Description: Here's a great Gift Idea! Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy (Black Frog/Geffen 12356, 2008, UPC# 602517906075) (Category: Rock Music CD) ¤NEW!¤ This hard-to-find Compact Disc is new, factory sealed, and guaranteed against manufacturer's defects! ¤NEW!¤ The production is so dense that it's hard to warm to, but it fits the music. These aren't songs that grab and hold; they're songs that unfold, so much so that Chinese Democracy may seem a little underwhelming upon its first listen. It's not just the years of pent-up anticipation, it's that Axl spent so much time creating the music -- constructing the structure and then filling out the frame -- that there's no easy way into the album. That, combined with the realization that Axl isn't trying to reinvent but just finishing what he started on the Illusions, can make Chinese Democracy seem mildly anticlimactic, but Rose spent a decade-plus working on this -- he deserves to not have it dismissed on a cursory listen. Give it time, listening like it was 1998 and not 2008, and the album does give up some terrific music -- music that is overblown but not overdone. True, those good moments are the songs that have kicked around the Internet for the entirety of the new millennium: the slinky, spiteful "Better," slowly building into its fury; the quite gorgeous if heavy-handed "Street of Dreams"; "There Was a Time," which overcomes its acronym and lack of chorus on its sheer drama; "Catcher in the Rye," the lightest, brightest moment here; the slow, grinding "I.R.S."; and "Madagascar," a ludicrous rueful rumination that finds space for quotations from Martin Luther King amidst its trip-hop pulse. These aren't innovations; they're extensions of "Breakdown" and "Estranged," epics that require some work to decode because Axl forces the listener to meet him on his own terms. This all-consuming artistic narcissism has become Rose's defining trait, not letting him move forward, but only to relentlessly explore the same territory over and over again. And this solipsism turns Chinese Democracy into something strangely, surprisingly simple: it won't change music, it won't change any lives, it's just 14 more songs about loneliness and persecution. Or as Axl put it in an apology for canceled concerts in 2006, "In the end, it's just an album." And it's a good album, no less and no more. (Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG) Songs include: Chinese Democracy \4:43 Shackler's Revenge \3:36 Better \4:58 Street of Dreams \4:46 If the World \4:54 There Was a Time \6:41 Catcher in the Rye \5:52 Scraped \3:30 Riad N' the Bedouins \4:10 Sorry \6:14 I.R.S. \4:28 Madagascar \5:37 This I Love \5:34 Prostitute \6:15 Almost missed this masterpiece Walking through the aisles of Best Buy a couple of days ago and I spotted a copy of this album. It was recorded in Pro Tools and it is a masterpiece. The dynamics on are old school; tight and punchy in areas, big and room rattling in others. The drums have that "hard as nails" character, but they're not too bothersome, and the guitars and vocals sound phenomenal. I found the compositions pleasantly unpredictable and each was different enough that you want to start the album again when it's done. The guitar work is brilliant. Guitar solos have become so humdrum and unfashionable that most bands skip them altogether. But holly snit, these guys can play. There must have been 30 smoking guitar solo licks I've never heard before. I'm not a long time guns n roses or Axl fan, but he tears it up on this album. The vocal tracks are superbly crafted, musicianship through the roof, nicely mixed and mastered. Best rock album I've heard in years. (Customer review) -----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- This would make a great gift! Shipping: (see SHIPPING AND PAYMENTS section below) Sales shipped to an Illinois address, please add 9.0% sales tax. Multiple purchases will be combined for the lowest possible shipping costs! Please click on ADD TO CART (not BUY IT NOW) when making multiple purchases. And you're welcome to add us to your favorites list! THANK YOU!
Price: 3.99 USD
Location: Bridgeview, Illinois
End Time: 2023-12-20T19:08:13.000Z
Shipping Cost: 3.92 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money back or replacement (buyer's choice)
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Format: CD
Release Year: 2008
Release Title: Chinese Democracy
Features: Sealed
