Guns ‘N’ Roses
“Chinese Democracy”
Geffen
Notes: Double LP set in a gatefold sleeve

How does one review the unreviewable?

That’s what it comes down to. Guns ‘N’ Roses were once my favorite band – 15 years ago. In that time, I discovered grunge, punk, hardcore, psychobilly and pretty much disassociated myself from the LA hard rock scene, which pretty much perished in the wake of Nirvana. Over the years I’ve dusted off “Appetite for Destruction” and, for the most part, the record still kicks ass.

The same can’t be said for the Illusion collection. What was once my favorite set of CDs that should have been sold together rather than milking me for three week’s allowance, now sounds like a bloated mess of overproduction. Those records pretty much killed the band and some of the best songs on them were not even written by Axl Rose.

Flash forward a decade and a half and Best Buy is actually releasing “Chinese Democracy” – a record that on paper has everything wrong going for it. It’s got a terrible name, rumors of electronica influence, two dozen musical contributors, and – the worst part – full creative control by W. Axl Rose. A man, for all intent and purposes, is still trapped in 1991. Read the rest of this entry »