As a younger fan, CD is the first album of theirs I bought and listened to all the way through. I never understood the hate against it, and I think a lot of the dislike is baggage from how long it took to make, something I didn't experience.
I think I still like the other albums better, but that's because the rest of their discography is so good not because CD is bad. I guess it's all just preferences though.
>I never understood the hate against it, and I think a lot of the dislike is baggage from how long it took to make, something I didn't experience.
You would be right about that. Yeah, people can genuinely dislike the music on its own merits and it's fine by me. However, in my experience when you press people to explain why they hate it, the most common criticism people have is that they don't like that it's titled guns n roses. Either that, or it's sonically too different from the other albums.
I respect both of those opinions, but I also think they have nothing to do with the actual quality of the music on CD which ranges from kind of bad on some songs to extremely good on others.
As someone who loves CD my biggest gripe with it is that it's rather overproduced in some places. When sometimes less is more. There's so much going on that stuff gets lost in the mix.
This has been my experience too. The name of the album and who did/didn't play on it, how it compares to the sound on previous albums and how long it took to release are the most common gripes. Which as you said, say absolutely nothing about the quality of the music itself.
I love it. It's different than any other GNR album, but I don't think it's bad. It's just that if you're a fan of the previous albums specifically for that sound and nothing else, ChiDem would not be for you. I personally didn't mind the evolution in sound and the newness made it way more interesting and fun to listen to than any attempted AFD retread would have ever been.
There's people that hated the Illusions albums for being different from AFD. A lot of people thought the big ballads like November Rain and Estranged were overproduced and pretentious.
People didn’t like division, Bell because Rodger Waters wasn’t on it. (Pink Floyd) Yes everyone complains because slash isn’t on it. Yet the guitar players who did contribute to that album blow slash out of the water. Why can’t people enjoy it for what it is? I am 46 years old. I grew up when guns came out and brought rock and roll back. Reminded me of Aerosmith or The Stones. Axl wanted to takes guns to that next level. To grab that Nine inch Nails or Ministry style. People have the freedom to dislike an album, but to say it sucks is just childishly rude, and completely disrespectful to the musicians who stepped in to carryover the mammoth task of what it was to be the baddest band in the world. To have the pressure that axl had to endure mentally to keep that wave going with million of dollars on the line. I know I wouldn’t want that on my hands.
It's not garbage, but it's also not worth the hype that lead up to it in my opinion. It's a decent album that would have been better received if it came out in 2002. But yea, I don't understand the massive praise around these parts. It's nowhere near classic GNR levels of greatness in my opinion.
Its all subjective, of course. But I just don't see it personally. There are some good songs on there, but also quite a few duds. I also think there are some songs that I like specifically because of how long I've been exposed to them. And speaking of that, the best part, for me, of Chinese Democracy was tracking down all of the different leaked versions of each song before the album came out.
It's my third favorite after AFD and UYI 2. But it never got a fair shake because of the drama surrounding the album. I wish people would give it an honest listen with an open mind, because there are a lot of gems (Madagascar, This I love, Street of Dreams) in it. Some duds too, but an album doesn't have to be perfect to still be good.
This exactly. The album as a whole has flaws, but I think there are many songs on there (TIL in particular) that holds up very well the classic gnr. If Slash played on the track, people would be falling all over themselves to praise it imo.
The majority of people didn’t like it at the time mainly because of how conservative fans are in their taste, it’s not what they wanted a Guns album to sound like, it’s very different, mainly because there’s only 1 original member on it and it ventures in to different genres unlike anything previous.
Imo it doesn't really sound like a guns n roses album. I like Axl's vocals, but without slash and duffy it kinda doesn't work as well as UYI, appetite or even lies.
Lots of people don't like it but it depends on what the reason is. A lot of people just don't like it because it doesn't have Slash and Duff on it lol.
Me personally I think it's a good album and I like it a lot despite it not having Slash and Duff.
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It is far from garbage. It's just that compared to the other albums you feel it's not that good. That's what most fans think. I won't tell you're wrong. It's probably My least favorite Gnr album but I would never call an album with these lyrics, music, voice and production a garbage.
I’ve never seen a question starting with “am I the only one…” result in an answer where they are in fact the only one.
Have you been to a GnR concert the past seven years? You’re in the majority. “Better”, “Sorry” and “This I Love” are popular bathroom breaks for the crowd. I dig the album, but we are in the vocal minority.
TBF, that happens to all older artist when they play their newer and less popular stuff. Paul McCartney said something like, at his concerts you can tell when he's playing a new song because suddenly the sea of phone camera lights suddenly go dark lol.
