Hello there,i just read this article about the most anticipated album of the year,'Chinese Democracy' by Guns N' Roses. Their previous album,'Use Your Illusion II',was released 13 years ago.The album was released worlwide on 23 November 2008 and on 24 November in UK.It is released under Geffen and sold 261000 copies in the first week,well below expactations although it debuted on #3 on billboards top 200.
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band,formed in Los Angeles,california in 1985.The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since their formation. The band has released six studio albums, two EPs and one live album during their career.
The original members of Guns N' Roses is Axl Rose(vocals),Slash(Lead guitar),Izzy Stradlin(Rythm Guitar),Duff Mckagan(Bass) and Steven Adler(Drums).Their most succesfull album is their debut album,'Appetite For Destruction' released in 1987.It features the song 'Sweet Child O' Mine', which by most guitarists is noted as one of the biggest classic tunes in the history of rock music.The band continued doing well after Appetite For Destruction. During the late 80s and early 90s Guns N' Roses carried the tag of 'The Most Dangerous Band in The World'.They were the best example of 'Sex,Drugs and RocknRoll'.The downturn in their succes came in 1992 when rythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin left the band.Stradlin was often seen as the silent one in the "most dangerous band in the world," and this became a lot more noticeable during the 1991 "Use Your Illusion" tour. Stradlin didn't travel with the band anymore. He, his Swedish girlfriend Annica Kreuter (whom he later married in 2000), and his dog had a private bus that took them from show to show. He commented further that this had to do with his efforts in remaining sober while being around people still drinking and using drugs. Stradlin has also mentioned that after Adler's firing, he felt that Matt Sorum's sound "didn't work" for the band, and that Adler was essential to the band's sound. Also, it's been noted by Axl and Slash that Izzy was simply not having fun with the band anymore, and no longer enjoyed it.Izzy was replaced by Gilby Clarke.The sound of the new material changed alot because besides Axl,Izzy also contributed in lyrics writing.The band could not work anymore. Matt Sorum the replacement of Steven Adler left soon after Izzy.In 1994 Duff and Slash also decided to leave. This was a big blow to the music industry as Slash was known as the sole of Guns N' Roses.
Axl Rose was the only remaining original member and he recruited musicians to join him and reform a new Guns N' Roses. Most of the fans had stopped attending live shows after Slash's and Duff's departure.This is one of the reasons why it took 13 years to make one album.
The album is banned in the People's Republic of China, reportedly due to supposed criticism in its title track about the Government of the People's Republic of China and a reference to the Falun Gong. The Communist government said through a state controlled newspaper that it "turns its spear point on China".According to reports, G’N'R fans in China have blocked from the album’s official website and can’t use their search engines to find “Chinese Democracy.” Whether this countrywide firewall of the terms “Chinese Democracy” predates the album is unclear, but the band’s MySpace page with its full album stream is still accessible. “This is the first time we’ve heard about it,” a Ministry of Culture spokeswoman said regarding a possible ban. “I don’t know if they’re banned or not. It might be a rumor.”
There's no point in comparing Chinese Democracy with the output of the old band. The new album, for all creative purposes, is a Rose solo album. It's not for the band's old fans, but for a new generation. It's re-invention, Guns N' Roses in name only, a marquee marketing ploy and a hedging of bets.
What Chinese Democracy represents, beyond self-indulgence of epic proportions, is one man's attempt to make a really good rock album that breaks from his musical past -- and it achieves that. There is nothing at all about the album's first two songs to sonically connect it in any way with the old GNR.
Rose even sings much of the album in a lower register rather than his trademark howl-and-screech. Chinese Democracy is interesting, as curiosities come and go, but there is nothing to distinguish it. It truly is a well-used illusion. If listened to with no pretext, without all the hoopla, it's just another decent album -- nothing more. It can't even be performed live in a manner that will resemble the album. With few exceptions, the disc is nothing but buff, forgettable songs.
