MySpace gives us Chinese Democracy

I’m back, I’ve been “sicky-woo” for the past week, but unlike our bumbling Facebook friend, I actually was ill with tonsillitis. Now, reviewing music is really not my thing, I tend to leave that to my mate Mat and his crew over at I’m with the band. Having said that, two things have led to this post, the first is my childhood infatuation with Guns N Roses and the second is the fact after 14 years in the making, their new album Chinese Democracy is now available and is streaming on their MySpace page. Another reason is the fact that the Chinese government is offended at the title and will probably block Chinese web users from logging on to listen, but anyway….

As I already mentioned, reviewing music is really not my thing as I tend to be somebody that hears something on radio and takes a liking to it – sorry Mat, I’ve let you down, I know. Having said that, I did have a listen to the album on the band’s MySpace page and thought I’d post up a little review. So here goes. Overall I thought that there was some really good stuff there and the Guns N Roses sound is still there, especially Axl’s vocals.



It’s a bit hard to pass judgment on an album that has been this long in the making after listening to it through a pair or PSP earphones via my PC (nothing wrong with PSP earphones or PCs – I love you both) but I will say that my favourites out of the bunch include: Better, Street of Dreams, Catcher in the Rye and Prostitute. One thing I thought it lacked though, was a kick-ass G’N’R anthem, you know the likes of Sweet Child O Mine, Paradise City, Live and Let Die or November Rain. But, having said that, maybe I just need to buy the album and listen to it really loud on a kick-ass stereo like the old days

MyTake – This is either going to be an act of genius by one of the most prolific song writers in the world, or it’s going to be an unfortunate foot note in an otherwise glittering career. I think that I am going to grow to love this album and like most average punters, as soon as I hear one of the tunes on the radio I’ll love it. Great move by the G’N’R boys for streaming it on their MySpace site, can’t wait for the promotional band wagon to role out the rest of the party