Chinese Democracy

Performer: Guns N' Roses
Engineer: Chris Pittman; Al Perrotta; Jan Petrov; Vanessa Parr; John O'Mahony; James Musshorn; Jeremy Blair; Critter; Shinnosuke Miyazawa; Joe Peluso; Christian Baker; Bryan Mantia; Isaac Abolin; Justin Walden; Greg Morgenstein; Jose Borges; Andy Gwynn; Brian Monteath; Erich Tabala; Xavier Albira; Dror Mohar; John Beene; Paul Payne; Dave Dominguez; Dizzy Reed; Donald Clark; Eric Caudieux; Bob Koszela; Jeff Robinette; Mark Gray; Ok Hee Kim; Pete Scaturro; Rail Rogut; Sean Beavan; Shawn Berman; Axl Rose; Billy Bowers; Billy Howerdel; Paul DeCarli; Dan Monti; Stuart White; Caram Costanzo
Producer: Chris Pittman; Eric Caudieux; Sean Beavan; Axl Rose; Caram Costanzo
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Additional personnel: Roy Thomas Baker. Audio Mixers: Mike Scielzi; Paul Saurez; Andy Wallace; Axl Rose; Caram Costanzo. Like the hard-rock equivalent of Brian Wilson's SMILE, Guns N' Roses' CHINESE DEMOCRACY was one of the greatest records that never was--a project more fable than fact, more speculation than actualization. Created over 15 years with countless producers and musicians, the album often seemed as if it would remain forever mired in the swamps of Axl Rose's legendarily unpredictable personality. When the disc finally did appear, the musical landscape had changed so significantly that many wondered if Rose's fans even still cared. What the faithful got for their undying loyalty may not have been classic GnR, but it was an unquestionably powerful slice of enigmatic, genre-pushing hard rock which retained some the group's famously rebellious attitude. Sonically, CHINESE DEMOCRACY benefited from its long gestation period by incorporating bits of many post-SPAGHETTI INCIDENT subgenres, including nu-metal, electronica, new garage rock, and post-grunge. Luckily, even after all his bizarre, Michael Jackson-like personal travails, Rose lost little of his lyrical bite, shooting back at disbelievers with the fervor of a much younger and hungrier artist, leaving admirers wondering if perhaps the best was still yet to come.

Rolling Stone (p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record. In other words, it sounds a lot like the Guns n' Roses you know." Rolling Stone (p.90) - Ranked #12 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "[I]t is audacious and unhinged..." Spin (p.46) - Ranked #39 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "[I]t's no less idea-stuffed than USE YOUR ILLUSION I and II." Spin (p.92) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The music toggles between two primary modes: grinding industrial rock and keys-and-strings balladry." Entertainment Weekly (p.73) - "This is unapologetically huge music....The blistering 'Shackler Revenge' rides a sinister riff to headbanging heaven, while the piano-heavy 'Catcher in the Rye' showcases GN'R at their '70s-aping stadium best." Billboard (p.41) - "The artist is in fine, ever-changing voice throughout, and there's certainly a ton of musical food for thought here, requiring several listens before the nuances are revealed." Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "CHINESE DEMOCRACY reveals itself to be an ambitious, brave and expansive offering." Blender (Magazine) (p.61) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "These aren't songs, they're suites -- hard-rock hydras cut with miasmic industrial grind, stadium-rattling metal solos, electronic drift and hip-hop churn."

While the 1980s Los Angeles rock scene will forever be associated with pretty-boy glam metal, it also spawned Guns N' Roses, one of the most in-your-face, streetwise, and controversial bands of the era. Axl Rose, Slash, & company's roots lay in The Stones, Aerosmith, and The New York Dolls, with a gentle touch of pop-metal edge. The act ruled critics' minds, the pop charts, and MTV in 1988 with the still revered APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION, which included the oft-covered #1 hit "Sweet Child O' Mine." The double-album USE YOUR ILLUSION continued their reign. The original band was slowly replaced, and by the late '90s only Rose remained to annually promise CHINESE DEMOCRACY, which he delivered in 2008, and while it received some critical raves, the album failed to live up to the almost impossible sales expectations.

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