Axl Rose Returns

It’s been a long, ling time coming.  This weekend the much anticipated album from Rose hits stores.  Its been 17 years since the last Guns N’ Roses album.  The album, "Chinese Democracy" is now being reviewed.  The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis gives the album 3 out of 5 stars.  He makes the point that its hard to separate the music with all of the time, money and hoopla that went into making it.  John Pareles of the NY Times has posted a review on the Times website.  Here’s an excerpt: "Chinese Democracy" is the Titanic of rock albums: the ship, not the movie, although like the film it’s a monumental studio production. It’s outsize, lavish, obsessive, technologically advanced and, all too clearly, the end of an era. It’s also a shipwreck, capsized by pretensions and top-heavy production. In its 14 songs there are glimpses of heartfelt ferocity and despair, along with bursts of remarkable musicianship. But they are overwhelmed by countless layers of studio diddling and a tone of curdled self-pity. The album concludes with five bombastic power ballads in a row."