As Gunner fans enjoyed songs like “Don’t Cry,” “November Rain,” “Civil War,” “Yesterdays,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “Estranged” and “You Could Be Mine” in 1991, everyone hoped Guns N’ Roses would release another album a year or two later. However, that never happened.
Axl Rose was precise, in one of my favorite Guns N’ Roses songs of all time when he remarked, “just a little patience.” Patience it has been, seventeen years to be exact.
Over the last seventeen years, Guns N’ Roses have endured line-up changes, management hiring and firings, teasers about when Chinese Democracy was going to be released, leakers illegally releasing the album and finally to Dr. Pepper offering a free can of soda if Guns N’ Roses released Chinese Democracy before the end of 2008.
I have even heard rumors from fans that they threatened to boycott purchasing Chinese Democracy if Axl waited any longer. My response is “you are not a true Gunner fan.” Should Axl Rose have released Chinese Democracy sooner? Maybe?
Look at the positive side; Axl has had seventeen years to perfect Chinese Democracy. So welcome to the new jungle, which will be trying to obtain a copy of Chinese Democracy during the anarchy day of Black Friday on November 28th at Best Buy. If you skipped the chaotic scene on November 28th, hopefully you decided to purchase Chinese Democracy on iTunes instead.
Chinese Democracy is not your typical Guns N’ Roses album like Appetite for Destruction or GN’R Lies, so you may be disappointed. However, if you enjoyed the orchestral arrangement of “November Rain” on Use Your Illusion I, then you will definitely enjoy Chinese Democracy. “Street of Dreams,” “There Was a Time,” “Madagascar,” “This I Love” and “Prostitute” are all orchestral arranged.
Once again, the line “what we got here” from the movie Cool Hand Luke makes another appearance on a Guns N’ Roses song but this time it is “Madagascar.”
“Sorry” starts with a guitar riff that sounds like it could be a throwback to the psychedelic 1970’s. Maybe even on the modern movie sequel to Starsky & Hutch?
I enjoyed “Madagascar,” “I.R.S.,” “Chinese Democracy” and “Better” when I was first exposed to the songs back in November 2006 when Guns N’ Roses toured on the Chinese Democracy theme. After listening to the album, my favorites are “Chinese Democracy,” “Better,” “Street of Dreams,” “There Was a Time,” “Catcher in the Rye,” “Sorry,” “I.R.S.,” “Madagascar,” and “This I Love.” I would like to see acoustic versions of “This I Love,” “Better,” “Street of Dreams,” “Catcher in the Rye,” “Madagascar” and “There Was a Time.”
If not acoustic versions of these songs, at least release a new video from Chinese Democracy or the entire video collection from Guns N’ Roses – Welcome to the Videos. I believe they would be very popular with iTunes video enthusiasts.
Finally, if you enjoy songs like “November Rain” from Use Your Illusion I, then definitely give yourself some Chinese Democracy. It is not the typical Guns N’ Roses album that you may be used to listening to, but nevertheless it still is a really good album. It is rumored that Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses have another two albums worth of material. One must wonder what songs were not chosen for this album? If Guns N’ Roses can release Chinese Democracy, and without being too political, maybe China someday can have democratic independence? Maybe I should not say that because I might not be welcome in China like Chinese Democracy. Oh, well! Below is the album song list for Chinese Democracy.
Chinese Democracy:
1. “Chinese Democracy”
2. “Shackler’s Revenge”
3. “Better”
4. “Street of Dreams”
5. “If the World”
6. “There Was a Time”
7. “Catcher in the Rye”
8. “Scraped”
9. “Riad N’ the Bedouins”
10. “Sorry”
11. “I.R.S.”
12. “Madagascar”
13. “This I Love”
14. “Prostitute”
akecker@alwaysacoustic.com
|
Chinese Democracy