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GNR: Chinese Democracy update

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GNR: Chinese Democracy update

Old 01-11-08, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by nothingfails
I believe Chinese Democracy will come out.... sometime before Axl is 90.
\

Except you won't be able to tell he's 90, as his head will be one giant ball of plastic.
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Old 01-11-08, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by bunkaroo
\

Except you won't be able to tell he's 90, as his head will be one giant ball of plastic.
lol, true.


What I have a feeling about is how dated the album is going to sound when it finally hits. I can see it being like latter Boston albums, material that really sounded cutting edge in 1987 but by the time the fans heard it in 1994, it was beyond dated. I remember the first rumors about this album came out around late 1996, that was a dozen years ago. That was before rap/rock, nu-metal and emo all came along. I just dread this album is going to sound like a really bad Limp Bizkit/Staind/Fall Out Boy mesh without Slash or Duff
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Old 01-11-08, 03:01 PM
  #53  
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I saw this article a few weeks ago. I especially like the timeline.

Guns N'Roses N'promises

There's something missing this holiday season, and it's not just the lack of inclement weather.

For the first time in years, nobody is spreading rumors about the imminent arrival of a new Guns N' Roses album. "Chinese Democracy," which has been on the verge of coming out for the better part of a decade, currently has no pre-release buzz, a fact that makes us want to start a rumor right now. Things are a little bit too quiet ...

At this point, though, it might be better if the album didn't come out. A release of "Chinese Democracy" would be like O.J. Simpson suddenly finding the real killer. Aging metal-heads' hearts would give out. Stock markets would crash. MTV newsman Kurt Loder would probably have to stop working, and so would Larry King. (At this point, does anyone doubt that they're the same person?)

When Peanuts creator Charles Schulz announced his retirement in the late 1990s, there was much talk about his final strip. One popular prediction was that Charlie Brown would finally get to kick the football - advice that Schulz very wisely didn't take. If Charlie Brown kicked the football, it would undo 50 years of good comics with one bad one.

That's exactly how I feel about "Chinese Democracy." We, the remaining Guns N' Roses fan base, are Charlie Brown. The album is the football. And Axl Rose is Lucy, repeatedly setting deadlines he knows he'll never make, because the public is gullible enough to believe him. (I think Slash is Schroeder in this analogy, and Stephanie Seymour is the Little Red-Haired Girl, although I haven't totally thought that part out.)

The last time Rose announced a "tentative" release date of March 2007, no less than three dozen different news agencies reported it, including the Chicago Tribune, Hollywood Reporter and Agence France-Presse. March 2007 has come and gone, and here we are, still clutching worn-out copies of "Lose Your Illusion II" to our chests, waiting anxiously for the next rumor. There's something that's so sweet and human about the whole charade.

Below is a brief timeline, culled from a three-hour-long LexisNexis search, which contains just a fraction of the "Chinese Democracy" fake-outs that fans have endured. A new GNR album has been rumored to be in the works since 1994, but purists consider the "Chinese Democracy" AD mark to be late 1999, when the name of the new album was announced.

Nov. 7, 1999: Guns N' Roses manager Doug Goldstein says "Chinese Democracy" is nearly complete, and should be out in early 2000. "It's not entirely indicative of what the album's going to be," he says of "Oh My God," a Guns track that appears on the soundtrack to "End of Days," a 1999 action picture starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. "It's a song that seemed to fit the movie."

January 2000: Rolling Stone magazine interviews Rose and reports that the new album is penciled in for a summer 2000 release. "I'd like to take some of the old Guns fans along with me into the 21st Century," Rose tells the magazine.

May 11, 2001: The New York Daily News quotes an "insider," who says the album is basically done. "The album has been finished to everybody else's satisfaction for over a year now," the source says. "But Axl keeps going back to remix it and add vocals."

