10 Rock Albums That Were A Nightmare To Make
3. Chinese Democracy - Guns N Roses
The amount of bonkers decisions that went into making Chinese Democracy by Guns N Roses has pretty much gone down in music legend at this point. After the rigorous tour schedule for their Use Your Illusion records, GNR were burned out, with Axl Rose trying everything he could to seize creative control. With all of the original members quitting in protest, Axl was left to his own devices, spending year after year trying to achieve the perfection that was never going to come.
That's not to say that Chinese Democracy is a complete dumpster fire from start to finish. Though yes, these are pretty bottom of the barrel Guns tunes, it's nothing too offensive for the casual hard rock fan to dislike. No...the nightmare comes with everything it took to release it. Being the insufferable perfectionist he is, Rose spent the better part of 15 years trying to hone down this sound, with guest musicians from Robin Finck to Buckethead contributing solos.
Combine that with the fact that Rose's reputation as not being the most reliable person on or off the stage, and you've got one of the most insane recording processes in recent memory. About $13 million later, all that was left was the inner ramblings inside the mind of a broken rock star with a few solos tacked on to say that it's finished. Even though Chinese Democracy may not warrant as much hate as it gets, the fans certainly deserved so much more after years of waiting.