Posted by
Arik on Saturday, January 03, 2009 4:27:40 PM
Okay, so maybe this first review isn't going to be all that cranky, but I feel the need to share this one.
After 16 years, and an almost complete turnover of band members, we finally get to hear the long-long-long-awaited new album from Guns n' Roses, and surprise! It actually rocks! In fact, it's the best new release I heard all last year, though that's a fairly short list.
When I first listened to this album, I didn't much care for it. I had in my mind the "Appetite" and "Illusions" Gn'R, and this is quite different from both of those albums. It has the anger and intensity of "Appetite" with the musical diversity of the "Illusions," and the spirit of both, while managing to sound completely different from either of them (except for that glorious voice, and even that shows more facets than prior efforts revealed).
After the second or third spin, The melodies started sticking in my mind, and making me want to hear them again. Now the CD somehow keeps finding itself in the drive almost every other time I listen to something.
All the hype and bickering aside, Axl Rose has done two major things with this album: He has proven himself the true heart and soul of Guns n' Roses, and has given us something we don't often get in this era of American Idol and pre-packaged "bands": an album full of music we haven't heard before, that not only doesn't suck, but rocks, and hard. And for that, he should be commended. I just hope he doesn't make us wait sixteen years for the next.