you... well maybe not hate. Pretty much a filler song. :mosh:

Riad N' The Bedouins - A bunch of noise with some good melodies at parts but mostly just noise. Maybe the most annoying song on the album and there are alot of annoying moments so...

Sorry - AMAZING! Best song on the album. Great vocals, viscious lyrics, Awesome vibe it's subtle but hits the hardest of all the songs on the album. For me it's an instant classic. Not much mroe to say. It's brilliant!
:mosh::mosh::mosh::cool:

IRS - Average rocker. Nothing special about it and nothing overly shitty. Pretty much just a filler song in my opinion. Kinda the Bad Apples of the album
:mosh:

Madagascar - Very cool song, but it's kinda run it's course with me. It's got great melody, too bad about the samples. Kinda ruins the song in my opinion. Used to really love this song now I just like it. I think this song might get the widest range of opinions from the average listener.
:mosh::mosh:

This I Love - Awesome. Maybe the most emotionally raw Gn'R song. Great guitar solo(less is more). This I Love has that timeless sound to it that I've never really heard in a Gn'R song before. My brother likes this one and he hates everything so that says a little bit at least.
:mosh::mosh::mosh:

Prostitute - An epic closer. Always liked this song. It's the perfect climax. I can't help but think what could have been with this one though. I just picture how much better it would've been had Axl used a more raspy voice (ala the ending of Estranged) instead in parts where he goes slightly helium. Really the only song where I think to myself I miss his old voice alot. Still an awesomely appropriate way to close the album.
:mosh::mosh::mosh:

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Re: GNR Evo members' Chinese Democracy reviews thread

Re: GNR Evo members' Chinese Democracy reviews thread

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