November 2002: Guns N' Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed tells the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the album should be out by summer 2003. "There are just a few odds and ends left to do - a couple of finishing touches, a couple of vocals - and we need to mix it," Reed says.

Aug. 21, 2003: Guns N' Roses bass player Tommy Stinson tells the Albany Times-Union that work on the album has "been going great." "It's closer to the end of the record being completed than the beginning," he says. "... I'm not drinking the company Kool-Aid on all that. That's all straight info. I guarantee that the album's coming out. Hopefully it'll be out sometime before the end of the year."

April 5, 2004: After new Guns N' Roses guitarist Buckethead quits, Rose says in a release, "We hope to announce a release date within the next few months."

January 2006: On a Philadelphia radio show, former Guns guitarist Slash says of "Chinese Democracy," "It's coming out in March ... I've been told a lot of things over the years, but it definitely sounds like it's coming out in March."

January 2006: Rose tells Rolling Stone that the band is working on 32 songs, with 13 expected to make the final cut. "People will hear the music this year," he says.

November 2006: Several publications report that the album will be released by the end of the year, with the band's Web site strongly suggesting it will be released on a Tuesday in November or December.

Dec. 15, 2006: Rose puts a statement on the official Guns N' Roses Web site, announcing a tentative March 6, 2007, release date. "To say the making of this album has been an unbearably long and incomprehensible journey would be an understatement," Rose says.


March 2007 passed, and we haven't heard another definitive word about the album, which reportedly has accumulated more than $10 million in recording costs. Meanwhile, the band continued on a short world tour in June and July.

Whatever minor inconvenience Guns N' Roses fans are enduring, I feel much more sympathy for W. Axl Rose, whose life at this point must be like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day." (Axl's Journal: Clock radio wakes me up at noon. That f- Velvet Revolver song is on again ... Come to the slow realization that for the 3,126th day, "Chinese Democracy" isn't done ... Have breakfast with Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliot ...)

The delay of the album, which was frustrating at first, has become a more entertaining spectacle than anything that could possibly be on the album. Every generation has its crazy musicians, and for the children of the 1980s, Axl Rose is definitely our heaviest hitter. Although the unreleased GNR album hasn't yet approached the madness surrounding Brian Wilson's 37-years-in-the-making "Smile," I'm definitely rooting for it to break the record. If "Chinese Democracy" comes out a year before 2031, it will be too soon.

It's also hard to feel like I'm missing out on new Guns N' Roses, because I've already heard most of the content. Between the songs that have already commercial airplay, the tracks I've heard in concert (Axl has been playing "Chinese Democracy" content since a 2001 Guns tour) and a mysterious Internet download that arrived on my desk in CD form last year, I feel like I've listened to the entire album three or four times. I've certainly listened to more of the new album than "The Spaghetti Incident," the last GNR album, which came out in 1993.

The "Chinese Democracy" tracks that have surfaced offer no clues as to why the album has been delayed so long. The songs are actually not that bad. And other than a slight industrial edge (and an exodus of nearly every band member other than Rose), it barely differs from the last two original Guns N' Roses albums. "Chinese Democracy" could be "Use Your Illusion III."

Even if it's another "Appetite for Destruction," it can't possibly eclipse the fun journalists have had writing about the album. My search revealed at least a dozen different writers who used the same punch line, speculating whether there will be a democracy in China before we see "Chinese Democracy."

Axl Rose may get wrinkly and gray before his next album drops, but that joke will never, ever grow old.
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Old 01-12-08, 10:12 AM
  #54  
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Although I'd buy it on release day that guy hits it right on the head. Those who care to find it can already get at least a full album's worth of material (most of which is on the level with the Use Your Illusion discs) and it's kind of fun to watch this constantly get delayed for years on end.
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Old 01-13-08, 11:06 AM
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Yea, count me in on those that "mysteriously got a copy". I'm fine with that until I find it at the pawn shop for a dollar. And that's coming from a GNR fanboy. So sad.
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Old 01-22-08, 09:20 PM
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Classic Rock recently tracked down Beta Lebeis, personal manager of Axl Rose, who confirmed to us that Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy album "was finished before Christmas".