This what a fan commented on youtube,"Guns N' Roses 2008 has dug its own grave -- and, fittingly, there's only one Rose to mark its passing."
ROCK IN PEACE
-Rishab
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band,formed in Los Angeles,california in 1985.The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since their formation. The band has released six studio albums, two EPs and one live album during their career.
The original members of Guns N' Roses is Axl Rose(vocals),Slash(Lead guitar),Izzy Stradlin(Rythm Guitar),Duff Mckagan(Bass) and Steven Adler(Drums).Their most succesfull album is their debut album,'Appetite For Destruction' released in 1987.It features the song 'Sweet Child O' Mine', which by most guitarists is noted as one of the biggest classic tunes in the history of rock music.The band continued doing well after Appetite For Destruction. During the late 80s and early 90s Guns N' Roses carried the tag of 'The Most Dangerous Band in The World'.They were the best example of 'Sex,Drugs and RocknRoll'.The downturn in their succes came in 1992 when rythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin left the band.Stradlin was often seen as the silent one in the "most dangerous band in the world," and this became a lot more noticeable during the 1991 "Use Your Illusion" tour. Stradlin didn't travel with the band anymore. He, his Swedish girlfriend Annica Kreuter (whom he later married in 2000), and his dog had a private bus that took them from show to show. He commented further that this had to do with his efforts in remaining sober while being around people still drinking and using drugs. Stradlin has also mentioned that after Adler's firing, he felt that Matt Sorum's sound "didn't work" for the band, and that Adler was essential to the band's sound. Also, it's been noted by Axl and Slash that Izzy was simply not having fun with the band anymore, and no longer enjoyed it.Izzy was replaced by Gilby Clarke.The sound of the new material changed alot because besides Axl,Izzy also contributed in lyrics writing.The band could not work anymore. Matt Sorum the replacement of Steven Adler left soon after Izzy.In 1994 Duff and Slash also decided to leave. This was a big blow to the music industry as Slash was known as the sole of Guns N' Roses.
Axl Rose was the only remaining original member and he recruited musicians to join him and reform a new Guns N' Roses. Most of the fans had stopped attending live shows after Slash's and Duff's departure.This is one of the reasons why it took 13 years to make one album.
The album is banned in the People's Republic of China, reportedly due to supposed criticism in its title track about the Government of the People's Republic of China and a reference to the Falun Gong. The Communist government said through a state controlled newspaper that it "turns its spear point on China".According to reports, G’N'R fans in China have blocked from the album’s official website and can’t use their search engines to find “Chinese Democracy.” Whether this countrywide firewall of the terms “Chinese Democracy” predates the album is unclear, but the band’s MySpace page with its full album stream is still accessible. “This is the first time we’ve heard about it,” a Ministry of Culture spokeswoman said regarding a possible ban. “I don’t know if they’re banned or not. It might be a rumor.”
There's no point in comparing Chinese Democracy with the output of the old band. The new album, for all creative purposes, is a Rose solo album. It's not for the band's old fans, but for a new generation. It's re-invention, Guns N' Roses in name only, a marquee marketing ploy and a hedging of bets.
What Chinese Democracy represents, beyond self-indulgence of epic proportions, is one man's attempt to make a really good rock album that breaks from his musical past -- and it achieves that. There is nothing at all about the album's first two songs to sonically connect it in any way with the old GNR.
Rose even sings much of the album in a lower register rather than his trademark howl-and-screech. Chinese Democracy is interesting, as curiosities come and go, but there is nothing to distinguish it. It truly is a well-used illusion. If listened to with no pretext, without all the hoopla, it's just another decent album -- nothing more. It can't even be performed live in a manner that will resemble the album. With few exceptions, the disc is nothing but buff, forgettable songs.
This what a fan commented on youtube,"Guns N' Roses 2008 has dug its own grave -- and, fittingly, there's only one Rose to mark its passing."
ROCK IN PEACE
-Rishab
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