Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993), released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio material since the simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and II in September 1991. Despite debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the RIAA, Chinese Democracy domestically undersold expectations. It received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. The album achieved international chart success and has sold over one million copies in Europe.
It is the most expensive album ever produced, with production costs in excess of $13 million.
Guns N' Roses began to write and record new music in 1994. Bassist Duff McKagan is quoted as saying, " band was so stoned at that point that nothing got finished". Guitarist Slash has criticized Axl Rose for making the band seem "like a dictatorship". Slash quit the band in 1996, with drummer Matt Sorum and McKagan both leaving soon afterwards. Slash was replaced by Nine Inch Nails touring guitarist Robin Finck, ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson replaced McKagan, and Josh Freese joined as the drummer. In early 1998, the band—which comprised Rose, Finck, Stinson and Freese along with long-time Guns N' Roses associate Paul Tobias, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman—began recording at Rumbo Recorders, a state-of-the-art studio in the San Fernando Valley where Guns N' Roses had partially recorded parts for their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. During this time, Geffen paid Rose $1 million to try to finish the album, with a further $1 million if he handed it in to them by March 1, 1999.
In 2000, Rose hired guitarist Buckethead, and drummer Bryan Mantia to replace Freese, who left to join A Perfect Circle. Later on in 2000, Finck rejoined the band as the third guitarist. On January 1, 2001, Guns N' Roses played their first concert in over seven years at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was followed by their headlining performance at Rock in Rio III on January 14, 2001 in front of 190,000 people. On August 29, 2002, the band made a surprise visit to the MTV Video Music Awards, playing old songs along with a new "Madagascar" to an ecstatic New York crowd.
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal replaced the departed guitarist Buckethead and touring resumed in May 2006, with Bumblefoot adding guitar tracks to the album between legs of touring throughout the year. Drummer Frank Ferrer replaced departed Mantia in July and added his drum tracks to the album. On December 14, 2006, Rose published an open letter to the band's fans on their website, claiming that remaining tour's shows were taking up time the band needed to finish recording Chinese Democracy. Rose also revealed that the band had parted company with their manager Merck Mercuriadis, implying that the reason the album was not released in 2006 was Mercuriadis's fault (many times throughout 2006, Rose had said the album would be released that year). In the letter, Rose announced a tentative release date of March 6, 2007 for the album; however, the album was once again delayed.
On February 22, 2007, the band's road manager, Del James, announced that all recording for the album had been completed and it was in the mixing process, James stated that there was no release date for the album but that things appeared to be moving on after a number of delays.
On September 14, 2008, "Shackler's Revenge" was released on the music video game Rock Band 2, making it the band's first official release of new material since 1999's "Oh My God". "Shackler's Revenge" was shortly followed by another release, "If the World", which plays during the closing credits of Body of Lies. A firm release date was announced by Billboard in October 2008, set for November 23. In the US, the retail release is sold exclusively through Best Buy. The first single from the album, "Chinese Democracy", was released on October 22, 2008, followed by the second single "Better" on November 17, 2008. The album was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band series on April 14, 2009.
Shortly before the album's release, mastering engineer Bob Ludwig offered three versions of the album for approval to co-producers Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo, and they selected the one with no dynamic-range compression, to avoid being involved in the ongoing loudness war. Ludwig wrote, "I was floored when I heard they decided to go with my full dynamics version and the loudness-for-loudness-sake versions be damned." Ludwig feels that the "fan and press backlash against the recent heavily compressed recordings finally set the context for someone to take a stand and return to putting music and dynamics above sheer level."Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993), released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio material since the simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and II in September 1991. Despite debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the RIAA, Chinese Democracy domestically undersold expectations. It received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. The album achieved international chart success and has sold over one million copies in Europe.
It is the most expensive album ever produced, with production costs in excess of $13 million.
Guns N' Roses began to write and record new music in 1994. Bassist Duff McKagan is quoted as saying, " band was so stoned at that point that nothing got finished". Guitarist Slash has criticized Axl Rose for making the band seem "like a dictatorship". Slash quit the band in 1996, with drummer Matt Sorum and McKagan both leaving soon afterwards. Slash was replaced by Nine Inch Nails touring guitarist Robin Finck, ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson replaced McKagan, and Josh Freese joined as the drummer. In early 1998, the band—which comprised Rose, Finck, Stinson and Freese along with long-time Guns N' Roses associate Paul Tobias, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman—began recording at Rumbo Recorders, a state-of-the-art studio in the San Fernando Valley where Guns N' Roses had partially recorded parts for their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. During this time, Geffen paid Rose $1 million to try to finish the album, with a further $1 million if he handed it in to them by March 1, 1999.
