Through all of the speculation and ridicule, I always figured we'd get to hear the new Guns N' Roses album at some point. These days, it seems like everything that ever gets recorded is so meticulously documented and channeled through so many people that something as high-profile as this would have nary a chance of completely disappearing, even if the project were to be put on hold or "scrapped" altogether. In fact, I'd put pretty good money on both "scrapped" and "on hold" as catchphrases for "Democracy" at various points during its development, and here we are.
So, what's the story? Over a decade has passed since the last remaining original members of Guns N' Roses decided that Axl was too much of a Jujyfruit even for the ridiculous money they were pulling in. Without his bandmates for the first time since the mid-eighties, the frontman persevered, retreating to the recording studio and setting to work on what was sure to be the magnum opus, the Big Shot To The Head that proved once and for all that: 1.) Axl Rose was a genius; and 2.) You don't f*** with genius, man.
Time passed, and soon rumors of a happy reunion with Slash and the boys dried up. There were no developments from the studio except for vague assurances every so often from Rose that something "big" was underway, and that we would have something to hear "soon." Months faded into years, years became a decade, and some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. The productive (if eccentric) Rose ceased to be what he once was, and became something of a bedtime story, a cautionary tale to aspiring singer-producers - this is what happens when you allow a single-minded obsession to take hold of you.
Rose retreated further and further into his hillside home, spending countless days and nights at the controls, tinkering with what he was now convinced was the Most Important Work of All Time, the One Album that would win the hearts of men and rescue real Rock music from the ashes of the post-grunge backlash that led to the resurgence of boy bands and hip-hop's takeover of popular culture. He spoke in riddles, coyly suggesting that "Chinese Democracy" was nearly ready for the masses. Meanwhile, band members came and went, leaving small impressions on the project but unable to wrest from Rose's grasp what had gradually become his most precious possession and most far-off pipe dream.
One day, Axl emerged from his hillside studio, and the world saw what obsession can do to a man. He carried a master tape in his mouth, and demanded that his record company barter for raw meat and several millions of cans of Dr. Pepper. He looked like this:
All that aside (and I hear they're now searching Burger King dumpsters in Reseda for some reason), is it any good? You know, parts of it are actually pretty awesome. When he is back in full-on Howlin' Axl mode, Rose's voice is as great as it has ever been. Not expecting anything whatsoever from the record, I was quickly put in my place within 30 seconds of the opening strains of the title track (which also opens the album) when Rose's "Appetite"-era scream gave me just the slightest tingle. Had he really done it?
As I got further into the album, each new track begged me to hate it and then totally sucker-punched me with an unexpectedly memorable hook or some of the best honest-to-goodness nuts-in-hand guitar soloing I've heard in years (no, folks, Slash is not missed). Even signatures of Axl's mental, erm, transition (such as an inexplicable Eastern European accent taken on for much of a verse) give off more of an Endearingly Crazy and Rather Interesting Guy vibe than a Wow, I Hope That Crazy Guy At The Bowling Alley Didn't See Me Looking At Him thing. This is Axl at his weirdest and most excessive, and often we come out better for it. Most interesting of all is "If The World," a slinky string-accented creeper so directly lifted from every 007 theme song ever that I actually Googled the song afterwards to see if it had been considered for one of the Brosnan Bond movies.
Are there missteps? You bet. Rose seems to have put nearly all of his melodic energy into crafting perfect choruses, often at the expense of the rest of the song. Also, each track is so elaborately layered and produced, and so complicated to listen to, that it is easy to get lost in the elements of each production. At times, it is possible to forget that we are meant to be, very simply, listening to a rock band play songs. And, there just isn't anything simple about "Democracy." In the end, just listening to each song had become so tiring that I was desperate for the record to be over with - by the eleventh or twelfth song, the weight of production, instrumentation, and concept just becomes too heavy for the record to endure.
Of course, there is harmony to be found in excess, and the very things that can make "Chinese Democracy" frustrating can be rewarding as well. Just as the bloated triumph Use Your Illusion kind of sucked but was awesome too, "Democracy" ultimately succeeds as proof-positive that Rose is still capable of producing interesting music. With each successive listen, new things (both good and bad) are discovered about the record. This can make it hard to really get to what the crux of what an artist is saying, but can also help bring the repeated rewards that help good albums endure. In any case, and unquestionably, in whatever form the band takes Guns N' Roses sounds quite unlike anything else out there. And, shocker, the music seems to be relevant even today. As I type, the record has streamed over 5 million times in the Vortex of Youth Culture itself, Myspace.com.
If nothing else, the finished version of "Chinese Democracy" functions as a fascinating historical document of a recording that is truly the product of several different eras of popular music. Within individual songs, we hear classic 80's "shredding," prog-lite string sections, drums influenced by the "industrial" metal of the early 90s, and modern ultra-compressed production techniques. Even Axl Rose sounds on some songs as if overdubs were done years apart from each other. To not only know that this record is the culmination of over a decade of what we've heard was constant revision but to be able to hear it in the recording itself makes the whole thing worth it for me. It's a weird, ridiculous, excessive, glorious thing. Welcome back, old man.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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