Such as?

Tobias?

?

Well, since it seems we're largely doing track by track

Chinese Democracy- A great stage setter...love the intro, Chinese voices muttering, etc. Thal's additions make it better than previous versions, but i think the three layers of lyrics are a bit much.

8/10

SR- As a rocker and a very BH-influenced song it works, but it doesn't work for the epicness of the rest of the record--feels like it was thrown on at the last second. weakest lyricism of the album as well

5/10

Better- Has a cynical pop feel to it..the music (until the breakdown) is upbeat while the lyrics are ironic. Love the added guitars

8/10

Street Of Dreams--Solid ballad and I like the fact the outro was lyricised.

8/10

If the World- Maybe I am a sucker for spanish guitar...never thought i would hear it in conjunction with a GnR record, but it works. Some of the most impressive vocal work by Axl bar none.

9/10

TWAT- What was my favorite early demo has slid as more and more down my favorite list as more orchestration and sound was thrown on it--what was an a gut-wrenching guitar driven reminiscence is now a bit of a garbled quasi-epic

6/10

Catcher- Never should've dumped the May solo, also Axl's vocals seem buried by the guitar at points. That said it's Beatle-esque trippiness is growing on me more and more.

8/10

Scraped- Love the intro and the lyrics. One of the best 'Fuck You' songs Axl has written.

9/10

Riad- Never liked the live version, but love the studio--the psycho-tronic intro makes the difference I think. Best Tommy moment of the album too--this song screams 'scorched earth'

9/10

Sorry- Another great Fuck You song and certainly a departure from the GnR norm.

10/10

IRS- Like TWAT, every subsequent addition made the song a little less fun. This arrangement works well live, not so great in studio format.

6/10

Maddy- See review of TWAT and IRS

6/10

This I Love- Best song on the album and probably one of the best Axl ever wrote. The melody won't leave my head. The vocals scream the story of the heartrending lyrics. Haunting in all the right ways. Freddie Mercury's spirit was channeled here.

10/10

Prostitute- Right behind TIL. The orchestration works well here and the outro is awesome. The lyrics read and sound like a kiss off to this whole era. Now whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but the point is pretty damn clear.

10/10

OVERALL:

Looking at the thing as a collective work (which is really what I want to do) I would say this album is self-indulgent, overly theatrical and scatter-brained. And that's why i FUCKING LOVE IT. A lot of people get turned off by theatricality and indulgence in their rock-n-roll, to me it's the very essence of it. I've heard people bitch it sounds like Queen or Meat Loaf at points (TIL), but as a fan of those artists and that type of listening experience, CD lives up to what I wanted it to be. Whatever some of the tracks' individual weaknesses, the product seems like the logical conclusion as to where Axl was headed on 'Estranged' so many years ago. I am glad he got there.

Bottom Line: 9/10.

ron added a positive energy to the shows in 2006 and showed more love to the fans than he ever needed to. his contributions to the finished product are great and I think his karma helped this thing see daylight.

1. Agree--never replace one of the greatest rock guitarists ever with lesser talent.

2. Like Brain, but think Frank's heavy drumming works, particularly on the rockers

3. I've always liked Ron and think his presence is welcome, BH's contributions are still plentiful and awesome.

4. Got nothing against Richard.

5. Meh---this is piano driven first and foremost. It doesn't detract from what I think is the best song on the record.

re: larger point--Axl burned whatever bridges he had with these folks when they left out of frustration. At this point they are all on to other projects and they all understood it was Axl's baby when they signed on.

I broke when the clean one leaked. you can't put candy in front of a baby sometimes.

that said most of the spoiling i did for myself two years ago with IRS.