I bought Guns N Roses' Chinese Democracy earlier today (only $7.57 because I had a $5 Reward Zone certificate) and just finished listening to it. I jotted down a few notes and can do a full song-by-song review, but I think I'll wait until more people here have a chance to hear it before I do that. For now, I'll just make some general comments...

First, Eric Caudieux is credited twice on the album (Pro Tools engineer, additional production) and is mentioned along with his family in Axl's thanks at the end of the liner notes. Anyway...

I think some GNR fans will love this album and others will hate it, depending on what it is they like about the band. I like the album, but it's missing many of what in my mind are the band's defining characteristics. To me, GNR is memorable riffs, lots of interplay between two guitars, drums that sound big, and bass that does more than just play the root or double a guitar riff. There are examples of all of this on the album, but they're spread out over all the songs...and all of these elements are never present in the same song.

There are a lot of guitars, but the riffs are just so-so and it's rare for two guitars to be playing at the same time (and even rarer for the two parts to interact with each other). Some tracks have a full drum sound, but most of the time it's either a drum machine/sequencer or just a simple bass/snare/hi-hat.

I know Axl has ownership of the GNR name, but this really sounds like a solo album and I'd like it more if he released it under his name. A lot of songs here that are piano-driven instead of guitar-driven and rarely does the music sound like it was recorded by an actual band. I hear a lot of guitar solos pasted on top of basic song structures. And as you would probably expect, the vocals dominate the mix most of the time (to be fair, his vocal performances are very strong).

The three songs co-written with Buckethead stand out to me as some of the best. They don't necessarily sound the most GNR-like, but they are very good.

A few years ago I thought this album could be as good as the Beatles' White Album and not get the respect it deserves. After listening to it I think it's a solid effort, but I don't think it's worthy of a lot of the acclaim it'll likely receive.

I do like the album, but I have trouble connecting with it. It's been 15 years since the last GNR album and 17 years since they last wrote their own material, and that really is a long time. Two or three of the songs sound like they could be classic GNR, but most of the album is so far removed from the band I know and love that it's just hard to get into them. It sounds like Axl (I don't want to say "the band") has evolved a lot over 15 years it took to release this, but unfortunately it's a bit disorienting because we haven't heard any of the in-between steps.

In the end I think it's an album worth buying, even if you're undecided. Get it this week while it's on sale. ;-)

Here's one for the Mexican-Americans!

Some other clips of Joe from the Youtube live experience:

a fast view of Joe and Jeff backstage, although u can continue to listen to Jeff warming up, LOL!

sideline view of the performance

Already 110,418 views of Joe's appearance on youtube...

GO JOE!! I betcha that's some kinda record, lol...that many views in less than 24 hours...I hope those that didn't know about you are now hunting you down on you tube, the web, in music stores, wherever :)

There must be at LEAST a dozen clips of Joe on youtube live already, all showing the same segment with Funtwo and the guys....lotsa peeps out there mesmerized I'ma thinkin....

Hey, whats up Joe Finished tabbing Come on Baby and its a beautiful solo, every time i hear it i am touched by it. I am so happy that you don't go all out on solo's like some artists do on even slow songs. Absolutely amazing every song you create, i haven't heard one song that i didn't like. (I own every CD and DVD you have) Im waiting for another album, no rush to it because i know that even waiting 10 more years It will be worth it in the end.

Your concert in toronto was AMAZING and i wish you would come down more often, next time im gunna meet you and hopefully get my Ibanez s7320 Signed. You rule Joe

by the way.. i cant believe what i saw on youtube live. Would have been better if it was a guitar duel.. and to hear you as a backup was horrible concerning the other dude messed up so many times. ;) think he needs some serious teachings from the master ;) Hope to see you in toronto soon

wow, long day maybe, but I thought dude's name was shavedballson. yeow! cause that would be tmi!!! lol!

holla!!!!

webmaster Jon, any chance of an early upload of the final podcast? If u can that'd be cool :)

Mckenna, u be good on yer flight home, don't get into trouble at the airport, don't tell them about yer "arrest" and all should be well, LOL!! I hope you get to stretch out and sleep...wish I coulda when I flew over there and back cuz me backside got tarred!

hey joe i am mew your website this is a very chilled out looking page you got here....well this is the hard thing were to start lol you are a legend of guitar,(of course-lol) i have only just started guitar recently ...well started seriously unfortunatly i am leaning/selflearning on a pretty pretty bad guitar lol but hey you have to start somewhere i am dropping you some massive respect as a musician and as a person ..you and all the people who you work with jeff stu and co..oh and your pedals lol ... use are easaly in my perspective the best influence in music for me ... is it true that you are 52 this year? because woah you do not look ir buddy you look only 20 ... i suppose rock does not age :D

it is a shame i can not go to any of your concerts or see you even on the streets concidering where i live, australia well just below it but yeah you catch my drift ...but yeah as i said you are a massive massive part of music and many lives i hope to be someday half as good as you :D have a bloody good one mate

G'day Riviera_Grande, great part of the world you come from :))

well, it looks like next year(or 2010) will see chickenfoot in Melbourne. I think it's a Roo, Riviera_Grande (RG), and Skippygirl party time! Hey, y'know there's a ferry to the "mainland" don't you RG? Joe was in Melbourne a few months ago.

Do the Stu - Wow. That would have been huge if this GNR album was as big as the White Album. Which songs were co written with Buckethead? Maybe that's why they really released him from the band...he was not going in the same Axl Rose solo band sound? who knows.

Who's smoking what? Why did'nt anyone call me...

And yet another pedal is on the chopping block. It's a fun pedal but I could never play like Jerry Garcia anyways.

I need to pull the amp and Satchurator out of the closet and do some playing to take my mind off of things.

Hey Satch Land

How come that there is really rare persons online on the SatchChat? Im on the chat all the time as possible. When im there and wait for someone. Then they stay. I have gotten the number of online persons to 4 people at the same time! Come on Satchland! Lets make the chat popular! Join the chat, and talk with some nice people that also probably have the same interrests as you. Joe Satriani and Guitar!

Im making a song with a really wierd name. Its called "The Missing D". Heres the reason for the name: First i found a very cool "riff", then i messed around with it for a bit until my D string broke! I have all other strings for spare. But i didnt have a D string. So i tried to fix it. And somehow i succeded make it. So thats the reason for a real odd song name:P

PS: Join the SatchChat and come for a chat!

Cappy:n every music shop worldwide would be cursed with young guitarists arsin that track up for decades, i cant remember where i saw it but in one of these shops it had a signpost reading "no stairway to heaven" lmao

Slan - Stairway to heaven always reminds me of a ship I was on years ago. The captain was called Hebden. We had Brit crew who were pissed up much of the time so there was much being late for work, fisticuff parties etc. As such, the guilty parties had to 'go upstairs' to the captain for punishment (NO, not buggery in the barrel!). Somebody had an old Zep poster and a sign was made in the same font/style and it was placed in the stairwell on the crew deck. It said...........