Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Chinese Democracy, the most expensive record ever

It?s been 12 years since Guns n? Roses? last album was released and Axl Rose claims that Chinese Democracy will be released before the summer.


Guns n? Roses are still considered to be the largest music phenomenon in the world, in part because of Axl Rose?s unique persona.

The band?s frontman insists that the new album?s release is due shortly and rumour has it that it was already played during Axl?s birthday party in a bar in New York. This rumour extended itself to the Internet, with the claim that a few of the songs featured on Chinese Democracy could already be heard, but the truth is that so far none of this has been confirmed.

Axl Rose seems determined to end the long wait and finally release the record which, according to Geffen Records as quoted in the Spanish magazine Popular 1 ?until now has cost 13 million dollars?.

?The Spaghetti Incident?, released over 12 years ago, was Guns n? Roses? last album to date. But not even the wait has caused the millions of fans worldwide to quit on the band; they are eagerly waiting this memorable band?s stage performance.

Axl Rose causes equal parts of passion and hatred and he is the core element behind both the band?s success and its split. A band which, despite the fact that its original members have left the line-up, never truly came to a halt.

In the past 12 years many bands have reached the same level of success and in some cases have released more albums than Guns n? Roses themselves over their career.

Yet, it is almost certain that Axl Rose will focus all the attention on himself once again, bringing Guns n Roses back all the way to the top.

The snippets of information divulged by Axl Rose point to Chinese Democracy hitting the stores this year. According to some press, March was considered the ?it? month, but nothing has happened.

We are already mid-April and everything seems to point that new light will be shed on the matter during the band?s warm-up performances in New York (supposed to take place May 12th, 14th, 15th and 17th), in preparation for their European Tour. This Tour will kick-off at Rock in Rio-Lisboa on May 27th.

Despite all the doubts, it is impossible to deny that Axl Rose still holds a flame to the hearts of millions of his fans. Some of them have never seen the band live and they are anxious that the day has come when they will be face to face with the Guns n? Roses legend.

A game, or simply the way Axl Rose is? No one truly knows. The truth is that Axl is still the life and soul of the band that engrained songs like ?Welcome to the Jungle?, ?November Rain?, ?Think About You? in the history of music. Who better than Axl to keep the fans? interest going for over 12 years? Expectations are extremely high.

The one certainty we have is that on May 27th Guns n? Roses will be at Rock in Rio-Lisboa where they will kick-off their European Tour. With or without the release of Chinese Democracy, this show will be unforgettable.


http://rockinrio-lisboa.sapo.pt/artigo.html?id=661869&lang=en

yeah

I don't see where it says it'll be released before summer. Title's misleading.

fucking cool article, almost had a press release feel to it! :o
did they talk to axl recently? when did he say this?
i wish they would quote him. anyway, great stuff!
and yes, after 13 years of waiting i will finally be face to face with axl rose! seems unreal :drool:

How about some glasses...

"It?s been 12 years since Guns n? Roses? last album was released and Axl Rose claims that Chinese Democracy will be released before the summer."

Well, I don't remember him saying anywhere that the album will be released before summer, so my guess is that they should know something...

Damn, I shouldn't have skimmed through the first sentence... :rofl: Oddly enough, I knew that was going to happen.  : ok: Thanks for proving me stupid. :hihi:

what makes me happiest about this article is that if they indeed did talk to axl, the tour is finally pretty much confirmed by the man himself... :beer:
i wonder if we'll finally have a press release before the actual tour?
god, this isn't excactly a normal band we're dealing with here :P i love it! ;D

nice article. hope that they know more than us and we'll get cd this year.
but i think they were praising(spl?) axl too much in it. he was an important part of the old gnr but people weren't there just to see him. maybe now they are but not in the 80s-90s

My pleasure...  :hihi:

uh, axl was essential to the success of gnr, slash added to it... the fact that they blamed axl for the break-up wasn't excactly praise in my eyes... still, a nicely written article which hopefully has some truth to it. then again, axl's promised this record for quite some time now, but rarely has he been specific about its release, like certain other band members have. interesting.

Seems very random that they're giving props to "Think About You" in the article, but hey - I love that song. The more respect it gets, the better.  :beer:

As for the supposed CD release date, as always - Until I see a press release or hear the man himself actually saying something, I'm skeptical.

