Popular Post TheSeeker Posted September 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 26, 2019 (edited) Started this in another topic, but thought it deserved its own thread The Chinese Democracy Album - a studio timeline The Complex (1994-1997) April 1994 - Band meet at The Complex Recording Studio to begin planning next album, tentatively titled This I Love June 1994 - Axl rejects Slash's home studio demos November 1994 - Gilby Clarke fired as guitarist November 1994 - Paul Huge hired as guitarist January 1995 - "Sympathy for the Devil" released on Interview with the Vampire soundtrack February 1995 - Slash's home studio demos Axl rejected in June 1994 are released as Slash's Snakepit album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere April 1995 - Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan write and record demos for ten songs August 1996 - Duff McKagan tells press next album will be 12 "up-tempo rock songs" with "no ballads" October 1996 - Slash quits as guitarist October 1996 - Axl Rose tells press next album will be a "12 song minimum recording with three original b-sides" ~(March 1997 - First missed release date)~ March 1997 - Band has demos on 300 DAT tapes consisting of "ideas, loops and sketches" May 1997 - Mike Clink hired as producer April 1997 - Matt Sorum fired as drummer August 1997 - Duff quits as bassist August 1997 - Robin Finck hired as guitarist November 1997 - Mike Clink quits as producer Rumbo Studios (1998-2000) Early 1998 - Band reserves Rumbo Studios for recording March 1998 - Josh Freese hired as drummer April 1998 - Youth hired as producer April 1998 - Tommy Stinson hired as bassist May 1998 - Chris Pitman hired as keyboardist September 1998 - Youth quits as producer September 1998 - Sean Beavan hired as producer ~(March 1, 1999 - Second missed release date)~ August 1999 - Robin Finck quits as guitarist September 1999 - Band manager Doug Goldstein tells press the next album will be titled Chinese Democracy ~(October 1999 - Third missed release date)~ November 1999 - "Oh My God" released on End of Days soundtrack November 1999 - Axl Rose tells press the band has been working on "70 songs" December 1999 - Buckethead hired as guitarist January 2000 - Sean Beavan quits as producer February 2000 - Band manager Doug Goldstein tells press the album is "99 percent musically done and 80 percent vocals done" and will be done in February or March for a Summer 2000 release March 2000 - Josh Freese quits as drummer April 2000 - Jimmy Iovine listens to all the material, tells Axl he needs better production April 2000 - Roy Thomas Baker hired as producer ~(June 2000 - Fourth missed release date)~ The Village (2000-2004) October 2000 - Bob Ezrin hired as consultant, band is moved to The Village recording studio October 2000 - Brain hired as drummer October 2000 - Robin Finck rehired as guitarist ~(November 2000 - Fifth missed release date)~ January 2001 - Axl Rose tells press he is working on a double-album of 36 songs. The first disc will be titled Chinese Democracy and the second disc will be titled PRL February 2001 - Tom Zutaut hired as A&R March 2001 - Beta Lebeis tells press that the label has "48 songs" and is choosing what ones will be on the album March 2001 - Bob Ezrin listens to all the material, tells Axl he has 2 good songs and quits as consultant ~(June 2001 - Sixth missed release date)~ November 2001 - Tom Zutaut fired as A&R February 2002 - Roy Thomas Baker fired as producer May 2002 - Richard Fortus hired as guitarist July 2002 - Marco Beltrami adds strings to "Seven", "Thyme", "The General" and "Leave Me Alone" July 2002 - Paul Buckmaster adds strings to "The Blues", "There Was a Time", "Madagascar" and "Prostitute" ~(September 2002 - Seventh missed release date)~ September 2002 - Doug Goldstein fired as band manager September 2002 - Merck Mercuriadis hired as band manager ~(November 2002 - Eighth missed release date)~ ~(December 2002 - Ninth missed release date)~ ~(July 2003 - Tenth missed release date)~ ~(October 2003 - Eleventh missed release date)~ February 2004 - Geffen evicts Guns N' Roses from The Village March 2004 - Buckethead quits as guitarist Woodland Ranch Studios (2004-2005) March 2004 - Band starts recording at Woodland Ranch Studio ~(November 2004 - Twelfth missed release date)~ ~(April 2005 - Thirteenth missed release date)~ July 2005 - Band leaves Woodland Ranch Studio ~(September 2005 - Fourteenth missed release date)~ ~(December 2005 - Fifteenth missed release date)~ Post-Production (2006-2008) January 2006 - Axl Rose tells press the band is "working on thirty-two songs, and twenty-six are nearly done" May 2006 - Bumblefoot hired as guitarist May 2006 - Band moves into New York City studio, records nothing June 2006 - Brain quits as drummer June 2006 - Frank Ferrer hired as drummer ~(December 2006 - Sixteenth missed release date)~ December 2006 - Merck Mercuriadis fired as band manager December 2006 - Axl records vocals at Palms Recording Studios January 2007 - Band records at Electric Lady Studios ~(March 2007- Seventeenth missed release date)~ ~(April 2007- Eighteenth missed release date)~ ~(June 2007- Nineteenth missed release date)~ March 2018 - Irving Azoff hired as band manager April 2008 - Robin Finck quits as guitarist November 2008 - Chinese Democracy album is released with 14 songs Edited September 27, 2019 by TheSeeker 10 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beto 22 Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Wasn't Sorum who brought Finck? I believe that at some point Finck, Duff , Sorum and Paul was the band after Slash quit. And I do believe that Merck worked with Doug in Sanctuary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSeeker Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Beto 22 said: Wasn't Sorum who brought Finck? I believe that at some point Finck, Duff , Sorum and Paul was the band after Slash quit. And I do believe that Merck worked with Doug in Sanctuary. Matt and Axl went to see Cirque du Soleil but Robin didn't actually sign until a few months later And yeah Merck was more "promoted" to manager than hired Edited September 26, 2019 by TheSeeker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post eddiedingle Posted September 27, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 27, 2019 Would love to see a documentary about the whole process someday. Unlikely! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeonKinight Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 If only we could go back in time, and somehow, lead axl and the recording company to release at least one cd in 2001, things would be a lot different now... Now its much too late... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydney Fan Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 i didnt know Azoff was back. I thought he came in as part of the 06 tour left sometime after CD was released, as he helped the best buy deal and was then replaced by merck then merck left to be replaced by the incompetance called TB?. Maybe i have all of this wrong................................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumandraisin Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Azoff came back? Didn't Axl have a fairly tedious court case with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus89 Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Great post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter22 Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Great post Sorry for my pitiful english Roy Thomas Baker and Bob Ezrin worked both at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombux Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 you missed some erratic epizodes when Buckethead left for some time, for example already in 2000 and 2001 17 minutes ago, walter22 said: Great post Sorry for my pitiful english Roy Thomas Baker and Bob Ezrin worked both at the same time? yes. and based on Sean Beavan interview, he actually was still there for some time and worked together with RTB - which contradicts what Chinese Whispers say, but I can't find the exact quotes at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantomas Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I remember nearly all of this happening in real time. I'm getting old... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnuld Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 4 hours ago, fantomas said: I remember nearly all of this happening in real time. I'm getting old... Me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourMother'sDruthers Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I’ll never hate Merck as he gave me and my friends free tickets to all 4 Hammerstein shows in 06 lol. What a time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RONIN Posted September 28, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 28, 2019 (edited) Great post. I remember two periods of this timeline being huge low points for me as a fan: The silence of 2003-2005 - no information, nothing from the band as far as updates and media interest fading after the failed tour. Buckethead leaving was a major blow when the news broke. Probably as devastating for Nu Guns fans as Slash leaving for the classic era fans. It really felt like the nu band (and Axl) had missed their moment by 2003. November/December 2006 - When they missed this release date, after the euphoria of the leaks, reunion rumors, and Hammerstein Ballroom shows/tour, I think a lot of fan and media interest dissipated. This is personally where I checked out. It just felt like the last chance for this band to be relevant had faded away entirely. The excitement for me just never returned after that open letter from Merck and missed release date. MAJOR disappointment. I think the fan enthusiasm for CD fell significantly after the end of 2006. Imho, a lot of us felt over the whole thing personally which is why you hear some describe the release of CD in 2008 as "anticlimactic". Edited September 28, 2019 by RONIN 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argentino Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Is there more info on the first tentative name in 1994? