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Chinese Democracy

Guns N' Roses

Black Frog/Geffen/Universal

Like light reaching the earth years after its originating star has burnt out, Chinese Democracy is finally among us. It's hard to believe that it took 14 years and at least as many millions of dollars to produce this middling rock record.

None of the songs are half as entertaining as the back story of this project. Axl Rose wore out his record label and all of his original band-mates as he obsessively rewrote and rerecorded the album's 14 tracks. Radiohead, a band also known for sweating the details, has put out six albums in the time it took to finish this thing. The high-rolling record industry that financed the first decade of Rose's glacial labours no longer exists.

The densely atmospheric soundscape that opens the title track tells you that something special is coming. But like several tunes on this record, the song turns out to be a hard-charging blues rocker that offers nothing special beyond the scale of its production.

The central error of this record is that Rose thinks you can make epic music simply by adding more layers and jamming longer. Even the ballads tend to billow up into pompous overstatement.

There's a lot of good playing on this record – too much, in fact. As Rose & Co. noodle their way in the direction of yet another elusive catharsis, you remember that it was because of this kind of thing that punk rock was invented.

Several songs would probably be fun to hear at a big concert. The muscular groove of Better, the bass-driven head-banging style of Scraped, and Rose's forced grainy vocals were made to shake an arena. But at close quarters, the most striking thing is how ordinary these songs are, especially the lyrics.

“If the world would end today,” Rose wails, “all the dreams we had would all just drift away.” Yes, and your point is? “No, there's nothing more to say.” Indeed.

The most intriguing song has to be Riad N' the Bedouins, a slow waltzing dirge for the record executives who imagined they could control an insecure control-freak. “You don't know why I won't act the way I should,” Rose sings. No, they don't, and maybe he doesn't either. As for me, Chinese Democracy (which, in spite of its title, is oblivious to politics) kind of makes me want to watch Spinal Tap again. Similar characters, more laughs.