Post by Alexander The So-so on Dec 30, 2008 10:41:44 GMT -5
First off, sorry if this has been discussed before.
I got the CD for Christmas, and am listening to it for the first time right now. Like a lot of fans, no doubt, I was ambivalent; the longtime GNR mark in me was really looking forward to it and wanted it to be successful. And on a personal level, I sort of wanted Axl Rose to prove his detractors wrong and really show that he's more than a pretentious, whiny, confused nutcase. But, on the other hand, there's only so much an album that's been in development hell for 10+ years can do to overcome being the butt of one of the longest running jokes in the music business.
And all I can say upon listening to the CD is...meh.
Meh. Just one big meh. This CD, which has been a decade in the making, isn't great. It's not even good. But, it's not terrible either. It's just...MEH.
Pretty much none of the songs stand out. There's only one song that I thought was pretty good, and that's Street of Dreams (I'm a sucker for "Patience" and other ballads of the sort). But for all the others, once again, nothing was terrible, but none of it really remained. Nothing that really rocked hard, no lyrics that sounded memorable or insightful. Everything from the lyrics to the sounds of the instruments to the "experimental" works are easily forgettable. The different sounds and uses of electronics all came across as confused, like the album couldn't make up its mind what kind of music it wanted to be. Not even the title track is all that impressive. It's all just a bunch of MEH!!!
It's not even the fact that so many people waited so many years for an album that's nothing special. Heck, it's not even the fact that it cannot, realistically, be called Guns N' Roses (Axl Rose, or The Axl Rose Band maybe, but not GnR. 1/5 members of the original lineup does not GnR make). But like I said, part of me was really pulling for Axl to succeed. He can be a really good musician when he keeps his eye on the ball and doesn't fall into self-indulgence, and as a concerned citizen and human being, I wanted him to live up to his hype and overcome all the aggravation and high-profile mockery that he's brought on himself. But, that didn't really happen, and in a way, it's sad, in a tragiccomic way.
It just wasn't worth the years and hype. And it's not Guns N' Roses. It's 14 years, millions upon millions upon unprecedented millions of dollars, and countless days of Axl Rose's zany "perfectionism" and "experimentation," all to make a CD that's slightly above "The Spaghetti Incident" at best.
It's sad. It's funny. It wasn't worth the time and money.
And it's MEH!!!!
Your thoughts?
I got the CD for Christmas, and am listening to it for the first time right now. Like a lot of fans, no doubt, I was ambivalent; the longtime GNR mark in me was really looking forward to it and wanted it to be successful. And on a personal level, I sort of wanted Axl Rose to prove his detractors wrong and really show that he's more than a pretentious, whiny, confused nutcase. But, on the other hand, there's only so much an album that's been in development hell for 10+ years can do to overcome being the butt of one of the longest running jokes in the music business.
And all I can say upon listening to the CD is...meh.
Meh. Just one big meh. This CD, which has been a decade in the making, isn't great. It's not even good. But, it's not terrible either. It's just...MEH.
Pretty much none of the songs stand out. There's only one song that I thought was pretty good, and that's Street of Dreams (I'm a sucker for "Patience" and other ballads of the sort). But for all the others, once again, nothing was terrible, but none of it really remained. Nothing that really rocked hard, no lyrics that sounded memorable or insightful. Everything from the lyrics to the sounds of the instruments to the "experimental" works are easily forgettable. The different sounds and uses of electronics all came across as confused, like the album couldn't make up its mind what kind of music it wanted to be. Not even the title track is all that impressive. It's all just a bunch of MEH!!!
It's not even the fact that so many people waited so many years for an album that's nothing special. Heck, it's not even the fact that it cannot, realistically, be called Guns N' Roses (Axl Rose, or The Axl Rose Band maybe, but not GnR. 1/5 members of the original lineup does not GnR make). But like I said, part of me was really pulling for Axl to succeed. He can be a really good musician when he keeps his eye on the ball and doesn't fall into self-indulgence, and as a concerned citizen and human being, I wanted him to live up to his hype and overcome all the aggravation and high-profile mockery that he's brought on himself. But, that didn't really happen, and in a way, it's sad, in a tragiccomic way.
It just wasn't worth the years and hype. And it's not Guns N' Roses. It's 14 years, millions upon millions upon unprecedented millions of dollars, and countless days of Axl Rose's zany "perfectionism" and "experimentation," all to make a CD that's slightly above "The Spaghetti Incident" at best.
It's sad. It's funny. It wasn't worth the time and money.
And it's MEH!!!!
Your thoughts?