I called it bitches!! I said he would announce the release at the warm up shows and that is what looks like is going to happen.

great read!  Maybe we will hear something about the album in New York  :yes:

mmm. not exactly confirmation, but encouraging

they havent exactly quoted him, but they must have some source?

I'd like to see if the story was properly transcribed into English on the site, and I'd like to know what 'snippets' they're basing this info on, seeing as there is no mention of anybody actually talking to Axl where he says this.? I think it's just their very optimistic interpretation of the 'snippets' we've already seen.? I really don't think they have anything new.? It's most certainly not based on an interview they conducted, otherwise they'd be trumpeting the source all over hell's half acre.? ?

I think they don't know anything more that we do

That's all just internet speculation - Axl obviously hasn't talked to them.

that's what i was thinking...

Hasn't it been 13 years?
Spaghetti came out November 1993

We will pretty soon know what the gameplan is with NYC around the corner. Two weeks away  :D

If someone knows more than us it's the promoters for these shows...

I'm not saying they have a release date, but if GN'R are asking lots of money, they have to give them some explanation like "cd is coming before summer, slash is playing, buckethead is back..."

Cool article. I look forward to this show because for whatever reason, in my eyes it's the true beginning of the return of Guns N' Roses. If the record is released before summer - Great. Because publicity is continuing to mount. :yes:

Yeah, Think about you really re-wrote the history of rock :D

axl was essential but he wasn't the core imo. it was the combination of the 5 guys that made gnr so big. each with equal part in it.
but that was then. now we see signs that poin to a cd release more than ever. i hope they have a good basis to say cd willbe out. come may 12

Hmm.. they most likely put this article togheter with Sanctuary, hence the line "The truth is that Axl is still the life and soul of the band", wich resemble Merck's comments in the past.

I dunno if they really know something big, but the same author wrote the press release about the confirmation of the band playing in the festival. He said there that Axl told to the Rolling Stone mag that the album would be out by march, wich, of course, it's not true. He didn't say that to RS.

TAKE HITLERS PICTURE OF PLEASE ITS JUST NOT FUNNY AT ALL. THE MOST EVIL PERSON THIS PLANET HAS EVER SEEN...MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE OF HIM.

I agree, it's really annoying.

It's supposed to be ironic for all the posters who are accusing us of being nazi moderators.

Read the text below the picture.

And an avatar cannot kill people so calm down a bit... Maybe we should delete all Hitler's pictures from the internet. And maybe we should burn all Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark dvd's too. They have Nazis in there...

History teaches you when you know it, not when you're trying to forget it...

I'm Greek, they tried to take us down as well.

And I guess you've never seen this before:

(http://www.gunsnroses.gr/collection/images/passes/laminated/1988donnvip.jpg)

Do you think that's in there cause GN'R are nazis too?

Sense of humour anyone?

If you can tolerate Axl's Manson t-shirt and "Look at Your Game Girl", you can tolerate the irony of his avatar.

But yeah, this summer, CD, good stuff!

Nothing we didnt read before the last RIR.... Same ol Shuck n Jive....

No they dont... They dont have to do anything like that.....

stop being a drama queen... its just a picture... get over it....

Yes they do if they wanna avoid a fiasco like the 2002 US tour.

are you stoned????

No need to go on with this.

Or just trying to sell more tickets. ;)

plz change your avatar. Even if it's meant to be ironic, it isn't funny at all  :confused:

I thought it was funny ;D

And yeah "think about you" is what really made GnR big, its a world phenomonen, its brilliant, it re-wrote rock history  :rofl: :rofl:

Not saying that it was a big part of GN'R becoming huge, because it wasnt even used as a single....but Think About You is a VERY VERY UNDER-RATED song. That song really kicks ass. I like it a lot, and I'm glad I got to see Axl perform it live, especially when the old band never played it live.

Or just trying to sell more tickets. ;)
you're dead right thats all it is.

any chance hammerstein could be the last of the old era of music and rio on would be concentrated on CD material mostly..? That would be a suprise..

Nice info, either way May will be interesting.

Enough about the avatar, go preach somewhere else. Like it or not Hitler existed, nobody is saying he was a good man. It's a bloddy avatar. If you have a campeign in mind, go see "the Producers" you'll forget all about that little avatar.

I thought this was a GN'R forum.

Also, "BE VERY WARE..." is my new montra. I love it.

I doubt it.

Mostly because the whole idea of doing a warm up show is to prep for the upcoming shows. ?You'd wanna play the same material, roughly, that you're thinking about playing in the upcoming shows. ?See what works, what doesnt, etc.

