Would you have preferred CD in it's 2000'ish form instead of the 2008 release?

[IndiannaRose]

I enjoy listening to these earlier versions, but I vastly prefer the final cuts. Having said that, I would have taken out some of the more unneeded electronic sounds out off There Was A Time (2008 version). 

[98izzark]

I think  he title track, shackler's revenege, if the world and sorry all sound fine as they are but the rest coulda been...better *ba dum tss*

[life_247]

Although from memory we only really think IRS, TWAT and Catcher are from the 99-02 era. I'd hazard a guess that the IRS leak is the earliest as it sounds a bit different to the Brain drum tracks - it sounds bigger and looser and more like Josh Freese (Although I am guessing here).

Also the IRS & Catcher leaks were recorded to a tape - you can hear some of the warping. I have no idea how someone got hold of it but its like they ran the output of a CD player or a mixing desk into a tape player. But I do prefer the IRS version which manages to be more industrial and have more of a GnR groove at the same time.

Also listening to it again now the Catcher drums are at the very very least a different take from the brain may demo if again not a different player. Those two takes you can tell its probably not Brain as he is very constitent on the snare to give him that really tight feel wheras these have a lot more accenting on the snare although it could be the poor quality.

That earlier TWAT demo is a royal mess however (Im actually still not a massive fan of the finished version if im honest), I'd hazard a guess its Brain but im not sure. But it feels like much more of a working version of a track - al the keys seem all over the place. The mix is weird as well the hats suddenly pop out in places but im not sure it has the tape warp so im less inclined to think its from the same era. Or the same source

[gnfnr2k]

I want the 2002 version of the album with BH and Brain.

[life_247]

36 minutes ago, Wagszilla said:

No.

The earliest tracks on Chinese Democracy are "This I Love" and "Madagascar".

The former originated with the old band and Axl didn't want to do until Robin Finck talked him into it and the latter was arguably the catalyst for the record itself.

Most of the songs date to the 1998-1999 Sean Beavan sessions and only a few at ~2000 (Better, Shackler's, Sorry, Scraped).

The early leaks have a raw, gritty feel and the electronica elements feel organic, i.e. the aforementioned I.R.S. siren. It's not someone adding things because they're bored.

You'd have Freese's rock style drumming which is more sharp opposed to Brain's hip-hop inspired pop and no Buckethead solos in favor of more raw and scaled back work from Robin Finck. 

Buckethead took the project from a solid B to an A, in my opinion, but the overproduction and mixing knocked that back down to a B. Thanks Roy Thomas Baker and Axl, I guess. 

 

Sorry I think you misunderstood - I'm well aware that the majority of the tracks we're written over those 2 years with Freese in the band. I was referring to the recordings not the writing of the tracks. I was saying that I reckon only IRS, Catcher and possibly TWAT have leaked with that original era (and obviously OMG which was released)

The tracks have had a lot of work done to them - Brain re-recorded all the drums, there was all of BHs work, then all the orchestration, overdubs and finally the work by bumble and Ferrer.

You can basically tell which are the oldest songs as they have Paul Tobias on them (All except the 3 BH tracks - Shackers, Sorry, Scraped)

The ones I'm always puzzled by are Better and If the world. There a bit of a question mark to their origin. They obviously could of started in the 98-99 era and then been considerably re-worked.