My Review of Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

I was tentative about what to expect from the first album from Guns since the departure of all the original members, with the exclusion of Axl Rose, since it was Axl's desire to make the music of Guns more industrial and electronic which lead to former lead guitarist Slash, who wanted to keep GN'R to its bluesy hard-rock roots, leaving Guns.

I must admit, I was surprised by some of the tracks, some of it are so typically old-school GN'R, that you can just imagine Slash and Co. jamming alongside Axl. However, I could really tell what it is that makes GN'R sound like no other, and it's Axl's writing of the song structures. Some tracks, like Streets of Dreams reveal Axl's penchant for piano-driven epic rock ballads, reminiscent of past epics like November Rain and Estranged. However, the lack of some really hard, raw bluesy guitars on this album really highlights the absence of Slash. There is no single track which has a distinctive, lead-guitar intro like that on Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O' Mine. And I really miss the tone of Slash's guitar, which is just so uniquely... Slash! Axl uses a combination of guitarists here including Buckethead, Robin Finck, Bumblefoot and Paul Tobias, and while they do a decent job, with Buckethead particularly outstanding, NONE of them can play with 'feel' like Slash can. It's alright for Buckethead to shred at Godspeed on the guitar, but to shred WITH 'feel'? No one outdoes Slash. Plus the tone! Again, there is the absence of THAT 'Slash' tone, with all the guitarists not having their own unique tones. And Slash IS the reason why I picked up the guitar in the first place at 15, having grown up listening to Guns since Kindergarten... and that is why Slash is my favourite hard-rock guitarist.

Axl's voice is still outstanding though. He sounds as young as ever. You wouldn't know it's been almost 2 decades since Guns last released their last album, Axl's voice still has that raw, grating edge on the heavier stuff and smooth, creamy soprano on the ballads, AND the ability to let rip a primal scream which no one except maybe Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, can pull off... and that is why W. Axl Rose is my favourite male rock vocalist.

Here, is my pick of the album. It's not often that I hear a song that immediately makes an impact on me on the 1st listening, usually they grow on you over time. But this track is just too beautiful, too typically... Axl. A haunting piano ballad, melody-wise, vocal-wise, and lyric-wise, it just melts me. I close my eyes and listen....

Guns N' Roses - This I Love

Song Words by Artist / Band : Guns N' Roses (GN'R)
Lyrics Title : This I Love
Writer : Axl Rose
Available on Album : Chinese Democracy
Released : -
Music Genre : Piano Rock

And now I don’t know why
She wouldn’t say goodbye
But then it seems that I
Had seen it in her eyes
And it might not be wise
I’d still have to try
With all the love I have inside
I can’t deny

I just can’t let it die
Cause her heart’s just like mine
And she holds her pain inside
So if you ask me why
She wouldn’t say goodbye
I know somewhere inside
There is a special light
Still shining bright
And even on the darkest night
She can’t deny

So if she’s somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There’s no one else could ever make me feel
I’m so alive
I hoped she’d never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I’ve searched the universe and found myself
Within’ her eyes

No matter how I try
They say it’s all a lie
So what’s the use of my
Confessions to a crime
Of passions that won’t die
In my heart

So if she’s somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There’s no one else could ever make me feel
I’m so alive
I hoped she’d never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I’ve searched the universe and found myself
Within’ her eyes

Guitar Solo

So if she’s somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There’s no one else could ever make me feel
I’m so alive
I hoped she’d never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I’ve searched the universe and found myself
Within’ her eyes

And now I don’t know why
She wouldn’t say goodbye
It just might be that I
Had seen it in her eyes
And now it seems that I
Gave up my ghost of pride
I’ll never say goodbye

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Read that Axl Rose got his inspiration for this song from a Russian song from the soundtrack off Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Check it out... they sound remarkably similar!