Chinese Democracy

Music

Several songs purportedly from the album were played during the group's live performances in 2001 and 2002. The songs performed were "The Blues," "Chinese Democracy," "Madagascar," "Riyadh and the Bedouins," "Oh My God," and "Silkworms."

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Composer Marco Beltrami worked on orchestral arrangements for tracks titled "Thyme," "General," "Leave Me Alone," and "Seven" in October 2002. Composer Paul Buckmaster did the same for "Madagascar," "The Blues," "There Was a Time," and "Prostitute."

Related Topics:
Marco Beltrami - October - Paul Buckmaster

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"I.R.S.," "Ides of March," "This I Love," and "Oklahoma" are other known titles.

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Sound

The songs which the band performed during the 2001–2002 tour varied heavily in sound. "The Blues" and "Madagascar" were "November Rain"-esque epics, while "Riyadh and the Bedouins" and "Silkworms" were industrial-like songs. "Chinese Democracy" can be best described as a grunge-rock. Rose said in an interview that the band hadn't yet brought out the "big guns" on the tour—which ended prematurely after a riot in Philadelphia with several dates to go.

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In 1999, a song then intended to appear on the album entitled "Oh My God" was released on the End of Days soundtrack. It featured current members Rose, Stinson, and Reed as well as Paul Tobias and then-drummer for the group Josh Freese. Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine also did guitar work on the track. The song was very industrial-sounding.

Related Topics:
1999 - End of Days - Josh Freese - Dave Navarro - Gary Sunshine

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Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is reported to have left the band in part because of the change in musical direction, which at the time was reported to be industrial music similar to Nine Inch Nails, which Rose had long been a fan of.

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In September 2003, radio DJ Eddie Trunk played a new Guns N' Roses song entitled "I.R.S." on his syndicated radio show Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk at the insistence of New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza—which prompted the band's management to issue a verbal cease-and-desist order. Trunk described the song as "...Use Your Illusion-era stuff, with some modern flairs to it. The song had a loop track in the beginning, but then, when it kicked in, it was that same dramatic Guns N' Roses hard rock."

Related Topics:
September - 2003 - Eddie Trunk - New York Mets - Mike Piazza - Use Your Illusion

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In April 2005, a clip of a demo version for the song "I.R.S." - presumably from a recording leaked on the internet. While the true origin of the clips are still unknown, it is believed to be from a low quality demo tape, possibly the same one that was broadcast on Eddie Trunk's radio show back in 2003. Although it wasn't the entire song, it was still a 3:38 minute clip. The introduction is missing, and can be found here: http://www.truecolor.741.com/IMAGE_CD_Covers/GNR_CD_DIYMIX_10_NET___-04-2005_IRS.mp3 Still despite the quality and missing parts of the song, it was a new hope for Guns N' Roses fans, and the closest they have been to Chinese Democracy since the 2002 tour.

Related Topics:
April - 2005 - Eddie Trunk - 2003

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Production and collaboration

Longtime Guns N' Roses producer, Mike Clink, is said to have worked on the album for a short time during the beginning of the conception of the album.

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Former Killing Joke member and Verve producer Youth also worked on the album.

Related Topics:
Killing Joke - Verve - Youth

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Then in 1997, former Nine Inch Nails and Pantera producer Sean Beavan with Axl himself assumed the production duties ( this stage gave to the album a industrial sound). He was out of the project in 1999, after which former Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker was brought in to co-produce with Rose. Baker left the project in February of 2002, and the album was re-recorded with a view to producing a more epic sound. After this, Rose remained as the sole producer of the album, making re-record the album again.

Related Topics:
Pantera - Sean Beavan - Queen - Roy Thomas Baker - February

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The band has also worked with numerous collaborators over the years, including guitarists Brian May (Queen) and Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction). As mentioned above, Marco Beltrami and Paul Buckmaster worked on orchestral arrangements for the album.

Related Topics:
Brian May - Queen - Dave Navarro - Jane's Addiction

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Length

There has been some conflicting information about the length of the album. At the Leeds Festival in August 2002, in which Guns N' Roses played a set, Rose stated that the album was to contain eighteen songs with ten bonus tracks. Bassist Stinson, however, said in an interview in November of 2004 that the album contained "ten or eleven" songs.

Related Topics:
Leeds Festival - August

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