I guess that in the last 7 years magazines and websites cited Axl saying that 'CD will come out m/y'. Even when the players mentioned release dates (yeah, I know, months), I'm 100% sure that they got the info from the Redhead. CD hasn't been released. I hope that it'll come out, hope it'll come out this year, but I won't be surprised if it doesn't.

I think it would be wise to stop talking about my avatar, I've explained my thoughts about it and I'll change it whenever I feel like it.

So, if you wanna talk about this specific topic, do it. But if you go on talking about my avatar, I'll simply delete your posts from now on cause it doesn't have anything to do with the topic. We've spent too much time about it...

interesting..hard to believe.

i don`t think the article is really interesting by the way... i hope for the best, but i won`t get my hopes up about a release date again... we`ll see what happens  (that`s the safest bet by the way : ok:)




I said that I would delete anything about my avatar from now on, positive or negative comments, and there will be no exceptions. CHRISTOS

I really like the sounds of that article ;D

I don't know if it will happen, but if the damn thing is released during the week of the warmup gigs.....it couldn't be more perfect for me.  I've said for a while now that when CD is released, I'll have to take a week off of work.  I just wouldn't be able to get anything done cuz I'll be listening to the damn thig  :hihi:

I'm already taking a week off of work for these shows.......hot damn, that would be awesome!!

;D

If Axl truly plans to release the album then he doesnt have to worry about bootlegs or anything, because fans will buy the record theyve all waited for, no one waiting for bootlegs, we all want the real thing.  Again if this is the case. of releasing before the summer, hopefully they ll play mostly new stuff during the NY shows.  What would be even better is they sell CD to the fans at the NY shows before it goes on sale .

BUUUUUULLLLLLSHIT!!!!

nothing annoys me more than these retarded release date rumors....if you're going to proclaim that you know when the album is coming out, at least make your lies believable.

if chinese democracy was going to be released before summer that would mean it would be released within the next 30-40 days!!! that will never fucking happen, considering that they haven't? even announced anything regarding the album, and the first single is nowhere in sight.....

fucking douches

they're just trying to hype up gnr to sell more tickets and get more attention for their concert...what a bunch of assholes

I doubt this rumor
But it pays to remember
UYI timeframe.

Announcement to street,
Including "Don't Cry" release...
A month and a half.

Splash

/Mike

Just to be clear:

Summer begins June 21st.

That gives us 54 days.

I'd say that's a longshot. ?It's not IMPOSSIBLE, though.

If it were to happen, my money is still on June 20th.

Literally RIGHT before summer.

:)

even 54 days is not enough time to hype up the biggest album EVER...when they released UYI, gnr was already the most popular band in the world...they didn't need much promotion

today it's different....there are some people that don't even know that gnr still exists.....they need to build up awareness for a good 3 months before releasing the album....

if they make some sort of announcement at the NY show (which they definitely SHOULD - if they come out and do a bunch of shows without even mentioning the album, people will be PISSED!  i don't even give a shit about the friggin shows....the only reason i'm even interested in the NY shows is because i'm hoping they will announce some information about the album) that would give them 3 months to promote and tour before releasing the album around august or september....now that's a realistic prediction.

looks like that september rumor might be somewhat accurate

I skimmed that article twice and missed that part too LOL

I, for sure, see your point.? It's why I said I think "before summer" is a long shot.

On the promotions stuff, I don't know.? The Hammerstein shows sold out in minutes.? The Euro shows are selling very well.? They might not be the BIGGEST band on earth, now, but they still, obviously, can draw and have good name recognition.? And Axl seems to be in the gossip rags/celebrity pages/page 6 type things (pictures, etc) almost every other day.

Add to that the fact that the album, by itself, is almost mythical and legendary in the music industry....and you have an album that may pretty much will promote itself.? Look at all the press the LEAKS got, for gods sake.? Not many artists, nowadays, get that kinda press when a song LEAKS!? IRS CHARTED, for cripes sake.? An unreleased DEMO, apparently not endorsed by the band or the label, CHARTED.? If you know the music industry, you know that's pretty much insane.

I'm not sure GnR needs a prolonged "buzz-generation" period in order for the album to sell (Hell, maybe they're smack dab in the middle, or early phases, of one).? ?Maybe...but given what we've seen over the past few months, I'm not convinced.

