So....I read his initial article on Axl and Judas Priest and talked some shit to him.. (GNR for ever!)....due to his extensive writing skills and funny tongue in cheek comments back to me, became friendly with him after some jabbing exchanges...and made him an offer....my offer was this: "I'll send you three (sent him 4 incl Shacklers) of the leaks.....you do a blog review of them.....the only thing I ask is this....listen to them honestly...in the spirit of rock n roll and let us all know what you think!"...well...surprisingly...he took it...here is the finished product (link at bottom)
The Axl Chronicles Part II
Yes, well … I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that there are so many fervent Axl-ites out there — even after all this time! And I shouldn't have been surprised that my basically innocent but, yes, fairly snide little diatribe about the Rose Man and his latest incarnation of Guns ‘n Roses and their Album That Never Was would stir up the spider web in such fashion.
As with many of these exchanges across Blog Land, though, much understanding and good has come out of it. I’ve made a few more enemies as well as some pals who actually are Axl-ites. Guitar out there in SoCal really doesn't like me, but that's okay. I'll send him an Andy Timmons CD and he'll learn who really should be called "Guitar."
Another GNR fan, Jayson, who hails from just outside Green Bay, made me a reasonable offer. He would send me some “leaked” tracks from Guns ’n Roses’ apocryphal Chinese Democracy album if I’d promise to give them an honest listen and blog about it.
And I thought that was a fine idea. I appreciate the effort, J.
So here are my thoughts as I jotted them down during the process of listening to each track a few times.
“If The World” – Axl throws down a surprisingly poignant falsetto in this dream-clustered, slightly funky, Latin-tinged ballad. Yes: that’s an odd recipe, isn’t it? But it works. This is actually the sort of tune you could see Sting writing, though His Stingness would opt for a more subdued, understated vocal delivery. I actually think this is a pretty great tune. And Axl does it better than Sting would, if any of that makes any sense.
“Chinese Democracy” — so this is the titular albatross around the proverbial neck of this whole project, huh? We have a Pink Floydian/Tangerine Dreamish intro segueing into a basic hard rock, four chord riff. In the verses, AR sneers over a slinky bass line and slithering background guitar figures before returning to the main riff/chorus structure. Axl’s screaming ire reminds me of Cobain and Rage Against the Machine — and begs my feeble memory: who came first, Cobain or Axl? Seems I remember them hating each other. Anyhoo, the tune has plenty of energy even if I don’t find it particularly memorable.
“Better” — Doppler, koto-guitar effects and electronica beats before cruising into a nice mid-tempo grind. This is Axl using his voice to maximum effect without resorting to the histrionics. It’s clear that Rose was probably the most curious and willing to experiment of the GNR guys — which on tunes like this and “If The World” prove to be forward thinking and wise. On the other hand, the hard rock stuff I’m hearing seems to suffer for lack of a consistent guitar presence — whether Slash’s iconic riffing or the creative soul of Izzy Stradlin (rumored by many to have been the original Muse of the band at their finest hours). Yeah, I like this one, too.
Hmm … for some reason, I'm having a hard time getting the fourth tune to cooperate. I'll try again later. In the meantime, I have to say: two outta three ain't bad, Axl. As with a comment Jayson made to the first blog, I wonder if this should be a solo album -- but, either way, I'm fairly impressed. If you'd just fix your hair, I would be completely humble! And, in any event, I look forward to hearing the whole thing.
link
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=52fe18ca-...44-593aafc3161bI thought this was really cool of him to take the time to write based on my suggestion and he also seemed to like the leaks quite a bit....
one more for the good guys...GNFNR,
~Jayce
