Yeah, the initial runs of this album had some bad IGD. CD is the way to hear CD. When people talk about the sound quality, they are probably talking about the mixing and mastering. Whatever else you think of Axl, he deserves credit for going with the more dynamic master that he was presented before release.
Amen to that. Chinese Democracy is not only one of the best rock albums of the last decade, it's easily one of the best SOUNDING rock albums of the last decade. I just wish the powers-that-be had released the follow-up album before the current reunion (it's all but finished as it stands, according to Axl in 2014), we may never get to hear it now... and that's a shame, 'cause CD was a work of both scope and substance, and apparently some of the very best material Axl and friends recorded during that lengthy period was said to be on the unreleased opus.
Yup. With all of the layers of sound going on, Chinese Democracy would have sounded a real mess if it wasn't mixed and mastered with care. Some of the leaks from 2006-2008 DID sound dense and claustrophobic - thank god that the final release had a mix where all of the elements were well placed an a master that was relatively spacious. (Some people will say that the final product does sound like a mess - I respectfully disagree with those people). As for further releases from the CD era - I guess for Axl to have the leverage over the record company to make this happen, Chinese Democracy would have needed to have been a mega-seller. It wasn't, so it's probably a case of 'Not In This Lifetime'. That's a real shame - if more songs are done, they will surely make more money for the record company if they are out there for people to buy, rather than rotting away in a vault. Our best hope for new G n' R music in this lifetime would be for a new 'Best of' compilation, featuring some new material with contributions from Slash and Duff. Or if the deluxe reissue market still exists, we may get an expanded release of Chinese Democracy in 15-20 years... perhaps?
I wonder if Chinese Democracy would be better received if they let Duff and Slash into the studio to record over the bass and guitar. They did that on "Spaghetti Indecent?", they had Gilby Clark re-do all of Izzy's parts. Then re-release it as... Um... Chinese Democracy 2.0? Chinese Democracy Supersexy Swingin' Sounds?!?
"On November 23, 1993, Guns N' Roses released a collection of punk and glam rock covers entitled "The Spaghetti Incident?" where many of the tracks were recorded with original Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin during the Use Your Illusion I and II sessions and then were later re-recorded by Clarke." - Heretodaygonetohell.com
I got mixed up by your post and thought it was saying izzy recorded guitar parts for every song on the album and gilby replaced them. anyone have a list? it just says "many" but I thought it was only a handful
I do believe: Ain't it Fun Attitude Black Leather I Don't Care About You New Rose They were all recorded during Illusion
Boy, my experience with the the vinyl is certainly not in line with what's reported here. I bought a sealed copy at 1/2 Price Books out of curiosity for around $10. I didn't expect much but was very pleasantly surprised at the sound quality and I liked the music much more than I expected to. I really need to pull it out again sometime. It's one of many records I haven't spun in far too long.
Just tuned this up this morning, like the leadoff Chinese Democracy and Shackler's Revenge. I had forgotten about this album, maybe layered and over produced but has some memorable moments. Axel and a bunch of yes men but has some solid tunes.
Time for the "Chinese Democracy Super Deluxe 10th Anniversary" boxset next year with the album in 5.1, new takes with Slash & Duff, outtakes, the remixes collection and a disc of new material intended for the follow up.
I'm not nearly as big of a GNR fan as I used to be, but I always thought Chinese Democracy was fine. I could have done without the industrial elements (I hate all things nu-metal), but even that works in some places. I've always thought it was a far better album than "The Spaghetti Incident?" despite not having most of the original members. The songs were really good in a lot of places, but this is not an album I come back to often (I'm pretty much completely burnt out on GNR in general). While the production is often not the best, the songs are still pretty good overall, with quite a few standouts.
Agreed. The album went through many phases and it would be cool to hear alternate takes, mixes, and configurations of the material as part of some sort of expanded set. At one point there were rumors that an expanded edition with outtakes/alternates was being considered, but with the album being so maligned and with Axl currently working with Duff and Slash, it seems unlikely any additional music from Chinese Democracy will ever surface.
I'm listening to a 2008 2xlp copy I just opened. It's not bad. From a vinyl cut/sonic standpart, monster sounding with great fidelity. Flat vinyl. Songs aren't bad, wonder what that would have sounded like stripped down with orig members playing. You can tell his vocals are tweaked to the max. But still when he sings single tracks, no doubling. Not bad. It should have been labeled as an Axl Rose solo project.
On some level it was because he was essentially the album's creative director. That said, he owns the GNR name and he essentially evolved the band into its then incarnation. Legally, GNR circa 2008 (and the years prior during recording) was as valid as GNR 1987-1993. The Chinese Democracy era GNR was still GNR even if some fans do not want to accept it.
For me the whole band name vs. who is actually in the band thing is a tricky issue. If John Lennon somehow convinced the other guys back in the day to sign over the rights to The Beatles name and he replaced them with random musicians after Let it Be.... sure it is called The Beatles. But nobody in the entire word would consider it to be "the real thing" so to speak. So if fans do not accept that Chinese era GNR to be "the real thing" - I do not look at it as being wrong or in denial. It is simply a difference of opinion and one that is completely understandable. I think for me that rings true, I mean for me I love Chinese Democracy but all in all feel like it would have been better suited as some sort of Axl solo entity. But that is just my own personal opinion on that
Not sure if any of the other leaks had Brian on them, but May confirmed that this is indeed him playing on this early version.
I like the live version of the title track. Slash plays it in a lower register than the studio cut, and it just sounds looser, meaner, and like an actually good song. It's one of the rare cases where I actually prefer a live version to the studio track.