I certainly think that, provided the wheels are in motion now, they could put the album out 6 weeks or so after announing the release.? I think it might be a tough road, but I think they could do it and still sell like hot cakes.

This rumour extended itself to the Internet, with the claim that a few of the songs featured on Chinese Democracy could already be heard, but the truth is that so far none of this has been confirmed.

Yeah, they arent on my ipod either.

gnr was already the most popular band in the world...they didn't need much promotion
That isnt quite true, close but not quite, give it a few months and yes.

I think it's a bit presumptuious of anyone here to assume whether or not the wheels are/have been in motion for a release. We don't know ANYTHING other than there are a few shows in NYC and a European festival tour for the first half of the summer. Other than that, I think the fact that the band is rehearsing (or was rehearsing) is the ONLY other piece of confirmed information.

Logic would say, if you have an album on the horizon, you use a tour to promote the album. However, we all know how 2002 went down.

Logic would also suggest that if this album has taken 13 years and millions of dollars to make, it's release would be something a bit out of the ordinary...just a bit more special than an ordinary release. Why spend all that time and money and just drop it in stores the day you previously announced it would be released? There HAS TO BE a master plan that will coincide with the album's release. Whether or not we KNOW of any plans such as this is entirely unrelated, but it doesn't mean a plan doesn't exist.

Personally I don't see any reason why the album can't be released before or during the summer. They're starting their tour in a month's time (with 4 warm up gigs beforehand) and have been rehearsing for the last month or so. For all we know they could've shot a video during these rehearsals (or part of to be combined with potential NYC footage). For all we know there is truth to the Da Vinci rumor. For all we know the ball has been in motion for the last few months already and we're just starting to catch wind of it...like the rest of the public will shortly.

Summer '06 is NOT an impossiblity by any means.

I'm not sure that I would put too much weight on the soldout shows. ?They sold out quickly because ticket brokers immediately grabbed all available tickets. ?The true test is the market for the tickets after they have sold out. ?I'm still seeing them on eBay in the $125 range, which is relatively low. ?Board members are still trying to unload their extras at face value. ?In contrast, I've seen Madonna tickets going for $700 a pop. ?So, I'm of the opinion that this band needs some serious promotion to get back in the mainstream.

Well, since Guns is playing gigs on both sides of the Atlantic, I guess the term Summer is a little vague...

Anyway, at least Axl is giving improbable release dates away again.

Chinese Democracy starts NOW!!! :hihi:


I wonder what their definition of ??halt`` is. Or ??band```, for that matter.
 :hihi:

Like another poster said, this article reeks of merck's input. Especially the parts about axl being the heart and soul, and the part ElNonoPololo just mentioned. It sounds exaclty like something that would come out of his office.

1) That's why I listed the other factors, too. ?It's a combination.

2) Brokers don't buy what they don't think they can sell. ?And the 12th and 14th presales were relatively well protected, and still sold well during presales....and then sold out in minutes (seconds, I think, for the 12th) on general sale.

3) In additon, Guns is not Madonna, or the Stones, or U2, who command a premium for their REGULAR shows. ?Not anymore. They're certainly not THAT caliber of draw, especially right now with no new material. ?The thing is...the only way they'd ever climb those heights again is by releasing popular new material. ?No promotion is going to do that for them....only material will. ?Which requires releasing an album. ? What's going to put them back in the mainstream is not a media blitz....not marketing...but releasing the material so people can assure themselves that GnR is not one big joke.

4) I can see the point about promotion, but other factors seem to reflect that the band is still a draw, still getting lots of coverage in the press, and still has some good name recognition. So what more could a promotional blitz do for them? ?Again, I'm not saying those of the opinion they need more promotion are wrong...I'm saying given all the observable factors, I'm not convinced you're right.

the album is legendary to people in the music industry, and to gnr fans....but the average person has never even heard of chinese democracy, and probably doesn't even know axl is still alive...

It's impossible to release popular new material; they can only release new material, period. ?Whether it becomes popular will depend not only on how good it is but also on how well promotion efforts rejuvenate curiosity in the band and the album. ?The factors you list are valid, I just don't think that curiosity is where it should be or where the record label wants it to be. ?

As you know, Guns were on par with, if not bigger than, U2, Madonna, and the Stones in 91. ?While at the height of their popularity, the UYI albums sold about 5 million each - with massive promotion. ?So fast forward to 2006: ?one original member remaining, no longer mainstream, no album promotion. ?How does that translate into sales? ?Definitely not 5 million. ?With $13 million invested in this album, Geffen will insist on every possible effort to drive up sales.

