Let's just say the expectations are a little high.
Thirteen years is a good majority of most of our lives, and nearly all of us have never seen $13 million. Somehow, possibly the most expensive album ever made hasn't fazed Axl Rose or the rest of the guitarists he's managed to employ -- some who perhaps dreamed of playing with Guns N' Roses as a child.
The once-thought myth "Chinese Democracy" has been a long time coming and is available exclusively at all Best Buys across the nation. As if it's not hard enough making your way through this time of year, Roses' personally-crafted baby was set to be delivered this November. Rose and the rest of the fabricated gang strive for flawlessness on this one, and I'm sure they understand they may experience fan fallout with anything less.
Front man Rose's infamous neurotic and obscure behavior has not gone unnoticed. Can one man's vision and a truckload of money satisfy the general public? I suppose when I mean general, I mean those of us who enjoy GNR in doses. And there's a big shadow looming overhead. The band's 1987 release, "Appetite for Destruction," has sold in excess of 28 million copies and the band has collectively sold an estimated 100 million albums worldwide. Without the swagger of Slash (check out his Godfather theme cover on the Use Your Illusion World Tour on YouTube) and the chemistry of the Guns N' Roses we all knew, what is there to expect?
I wonder what Velvet Revolver thinks.
Enough about the inputs -- let's get into the music. I will try my best to assume the album title is a tad more facetious than Rose may intend it to be. Rose was right about one thing: The album sounds modern -- but not necessarily in a good way. Ex-Psychedelic Furs guitarist Richard Fortus and Ron Thal make their case with their shred work. But I feel Rose's interpretation of "modern" may be an outdated and stale rap-rock anthem to the rest of us.
General casual listeners may be offset by the pulp 70 minutes of self-reflexive tracks. The good news is that some scraps of the old GNR are retained. "Better" is a good example of the unsullied GNR that most of us are used to.
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Forget all the wait and expectations. Is it a good record? Yes. I actually did buy the vinyl and CD. I like every song, more and more every time I listen to it. The point is that no hard rock band has been able to achieve what Guns N' Roses has achieved since the old Guns N' Roses. There are no new hard rock bands that can generate that much excitement. I don't think we should hold Axl's new band to that standard either. This is better than anything I've heard in a long time. If you don't like it go buy The Killers or some rap.
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