BY JAMES MAO

In print | Published October 30, 2008

By the time American rock band Guns ’N Roses had released all the tracks that set them up for global acclaim, most current Swatties had yet set to foot in an elementary school classroom. After 17 long years, however, it appears that the group’s enigmatic frontman Axl Rose is finally releasing his pet project, the album Chinese Democracy.

With a US release date set for November 23, 2008 at Best Buy stores nationwide only, and a worldwide official release date set for November 25, there still remains plenty of time for Rose and Geffen Records management to delay the album for the umpteenth time. Chinese Democracy has been flailing about in the music industry for about a decade now, with numerous leaked singles, retracted release dates and dissatisfied guitarists quitting. But this finally appears to be the year that Axl Rose makes good on the album he promised in 1999. I can already hear the disappointment of fans and much fuss made about nothing in terms of the political nature of the record; to those voices, I would say just try to appreciate the music.

In its prime, Guns ’N Roses enjoyed nearly as much popularity worldwide as back on home soil. Record sales of 90 million globally, with 39 million coming from America, support this notion. Instantly recognizable tracks like “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” and “November Rain” solidified the critical and commercial success of Rose’s high-pitched vocals and guitarist Slash’s efficiently bluesy licks. Unfortunately, Chinese Democracy isn’t primed to achieve the same heights as previous incarnations of the group. It has simply been too long of a wait, and anything Rose and his new bandmates have created cannot possibly meet the enormous expectations that any album dubbed “the most expensive never made” by the New York Times would understandably arouse.

More importantly, however, is the disillusionment many feel towards Rose himself. Googling “Axl Rose douche” returns over 10,000 results to peruse, and for good reason: the racism and homophobia that have been attributed to the volatile lead singer have been less damaging than the general disrespect that Rose has shown fans at concerts in the past. Arriving late for and leaving early from a set are some of the tamer transgressions Rose has committed against the millions who once supported his music.

But it’s the recent upswing in popularity for ousted guitarist Slash — prominently featured on the video game Guitar Hero III — that may ultimately prove to be the most costly for Rose. The ugly breakup of the band in the mid ’90s stemmed from increased tensions between the lead singer and the guitarist, and self-proclaimed critics are already lambasting Chinese Democracy as an Axl Rose project, not a Guns ’N Roses production.

While the released title single and leaked tracks over the years do indicate that this is pretty much entirely Rose’s music (to put it one way, there is more “November Rain” than “Sweet Child o’ Mine” to be found), I think the fact that the album is coming out at all is cause for celebration. The primary reason is that free Dr. Pepper will be given out to every American, with the exception of the guitarists Slash and Buckethead because of their well-publicized feuds with Rose. This is Dr. Pepper making good on its promise to give a free can to the nation’s 300 million if the album is released in 2008.

Free soda aside, it is refreshing (pun shamelessly intended) to herald the return of a group who was willing to push genre boundaries, even if it is comprised of different members this time around. For all the flak Axl Rose catches, the fact is that he is still a pretty good musician, and if the reports are true Chinese Democracy will cover everything from industrial rock to blues. In a world oversaturated with the likes of the Jonas Brothers and Fall Out Boy, Guns ’N Roses could come out with an average album — which in all likelihood they will — and still be regarded as a savior in some capacity.

An important factor to consider in all of this buildup, however, is the thematic nature of the album itself. If precedents are to be trusted, the People’s Republic of China will block the album from release and the pirated CD will still be sold for 10 kuai ($1.43) on the streets. The larger issue, I think, is whether or not listeners should take Rose’s apparent political views seriously. In the case of Axl Rose, it is better to take in the music than to quibble over his political stance. It has been well-established that in many ways Rose is an affront to humanity, and “Chinese Democracy” has become more the symbol of his reputation’s deterioration and years of delay that the Communist Party would never condone in the construction of something, rather than any meaningfully charged statement. This album, doomed never to turn a profit, should only be regarded in terms of musicality.
With Axl Rose, that musicality has a high propensity to rub fans the wrong way. It also has a high propensity to be terrible — the lead single sounds thoroughly unimpressive. But it’s still the return of Guns ’N Roses, and a limited potential impact worldwide shouldn’t preclude excitement 17 years in the making.

James is a first-year. He can be reached at jmao4@swarthmore.edu.

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