Sounds like an Oxi-Moron... does "the biggest album EVER" need to be hyped up. Maybe the past 2 months and the New York dates are the hype?

The CD needs to be hyped OUTSIDE the internet. Lots of people don't even know there's a GNR album coming

You think so?

Again, I'm not so sure.

And, just to be clear, the "average person" isn't the targeted demo for GnR. ?The "average CD buyer" might be....but the "average rock CD buyer" certainly is. ?Anything beyond that (as in, crossing over to the mainstream CD buyer) is a function of the material, word of mouth, and radio spins/material exposure.

And there's been enough press over the past years, and especially the past few months, that I'll bet, at least passingly, the "average rock CD buyer", and maybe even the "average cd buyer", have heard about Chinese Democracy.

Again, there's LOTS of observable evidence (circumstantial, to be sure) that would call your conclusion into doubt. ?And once again, I'm not saying you're wrong. ?I'm just not convinced you're right.....given the contrary evidence.

My gut tells me it will be sooner than later. I can only hope.

This is really cool. Although summer's almost here so I would suspect that it would be released this summer.

You're missing, then making, my point for me. ?My point was that to regain the heights they once attained, they need to release new material, and have it be good (and popular) in order to get the kind of crossover you're talking about...to become the kind of draw that Madonna, the Stones, and U2 are. ?Just RELEASING material isn't going to do that. ?And just the PROMISE of releasing material isn't going to do it, either.

Yes, 13 years ago Guns was on par with Madonna, The Stones, and U2. ?And each of those acts have released new material in the interim. ?And that material has been popular, to a large extent. Guns has not.

You make the point of UYI. It's valid, to a point. ?But CD is not UYI. ?It's more akin to Appetite, I think. Much more like a debut (or re-debut) album. ?The band is basically starting all over again, with the head start of having name recognition and drawing power. ?And Appetite sold 15+ million copies with little initial promotion. ?It caught fire by word of mouth, and the kick ass shows that GnR were putting on, in clubs and while opening for Aerosmith.

You think that, given Geffen's investment, they would insist on a large scale promotion. ?Given what we know...I'm not sure THAT'S true, either. It might be, but it might not. They may not want to throw anything behind the album, at first, until they see how the public and the critics recieve it. ?Given production costs, and the horror stories we've heard about the bands relationship with the label....again, I'm not convinced.

One other thing: I know the 13 million sounds like a lot.  But if Axl REALLY does have 3 albums worth of material that's mostly done, and ready to roll....that 13 million doesn't sound quite so outrageous anymore, to me or the label brass....provided it means a vastly abbreviated roll out of the remaining 2 albums after CD.

My "issue" with the theory that it's going to require a long term, mega media blitz to promote this album is that the "issue" that MOST average CD buying ?people seem to have with GnR isnt' going to be addressed until there is new material to listen to. ?It's a catch 22, almost.

I think you'll find that summer in Europe and summer in North America are the same. ?Strange but true. ?

I believe you are thinking about the equator... and that's not the case with the summer shows

The truth is that Axl is still the life and soul of the band that engrained songs like ?Welcome to the Jungle?, ?November Rain?, ?Think About You? in the history of music.

Did anybody else find it strange that they claim that Think ABout You is engrained in the history of music?

I thought it was very odd, not exactly the song i think of when i think guns n roses. It was never even a single was it?

no it wasn`t.....

wel when is "summer" im guesing it doesn't leave us long to wait if its true as before summer would mean within the next few weeks

As I said in a post above.

About 54 days.  Summer starts on June 21st.

I really, really, really ?dont get the debate about possible Chinese D album sales...Who gives a fuck? We are fans not some fucking investors, all i care about is how the music sounds ( and if the leaks are anything to go by , it will be awesome).
And no..i dont think CD will be out before the summer , my bet is for a christmas relese..sorry..

Fuck my puny knowledge of geography... :'(

Sounds like internet Journalism @ it's finest...Axl never actually said that...did he?

I understand your point, I just disagree with it.  I don't think that releasing good material will be enough.  I don't think releasing the greatest rock album of all time will translate into high sales.  I think they need to set a release date in stone and then put the band on the interview/promotion circuit.  Then, after all is said and done, the album needs to kick ass.  I have no doubt it will.

