“Chinese Democracy” Guns N’ Roses
WHY CARE? Seventeen years after the release of Guns N’ Roses’ last album of original material, singer Axl Rose returns with “Chinese Democracy,” a disc that has been delayed so often, it has become a pop culture metaphor for artistic hubris.
TRIVIA: Back in 2005, the New York Times reported the album had already cost more than $13 million to record.
HIGH POINTS: “Street of Dreams” delivers the much-loved bombast of classic Guns N’ Roses, with a piano intro, some swooping strings, a 45-second guitar solo and Rose wailing about crumbling love.
FANS ALSO LIKE: Pop metal.
ANDY SAYS: When an album takes this long and costs this much to make, you want it to be either incredible or a disaster. This is neither. For each terrific high point — the unlikely jubilance of “Catcher in the Rye,” the French horn-laced “Madagascar” — there is a low, such as the forgettable grind of “Scraped” or the pseudo-balladry of “IRS.” Seventeen years for a middling record: It’s hard to call that a success.
GRADE: B-minus
“Something About Airplanes” Death Cab for Cutie
WHY CARE? The first album by the Seattle group gets reissued.
TRIVIA: The release includes a second disc featuring Death Cab’s first Seattle show, a seven-song set recorded at the Crocodile Cafe in February 1998.
HIGH POINTS: The live show, which includes a cover of the Smiths’ “Sweet and Tender Hooligan,” delivers great sound quality. The band plays with a confidence beyond what you would expect for its first Seattle show.
FANS ALSO LIKE: Emo rock.
ANDY SAYS: Casual fans can shrug about “Something About Airplanes” with good reason. It has several ham-fisted indie rock moments that remind you this is a young band. Still, tracks such as “Pictures in an Exhibition” hint at the happy tunefulness and sad lyrical craft that made the group a success. Loyalists who overlooked the album until now will find enough to appreciate, but just barely.
GRADE: B-minus
Andy Rathbun arathbun@heraldnet.com 425-339-3455
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