Chinese Democracy is not the greatest rock album ever made.

Oh, it’s certainly awesome, but I don’t think it’s “15 years awesome.” Had Axl released his album after a silence of, say, 11 years and two months (at a cost of, say, $11.5 million), Chinese Democracy would be an undeniable masterpiece, but considering the circumstances, some of this work seems shoddy. I get the impression most of the 13 songs were written between 1993 and 1999, and Rose merely spent six or seven years touching them up in the studio. One is forced to wonder if a track like “Madagascar” was only recorded 75 or 80 times, which calls Axl’s alleged “maniacal perfectionism” directly into question.

Does Chinese Democracy offer glimpses of the paranoid, misogynistic genius we once heard on the soundtrack of Interview With the Vampire? Absotively. “The Blues” might be Rose’s crowning career achievement: It’s an epic combination of mid-period Stevie Wonder, early Elton John, and side two of In Through the Out Door. This is the kind of gutter-glam boogie ballad that makes “November Rain” seem like a bucket of burro vomit warming in the afternoon sun. Chinese Democracy is simultaneously propulsive and ponderous, and there are some electrifying guitar arpeggios on both “Silk Worm” and “Thursday Morning Strip Club” (performed, I assume, by either Buckethead, Robin Finck, Zakk Wylde, Johnny Marr, or Brian May — all five are listed in the liner notes). But this transcendence is sporadic at best: All too often, Rose’s sonic neurosis plunges into self-reflexive self-indulgence, most notably on the outdated 14-minute rap-rock anthem “Pound You (Good)” and an embarrassing “roots rock” duet with new buddy Dave Pirner titled “You’re Still Too Sweet Not to Be My Baby Anymore.” Several songs make thinly veiled references to the architect who designed Rose’s backyard topiary garden, a move that may confuse casual listeners.

Obviously, the sexy albatross hanging around Rose’s wiry jugular is simple modernity: Could he create an album that would sound contemporary — and competitive — in today’s ever-evolving marketplace? As such, it is hard to understand why he elected to have Chinese Democracy coproduced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Kiss) and Phil Ramone (Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand). Songs like “Catcher in the Rye” exhibit the sculpted sheen of Billy Joel’s Glass Houses, and the LP includes several tracks on which GNR bassist Tommy Stinson appears to be playing a note-for-note replication of the bass line from “Another Brick in the Wall.” Skeptics might also bristle at the anger that still resides in Axl’s heart; his hairstyle and facial features have changed, but his inner intensity remains grizzly-esque. On the caustic rocker “Slash and Burned,” Rose lashes out at his former bandmates now in Velvet Revolver with staggering specificity: “Your singer has cocaine eyes and a skeletonized trance / We’ll see if RCA recoups their advance.” Rose has also retained his pathological distaste for the media, lyrically attacking the editors of Vanity Fair, MTV personality Sway, numerous teenage bloggers, and the city hall reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer (who, curiously, has never written about pop music).

Still, Rose always possesses the potential to surprise us, as he does on a slightly reggaetón cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Cowboy Song” and a faithful (albeit befuddling) version of “Think About You,” a tune actually written and recorded by Guns N’ Roses in 1987. But a deeper quandary remains: Does Chinese Democracy accomplish its goal? After all this time and all that money, will this album truly bring democracy to China?

I don’t know. I just don’t know.

FAST FACTS

1. The album’s working title for much of 1994 and ‘95 was Chinese Theocracy.
2. To capture a specific drum sound, Rose coated the walls of his home studio with four inches of wet adobe from the Sonoran Desert.
3. Two weeks before his death in 2002, ex-Clash frontman Joe Strummer contributed guitar for a song tentatively titled “Janky Holocaust.” However, Rose eventually dropped the track, citing “dehydration.”
4. The liner notes include Rose’s complete voting record, dating to 1992.
5. This version of Chinese Democracy only exists in an alternative reality ruled by the fools of April.

Guns N’ Roses- Chinese Democracy (Free Full Album Download)

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The Greatest of All Lost Arts
The album introduces itself with a soft and melodically strummed acoustic with dissonant lead riffs in the distance of the background. When the song opens up it really pummels the listener who expected to be lullabied into the album. It’s deceiving and unpredictable, much like the whole album. The vocals right off the start are very long and drawn out with emphasis to the last letter of each word sung. The song construction has already exhibited multiple personalities in “To Satellite”. It starts off soft and melodic, goes into a pummeling frenzy, and breaks down. The screams are a surprising additive which seem brash for such melodic singing. I’m not talking about the metal-core style of singing which is basically talking softly into a microphone but actual singing. “The Ocean, The Beast!” starts off in rising notions. The song builds up and unloads but this time feels expected after the previous song. The crunch of the guitars with the double bass really puts the listener up against the wall wanting to move. At moments of the song it feels like the wall of sound is huge with so much going on. The drums will roll all over you when you least expect it. The guitars which feel like the focal point of instrumentals unload such a relentless attack on the listener. The bass which is a real hidden gem is active and moving all around the rest of the instruments. When each song is almost over 3 minutes long, these instrumentals are a true puzzle to discover on your own.

