2008 Recap, Chinese Democracy

I was in Best Buy back in November buying Julie that ubiquitous electronic for wives this year, the Car GPS, when I saw this on the racks. I sort of knew it was coming out but haven't paid much attention, and haven't been tempted to listen to the 'leaks' that have popped up over the years.
The backstory needs little retelling; paranoid whacko Axl holes up for 17 years with gazillions of money to make an album with no consistent band, producer, or even songwriter it seems. When it finally sees the light of day everyone is expected to either laud it unquestionably or pan it automatically. I figure I'll judge it on its own merits.
On first listen I thought, "Holy Shit, this is good!" On second lisetn, too. Amazing, earth-shattering, anything even close to Appetite for Destruction? Hell no. But this sounds like a logical followup to Use Your Illusion. It's basic hard rock with Axl's 'you against me' lyrics and obvious contribution, sound and song-wise, from Robin Fink (Nine Inch Nails) and Buickethead, who plays some pretty solid and even Slash-like solos.
Most amazingly this record isn't overly compressed like so many nowadays, and just plain sounds good. Turn it up, especially on "Better," "Street of Dreams,", and "There was a Time."

TB