In 1991 the Minnesota Twins won the World Series; the Louisiana governor’s race included a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard; former Soviet states declared their independence; and Nintendo released the Super Nintendo. In other words, we’ve come a long way, baby.
Looks like someone forgot to tell Axl Rose.
Chinese Democracy is the group’s first album of new material since 1991’s double-entendre-laced Use Your Illusion double-release. And even though only Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed remain from the group’s halcyon days, Democracy is still being marketed as a Guns n’ Roses album, and it sure as hell sounds like one. A little too much so.
Let’s be honest: after seventeen years of hype, this album was screwed from the get-go. Everyone wants to hear that traditional Guns n’ Roses sound they’ve missed while starting and finishing their entire schooling career, but at the same time Axl can’t possibly release “just another” G n’ R album. Look at the trouble George Lucas had with The Phantom Menace after 16 years of waiting—or what the five-year gap after Pinkerton did to Weezer. Finding that balance isn’t easy for anyone (good luck with the next My Bloody Valentine record, Kevin Shields!).
All that aside, approaching Chinese Democracy from a straight-up “is it enjoyable?” standpoint still doesn’t provide too much. Rose’s once-risqué lyrics sound goofy in 2008, and the only modifications he’s brought to the band’s sound include the words “post-grunge.” The particularly awful “Street of Dreams” draws from Styx—my mom’s favorite group—and at times sounds like the Dracula opera from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Sure, Democracy offers a few badass moments, but is it worth digging through 74 minutes of bloated navel-gazing? I tried, at least twice, and I’d say no. And all I got was this bottle of Dr. Pepper.
Voice’s Choices: “Street of Dreams “
