"Chinese democracy" CD by Guns N' Roses

by Thomas Clausen (09.01.2009) Ladies and gentlemen, he’s back in the ring: W. Axl Rose, bigmouth coke kingpin of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip – and with his myth-laden Hard Rock monster "Chinese democracy", he’s teaching the world a well-deserved lesson in cockiness. Rumours were flying about the most delayed and, above all, also most expensive album ever – yet it’s incredible but true that this long period of waiting has indeed paid off. After almost 17 years, having burnt more than one hundred millions of Dollars for production, the eccentric G N’R pioneer and his fresh team are out and about almost with the old and well-known delusions of grandeur, including lots of those Rock’n’Roll excesses we all have missed so much, wonderfully kitschy cry-your-eyes-out ballads, and this trademark "fuck you all" attitude of the bandana icon who has left his tight stretchy pants behind and goes for a tight and stretchy face expression instead now (courtesy of Botox…). And even if such famous guys like Slash or Duff have long left the boat – Axl is still Axl, anytime: with all his vanity and extravagance, but with all his brilliancy and his knack for the perfect song, too. And maybe even for another milestone.