Music Reviews

Photo by George Chin

"Better" is the standout track simply because it sounds the most like a band playing in real time. There's just one voice, that old-school Axl rasp, handling most of the vocals. And when the monster rhythm riff comes around, there aren't a million Buckethead notes atop it - although, fear not, a few hundred do get punched in over the last chorus.

The shocker, however, is how focused the album turns out to be. If 1991's sprawling, overlong Use Your Illusion Vols. 1 and 2 were an attempt at a heavy metal Sandinista!, this is Side 1 of Combat Rock - meaning that every track is buffed-up and mainstream-ready, the factory-fresh Version 2.0 of the band you've come to know.

"Shackler's Revenge" and "This I Love," respectively, make good on all of Axl's previous attempts to become Trent Reznor and Freddie Mercury. There's a slinky '50s rock ballad ("Sorry") as well as a Zep-inspired Mideast extravaganza ("Madagascar"). Most amazingly, the layers of candyfloss don't keep any of the rock tracks from rocking: The rhythm section kicks hard (ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, who'll probably live comfortably off his one songwriting credit, earns his keep), and there's at least one heavy rhythm guitar whenever a track needs it. If Chinese Democracy proves anything, it's that Axl can write hooks; even Izzy Stradlin's songs aren't missed as much as expected.

If I haven't spent much time pondering what it all means, that's because it doesn't really mean anything. Rose's self-against-the-world perspective hasn't softened, deepened, or otherwise evolved in the slightest since 1991 - a remarkable achievement when you think about it. The rampant megalomania was fascinating, and a little unsettling, when it ran all over his Illusion lyrics. But nothing here is as creepy as that project's "Coma"; by now, it's just a rock star saying what you expect him to say.

So when you hear one of the world's most indulged individuals singing (on "Madagascar"), "Forgive them that tear down my soul," the irony isn't even that glaring. And on the title track, when he somehow equates a perceived slight against him with major political issues, all you can think is: "Sure, Axl, nice chorus-hook there."

In all - a pretty decent album. And the cover image isn't only a mysterious grabber but the one truly unexpected thing in the whole package.