Three millions years late...a thousand studio's involved, a hundred guitarist's, fifty drummers, twenty bassists blah blah..Axl returns...hardly the second coming, more of a very belated apology to fans for blowing it all. Okay, I'm not gonna sit here and suck the arse of 'Appetite For Destruction', it was a good rock 'n' roll record, but not the record it was made out to be. And don't get me started on the bloated 'Use Your Illusion' volumes which waddled out of the sea like some stranded whale in a bandanna. But, we must forget those hazy days of sleaze and concentrate on the Axl Rose solo project, because let's face it, it's not Guns 'n' Roses anymore. He looks like Mick Hucknall (the waxy, ginger braided singer of Simply Red) and he's not the messiah...he never was, but of course, he gave even the normal people in the world a reason to love rock music via 'Sweet Child O' Mine'. So, let's get down to business...fourteen tracks, too many musicians, too long to make, what's the verdict ?
Well, 'Chinese...' isn't as bad as I though it'd be, although at times it's a messy affair, and of the 71 minutes you wonder why it took Axl so long to get it out, but within its fuzzy frame you can also detect elements of class, and I never thought I'd hear myself saying that. The opener, the title cut, is a poor introduction, a daft attempt at a way of saying, "I'm back...", because this sounds like Axl is trying to sound like all the bands he used to want to be like (Nine Inch Nails, a tinge of nu-metal, Soundgarden , Nirvana) when it was to late and he'd pulled those Lycra pants too tight. Of course, when Guns 'n' Roses ceased to exist, and only in legend, the music world moved on, not necessarily for the better as nu-metal and all that crap like grunge and Korn made huge headway across the world, but Axl obviously realised there was no point in making 'Appetite...' part two, but the opening strains of 'Shackler's Revenge' and various other cuts on the album, seem lost, sailing away some over-produced, densely layered cloud, where his vocals are obscured by electronics...but, and I say a big BIT, when Axl finally remembers he's in Guns 'n' Roses, he still knows how to rock. 'There Was A Time' is a magnificent track, slightly ruined by the Nirvana riff that backs the incredibly catchy chorus, but lyrically it's a stomper, in fact, most of the lyrics on the album are very good indeed, and when Axl decides to give those lungs a scream, there's that real element of sleazy fury again, not witnessed since the face-scraping jive of 'Welcome To The Jungle'. I'd pick 'Raid N' The Bedouins' over the Marilyn Manson-esque 'Shackler's Revenge' anytime, although the chorus of the latter would soar far greater without the complexities of the mechanics which shroud the vocal attack. Axl must remember that at times it's still col to strip the sound down.
Many will be surprised by Axl's vocal range on 'Better', which again would benefit without the riffage which is clearly Axl's attempt at getting hip with the crowd. 'Street Of Dreams', begins like classic G 'n' R, even has a bit of Bowie and Queen about its drama and struts like a drunkard back to the late '80s with its searing guitars, one of the best tunes on the record. 'If The World' begins like some sinister Faith No More excursion, and by this time Axl is really finding his range vocally, but I'm still not sure about those chugging guitars. Sure, some progression had to be made, hell, it's been a long, long time since he rock 'n' rolled, however, thankfully 'If The World' doesn't succumb to industrial poundings and multi-layered noise. 'Catcher In The Rye' is somewhere between the Faces and Oasis, especially in its production and lazy 'na na' chorus, a true epic anthem cleverly constructed whilst 'Scraped' is a balls to the wall rocker. The album slows with 'Sorry', a rather subdued rock twaddle, 'I.R.S.' begins with a throb and melts into a superb rocker fuelled by Axl's whine, 'Madagascar' is a huge concept, but many may be disappointed by the album's closing tracks, but you should, in reality, find the said 'Madagascar', 'This I Love' (a ballad) and 'Prostitute', with its cool piano and catchy chorus, a fine finale to an album I really expected to disappoint.
Those of you expecting another 'Sweet Child O' Mine' should really bury your head in the sand once again, because Axl, and the musicians he's assembled have certainly created a behemoth of a record, which at times may be a little too overly complicated for its own good, but when all is said and done, there are some excellent tracks on offer, proof that there is life in the old dog yet and the ghosts of 'Appetite...' have truly now been laid to rest...
8/10
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