Chinese Democracy sales plunging already?
I read somebody making an excellent point the other day about Guns N’ Roses needing to shift a serious number of copies of Chinese Democracy in order to match Appetite For Destruction.
Well, Blabbermouth are reporting that record sales for the new album, despite the initial strong sales, are plummeting.
GUNS N’ ROSES‘ new album, "Chinese Democracy", sold just under 57,000 copies in the United States in its second week of release to land at position No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart. This represents a whopping 78-percent drop from the CD’s opening-week tally of 261,000.
"Chinese Democracy" dropped out of the U.K. Top 10 this past Sunday (December 7), having landed at No. 11 in its second full week of release. The CD debuted at No. 2 in the U.K. after failing to outsell "Day & Age", the latest album from Las Vegas rock group THE KILLERS.
OK, Apetite has a 20-year head start in terms of sales, but also back then Guns N’ Roses was a controversial band. Oh, and they had the advantage that they rocked, too.
These days, they’re the last refuge of a prima-donna like Axl Rose. Apparently the blame lies with Axl for lack of promotion. I read a while back that he disappeared virtually as soon as the masters were handed over and was uncontactable ever since.
Perhaps he was hoping that the Dr Pepper thing would have been good free publicity. Obviously not. Perhaps he thought that people was that keen to hear the follow-up to The Spaghetti Incident (yes, not GNR’s finest hour, but then neither is this). Obviously not.
I’m not gloating. I’m sad that Chinese Democracy didn’t make an impact. Isn’t it funny that their peers from the glory days, Metallica, have come back strong and proved that they can be relevant, even in the 00’s?
But anyone who’s deeply into Guns N’ Roses knows that Axl is his own worst enemy. Late to shows, feuds with anybody who looks at him, alienates his entire band and spitefully replaces them with hired Guns. The people needed to see Axl and the band out and promoting this new record. He didn’t show, and while he scored some respect for releasing the album, he’s lost all that kudos for failing to promote such a long-awaited album.
You let us down again Axl. :(
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Lets call Chinese Democracy what it truly is.
An Axl Rose solo album.
The band Guns n Roses did not participate in its creation, and their absence is quite evident when you listen to the album. This was an Axl Rose 17 year vanity project, and for us to continue to call it the “new GnR album” is a misrepresentation of what the album truly is.
GnR was was one of the crowning achievments of American Rock n Roll, and I am personally dissapointed that everyone elses intrests were sacrificed for one mans pride. I think had GnR truly continued they would have been the next Rolling Stones.
Axl hung himself with a noose called pride.
Chinese Democracy takes a few listenings to be fully appeciated. Why should it be just like appetite or the use your illusions? This is an extemely diverse album similar to many of led zeppelins. However I do agree with the previous comment that it would more correctly be referrened to as Axls solo work. However it does prove that use your illusion 1 & 2 were the product of Axls artistic influence rather than the remaining members considerable musical talent (one listen to either velvet revolver release should convince you).