She added: "Everybody knows that."

Lebeis said Axl is currently "in negotiations" with unspecified parties to arrange to album's on-sale date.

However, Classic Rock believes that Chinese Democracy may not be 'released' in the traditional sense - at least not initially.

We suspect that GN'R may follow the Radiohead route of pay-as-you-like downloads. But we stress this has not been confirmed.

Another source close to the GN'R camp also suggested that Chinese Democracy may gain a conventional release in late summer, with a view to it becoming "a big Christmas album".

Stay tuned for the full, unexpurgated story behind Chinese Democracy in the next issue of Classic Rock, on sale on February 6!


CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.com
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Old 01-23-08, 01:40 AM
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Originally Posted by nodeerforamonth
This is never coming out. Close the thread. It's a waste of time.
I agree. After the "theres only 3 tuesdays left in november" (or whaterthefuck he said) comment he made last year and it didnt come out then, made me give up all hope.
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Old 01-23-08, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by JZ1276
I agree. After the "theres only 3 tuesdays left in november" (or whaterthefuck he said) comment he made last year and it didnt come out then, made me give up all hope.
Not to pick nits, but Axl Rose isn't the one who made the "only X Tuesdays left" comment in 2006. That was a manager, I believe, who was fired not long after.

But Axl has made several other bullshit statements like that before. "People will hear music this year." "March 6, 2007." Etc., etc., etc.
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Old 02-01-08, 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by gerrythedon
Classic Rock recently tracked down Beta Lebeis, personal manager of Axl Rose, who confirmed to us that Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy album "was finished before Christmas".

She added: "Everybody knows that."

Lebeis said Axl is currently "in negotiations" with unspecified parties to arrange to album's on-sale date.

However, Classic Rock believes that Chinese Democracy may not be 'released' in the traditional sense - at least not initially.

We suspect that GN'R may follow the Radiohead route of pay-as-you-like downloads. But we stress this has not been confirmed.

Another source close to the GN'R camp also suggested that Chinese Democracy may gain a conventional release in late summer, with a view to it becoming "a big Christmas album".

Stay tuned for the full, unexpurgated story behind Chinese Democracy in the next issue of Classic Rock, on sale on February 6!


CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.com
The story is based on three extensive interviews I did with Tom Zutaut. He worked on Chinese Democracy between March 2001 and Jan 2002 and reckons that by the time he left the album was almost ready. In his words: "We could have had a record out by Sept 2002… Worst case scenario Spring of 03". He lifts the lid on Buckethead's unorthodox recording techniques, Sharon 'Yoda' Maynard's psychic testing/aura reading, how the new band re-recorded Appetite, the time spent re-doing drum parts etc etc etc. Also includes some quotes from two interviews I did with Beta Lebeis (inc. the one that caused a fuss a couple of weeks ago about the album being finished before Xmas).

It's on sale in the UK on Weds 6th Feb.


NEWGNR.com/forum
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Old 02-04-08, 02:45 PM
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Originally Posted by gerrythedon
(snip) how the new band re-recorded Appetite, (snip)
My god, I hope this is a joke. An aging Axl, no Slash, no Izzy, NO SALE.
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Old 02-04-08, 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Xander
My god, I hope this is a joke. An aging Axl, no Slash, no Izzy, NO SALE.
I remember AXL mentioned that back when he did his return interview with Kurt Loder on MTV, 5-7 years or so ago.
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Old 02-04-08, 03:44 PM
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It was sometime around '99--you can hear the "new" Sweet Child during the credits of Big Daddy.

