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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Chinese Democracy
by Guns N' Roses
The long-gestating Guns N' Roses album finally sees the light of day.
| LABEL: |
Interscope |
| RELEASE DATE: |
23 November 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock |
NOTES: Sold as a Best Buy exclusive.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Here are the simple things about Chinese Democracy: Three of the songs are astonishing. Four or five others are very good. The vocals are brilliantly recorded, and the guitar playing is (generally) more interesting than the guitar playing on the "Use Your Illusion" albums.
83
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
It's touching on a human level. Noble, even. I didn't think he had it in him.
80
All Music Guide
It's a good album, no less and no more.
80
Boston Globe
It's an exhilarating album. Seriously, after finally hearing these 14 tracks in their finished form I was so energized I wanted to climb a mountain.
80
Los Angeles Times
Whether history declares it a tragedy or a farce, this is one album that's more than a pop exercise. And for that, Axl Rose can finally take a bow.
80
Rolling Stone
The first Guns n' Roses album of new, original songs since the first Bush administration is a great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record.
80
Sputnikmusic
Chinese Democracy is comfortably the most consistent record the band have put out since "Appetite For Destruction," and proof the ginger midget can put out genuinely great rock music without the blonde giant and the black guy.
80
Billboard
The artist is in fine, ever-changing voice throughout, and there's certainly a ton of musical food for thought here, requiring several listens before the nuances are revealed. Worth the wait? Maybe. Worth a few hours of your time? Definitely.
70
Hartford Courant
While few have ever actually accused the singer of using good judgment, Chinese Democracy shows him to be a man who, however divorced from reality, hasn't lost the instincts that once made him great.
70
Spin
An outrageously overblown pop-metal extravaganza, Chinese Democracy feels like a perfect epitaph for all the absurdity and nonsense of the George W. Bush era--one final blowout before Principal Obama takes our idiocy away.
70
Blender
Chinese Democracy's non-existence is so well-known and ingrained, the source of so many jokes, that its actual existence can only be a letdown. That is until you hear it. Then, somewhat astonishingly, 5,475 days, at least $13 million, fourteen studios, twenty or so musicians (including five guitarists and a harpist) seems just about right.
67
Entertainment Weekly
At times it's possible to hear the world-changing CD that Rose--whose banshee howl remains gloriously intact....But too often quantity gets in the way of quality.
60
The Guardian
Chinese Democracy is clearly not the greatest rock album ever made, but nor is it an absolute and utter failure. The irony is, that for all the lavishing of money and time and technology, it's saved by something as old fashioned as a good tune.
60
musicOMH.com
It is odd that something so standard provides the denouement to this album, trying to span over a decade of fan loyalty. Will they buy it? Undoubtedly. Will they like it? Who knows.
60
No Ripcord
It is ridiculous. It is overblown, it's pompous, it's aggressive and it's absurdly ambitious. But, here's the rub: it's actually pretty damn good. It rocks, often pretty hard.
60
PopMatters
Yet even if it defies expectations, Chinese Democracy is not the masterpiece that it so desperately wants to be.
60
Tiny Mix Tapes
While the album can aptly be termed “good,” it isn’t the epic that many might expect, especially to those whose interests have long since shifted away from GN’R’s aesthetic and the younger generation unable to emotionally connect with the sounds.
60
Mojo
Chinese Democracy reveals itself to be an ambitious, brave and expansive offering. [Feb 2009, p.108]
58
Pitchfork
Even if Chinese Democracy had dropped a decade previous, it would still sound dated.
50
Slant Magazine
While the band's label, fans and a handful of rock journalists would like to hail this album as the Second Coming of Rock, the reality is that Chinese Democracy is neither a musical resurrection nor the audio equivalent of Ishtar.
43
Paste Magazine
Too bad the epitaph’s already scrawled in Chinese Democracy’s anachronistic margins: a bottomless pit dug by disposable income, a persecution complex and egomania.
40
NOW Magazine
For all the wank and bluster throughout the album’s 14 tracks, the bottom line is that the shit simply doesn’t rock.
40
Dot Music
Meandering atmospheric intros and outros, with lyrics that often just repeat the same verse ad nauseum, overshadow what could be, at times, shorter, snappier songs.
40
Uncut
Soundwise, Chinese Democracy is all over the place.
40
Hot Press
The album fifteen years in the making that sounds like a slick but robotic imitation of what it might have been long ago.
40
Q Magazine
By throwing everything at the wall and nailing up the stuff that didn't stick, he's done himself--and more importantly what he clearly views as his masterpiece--a grand disservice. [Jan 2009, p.110]
35
Prefix Magazine
Even if it came out in 1996, it would still be self-absorbed, turgid, over-produced and soulless.
20
Under The Radar
Chinese Democracy is a multi-million dollar dud, an example of faded brilliance and wasted time. [Winter 2009]
The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 307 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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