“Miami Nights” is a break from the action with a very bluesy reverb’ed guitar tone. The song is slower than the previous and focuses more on the vocals and lyrics. More than ever you’ll notice the similarities of Daryl Palumbo even questioning if it’s him doing the vocals for this band. The song feels more oriented to a pop nature and then unloads a random breakdown which really does feel thrown in just for the hell of it. Still with that being said the lead guitar proposes a lot of interesting lead licks with different variants. The singing will either soothe you to the end of the winding 4 minute track or get a bit annoying depending on whether you can accept the vocal passage of not. “The Choreographer” reminds me a lot of Hopesfall “The Satellite Years”. Instrumentals create an atmospheric like ambience and still feel active to the listener and not too distant. I feel like vocally this is one of the higher rated tracks for me. It felt like Matt Geise tried to establish an identity and was somewhat successful in doing so instead of being viewed as a total knockoff. The mixture of an acoustic guitar and a clean electric create some beautiful parallels at the end of the mix. “Versus, Versace” is one of the first songs to start off with screaming and I felt it coming with the barrage of drums to start off the song. The song continues in with its reloading/unloading assault of clean to heavy formation and then unloads a fantastic hook. “Don’t cross the line” repeated multiple times really feels like a passionate and sincere hook. It feels like a subtle climax that the listener was wanting all along.

“Pueblo Cicada” is most likely a fan favorite for the guest vocals done by Jonny Craig (Emarosa/Dance Gavin Dance). The song feels like it could be a Dance Gavin Dance track with the way the instrumentals are at a pop-punk tempo and really clicky. The difference here is that Matt Geise does most of the vocals until the outro is when Jonny Craig steps in. The song is more oriented to the singing stance of the band and Jonny Craig does an outstanding but limited job. His vocals tease you about midway in doing some background harmonies but unmistaken ably present. When he comes in you’ll know it’s him and be pleasantly surprised on the first listen since it’s only mentioned in the linear notes that he’s a guest vocalist. The song ends with them both filled up with harmonizing vocals. The taste of Daryl Palumbo and Jonny Craig doing a duet can get any scene kid wet in the pants. “His Silent Film” is a taste of the band getting repetitive in overall song presentation. Something that I don’t think I’ve ever felt when listening to GlassJAw and Hopesfall. As the band continues to create tasteful hooks the songs will start wearing down on the listener after a handful of listens. The most tasteful of them in this song is the soft and slowed down part which really grooves with a bass line and softly picked guitars. “The Ventriloquist” is a song that begins showing the bands redeeming qualities. The fast bright leads with the guitar and the heavy crunches shown in breakdowns. Its real redeeming quality is the ability to produce after a breakdown without becoming lazy and just mellowing out. The screams toward the end of song create a new spectrum of aggressiveness and really stand out but are a prelude to an upcoming song.

“If We Speak Quietly” might not be that song but has teased me to what I knew was coming ahead. This song feels more like a heavy set lullaby for the listener. The rhythms and rhymes are cookie cut but nonetheless fluent. The vocals in this song also further the identity of Matt Geise who never quite finds his identity fully in this album. The screaming sometimes feels too much of a forced quality just to jive with a scene that’s focused and ready for it. Though I say this, I’m also pleased to be serenaded with the throaty screams but that’s for me to say because I’m more oriented to heavier sounds now (which usually consist of a more throaty way of expression ;)). “The Weatherman” was the first song I ever heard from this band and now probably my second favorite (Pueblo Cicada being first). This song is everything that got me hooked on this band. It’s schizophrenic like guitar work and fast style really went over well with me. This song really molds everything that the band does really well in terms of soft and heavy aspects. Now that I look back it, it was the ideal song for the band to make as a single and to put on a sample CD or I might’ve overlooked them. The scream at 1:50 is an eye opening surprise to the listener. It spans out for almost 10 seconds to the point where you could see the vocal cords vibrating through the headphones. Yes that’s a cool hook in my book but what’s up with the
“woahs” & “yeahs after the fact? Also the line of “the flowers are fake” feel like it’s more oriented to band lyrics of Alesana or something. “Namaskar” is the finale of The Greatest Of All Lost Arts is a real game changer. It starts off real slow and melodic but unlike any other song on the album and stays that way for most of the beginning. It feels like a real finale that gives a nice summary of everything the band did except being cut short since it’s the shortest track of the album.