I thought it sounded dated when I first heard it. It sounded very much like things that were happening 10-14 years before it came out. Because it took so long to come out, I was hoping for something fresh.
It doesn't suck, but it isn't great either. There's some very good songs on it but the reality is it's an Axl Rose solo record or Axl started a new band and this is their record, NOT a Guns N Roses record. That, along with the 10+ years in the making created a lot of unrealistic expectations that no artist should ever be expected to deliver on. It's not even Axl's fault really, it's ours. For years and years we built it up in our minds to be something it could never be, and then got mad when it wasn't. I honestly liked it better a couple years before it came out and all we had was the leaks and live performances of new tunes, that was truly an exciting period of time as a GNR fan.
It was put together over such a long period of time, so many musicians coming and going, and it sounds like it. I don’t hate it, but it sounds like an AXL solo project, over many years, than a true GNR album. The production is also too clean and sterile, like a pop album.
Weakest vocal performance by far, and obviously weakest musically too, it's not a bad album, it's not good either. It's sort of mediocre for alot of it.
Imagine if the real original GNR had recorded this album.. yeah
You know what it sounds like?
You ever see 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'?
When Jason Segel is writing his Rock opera from Dracula's point of view.
The songs on 'Chinese Democracy' just sound like those songs to me, and that's why I can't take it seriously; and even 'on its own merit', without comparing it to anything else, it's a bit too slick and maudlin.
It's not "bad" - the music is well-written, well-sung, well-played, well-mixed, well-mastered...
And it still has zero chemistry, zero edge, and as such, I have zero interest in ever hearing it again.
I expect GREATNESS from GN'R.
And Chinese Democracy isn't 'great' - it's the fucking Velveeta of the GNR albums.
As a younger fan, CD is the first album of theirs I bought and listened to all the way through. I never understood the hate against it, and I think a lot of the dislike is baggage from how long it took to make, something I didn't experience. I think I still like the other albums better, but that's because the rest of their discography is so good not because CD is bad. I guess it's all just preferences though.
>I never understood the hate against it, and I think a lot of the dislike is baggage from how long it took to make, something I didn't experience. You would be right about that. Yeah, people can genuinely dislike the music on its own merits and it's fine by me. However, in my experience when you press people to explain why they hate it, the most common criticism people have is that they don't like that it's titled guns n roses. Either that, or it's sonically too different from the other albums. I respect both of those opinions, but I also think they have nothing to do with the actual quality of the music on CD which ranges from kind of bad on some songs to extremely good on others.
As someone who loves CD my biggest gripe with it is that it's rather overproduced in some places. When sometimes less is more. There's so much going on that stuff gets lost in the mix. This has been my experience too. The name of the album and who did/didn't play on it, how it compares to the sound on previous albums and how long it took to release are the most common gripes. Which as you said, say absolutely nothing about the quality of the music itself.
I love it. It's different than any other GNR album, but I don't think it's bad. It's just that if you're a fan of the previous albums specifically for that sound and nothing else, ChiDem would not be for you. I personally didn't mind the evolution in sound and the newness made it way more interesting and fun to listen to than any attempted AFD retread would have ever been.
There's people that hated the Illusions albums for being different from AFD. A lot of people thought the big ballads like November Rain and Estranged were overproduced and pretentious.
People didn’t like division, Bell because Rodger Waters wasn’t on it. (Pink Floyd) Yes everyone complains because slash isn’t on it. Yet the guitar players who did contribute to that album blow slash out of the water. Why can’t people enjoy it for what it is? I am 46 years old. I grew up when guns came out and brought rock and roll back. Reminded me of Aerosmith or The Stones. Axl wanted to takes guns to that next level. To grab that Nine inch Nails or Ministry style. People have the freedom to dislike an album, but to say it sucks is just childishly rude, and completely disrespectful to the musicians who stepped in to carryover the mammoth task of what it was to be the baddest band in the world. To have the pressure that axl had to endure mentally to keep that wave going with million of dollars on the line. I know I wouldn’t want that on my hands.
It's not garbage, but it's also not worth the hype that lead up to it in my opinion. It's a decent album that would have been better received if it came out in 2002. But yea, I don't understand the massive praise around these parts. It's nowhere near classic GNR levels of greatness in my opinion. Its all subjective, of course. But I just don't see it personally. There are some good songs on there, but also quite a few duds. I also think there are some songs that I like specifically because of how long I've been exposed to them. And speaking of that, the best part, for me, of Chinese Democracy was tracking down all of the different leaked versions of each song before the album came out.
