Overhyped Products: Chinese Democracy

By Mike Schuster Sep 28, 2009 8:20 am

Seventeen years of delays and false starts overshadow a decent album.

It was an epic in the making -- one rife with feuds, no-shows, and incessant fine-tuning.

An album of mythic proportions. How far along is it? Could it ever be completed? Is Geffen really preventing its release?

Seventeen years after the Use Your Illusion dual launch, Guns N' Roses -- a band almost in name only, given its rotating cast -- released the most anticipated album in the modern era. A work so coveted and elusive, it may as well have been singing an Irish folk song and guarding a pot of gold. The musical equivalent to Star Wars Episode I -- only far less disappointing.

Chinese Democracy.

Although, just like George Lucas's abomination, few works of art could ever hold up to such expectation and delay. News tidbits and rumors were barely sustainable for anyone to maintain faith that, yes, Axl Rose and company will finally buckle down, make it to the recording studio, and lay down some tracks. Die-hard fans of yesteryear had given up on waiting, grew up, got married, had kids, and moved on.

But come November 2008, the unthinkable occurred: The album finally made its way to store shelves. OK, just Best Buy (BBY), but it was available! And the songs were actually pretty good!

So why wasn't it heralded as a triumph? Why was the release so much more notable than the album itself? How could an album that Rolling Stone ranked the 12th best album for 2008 be received with such apathy?

The Chinese Democracy saga dates back to 1995, when Guns N' Roses began recording music for its upcoming album. While earning a handful of respectable reviews, its 1993 punk cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?" didn't even reach 200,000 sales -- a far cry from its previous releases. So the pressure was on to deliver a noteworthy comeback LP.

However, it was around this time that ties between bandmates began to fall apart. Lead guitarist -- and some would say the heart and soul of Guns N' Roses -- Slash left the band in 1996, with bassist Duff McKagen and drummer Matt Sorum disappearing soon after. From there, musicians were shuffled in and out of the group -- leaving Axl and keyboardist Dizzy Reed as the only constants.

Guns N' Roses symbolized that philosophical question: If you replace the parts of a car, one by one, until it's completely changed, is it still the same car? For many fans, the band didn't feel the same.

But after a sporadic tour in 2001, interest in the unreleased album came blazing back when Guns N' Roses performed one of its new songs at MTV's (VIA) 2002 Video Music Awards. Despite concern that Axl's voice sounded labored and out of breath, the album's release never felt so close.

And then, more setbacks hit. Poor weather, sound issues, vocal injury, and just typical Guns N' Roses flakiness ruined the 2002 tour -- prompting the band to take a break and guitarist Buckethead to take a hike two years later. An equally troubled tour commenced in 2006 and was prematurely halted. Axl claimed it was to free up some time to finish recording the album.

Much to the delight of jaded fans, tracks off of Chinese Democracy began leaking online -- proof that work was in fact being done. Official releases of "Shackler's Revenge" and "If the World" hinted at an imminent album launch which, sure enough, came in November 2008.

Overall, critics and fans enjoyed what they heard. While they weren't bowled over by a complete reinvention and utter masterpiece, the general consensus was that Guns N' Roses delivered a very satisfactory collection of songs that showed a slightly new direction, admirable influences, and solid execution. A for effort, B+ for results.

The album has since sold more than five million copies worldwide -- a huge success for most groups, but far below the expectations for a band that had sold roughly 100 million albums previously. Although some blamed Axl's stubborn refusal to promote the album or Best Buy's equally lackluster campaign as reasons for the public's lukewarm response, the blame could likely be placed squarely on the 17-year wait.

Deep down, fans knew to temper their assumption that Chinese Democracy will redefine everything they know about hard rock and metal, but there was no denying the wait and hype had built up the possibility that maybe, just maybe, hearing the finished product will resurrect the thrill of being a Guns N' Roses addict in '89. But very few things can deliver on that promise, and unfortunately, Chinese Democracy wasn't able to make fans feel like young, dumb kids again.

Instead, it just shined a spotlight on what's changed in 17 years.