LUCIDMEDIA

A Short History of the 15 year wait for Chinese Democracy

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Wednesday, 26 November 2008 16:35

1994 – In a 1993 issue of RAW, Axl Rose said he had written a song for the new album called “This I Love” (which made the cut and is on the finished album). But serious work didn’t begin on the album until apparently ’94, despite the fact that cracks in the band were beginning to show. Singles from The Spaghetti Incident are still making the cut on the radio.

1995 – GNR guitarist Slash releases his solo debut album, It's Five O’clock Somewhere, with a new group called Snakepit. All signs are pointing to the possibility that Slash was about to bail on the super group.

1996 – The year of the mass exodus. Slash, unsurprisingly, walks out. Many believe that songs he did with Snakepit were originally written for GNR, but they were rejected by Axl Rose, who Slash claims was becoming more and more controlling. “It seemed like a dictatorship,” Slash told the New York Times. He expanded on this in his autobiography saying, “Axl [wanted] control to the point that the rest of us were strangled.” But the feeling was not exclusive to Slash – drummer Matt Sorum and bassist Duff McKagan departed soon after.



1997 – Slash was replaced by Nine Inch Nails touring guitarist Robin Finck, ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson stepped in for McKagan, and Josh Freese joined as the new drummer. Geffen Records starts getting antsy waiting for the new project.

1998 – The new line-up begins recording the album in earnest at Rumbo Recorders, a state-of-the-art studio in the San Fernando Valley. It was a homecoming of sorts because it was the studio where GNR had partially recorded their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. Geffen Records gave Rose a million dollars to finish the album, with another million promised if it was done by March 1st, 1999.

1999 – Well, March 1st come and goes and there’s still no album. But excitement builds because GNR is clearly working on new music. “Catching in the Rye,” the finished album’s seventh track, is leaked as a demo. On the more official side, GNR serves up a song for the End of Days soundtrack called “Oh My God,” but it’s poorly received by fans and critics. Finck takes a break from the band to join Nine Inch Nails on tour.

2000 – With Finck still on tour with NIN, Rose invites avant-garde guitarist Buckethead, known for wearing a mask on his face and bucket on his head while performing, to join the group. When Finck comes back, Buckethead also stays. Freese, meanwhile, departs for good and is replaced by Bryan “Brain” Mantia on drums.

2001 – On New Year’s Day, the band plays their first live gig in seven years at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. They then appear at Rock in Rio III a few weeks later and announce a European tour launching in June. A stomach illness sidelines Buckethead, and as a result the entire tour is cancelled. The band however plays two more Vegas shows on December 29th and 31st. 2002 – The pre-release hype continues with whispers of a new tour and an appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards. They performed a medley of “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Madagascar” and “Paradise City,” but Axel Rose huffed and puffed through the entire set, appearing to struggle for breath and keep up with the others. Despite criticism, GNR planned their first North American tour since ’93, which was set to begin on November 7th in Vancouver. However two hours before show time, the concert was cancelled causing a riot that resulted in $400,000 in damage. Rose was a no-show in Vancouver but he was at the concert in Tacoma, Washington, an event pot-marked by technical problems and a rumour that Rose blew out his vocal chords at the end of the gig. The tour was called off a month later after a show at Madison Square Gardens. 2003 – Guns N’ Roses takes a break, but somehow “I.R.S.” (track #11) manages to be leaked. Meanwhile, former members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum are busy forming Velvet Revolver and release the cut “Set Me Free” on the Hulk soundtrack. Cheeky as ever, The Offspring says that they’re going to name their upcoming album Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze, You Lose), but in the end it was named simply Splinter.

2004 – A GNR performance at Rock in Rio IV is – that’s right – cancelled. Rose blamed the sudden departure of Buckethead saying in a statement, “Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details) this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further.”
With no new album to sooth aggravated fans, Geffen Records releases a Guns N’ Roses “Greatest Hits” package instead.

2005 – In a detailed article in the New York Times, the making of Chinese Democracy is chronicled and a price tag of $13 million is attached to it. The band’s management says the figure is no where near that much, but people seem as willing to believe that figure as they do in believing that the disc will never see the light of day.

2006 – Things are looking up for Guns N’ Roses. Bumblefoot joins the band, replacing Buckethead. A successful European tour takes place in the summer, with a similar tour of North America in the fall. Although the band puttered out in late-November, cancelling the remaining shows, it’s still considered a success. A statement from Rose indicates that Chinese Democracy may be coming soon. 2007 – On February 22nd, the band’s road manager says all recordings have been completed. A release date of March 6th is set and missed with still no Chinese Democracy in sight. Leaked tracks on the Internet, however, continue to be a concern. 2008 – To sweeten the deal, so to speak, Dr. Pepper promises to give every American a free can of the soda when and if Chinese Democracy comes out during 2008. The date of November 23rd was set, and low and behold, in the record stores doth appear Chinese Democracy. Dr. Pepper kept its pledge making coupons available on its website. And with the Watchmen movie coming out next year, all pop culture nerds have to live for now is James Cameron’s Avatar, his Titanic follow-up 12 years in the making.