It's been a long time coming, but "Chinese Democracy" is finally coming out. I'll believe it when I see it on the shelves. Supposedly the album comes out on Nov 23rd exclusively at Best Buy. At the beginning of the year Dr. Pepper promised that if Axl released "Chinese Democracy" in 2008, everyone in the United States would get a can of Dr. Pepper. Stay tuned for more details.
The first single since 1999 ("Oh My God" from the "End of Days" soundtrack) was recently released to the airwaves. The single is the album's title track "Chinese Democracy." After hearing the song two or three times all I could wonder is what took so long? The song is good, but it'll definitely be forgotten. It kicks off with random noises and what sounds like talking, possibly in Chinese. From there the song begins to build up with some volume swells and soft guitar picking and then launches into a three chord power riff, followed by an Axl scream that leads right into the first verse.
The song is kind of like a sterile version of "It's so Easy," from Appetite. The verses build up for a huge payoff, but when it gets to the payoff you can't help but feel let down. The highlight of the song is the guitar solo. It is what virtuosos are made of. I don't know that I would go so far as to call Slash a virtuoso, but he is an icon and I'd rather hear him on a Guns N Roses record than anybody else.
It's funny that the album and song are entitled "Chinese Democracy." Axl is clearly trying to be clever with his oxymoronic title, but really he just could have called the album A Guns N Roses Democracy, because over the last 13 years the making of this album has been anything but a democracy.
BYLINE:
Bob Zerull is a frequent movie and concert goer who talks about his ventures to arenas and theaters more than any person should be allowed to do. Now, he puts them down on paper. Email him your thoughts at: bzerull19@gmail.com.
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