In 2000, Rose hired guitarist Buckethead, and drummer Bryan Mantia to replace Freese, who left to join A Perfect Circle. Later on in 2000, Finck rejoined the band as the third guitarist. On January 1, 2001, Guns N' Roses played their first concert in over seven years at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was followed by their headlining performance at Rock in Rio III on January 14, 2001 in front of 190,000 people. On August 29, 2002, the band made a surprise visit to the MTV Video Music Awards, playing old songs along with a new "Madagascar" to an ecstatic New York crowd.
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal replaced the departed guitarist Buckethead and touring resumed in May 2006, with Bumblefoot adding guitar tracks to the album between legs of touring throughout the year. Drummer Frank Ferrer replaced departed Mantia in July and added his drum tracks to the album. On December 14, 2006, Rose published an open letter to the band's fans on their website, claiming that remaining tour's shows were taking up time the band needed to finish recording Chinese Democracy. Rose also revealed that the band had parted company with their manager Merck Mercuriadis, implying that the reason the album was not released in 2006 was Mercuriadis's fault (many times throughout 2006, Rose had said the album would be released that year). In the letter, Rose announced a tentative release date of March 6, 2007 for the album; however, the album was once again delayed.
On February 22, 2007, the band's road manager, Del James, announced that all recording for the album had been completed and it was in the mixing process, James stated that there was no release date for the album but that things appeared to be moving on after a number of delays.
On September 14, 2008, "Shackler's Revenge" was released on the music video game Rock Band 2, making it the band's first official release of new material since 1999's "Oh My God". "Shackler's Revenge" was shortly followed by another release, "If the World", which plays during the closing credits of Body of Lies. A firm release date was announced by Billboard in October 2008, set for November 23. In the US, the retail release is sold exclusively through Best Buy. The first single from the album, "Chinese Democracy", was released on October 22, 2008, followed by the second single "Better" on November 17, 2008. The album was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band series on April 14, 2009.
Shortly before the album's release, mastering engineer Bob Ludwig offered three versions of the album for approval to co-producers Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo, and they selected the one with no dynamic-range compression, to avoid being involved in the ongoing loudness war. Ludwig wrote, "I was floored when I heard they decided to go with my full dynamics version and the loudness-for-loudness-sake versions be damned." Ludwig feels that the "fan and press backlash against the recent heavily compressed recordings finally set the context for someone to take a stand and return to putting music and dynamics above sheer level."false2022-08-15 05:04:12Chinese Democracy8.420082008-11-232008-11-2371Hard RockHeavy MetalRock1112832338319e1d4ab97-2177-4eab-8979-80c2504ca4c9eeb1195b-f213-4ce1-b28c-8565211f8e43cdfb0664-26b5-3475-88f5-dd6ccd4d74ce/media/data/media5/Music/Guns N’ Roses/Chinese Democracy (2008)/folder.jpgGuns N’ RosesAlbumArtistGuns N’ RosesArtistGuns N’ RosesGuns N’ RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.
Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite for Destruction (1987), reached number one on the Billboard 200 a year after its release, on the strength of the top 10 singles "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and "Sweet Child o' Mine", the band's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide, including 18 million units in the United States, making it the country's bestselling debut album and eleventh-bestselling album. Their next studio album, G N' R Lies (1988), reached number two on the Billboard 200, sold ten million copies worldwide (including five million in the U.S.), and included the top 5 hit "Patience". Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, recorded simultaneously and released in 1991, debuted at number two and number one on the Billboard 200 respectively and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide (including 14 million units in the U.S.). The Illusion albums included the lead single "You Could Be Mine", covers of "Live and Let Die" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", and a trilogy of ballads ("Don't Cry", "November Rain", and "Estranged"), which featured notably high-budget music videos. The records were supported by the Use Your Illusion Tour, a world tour that lasted from 1991 to 1993. The covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993) was the last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan before their initial departure.
Work on a follow-up album stalled due to creative differences between band members; by 1998 only Rose and Reed remained from the Illusion-era lineup. Rose, wanting to expand the band's sound with industrial and electronic elements, enrolled an eclectic lineup of musicians, including punk bassist Tommy Stinson, virtuoso guitarist Buckethead, synth player Chris Pitman and several touring members of Nine Inch Nails, among others. After a decade of work, Guns N' Roses's long-awaited sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy (2008), was released, featuring the title track as lead single. At an estimated $14 million in production costs, it is the most expensive rock album in history. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, but undersold industry expectations despite a mostly positive critical reception. Following the expansive Chinese Democracy Tour, Slash and McKagan rejoined the band in 2016 for the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, which became the third-highest-grossing concert tour on record, grossing over $584 million by its conclusion in 2019.
In their early years, the band's hedonism and rebelliousness drew comparisons to the early Rolling Stones and earned them the nickname "the most dangerous band in the world". The band's classic lineup, along with later members Reed and drummer Matt Sorum, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, its first year of eligibility. Guns N' Roses have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 45 million in the United States, making them one of the best-selling acts in history.