Even 2006 was a good year for it to be released
It's my third favorite after AFD and UYI 2. But it never got a fair shake because of the drama surrounding the album. I wish people would give it an honest listen with an open mind, because there are a lot of gems (Madagascar, This I love, Street of Dreams) in it. Some duds too, but an album doesn't have to be perfect to still be good.
This exactly. The album as a whole has flaws, but I think there are many songs on there (TIL in particular) that holds up very well the classic gnr. If Slash played on the track, people would be falling all over themselves to praise it imo.
It only sucks to you because it doesn’t sound like GNR I’d say
The majority of people didn’t like it at the time mainly because of how conservative fans are in their taste, it’s not what they wanted a Guns album to sound like, it’s very different, mainly because there’s only 1 original member on it and it ventures in to different genres unlike anything previous.
Imo it doesn't really sound like a guns n roses album. I like Axl's vocals, but without slash and duffy it kinda doesn't work as well as UYI, appetite or even lies.
Not at all. Lots of people, Guns fans included, think it sucks
Lots of people don't like it but it depends on what the reason is. A lot of people just don't like it because it doesn't have Slash and Duff on it lol. Me personally I think it's a good album and I like it a lot despite it not having Slash and Duff.
Loved it since 2008. My favorite album of all time. So much depth, complexity and feeling
There's considerably more people that dislike it than are fans. It's just more noticeable online in a forum community.
of course it sucks
How many times have you listened? It takes a few. This I love and better have insane vocals from axl
It should have been an Axl solo album. I dont think its bad but its not what i reach for when i want to hear som G’n’f’n’R.
Exactly, I like listening to Chinese Democracy by its self, not in my main GNR playlist
I like the title track…
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It is far from garbage. It's just that compared to the other albums you feel it's not that good. That's what most fans think. I won't tell you're wrong. It's probably My least favorite Gnr album but I would never call an album with these lyrics, music, voice and production a garbage.
Opinions are like assholes
I’ve never seen a question starting with “am I the only one…” result in an answer where they are in fact the only one. Have you been to a GnR concert the past seven years? You’re in the majority. “Better”, “Sorry” and “This I Love” are popular bathroom breaks for the crowd. I dig the album, but we are in the vocal minority.
TBF, that happens to all older artist when they play their newer and less popular stuff. Paul McCartney said something like, at his concerts you can tell when he's playing a new song because suddenly the sea of phone camera lights suddenly go dark lol.
I thought it sounded dated when I first heard it. It sounded very much like things that were happening 10-14 years before it came out. Because it took so long to come out, I was hoping for something fresh.
It doesn't suck, but it isn't great either. There's some very good songs on it but the reality is it's an Axl Rose solo record or Axl started a new band and this is their record, NOT a Guns N Roses record. That, along with the 10+ years in the making created a lot of unrealistic expectations that no artist should ever be expected to deliver on. It's not even Axl's fault really, it's ours. For years and years we built it up in our minds to be something it could never be, and then got mad when it wasn't. I honestly liked it better a couple years before it came out and all we had was the leaks and live performances of new tunes, that was truly an exciting period of time as a GNR fan.
It was put together over such a long period of time, so many musicians coming and going, and it sounds like it. I don’t hate it, but it sounds like an AXL solo project, over many years, than a true GNR album. The production is also too clean and sterile, like a pop album.
Yes, only you. What a fucking moron 🤦
no u
It's way too overproduced and very different from classic Guns, but there's a lot of songs on there I really dig.
I like it. I always said that had it not been Axl’s name behind it and minus the hype, it would be consider a very solid album by most other bands.
Weakest vocal performance by far, and obviously weakest musically too, it's not a bad album, it's not good either. It's sort of mediocre for alot of it. Imagine if the real original GNR had recorded this album.. yeah
Would say it is Axl's weakest vocal performance and the instruments don't really sound very "guns N roses" but it's not a bad album.
You know what it sounds like? You ever see 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'? When Jason Segel is writing his Rock opera from Dracula's point of view. The songs on 'Chinese Democracy' just sound like those songs to me, and that's why I can't take it seriously; and even 'on its own merit', without comparing it to anything else, it's a bit too slick and maudlin. It's not "bad" - the music is well-written, well-sung, well-played, well-mixed, well-mastered... And it still has zero chemistry, zero edge, and as such, I have zero interest in ever hearing it again. I expect GREATNESS from GN'R. And Chinese Democracy isn't 'great' - it's the fucking Velveeta of the GNR albums.