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The Impossible Success of Chinese Democracy
by Larson Hill
 After years of stops, starts, rumors and delays, “Chinese Democracy”, the much anticipated Guns N’ Roses album, is finally hitting store shelves at Best Buy on November 23. As announced by Geffen Records, “Chinese Democracy” will also be available through the Best Buy website and will feature 14 new tracks from Axl Rose and his revamped Guns N’ Roses band mates.
Since the break up of the original Guns N’ Roses back in 1994, “Chinese Democracy” marks the first album under the GNR name, with a production history that has almost become as legendary as the band itself. Recording of the album got underway in 1994, with a variety of well-known artists lending their musical talents to the project. However, since then “Chinese Democracy” has been mired in controversy, undergoing many sound and style transformations over the years to keep pace with the changing music scene.
So, does “Chinese Democracy” stand a chance at being both a financial and critical success? Although album sales might not be a problem, making up for the $13 million spent on the album since ’94 isn’t completely beyond the realm of possibility. However, selling the public could be impossible.
Here’s a look at a few factors, challenges, and elements that could shed light on the uphill battle and various aspects that stand in the way of true success after the release on November 23.
Forgotten History, Selective Memory:
 Look, no matter what, Axl Rose is in an impossible situation. So far I’ve heard a few leaked tracks (like everyone else) from the official “Chinese Democracy” and I don’t hate what I’ve heard. The more I listen to it, the more I like the fact that I’m listening to Axl after so long. But when I think back to when GNR burst on to the scene, I didn’t instantly fall in love with “Appetite for Destruction”. A lot of fans have forgotten that when GNR hit the scene during the slide of Glam rock, they didn’t exactly sound like Europe or Warrant. And most don’t remember that “Appetite for Destruction” wasn’t an instant hit either. It took a while for the album to reach the heights that it achieved. It took me a few listens to get into “Appetite” before realizing how great the entire album was, and still is. When both “Use Your Illusion” volumes were released, GNR had finally hit their stride as one of the best rock bands in history. It didn’t take me long at all to embrace most of the “Illusion” tracks.
But now that the hype has kicked into overdrive, people forget (or simply don’t know) all about the mediocre GNR releases during their heyday. People talk about the band as if every album they recorded was pure genius. Sorry to say, even in their prime they were hot and cold. And, in the gap between “Appetite” and “Illusion”, GNR didn’t exactly set the world on fire with the A side of “GNR Lies”. It’s sad, but true. I remember living in that period when “Lies” was released. It was a decent stopgap, but it wasn’t near the quality of “Appetite”. And if memory serves me correctly, “Lies” was still largely overshadowed by “Appetite” at the time. So if fans were able to embrace the A side of “Lies” and their later release “The Spaghetti Incident”, why would they ever have a problem embracing “Chinese Democracy”?
Who exactly was Guns N’ Roses?
 I’ve never seen or heard anyone truly delve into the underlying factors of what made GNR so unique. Was GNR’s massive popularity and appeal due to Axl Rose’s distinctive and gravely vocals, or was the band’s success more a result of the combined sound of Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and drummers Steve Adler and Matt Sorum? That’s up to you. But when Slash, Duff, and Matt teamed up with Scott Weiland to call themselves Velvet Revolver, fans welcomed them with open arms. When thinking about the one element that will always dog Axl and the new Guns N’ Roses, how some fans will always say GNR minus its original members will always suck, Rose would have been better served if he simply renamed his current line-up many years ago. The interesting question to roll over is - When they were both on tour, who sounded more like GNR, Velvet Revolver or the new version of Guns N’ Roses?
Time Marches On:
I’m not defending either Rose or the new music. Given the dynamics surrounding the new release, namely taking 15 years to release one album, I just don’t think a fair shake is possible with “Chinese Democracy” - at least with the online crowd. Since the break up of GNR, “Chinese Democracy” is being released into a music scene that’s evolved from Glam-rock, hard-rock, Grunge, alternative, industrial, new metal, rap rock, and Emo to name a few. 15 years is a long time. That’s at least seven eras of music with fans that didn’t directly grow up with new Guns N’ Roses songs. Instead, the classic tunes have become endless staples of radio Top 40 airplay. But time is only one of the challenges Axl and the new GNR faces.
Mission Impossible:
 The biggest hurdle after 15 years of build-up, buzz, and hype, only to be delayed time and time again, is that to be truly embraced by old and new fans alike, “Chinese Democracy” would have to be better than all of GNR’s music during their original line-up heyday. At the same time it would have to appeal to a new generation of music lovers raised on several different sounds. I might be wrong, but it looks like an impossible mission. I mean, even if “Chinese Democracy” did both, and was truly the best GNR album of all time, I still don’t believe anyone would admit it. People will hate it for the sake of hating it. That’s the world we live in.
You know, it’s funny. Even if Axl did change the name of the album, which might have been a better option early in the game, he now needs the mystery and legacy of “Chinese Democracy” to sell the album. Would a renamed Axl Rose band be able to sell as many units as the mysterious “Chinese Democracy”? Who knows for sure? It’s such a strange predicament the more you think of it. At the same time, it’s a smart move using the lesser of two evils.
Predictability:
Now that “Chinese Democracy” is finally here, rest assured you’ll read the same repetitive thoughts and reviews across the web. Don’t believe me? Check into Google every few days and you’ll find an expanding universe of reviews, articles, or forum threads from people who say that without Slash and the original band mates, “Chinese Democracy” sucks. I just read two reviews that said the unreleased album sucks for that very reason. Also, I just came out of a forum thread where every response followed the first, stating exactly what I’m referring to. How does that have anything to do with the music?
It’s the Music that Matters:
 If the full “Chinese Democracy” album falls flat, well, it’ll be obvious from the music…. OBVIOUSLY! The problem I have with all of this is the knee jerk, herd responses that I’m guaranteed to read in the next couple of months. If it IS good, what will people attribute it to? Probably the opposite, contradictory view, how Slash and the boys aren’t on it, so therefore it’s great. You know what I mean? To be frank, if the full album’s good, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the other factors. After taking 15 years to complete, it’s virtually impossible to win over fans, both old and new…. and justifiably so. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t going to buy it. And great album sales doesn’t mean critical acceptance either. Since the release of “Chinese Democracy” appears to be the start of a series of new Guns N’ Roses albums, the true test of new GNR material will be in releasing future music from a clean slate. If future GNR music is as great as their early days, it’s not impossible for Axl and the new Guns N’ Roses to start fresh.
By the time the next one is released, hopefully the nurses in the old folks home will let me play it.
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