awesome-top-hat?

Song 2: Shackler's Revenge
I was a little disappointed with the introductory vocals. It sounded rather odd to hear low Axl vocals, and made me wonder "what the hell, Axl? Didn't you guys spend thirteen million dollars on this thing?" However, the disappointment faded when the prechorus hit with a catchy four-on-the-floor beat. The rest of the vocals didn't sound too odd. As before, awesome solo. The entire song flowed very well from a production standpoint--lots of thought was placed into where sounds were placed and what should be played where. Buckethead assisted with the writing on this song and it certainly shows--there are only three songs that he's credited with co-writing on this album.
Pros: Instrumental work is amazing, great production
Cons: Not too impressed with how long it took for this album to come out. In the 17 years since the last original-song studio album from GnR, Sufjan Stevens made 204 albums and donated them all to charity.*


Song 3: Better
Interesting song overall. However, I was not really impressed with the song until the second chorus and on into the instrumental bridge. Who would've known that Axl had a decent modern-scream voice? Anyway, the rock riff during the bridge is something that makes up for any shortfalls in the rest of the song. It's one of those headbanging riffs that will cause heads to turn if you're listening to it while in the car.
Pros: Riff rock done right
Cons: You know what would be "better?" Releasing this album before Y2K.

Song 4: Street Of Dreams
Axl, what the hell. Seriously. Don't make me wreck my car laughing at your vocal transitions. You have
"normal-sounding-voice" and "dear God, Axl Rose must be singing." The chorus is catchy enough, and I like the guitar solo and the way the entire song is structured. There's quite a bit of talent in the songwriting here. I'm not sure who to credit with that--Axl himself has said that GnR has always been a 'band' as far as songwriting went.
Pros: Great songwriting
Cons: Axl vocals at the beginning may cause erratic driving. I do not recommend a first-time listen while at the wheel of any vehicle.

Song 5: If The World
This was probably the strangest introduction on the album. The song morphs from something smooth and jazzy (with a hair of wah pedal, acoustic guitar, and synth bass) into something with heavier electric guitar on the chorus. The production values on the guitars is something to be admired. The solo follows the same pattern as the song--it tricks the listener into expecting the same soft and smooth approach to the verses in this song, but then the guitarist appears to discover his Jekyll & Hyde overdrive pedal, and it's all over from there.
Pros: An appropriate mix of dynamics and song styles
Cons: Guitars may actually be a bit too heavy at times.

Song 6: There Was A Time
Strings? They're okay at times, but I generally do not like them. Their placement in this song is not an exception--there should have been less strings, period, or just none at all. The musical structure of this song was obviously being kept in the forefront. The guitar solo this time is simple rather than elaborate (at least until 5:06, where a stream of awesome happens). The bassist got to show off his chops, too.
Pros: Appropriate use of dynamics
Cons: Strings.

Song 7: Catcher In The Rye
This song has Blind Melon-esque qualities, from the guitar work to the catchy "Na na na's" later on in the song. Not much else to say about this song--it's interesting, but not one of my favorites. It seems to go on for too long, as well.
Pros: I like Blind Melon
Cons: Thirteen million dollars, nine years, and there's a song I don't adore on the album? Color me unimpressed. If I want to hear a song I don't like, I'll put in a Sufjan Stevens album and hit shuffle. I'll be bound to hit a song that should have been edited off of the album (or an album that should have never been released).

Song 8: Scraped
Axl, what the hell. I appreciate "dozens of dudes" vocals from the 80s, but you can't just hit me with it a capella at the beginning of a song. That bit of laughter aside, this is one of the more interesting songs on the album. Again, Brian Carroll (Buckethead) assists in writing this one--it shows. Big thick guitar sound permeates this whole album, as well as lots of awesome guitar solo and riff work. This is one of the most straightforward rock songs on the whole album.
Pros: Lots of guitar riffs and solos
Cons: A capella A xl. Enough said.

Song 9: Riad N' The Bedouins
I'm a fan of noise and strange sounds filling up introductions. This song does not disappoint in that area at all. Much like Scraped, this song is straightforward rock with so many guitar riffs and solos that I think I found where the guitar solos on Britney Spears' pop albums disappeared to.** Quirky guitar solo work at the end of the song wraps up a song that may actually have more going on than it can adequately handle.
Pros: Lots of guitar riffs and solos
Cons: Used every Pro-Tools slot up on guitars. Fun fact: in the contract for recording guitar solos for this album, Buckethead made sure that he had twenty Pro-Tools slots reserved to simply be silent in awe of the awesomeness that was Buckethead's guitar solo work.

Song 10: Sorry
One of the few slower rock songs on the album, this song stands out to me--thus I wasn't surprised to find that this was another Buckethead co-written job. It has been arranged in an expert manner. The chorus is a very simple riff of thick electric guitar. Axl's vocals sound a bit strange at times, but it doesn't detract from the rest of the song in a significant way.
Pros: Dynamically strong
Cons: Axl Rose cheats at poker.

Song 11: I.R.S.
This isn't a very complex song in comparison with the other songs on the album, and I didn't find much to comment on about it except a couple of interesting guitar solos that make the song worth listening to.
Pros: Guitar solos
Cons: Meh. Thirteen million dollars. Must I keep repeating myself? This song leaked in 2006 and started getting played on the radio--and hit #49 on the Radio & Records Active Rock National Airplay chart at the end of February of that year before it was pulled. (#48 was probably a Nickelback song, just so you know.)

Song 12: Madagascar
I consider this the epic song on this album. THIS is the kind of song that a drum machine works well, and strings work even better. Axl's vocals work well for this song, and there's plenty of guitar riffs and solos. The interesting part of the song comes later on when fragments of speeches are meshed together with the music.
Pros: good song
Cons: I can't find anything I dislike about this song, so let me tell you a story. Axl Rose likes to tackle people for taking pictures of his shows. That's right: he tackles people. Don't forget it.

Song 13: This I Love
The way this song begins would normally make me smirk at least a little due to the vocals. Fortunately, the subject matter of the lyrics is interesting enough that I didn't pay that much attention to it--and besides, I was pretty impressed to hear how high Axl can still sing. The first half of the song is low key, even with a screaming guitar solo over piano. For such a simple song (very few chords and chord changes), this is a pretty good tune. Axl does a decent job on the keys, too.
Pros: Interesting arrangement
Cons: Axl likes to start riots. Let that seep into your mind: Axl is not a nice person. Got it?

Song 14: Prostitute
This is another song (similar to Catcher In The Rye) that doesn't sound like it fits quite in with the GnR of old--at least on the verses. In this case, I don't think it's a bad thing. The portions that stand out are a pair of rocking guitar solos over super-fast kick drum patterns.
Pros: Two really great guitar solos.
Cons: Only two really great guitar solos. I have a suspicion Buckethead did both of them, therefore he used up all of the Pro-Tools slots.

All in all, not a bad album.

[1] http://newsroom.mtv.com/2008/12/03/chinese-democracys-sluggish-sales-what-happened-to-guns-n-roses-long-awaited-release/
[2]http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Guns-N-Roses-To-Release-New-Album---Axl-Rose-Is-The-Only-Original-Remaining-Member/Article/200810415127112
[3]http://www.havocscope.com/Drugs/cocaine/cocaineusa.htm
[4]http://www.havocscope.com/Drugs/heroin/heroinnorth.htm
*Consequently, charities have stopped accepting Sufjan Stevens albums as legal tender.
**Everyone knows guitarists are allergic to Britney Spears.