Axl Rose Says New Album Coming March 6

[madison]

DATE: Dec. 18, 2006

SOURCE: Associated Press

Axl Rose Says New Album Coming March 6

8 December 2006

Associated Press Newswires

NEW YORK (AP) - Fans waiting for the notorious decade-in-the-making Guns N' Roses album, "Chinese Democracy," are going to have to wait a little longer. Axl Rose now says it will hit stores March 6.

Seven months ago, the 44-year-old rock recluse emerged from seclusion and claimed "Chinese Democracy" would be out before the end of the year. The Guns frontman affirmed the 2006 release plan during the MTV Video Music Awards in late August, and his manager, Merck Mercuriadis, indicated the same to Rolling Stone in October.

But disillusioned fans began questioning the prospects of a 2006 release when the band's North American tour, which kicked off in October, rolled into December with no mention of the album. A Harley-Davidson commercial that used a track from the unreleased album was abruptly and inexplicably pulled. Music gurus began wondering if the 2006 date was a cash-grab aimed at selling more concert tickets.

On Thursday, Rose issued a statement on his Web site apologizing for the delay.

"To say the making of this album has been an unbearably long and incomprehensible journey would be an understatement," he said. "Overcoming the endless and seemingly insanity of the obstacles faced by all involved, not withstanding the emotional challenges endured by everyone -- the fans, the band, our road crew and business team -- has at many times seemed like a bad dream in which one wakes up only to find they are still in the nightmare."

Rose went on to blame legal issues, "complications" with tour scheduling and album/video plans, and a "lack of respect" by the band's management. He announced that manager Mercuriadis had been fired, and he canceled four concerts scheduled for next month.

Mercuriadis, who has coddled and motivated Rose out of his decade-long, hermit-like hiatus, issued his own statement, blaming the missed deadline on Rose's creative juices drying up. He said recording sessions were booked in London, Los Angeles and New York during the tour, "but the muse did not show."

He said he opted to press ahead with the tour without a single or album because "we needed the money to be able to complete the album and keep the band alive."

Still, Mercuriadis appeared to take the high road.

"Until you have walked a mile in his shoes you cannot begin to comprehend the pressure he is under," Mercuriadis said of Rose.

"In the end the album will speak for itself," he said, "but our relationship could not survive the pressure."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ent...ts/16268084.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-1...se_x.htm?csp=34

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2006/12/18/ap3264348.html

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/...6648016000.html

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articl...13-12879572.htm

[madison]

DATE: Dec. 20, 2006

SOURCE: WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio.

Soundbytes: 5 Music Predictions For 2007

David Prognosticates The Shape Of Music To Come

UPDATED: 5:02 pm EST December 20, 2006

.......

So, here are my predictions for 2007:

Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" Will Be Released

You've heard it dozens of times before: The new Guns N' Roses album is just about to be released.

And this might not seem like much of a prediction as Axl Rose, the legendary L.A. band's central figure and sole original member, posted an open letter on the group's Web site last week setting a March 6, 2007, release date for the disc, still called "Chinese Democracy."

But, this time, I believe it will be there.

For most of the last decade, the only two things that Rose and company have produced are broken promises and ill will. As fans waited with bated breath for a new product, countless projected release dates came and went.

Ignoring all deadlines, Rose has created an album whose only parallel is some kind of Hollywood blockbuster that has gone wildly over budget. He's busied himself with burning through a series of collaborators, hired hands and session players, according to both rumors and various published reports. He's also employed a cast of top-tier producers (Mike Clink, Youth, Sean Beavan, Roy Thomas Baker), but none seemed capable of producing something that would help shepherd this troubled album to the market.. All the while, rumors circulate that his label, Geffen Records, has spent millions financing endless recording sessions.

And then there's the matter of the two controversy-riddled tours that the Rose-led band undertook in 2002 and 2006. Many of the shows were well-received, but the tour also included an alarming number of last-minutes cancellations.

Perhaps this is part of some grand strategy Axl has to drive away everyone who ever cared about Guns N' Roses -- even the most ardent fans. I mean, why didn't he just go onstage and using the "N word" like Michael Richards? Oh, wait, he already did that with "One In A Million."

Anyway, here's why I believe this 13-year odyssey will come to an end: As Rose himself admits in his online posting, he's never set a firm release date before.

Furthermore, rumors persist that the record is already being mixed or has completed the process, which is one of the final stages before the record is turned over to the label. It's unlikely that an artist -- even one as eccentric as Rose -- would allow the mixing process to commence unless the album was finally nearing completion.

Lastly, if we can read into his letter, one can also detect a sense of frustration in Rose's tone. He seems to sense that enough is enough and something has to come from this process.

I've no hard facts for this hunch that we'll see "Chinese Democracy" on store shelves. Maybe there are two groups that Axl hasn't driven away yet: the optimists and the gullible....

http://www.whiotv.com/columnists/10574215/detail.html