'Chinese Democracy', el esperado y prejuzgado disco editado por  Axl Rose bajo el nombre de Guns 'n' Roses no deja de sorprenderme. Quizá es el disco que más veces ha sonado en mi MP3 y mi ordenador en lo que llevamos de año. Y creedme, suenan muchos.

En primer lugar me veo obligado a romper una lanza a favor del trabajo vocal que muestra Axl en este disco. A ratos me parece el cantante que revolucionó el panorama con sus lamentos histríónicos ("There was a time", aunque flojita en conjunto es un escaparate de la amplitud de registros que conserva), y en otros casos no sé de dónde saca esos timbres 'cascaos'. Desde el punto de vista compositivo creo que estamos ante un disco bastante creativo, e incluso me atrevería a decir que es original, por lo variado y también valiente. Se ha rodeado de músicos excelentes y ha sacado un sonido al disco que  a grandes rasgos comulga bastante con la línea que caracterizó a los GNR de primeros de los 90 (está claro que hay fragmentos con bases rítmicas extrañas y samplerizadas: en algunas compases de "Better" parece que se ha colao una canción las Tatú... cosas del ripeo en mp3, pensé).

"Chinese Democracy", "Shackler's Revenge" , "Scraped" son grandes canciones, pero, especialmente,  destacan cuatro, que además van seguidos en el disco y son los más tranquilitos. Quizá porque estoy en una época un tanto sensible no puedo dejar de escucharlos. Se trata de Sorry, I.R.S., Madagascar y This I love. Cuelgo el único de los videos originales de estos cuatro temas, aunque habría elegido SorryEspero que os guste, las frases intermedias están extraídas del inicio de 'Civil War'

 

 

MADAGASCAR 

I won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way, find my way, anymore

No I won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way, find my way, anymore

Oh no, I...

I...

Forgive them that tear down my soul
Bless them that they might grow old
And free them so that they may know
That it's never too late

For the many times, what seemed like a memory
I've searched and found the ways you used to lure me in
I found the way, oh, why it had to be
Mired in denial and so afraid

If we ever find it's true
That we have the strength to choose
I'm free of all the chains
We held together

(Quotes)
I'm gonna tell you a story
Stand up for righteousness!
What?
Stand up for justice!
What?
Stand up for truth!
How can a person grow up with all this around them?
You got to call on that something
Where does it come from?
That can make a way out of no way
All this hatred?
What we've got here is..
Fear!
That power that can make a way out of now no way
Failure to communicate
I tell ya I seen the lightning...I've heard the thunder roll!
Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do. Maybe we gotta be extra careful because maybe it matters more than
we even know..
Sometimes...
Hatred isn't somethin' you're born with
I feel discouraged
It gets taught
Sometimes I feel discouraged
I felt this fear
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone, no never alone, no never alone!
Let's get something straight, alright?
Promised never to leave me!
This whole thing was fucked up
Never to leave me alone!
All men betray. All lose heart!
I don't want to lose heart!...I want to believe
Black men and white men
Together at the table of brotherhood!
I have a dream
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty!! WE ARE FREE AT LAST!!

I won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way, find my way, anymore

No I won't be told anymore (If we ever find its true)
That I've been brought down in this storm (That we have the strength to choose)
And left so far out from the shore (I'm free of all the chains)
That I can't find my way, find my way, anymore (We held together)