Madagascar- Everything about this track just oozes the word EPIC. I can't help but feel this is the sound Axl was looking for on the Use Your Illusion discs but fell short of achieving. Again the lyrics are nothing short of brilliant, there should be crowds of people out in the street right now talking about it. I love the "Cool Hand Luke" audio clips, along with the MLK speech. If you don't get goose bumps from this song you must be a corpse. Thank you for this track Axl, it was worth the wait.
This I Love- A very theatrical themed track, It almost comes off sounding like an outake from Phantom of the Opera. The piano has a certain richness to its sound much like the live version of "November Rain" from the 2 disc live GNR set. The vocals are hair raising with intensity and devotion. This track has the one thing modern rock has never been able to capture, sincerity. No one can plead a case for love like monsieur Rose and this track is no exception. Bravo.
Prostitute- Everything about this track is well crafted, I find myself putting it on repeat quite a bit. It is the story of the album, from beginning to end put to music. I don't think Axl has ever been more honest or sounded more likable in his career. It's just him telling about his life, opening his ribcage to his audience letting them see what he is really made of. If you are a skeptic of the record do yourself a favor take the chip off of your shoulder, put yourself in Axl's shoes and listen to this track. Don't bring your preconceived notions about what the album should be along with you for the ride just let the music be and enjoy it for what it is. It might just make a believer out of you.
People are going to hate on this album because they have been socially invited to hate it by their peers, the media and quite frankly the music industry itself. The problem with modern music and our society is we have become sheep. We go with the flow, leadership, idealism and the value of the individual have all fallen by the wayside in the name of instant gratification and cheap thrill entertainment. We have turned into a generation of faceless, spineless, forum bashing individuals who take everything personally and revel in the idea of anything we can use to entertain ourselves at the expense of someone else's feelings. We are becoming a generation of folks that love to look for reasons to feel sorry for ourselves as a distraction instead of dealing with our real thought and emotions. I think in a way this album is a much needed kick in the pants for our generation as well as our country. It says "never give up on your dreams", and if you keep navel gazing and posting fap threads on 4chan you "need to get it together" before you are 30 and end up living in your parent's basement.
Chinese Democracy the album is in fact like Chinese Democracy the event, it is an event of such great proportions it will take years for the effects to be fully realized, it is that one event that happens in your lifetime, the JFK assignation, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the twin towers of 9/11. For better or for worse it will change you and it will continue to change people and the music industry for years to come. After listening at great length to this disc I have to say other than the "swagger" I really do not miss the old GNR at all, times have changed, minds have changed and music has changed. I highly recommend getting the album on vinyl. The sound quality is fantastic, it sounds like you are in the room with the band watching them jam. Go back to vinyl everyone!!!! Since the introduction of the CD music quality has steadily gone downhill for the last 20 years.
So Axl if you really are sitting at home all alone suffering from anthropophobia, I just wanted to say thank you for releasing this album, the world needed it.
This is absolutely deranged....
How is the release of an album POSSIBLY on par with the fall of the Berlin Wall or 9/11??? If you think the two are in any way related, I honestly feel sorry for you.
And no, people have not been convinced by outsiders that they don't like the album... Some people just genuinely DON'T like the album. It did take 15+ years to come around, but in the end, it's just another album! A pro-tooled mess, in my opinion with some good songs... but nothing more than just another album.
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