Guns N' Roses – Chinese Democracy (Single)

Have you seen that TV advertising campaign for the Chinese Democracy album? I saw it the other day, and whilst adverts rarely make me pay any attention, this one really knocked me back in my chair. In some ways it came across as strikingly pompous, packed as it is with dramatic black and white footage of stuff like tanks rolling around (most likely Tianenmen Square, 1989), Martin Luther King, rocket launches, and so on. When we're told that Chinese Democracy is the "most anticipated album ever", it seems that it's being implied that the album's release later this month will be a historically momentous occasion to contend with the "I Have A Dream" speech and god knows what else. Of course that is a bit pompous, and actually probably not quite what we're supposed to think. But despite that, and despite the various leaks and red herrings over the years ("Oh My God", for example, the much talked-about song from Arnie-vehicle End of Days' soundtrack, in 1999) the release of this first single is still pretty significant. There's no getting around it - Guns N' Roses are a huge band, and it's been a long, long time since they released a proper single."Chinese Democracy" is both the title track (obviously) and opening track of the album. It's interesting to hear how the album itself will start - it's a slow, almost sound collage-esque build up, with muddled Chinese voices and a surreal, quiet, psychotic laugh mingling together. Eventually a prominent but stop-start, indecisive riff comes in - it's like unsuccessful attempts to start up an engine that hasn't been run for a long time. When the song finally explodes into life, it's an undeniable rush - Axl Rose's stabbing screams are as impressive as ever. In fact his voice hasn't really changed much at all since the early 90s. And whilst the band is almost entirely different in lineup from those Use Your Illusion days, the current lineup sound thoroughly capable here. A man like Rose was able to coerce some pretty impressive talents to join the good ship Guns, and when you listen to this single you don't ever find yourself thinking, "this would be better if Slash was still in the band".As powerfully as it rumbles along though, there's something a little too forgettable about "Chinese Democracy". The song is in desperate need of a proper hook, and this seriously holds it back - nevertheless, it's still worth being a bit excited about the full-length album - Rose has still got at least some of it left in him. 70%Guns N' Roses on their amusingly OTT MySpace