If We Speak Quietly
Lower Definition is a post-hardcore band coming out of an ever evolving San Diego scene. As they are on a major label many people will never see the light of day of this band simply because they are a “small” band on a major label. As when I think of Ferret Records the first 3 bands that come to mind are Every time I Die, Misery Signals, and Zao- do the same with yourself if you’re a label follower, and I bet Lower Definition won’t be included. I guess somewhat of a goal in writing this review is to publicize in a fair manner. As Lower Definition takes cues from Hopesfall and GlassJAw they don’t quite compare to those two bands. Even on the bands MySpace they list GlassJAw as an influence but I’m one who’s going to say that there are no other Daryl Palumbo’s. With that being said the vocals are very close to some of the classiest vocals displayed on “Worship & Tribute”. The instrumentals on this album are very tightly knit but I’d like to see more diversity in song structure as some of the songs novelty wears off in time. Overall this is an enjoyable, fun listen for fans who strive in the post-hardcore (melodic:scream) area. For fans of GlassJAw or Hopesfall should definitely give this a shot. They will be rekindled with the love of those two bands.

Pros:
+ Instrumentals
+ Creative moments
+ Solid as an album
Cons:
- Repetitive song structure
- Tiring vocals
- Brings nothing new to the table

Original Release Date: July 8, 2008
Produced By: Lower Definition and Kris Cummett
Label: Ferret Records

Lower Definition is:
Tino Arteaga - Drums
Eddy Marshburn - Guitar
Stefan Toler - Bass
Matt Geise - Vocals

Lower Definition- The Greatest of All Lost Arts (Rapidshare Download)

What makes these songs more accessible and mainstream is the decreased amount of screaming by Maria Brink. She still wails on a few tracks, but they are usually brief parts and she quickly returns to melodic singing. Most songs have no screaming at all.

In This Moment - The Dream (Full Free Album Download)

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Conclusion

Marcelo created a beautiful disc, showing what he knows how, and intelligent lyrics with melodic característca was also present. With a good production, a good band and more creative arrangements that innovative, Camelo did a little “masterpiece of sincerity.” The only “but” the disc is about the voice of Marcelo, who on several points, it disappear, or get around with the music, an error of production, diction or a bad thing? But in any way, get the brightness of the disk.

Marcelo Camelo - Sou (Full Free Album Download)

They still continue their original sound, but there are some changes. Going for more of a 70s and 80s vibe, the album is overall more mature. Sure, they still have their dance-floor rock anthems (”Rip It Up”, “Get Your Back Off The Wall”, “Fever”, “Dance Or Die”), but they also have a couple of love songs. The lovey-dovey “The First Time” and the more rock “D-I-E 4 Y-O-U” are sweet (literally). But their polar-opposite “Share It With Me” while catchy, is a very emotional, dramatic heartbreak song, with lines such as “The memory of our first kiss/Is taking me to the verge of tears” and “Now that you’re gone it’s killing me”, which you wouldn’t expect to hear from this band. In fact it sounds like it was put on here by accident.

So, they have yet again put together a stellar album that will please fans and maybe garner some new ones. Favorite album of the year? That’s an understatement.

Family Force 5 - Dance Or Die (Full Free Album Download)

Not that it’s a gloomy album, but these songs are noticeably more reflective, their themes of longing and absence rooted deeper than the caprices of romantic love, and consequently it feels more serious than her previous work. The outstanding song of the album is the piercingly beautiful, Celtic-flavoured ‘Grafton Street’, a six-minute hymn to loss co-written with Brian Eno and featuring Mick Fleetwood on drums. Listen to it once and it will catch at your heart as a wrenching lament for a lover who will not return. Listen to it again knowing it’s an account of visiting her father during his last illness and death (’My love, I know you’re leaving, but I will stay here with you’) and I guarantee you will be bawling your eyes out uncontrollably long after the album has finished. There’s an honesty and depth to this song that you can’t fake, even if you tend to the opinion that Dido’s distinctive cracked falsetto generally has a limited emotional range.

