Axl & The Long March to Democracy

Album Review: Chinese Democracy – Guns ‘n’ Roses

Let’s be clear – this is not a Guns ‘n’ Roses album, it is an Axl Rose solo album. With that out off the way we can now get on with deciding if it is any good or not. The answer is a resounding ….YES!

Whatever else he may be Axl remains a superb songwriter and a top notch rock singer. The endless stream of band ‘members’ in the last 14 years may make Chinese Democracy a trifle disjointed in places, and like it’s creator it is undoubtedly a few sandwiches short of a picnic in others, but this is a monster of an album that is worthy to carry the G’n’R name.
It’s long gestation period occasionally shows in the form of some, now out-dated, nu-metal touches but the quality shines through whatever eclectic mix Axl chooses to throw at us. Of course it would have been better with Slash on board but then what wouldn’t? A triumph – and as good as anything the rock world has come up with in the last 14 years.

Rating: Essential

GMT 2

Album Review: Evil Twin – Guy McCoy Tormé

GMT’s debut album was one of the revelations of 2006. A thunderous, roaring opus full to the brim with raw excitement. It was always going to be a difficult act to follow but Evil Twin is a valiant attempt. John McCoy and Robin Guy must surely be one of the most powerful rhythm sections ever assembled and Bernie Tormé is undoubtedly the gypsy king of guitarists – screaming away with a wonderfully wild abandon. All that lets this album down is a slight dip in the quality of the song writing when compared to Bitter & Twisted – there are a couple of fillers here and a little repetitiveness. That said, Evil Twin is a joy to listen to and more than good enough to ensure that GMT remain a going concern for the foreseeable future.

Rating: Good

Quality Control?

Album Review: Happiness Is The Road - Marillion

Marillion’s business model has set the blueprint for niche music in the modern entertainment business. Their go-it-alone approach has freed them from record company influence and helped them survive innumerable shifts in fashion and taste. This latest innovation though was seen by many as a step too far. Giving an album away for free? Time will tell if tagging the downloads with links to their merchandise store bears fruit and I’m sure that the rest of the industry will be watching closely to see if the ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ approach to file sharing has any effect.

Whilst Marillion’s commercial inventiveness has ensured the ongoing existence of the band I am a little concerned at the effect that this independence can have on their music. Happiness Is The Road sprawls over two volumes and is often overlong and sometimes just a tad boring. There is real quality on show here but perhaps a little record company quality control would have honed this into a shorter and more impressive single disc. Whilst Volume 1 - Essence is beautifully played it is mostly unfocused twiddling and wittering and tends to make to me nod off after a while. By comparison Volume 2 – The Hard Shoulder is shorter and sharper and is by far the more entertaining of the two. Proof perhaps that less can be more and that commercial interests can sometimes have a positive artistic influence.

Footnote: In case you’re wondering, I bought my copy of the album off Racket Records. I still think that file-sharing is stealing!

Rating: Good