Chinese Democracy and Other Stuff
Inundated with new music! Monday saw me picking up a copy of Chinese Democracy by Guns N Roses. I just had to hear what so much money spent on recording an album would sound like. The answer? It “sounds” awesome. The production is top notch. Sonically it’s a treat to listen to…and there’s lots of nifty things going on in the mixes and with editing and effects to keep a guy like me entertained for days.
But that only takes you so far, doesn’t it? What about the songs, you ask? Well, it’s a tough question to answer. What bar are you holding them up against? What are the criteria? Against the massive breakout success of Appetite for Destruction….it doesn’t stack up that well. Against the epic Use Your Illusion discs, it fares better…in some ways Chinese Democracy seems to extend that milieu, that more rounded, pop informed kind of hard rock gone commercial. Against the expectations that over a decade of delays and announcements necessarily set? Well, personally I think it’s a good solid record. A few tracks suffer from being over-produced. Too much time in the incubator as they say… It seems to be a festival of mouseclicks and button pushing rather than a really deeply written album. That said, how deep can one expect a GnR record to be? Point taken. Axle’s voice is in great form for the most part, and as one of those distinct voices that owned the airwaves for so long way back when, I almost found it nostalgic to hear him again. I suspect many will find this the whole hook of the album.
I think it’s a great solo album, and maybe the only thing that bugs me is that it doesn’t sound anything like Guns N Roses ought to sound. Not that they can’t evolve in that sound, but lets face it…. there is no GnR anymore… and this album confirms it. I bet is sells bucket(head) loads though…….
I also picked up the new Mudvayne album, “The New Game”. This band fascinates me. L.D.50 and The End of All Things to Come are brilliant records, seriously pushing the edges of musicality and musicianship, heavy and brutal, yet somehow beautiful in both. Then Lost and Found came out, and it was boring and uninspired. The band had succumbed to the machine of pumping out the types of tunes that seemed to sell their records….and I lost interest quickly. The New Game is a return to their intense start, and I’m relieved. On the other hand, I wish this band, a juggernaut of massive talent, would focus some of its energy on trying new things.
Lastly, I received my Deluxe package of Steven Wilson’s “Insurgentes”. Wow. WOW. I love Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson, and this album is blowing my mind. Perfectly mixed and produced, it’s a sweeping sonic journey…incredibly dynamic and huge. What a great artist. And the book it comes packaged in, full of photos from his travels around the world making this record…..awesome. It inspires my packaging thoughts for my own album. I love it!
Happy listening, yo!
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