What do you think of Chinese Democracy?

The Batlord · 01-21-2016, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Affect is the verb. Effect is the noun. Learn to English, dumbass.

When did I use either word?

grindy · 01-21-2016, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

When did I use either word?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

...an artist still has a creative affect on the world around them...

^

The Batlord · 01-21-2016, 03:13 PM

Oh, dear god, no!

Basil C. Thurston III · 01-21-2016, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoNtrivedNiHilism

Heard way worse 'comeback albums' from other bands. Also heard a lot better. Album for me had some enjoyable songs, If The World being my favorite and showcased that Axl could still use his voice in a powerful way.

But I'll let people keep talking about how a band isn't relevant anymore but somehow manages to pull in huge revenue with touring once in a blue moon. If people didn't care. Nobody would show up to the shows. It may have took Chinese Democracy a few good years to do it, but it's still a platinum selling record. So stick that in your know it all blow holes and spin on it.

The way people look at a bands relevance in the world here on the forum is just odd. Does anyone even know what it means and how to apply it to a band, or anything??? You don't think they have importance so you file them away in irrelevance? Doesn't make sense. Want an example of a proper way to apply irrelevance to a band? Poison. A huge band for a period in the 80's fizzled out in the 90's, then died slowly in the 2000's with spurts of success here and there before people stopped caring enough to keep them around. That didn't happen with GNR, in whatever incarnation Axl Rose resurfaced the band in. You just can't say a band isn't relevant anymore until the demand for them to tour or make any music it all is just plain and simple, gone. The figure of money thrown and Axl and Slash for this somewhat of a classic GNR reunion is ridiculously huge. Irrelevance does not bring forth a check like that folks. That is one hundred percent relevance right there.

GNR, the newer version, toured every year between 2011-2014, and sold very well, in fact being named touring act of the year by classic rock mag in 2012 (for 2011) if I recall correctly. The U.S. shows I went to during that period all sold out, and scalpers were getting paid serious bucks. The Euro tours sold out- almost every venue. So they have been "relevant" in regards to touring for the majority of the 2010s. "Blue moon" isn't correct, sorry.
Don't waste time arguing relevance- it's a meaningless term. has nothing to do with the quality of the music or the performance of it. Nada.

oscillate · 01-23-2016, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basil C. Thurston III

Don't waste time arguing relevance- it's a meaningless term. has nothing to do with the quality of the music or the performance of it. Nada.

I found Chinese Democracy to be well-intentioned, but you can hear a lot of overthinking in the production. I wouldn't be surprised if they had half a dozen versions of each song.

The Batlord · 01-23-2016, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscillate

I found Chinese Democracy to be well-intentioned, but you can hear a lot of overthinking in the production. I wouldn't be surprised if they had half a dozen versions of each song.

I think half a dozen is a pretty small number for your average major label release. Twelve dozen might be more accurate.

oscillate · 01-23-2016, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I think half a dozen is a pretty small number for your average major label release. Twelve dozen might be more accurate.

I meant half a dozen of each song of fully mixed versions. I'm sure there were more 'half finished, let's try this direction' versions that didn't get that far. Then again, I don't know anything about major label production so maybe you're right.

CoNtrivedNiHilism · 01-23-2016, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I think half a dozen is a pretty small number for your average major label release. Twelve dozen might be more accurate.

Well. This is Axl Rose we're talking about here. There were more likely a couple dozen versions of each song. If The World was the best executed and most accomplished song on the entire album. So I can only imagine the amount of different version it had before he was satisfied.

Basil C. Thurston III · 01-23-2016, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscillate

I found Chinese Democracy to be well-intentioned, but you can hear a lot of overthinking in the production. I wouldn't be surprised if they had half a dozen versions of each song.

If we are to believe the rumors, 9 of the songs were finished pre-2000.And then re-finished again by 2002, 2003, 2007 and so on. Remember, an actual album was readied for submission to Geffen, Black Frog & Uzi a number of times, so that means, as you said, final mixes for each version exist. How much was changed each time is unknown, and I imagine at some point they will leak out and give us an idea of the process. Again, the rumor is that Axl was influenced over the years by styles of music then becoming popular- like grunge, like alt-rock, like emo, and he then incorporated those flavors into the mixes, for better or worse. We don't really know if the original mixes were the usual raw and rough GNR sound, the more processed later work, or something totally new to begin with.

BeatlesPepper · 09-20-2017, 12:24 PM

The actual substance of the album is pretty good i.e the lyrics, the melodies. But the production and timbres of the instruments completely ruin it. Axl's voice sounds like its been filtered through windows '95 and the widdly-woo guitar tone on most of the solos is headache inducing. It's a breath of relief any time a piano breaks through the hundreds of layered tracks. What made Appetite (and other bands like Oasis when they first came out) so refreshing was how unashamedly traditional rock n' roll they were. Chinese Democracy is Axl trying to fit the GNR sound through a dozen subgenres that were all long done with by the time the album came out.

09-20-2017, 12:24 PM	#40 (permalink)
BeatlesPepper Groupie Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 4	The actual substance of the album is pretty good i.e the lyrics, the melodies. But the production and timbres of the instruments completely ruin it. Axl's voice sounds like its been filtered through windows '95 and the widdly-woo guitar tone on most of the solos is headache inducing. It's a breath of relief any time a piano breaks through the hundreds of layered tracks. What made Appetite (and other bands like Oasis when they first came out) so refreshing was how unashamedly traditional rock n' roll they were. Chinese Democracy is Axl trying to fit the GNR sound through a dozen subgenres that were all long done with by the time the album came out.