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, Argentino said: Is there more info on the first tentative name in 1994? It's just been used as a tentative name by the writers of the (excellent) Chinese Whispers http://www.gnrevolution.com/viewtopic.php?id=5059 I guess because it was the only song that it was known by title at that time as one of the songs intended for the post-UYI album. ------ Personally I would start the CD timeline from 1997, not 1994. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kever20 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 It's so funny, but I honestly do not recall P.R.L. being mentioned ever until the leaks started. I thought I'd read ALL the articles... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
default_ Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 27 minutes ago, kever20 said: It's so funny, but I honestly do not recall P.R.L. being mentioned ever until the leaks started. I thought I'd read ALL the articles... PRL was mentioned in a Brazillian newspaper if I remember correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselDaisy Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 19 hours ago, RONIN said: Great post. I remember two periods of this timeline being huge low points for me as a fan: The silence of 2003-2005 - no information, nothing from the band as far as updates and media interest fading after the failed tour. Buckethead leaving was a major blow when the news broke. Probably as devastating for Nu Guns fans as Slash leaving for the classic era fans. It really felt like the nu band (and Axl) had missed their moment by 2003. November/December 2006 - When they missed this release date, after the euphoria of the leaks, reunion rumors, and Hammerstein Ballroom shows/tour, I think a lot of fan and media interest dissipated. This is personally where I checked out. It just felt like the last chance for this band to be relevant had faded away entirely. The excitement for me just never returned after that open letter from Merck and missed release date. MAJOR disappointment. I think the fan enthusiasm for CD fell significantly after the end of 2006. Imho, a lot of us felt over the whole thing personally which is why you hear some describe the release of CD in 2008 as "anticlimactic". Similar to me. And I do think Buckethead's absence is pivotal. The ''weirdos era'' felt utterly different from the old band, but after Buckethead it looked more retro and boring really. The whole thing just sort of petered out after 2002 and when the album arrived in 2008, I had passed caring (and the demos/live versions sounded better irrespective). I think the fan enthusiasm for new guns peaked 2001. House of Blues/Rio 3 was the summit. 2002 it was still there (even the fiasco of a tour merely contributed to the ''mystique''). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said: Similar to me. And I do think Buckethead's absence is pivotal. The ''weirdos era'' felt utterly different from the old band, but after Buckethead it looked more retro and boring really. The whole thing just sort of petered out after 2002 and when the album arrived in 2008, I had passed caring (and the demos/live versions sounded better irrespective). I think the fan enthusiasm for new guns peaked 2001. House of Blues/Rio 3 was the summit. 2002 it was still there (even the fiasco of a tour merely contributed to the ''mystique''). Agree 100%. Weirdos era was a genuine attempt at taking this in a new direction. Everything that happened afterwards was a slow decline. Loved that era. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAxlMorrison Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I’ve never heard or read anywhere the mid 90s album was gonna be called This I Love, nor have I ever heard or read PRL as an album title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSeeker Posted September 29, 2019 Author Share Posted September 29, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, JAxlMorrison said: I’ve never heard or read anywhere the mid 90s album was gonna be called This I Love, nor have I ever heard or read PRL as an album title. PRL was first mentioned here - the version of this article on HTGTH was horribly mistranslated for years and missed the PRL mention completely: Edited September 29, 2019 by TheSeeker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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