3. Don't Play Anything Off Chinese Democracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00W7vTrXngk Everyone knows about Guns N Roses sixth album Chinese Democracy; the bloated vanity project of a man who had alienated just about everyone else, yet still believed his own hype. It took over a decade to make and cost in excess of $13 million, making it the most expensive rock album ever produced. That colossal waste of time and money has become a cautionary tale told to young musicians by record company execs - Whatever you do kids, dont do a Chinese Democracy on us. Rolling Stone writer
Stephen Davis called it "the worst album ever", and
Pitchfork dubbed it a record of relatively simple, similar songs overdubbed into a false sense of complexity in a horror show of modern production values. Despite this, Axl Roses former band mates were surprisingly and politely positive, given all the bad blood between them. Duff McKagan praised Axls vocals,
Slash said the title track sounds cool, and
Izzy Stradlin said "I have listened to some tracks off the record and I enjoyed them". But these statements also came with a hint that theyd never thought of performing these songs, should a reunion happen.
McKagan said "I'm glad he put out the record he wanted to put out" (he being the operative word), and
Slash described it as a record that the original Guns N' Roses could never possibly make. And theres the rub. Axls increasing control over the band after Use Your Illusion directly led to the rest of the group leaving. Had they stayed, they would have never made this album, nor is it likely they would have wanted to. So its a safe bet that any reunion setlists will be culled exclusively from the bands 87-93 era.