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Guns N' Roses' Album Hits Shelves — Finally
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ANDREA SEABROOK, host:
Speaking of the holidays, here's a present some rock fans have been waiting nearly two decades to hear.
(Soundbite of song "Chinese Democracy")
GUNS N' ROSES: (Singing) It don't really matter. You'll find out for yourself. No it don't really matter. You're gonna leave this thing to somebody else.
SEABROOK: This is the title track from the new Guns N'Roses album, "Chinese Democracy." It's finally out today after years of false starts and delays. The CD version was released only in Best Buy stores, or you can buy the album online, as we did at iTunes. That's something that didn't exist 14 years ago when Axl Rose started this epic.
(Soundbite of song "Chinese Democracy")
GUNS N' ROSES: (Singing) Blame it on the Falun Gong...
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SEABROOK: Now that the album is here, the reviews are mixed. Guns N' Roses' last original album was released in 1991, so expectations were through the roof. Here's another track from the album, "IRS."
(Soundbite of song "IRS")
GUNS N' ROSES: (Singing) Gonna call the President. Gonna call a Private Eye. Gonna get the IRS. Gonna need the FBI.
SEABROOK: Some critics love it. Rolling Stone's David Fricke says it's audacious, unhinged, and uncompromising. But some aren't feeling the love. Jon Pareles writes in The New York Times that "Chinese Democracy" is a giant shipwreck, the Titanic of rock albums.
(Soundbite of song "IRS")
GUNS N' ROSES: (Singing) Wouldn't be the last, I'm sure, I've known...
SEABROOK: Speaking of crashes, Doctor Pepper said in March it would give everyone a free soda if "Chinese Democracy" was released before the end of the year. Today, soft drink fans everywhere have bombarded the drink maker's site trying to snag those free coupons, and they've crashed the company's server several times.
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(Soundbite of song "IRS")
GUNS N' ROSES: (Singing) And that's the truth, and here's the worst yet. Wouldn't even matter the things that I say. You've made your mind up and gone anyway. And there's no use now in dragging it on. Should've seen it coming all along.
SEABROOK: That's "Chinese Democracy," and this is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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