Axl Speaks!

Use Your Illusion 1 and 2 came out in 1991.

17 years later, after rumors, leaks and fake release dates, the next real, full length GNR was released, Chinese Democracy.

Of course, Axl Rose was the only remaining original member.

Oddly, which fits everything Axl has done for years (which I actually think is great), Axl has done absolutely no press since the album came out. Until now. Axl did his first interview, with Billboard.

I like Chinese Democracy. I like it a lot. I think it's a good record. Axl Rose is one of the last remaining rock stars, and part of that is the length it took for the album to come out. Part of it is the behavior. All of the things that frustrate people about Axl, I think is kind of cool.

I do however think it's hilarious how he can say some of things he says, and say them sounding so intelligently, but have the actual text seem SO incredibly ludicrous.

When asked why the album took so long to be released, Axl said:

There aren't too many issues of the hundreds [we ran into] that happened as quickly as anyone would have preferred, from building my studio; finding the right players; never did find a producer; still don't have real record company involvement or support; to getting it out and mixed and mastered.

I think this is funny because it's so matter-of-fact. There is no nod to "well, yeah, it did take an awfully long time." No smile and nudge. Just that they ran into a lot of problems. Building a studio and finding the producer. We're talking MORE than 4 presidential terms between this one and the latst one. I mean, a new producer could have been born and been almost old enough to produce this record in this time.

Also, the notion that the record company didn't want to help or support also seems questionable to me. I wouldn't be surprised at this point, with the industry in shambles, and the wait as long as its been, and the fact that Best Buy guaranteed 1.6 million copies sold, for the label to be not as much help as he'd have liked. I cannot believe though, that Geffen (and now Interscope) would not have supported a Guns N' Roses release. It just doesn't make any sense. Record companies do a lot of things that don't make sense, but this seems particularly outlandish.

In response to how the record company handled the release of the album:

I do know [that] I've been asking for a marketing plan for over five years and still haven't got anything. We've asked for a complete breakdown of promotion expenses and efforts from all parties but unfortunately I've received very little information, if anything, so far.

Well, in fairness dude, they've been asking for an album for like 13 years. Millions of dollars were spent making an album that you didn't seem like you'd ever be happy with. That being said, I again, have trouble believing that if you seriously sat down with the record company, they wouldn't have given you a marketing plan if you asked for one. I'm certainly not doubting what Axl is saying, it just seems incredibly far-fetched.

when asked about the supposed 2 other already recorded albums:

We'd like to get another album out at some point, but for now our focus is on "Chinese."

Focused on Chinese Democracy. So focused there is no tour, no video (yet) and no interviews. How exactly is he focused?

On possibly ever playing again with Slash:

Give me a fucking break. What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man.

It seems like he's blaming this on Slash, and saying that Slash made the decision. I guess it's a bunch of he said/he said, so you can't really tell who is telling the truth. Probably a mix of both. I love the Axl cryptic way of just blaming it on Slash though. "One man," as if it could be Bernie Parent, or Matt Lauer.