Last edited by Matt; 02-04-08 at 03:54 PM.
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Old 02-04-08, 04:44 PM
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Originally Posted by MWB
It was sometime around '99--you can hear the "new" Sweet Child during the credits of Big Daddy.
I can just see someone picking that song based on the title. Isn't the actual child a boy in that movie?
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Old 02-04-08, 06:51 PM
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Uhmm unless there are two versions on the soundtrack the version on the Big Daddy soundtrack is Sheryl Crow doing a cover and yes they picked it because of the title....
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Old 02-04-08, 07:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Nesbit
Uhmm unless there are two versions on the soundtrack the version on the Big Daddy soundtrack is Sheryl Crow doing a cover and yes they picked it because of the title....
It's not on the audio soundtrack CD, but there is a re-recorded G 'n R version during the credits of the movie.
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Old 02-04-08, 07:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Nesbit
Uhmm unless there are two versions on the soundtrack the version on the Big Daddy soundtrack is Sheryl Crow doing a cover and yes they picked it because of the title....
Yep, that's why I said "during the credits," and not "on the soundtrack."

The song itself is a bit strange--the first half is a live version recorded with the old guys, and halfway through, it inexplicably and for no apparent reason morphs into the new studio version.
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Old 02-04-08, 08:00 PM
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Looks like this is it...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mtovs6HhFO8
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Old 02-04-08, 09:25 PM
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Stay tuned for the full, unexpurgated story behind Chinese Democracy in the next issue of Classic Rock, on sale on February 6!
Uh... how can this be the "full unexpurgated story" if the album isn't out yet?

Last edited by nodeerforamonth; 02-10-08 at 03:13 PM.
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Old 02-04-08, 11:42 PM
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Originally Posted by MWB
Yep, that's why I said "during the credits," and not "on the soundtrack."

The song itself is a bit strange--the first half is a live version recorded with the old guys, and halfway through, it inexplicably and for no apparent reason morphs into the new studio version.
I stand corrected. That is one shitty ass version of sweet child.
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Old 02-05-08, 04:45 AM
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Yeah it is. I hadn't heard it in years until that YT clip--didn't remember it being that awful.

Still, I'd like to hear the "new" Appetite anyway, just out of curiosity's sake.
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Old 02-05-08, 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by MWB

Still, I'd like to hear the "new" Appetite anyway, just out of curiosity's sake.
Sure, but purely for the "can't look away from the horrendous car accident" quality of it all.
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Old 02-05-08, 08:31 PM
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If they rerecorded it with the same band that first toured briefly and was on the MTV music awards I wouldn't go in thinking it would be a trainwreck. Axl's pitch problems were the worst part of that version of GNR. The band itself kicked ass. There's no way it would be as good or raw as the original Appetite recording but I'm sure it would be a fun listen.
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Old 02-06-08, 05:31 PM
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Seeing these guys on Saturday
http://www.notquitegnr.com/index2.as...id=4&type=Band

Has anyone else seen them before?
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Old 02-06-08, 10:26 PM
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Never seen them but I checked the website and listened to a few of their covers. They sounded pretty good. The only goofy thing about them is that they not only cover the songs but repeat some of the onstage dialogue that Axl and others have said between songs.
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Old 02-07-08, 01:41 AM
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According to The Pulse of Radio, recent reports have indicated that GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy", is finished and the group's frontman W. Axl Rose is negotiating for more money with his record label before he will release the masters.

The ever-shifting GUNS N' ROSES lineup began working on "Chinese Democracy" sometime in the mid-'90s, and has reportedly spent $13 million recording the effort. Promised release dates in 2006 and 2007 did not materialize.

GUNS N' ROSES has only toured twice in the last 14 years: an aborted 2002 run that only lasted for a few shows, and a far more successful 2006 trek that took the latest lineup around the world.

Although Rose is considered one of rock's greatest frontmen, his sometimes irrational behavior onstage, reclusive lifestyle and notoriety for feuding with other rock stars has also earned him a reputation as one of rock's true eccentrics.

found on blabbermouth
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