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8 reasons why Chinese Democracy stiffed
And Axl Rose himself is part of the problem
Joe Bosso and Michael Leonard, Thu 4 Dec 2008, 4:25 pm UTC
It was perhaps no surprise that The Killers' album Day & Age beat Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy to Number 1 in the UK.
But the failure of Guns N' Roses to hit top spot in the US, where the band's first album is a staple of classic rock stations from coast to coast, is more of a surprise.
And what's going to hurt more is that Chinese Democracy didn't even come close to the Number 1 spot. Figures from the US reveal that the Top 3 sales for the current chart were:
1. Kanye West: 808s And Heartbreak – 450,000
2. Taylor Swift: Fearless - 267,000
3. Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy - 261,000
That's still a decent sale in tough times, but AC/DC's Black Ice, the first album from the band in seven years, shifted 784,000 copies in its opening week. As with Chinese Democracy's exclusive distribution via Best Buy, Black Ice went out only through Wal-Mart.
Geffen is "frustrated"
There are already reports of grumblings around the GN'R camp about the Best Buy deal and its (lack of) promotion, though it's also been noted how Axl Rose has done no promotion whatsoever himself on his record.
True, Axl Rose is threatening to sue Dr Pepper for 'misusing' the band name in their recent giveaway promotion, but that's hardly the same as making the late-night talk show rounds and giving interviews to the music press.
"You would have thought after spending 15 years on an album you might do a few weeks promotion" Geffen insider
"The label is really glad to have him back," says an insider at Geffen Records. "But it is frustrating because the album would have had a much better chance of going to Number 1 if he had only been prepared to show his face. You would have thought after spending 15 years on an album you might do a few weeks promotion."
Yes, you would think that. But when it comes to Axl Rose, little makes much sense. So without further ado, here are...
MusicRadar's 8 reasons why Chinese Democracy has stiffed
1. You took too long, Axl
As noted, 15 years is an awful long time to make an audience wait for a new album. "People forgot about him" says Gary Cee, program director for the classic rock station WPDH in Poughkeepsie, New York.
"Axl Rose doesn't seem to exist anymore" Gary Cee of classic rock station WPDH
"He doesn't seem to exist anymore. AC/DC, Metallica - the audience has a sense that they're doing things, there's a connection there. With Guns N' Roses, there's no connection anymore."
2. Chinese Democracy isn't a masterpiece
Cluttered, unfocused and bloated, Chinese Democracy makes The Spaghetti Incident sound like a classic. Trad Guns N' Roses fans don't want dated (as in, recorded in 1998) attempts at industrial nu-metal. They want Guns N' Roses, as in killer guitar riffs, slam-o hooks and unadulterated, hair-raising vocals. Axl, you forgot that bit over the years.