But that light, husky sweetness lends itself well to intelligent mainstream pop, and this album has benefitted from time spent in LA at the studio of Jon Brion (producer of Fiona Apple, Kanye West and Rufus Wainwright), who co-produced the album alongside Dido and her brother and long-time collaborator Rollo Armstrong. Brion is also responsible for a number of the sumptuous string arrangements that swell the sound to rather grandiose levels on songs such as ‘Let’s Do the Things We Normally Do’ and the first single, ‘Don’t Believe in Love’, but Dido’s own musical contribution is formidable: she plays keyboards, drums and/or guitar on most of the tracks. The lilting recorder solo that carries ‘Grafton Street’ to its haunting conclusion is apparently played on the same instrument she played as a student at the Guildhall School of Music.

The other notable contribution is from Citizen Cope, a Brooklyn-based guitarist, DJ and keyboard player, who duets on the laid-back ‘Burnin Love’, the grit of his voice providing a welcome contrast with hers. The nine-minute closer, ‘Northern Skies’, co-written with Rollo, is the nearest Dido has ever come to poetry, experimenting with little Irish vocal quavers and an expansive musical landscape that makes the more traditional pop tracks such as ‘Don’t Believe in Love’ sound unimaginative by comparison. ‘Don’t say how proud you are,’ she pleads in ‘Let’s Do the Things We Normally Do’, another song that addresses an inevitable last goodbye. But this album is a mature and thoughtful collection of songs and a fine memorial to her father, who would have been right to be proud.

Dido - Safe Trip Home (Full Free Album Download)

In the world according to AC/DC, sex, money, politics and other trappings of adulthood are a sick joke — but rock is sacred. No one this side of Chuck Berry has written so many great rock & roll songs about rock & roll, and no band short of the Ramones has so militantly refused to reach beyond the basics of the form. AC/DC offer a vision of the Stones if Keith had won every argument: no concept albums, no keyboards, no disco, no ballads, no gospel choirs. And Black Ice is their best argument in years — maybe decades — that evolution is for suckers.

Keeping your sound static places all the pressure on your songwriting. And for the first time since 1990’s The Razor’s Edge reached Generation Beavis, guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young have written tunes worthy of their musical muscle — though not enough to fill an album. With radio-savvy producer Brendan O’Brien on board, the best stuff nearly lives up to their career peaks, especially “Rock N Roll Train,” where the brothers Young toss fat, slashing chords at each other like knife jugglers. Drummer Phil Rudd swings beneath with inhumanly restrained beats — he’s so reluctant to play a fill that he makes Charlie Watts sound like Dave Grohl.

Similarly, bassist Cliff Williams seems content to play pumping eighth notes on every AC/DC song ever — except the funky walking line he lays down on the excellent “She Likes Rock N Roll.” Another instant classic, “Big Jack,” has the swagger of a long-lost Back in Black track. Even songs that rely on well-worn tricks — the two-string high-note riffing on “Anything Goes” recalls “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” — have enough verve to get over.

AC/DC avoid the cheerful sexism of the past (see the oral-sex ode “Givin the Dog a Bone”). Otherwise, the words haven’t changed much, aside from a new preoccupation with apocalyptic meteorology (”Skies on Fire,” “Stormy May Day,” “Black Ice”). The title of “War Machine” is ominously topical, but the lyrics are vague enough (”call of the wild…that thing gone wild”) to suggest that the “machine” is just another phallic metaphor. Phew.

Unlike original frontman Bon Scott, a born shrieker, Brian Johnson is a natural baritone, delivering tortured-weasel high notes through sheer force of will. Recently, he’s sounded more wheezy than menacing at the top of his range, but O’Brien has him hitting his notes again here – and the band emphasizes the choruses by returning to the rich backup vocals that enlivened its greatest hits.

For a group of guys who are so convinced they’re an “album band” that they refuse to sell their songs individually online, AC/DC have had trouble making consistent albums since 1981’s For Those About to Rock. While Black Ice pulls away from that trend, it doesn’t reverse it: The album feels longer than its 55 minutes, thanks to a stretch of throwaway rockers including the mindless “Spoilin’ for a Fight” and the generic-even-by-their-standards “Wheels.”

But there’s something almost elegiac about Black Ice’s multiple odes to rock — “Rocking All the Way,” “Rock N Roll Dream,” etc. These guys are true believers, fighting a war no one told them ended long ago. “We’re gonna rock ’round…the town/We’re gonna make it right/We’re gonna make it rock all night,” Johnson yelps at one point — making it clear that his band still finds resonance in words that were clichéd by 1956. And for that, you’ve got to salute them.

AC/DC - Black Ice (Full Free Album Download)