Why do I care about sales?  Because if it doesn't sell, it's legacy will be that it was a failure and post-breakup Axl was a failure.  I don't want that to happen.  I know that stuff shouldn't matter to me so long as the album has great music, etc, but it does.

im so sure we will get a release date by the end of may. So much is pointing in that direction
Axl i New York for quite some time... Played CD in bars.. Dizzy says Soon. But other then that he wont say anyting. Tommy Wont say anything.
We are getting really close no..

And, see, my question is what does the promotion buy them? Really?

They have name recognition, already. ?So it doesn't do much on that front, I don't think. It might widen it a bit, but, given the band's reputation, that can be counterproductive, too. ?It may just open them up to some of the types of press we've seen already (washed up, no material in 13 years, etc), and the same types of questions we've seen asked a thousand times (where's Slash, why did the old band break up, etc).

It's NOT going to buy them "credibility". ?Only material has the possibility to do that. I suppose setting a date helps, but there's still no assurace the material will be worth buying or listening to.

So the only benefit I can see is making people aware of the release date, itself.

And I'm not sure how much benefit that is, outside of the built in market. ?That's my issue with the assertion they need a big media blitz.

People HEARING about the release date is only going to compel, I think, a (relatively) small portion of the demographic/target market to buy the album. ?And that demo is the demo that's going to hear about the release date rather quickly, because it's a built in, insular market.

I'm not convinced that wide-scale promotion is going to widen that initial market commesurate with the cost of the promotion...at least not on the scale you guys are proposing.

What I think is going to compel MORE of the market to purchase the material is to have material to sample, in order to ensure themselves that Axl is not washed up and this band is capable of producing good, relevant material. ? A single will do that, for sure, on some levels. ?And once the single is out, THEN you can start some promotion...but the lead time between single and album release(4 to 6 weeks...or about the duration of time between the warm up shows and June 20th) usually isn't quite as long as I'm gathering you want this promotional blitz to last.

From a marketing perspective, I just don't see what the benefits are. ?Again, I'm not saying you're all wrong...I'm just not convinced. ?I see too much contrary evidence and not enough of a case to support an all out, multi-million dollar promotional tour/blitz. I'm not convinced those dollars would be well spent.

I agree with pilferk.  Mass promotion for this album wont really do much but tack on a few more million dollars to that 13 that is cost to make the the thing.  If they did promote this album some of the things they could use (The time between albums, band members, etc) would almost be mocking the band itself.  Those are the things they are criticized for.

 There are enough GNR fans that will buy this album with no promotion and then spread it through word of mouth the internet etc.  Im not sure there needs to be much promotion outside a good singe followed by successful tour dates and the album itself.  If the album has good material people will talk about it, radio will play it, and the internet will be buzzing the day that the official release date is announced.   So with all things considered they would get free promotion just buy putting out some good new material.  Outside of that as they say it would be like beating a dead horse if they went for mass promotion.

Well, we'll see what happens with the promotion (or lack therof).  I just hope this doesn't end up with nothing but us board members telling each other how great the album is. 

One comment about "word of mouth."  A huge portion of GNR fans are guys like me - in their 30s, married, kids, much smaller social circle than they had in their teens and early 20s.  Who exactly am I, or people like me, going to tell how great the album is?  My wife?  She's not into Guns.  My close friends?  They, like most casual fans, don't acknowledge the current incarnation as the "real" Guns.  My co-workers? - "Didn't they break up?"  My daughters?  Anything other than "the ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah..." is garbage.

My point is that word of mouth will only work if the album creates a new generation of GNR fans in a younger demographic.  Only then would there be a word of mouth effect like there was with AFD. 

Think about you  :hihi:

I agree there. But I do not think this will sell close to AFD. Not because of how good it may be or may notbe. The music word has changed too much. But Rock seems to be coming back slowly but surely. Rap is becoming over produced and over polished and too expiensive just like rock was at one point. I hope the album is great and I hope its a major player in the game .. The onyl way is what you said.. Grab younger fans or the new GnR album will flop. Old school fans wont like the new direction or the way GnR is now... Got to start over almost.

that`s actually the question :hihi:

we don`t know what the rio promoters know.... and they probably know a lot more than us : ok:

i don`t like all the people acting like they`re responsible for gnr`s marketing/promotion and future succes by the way...
first of all, i don`t care about the sales and fame chidem will get. it`d be a nice bonus for axl to be the man again, but i guess it`s not important to neither him nor many of us. the music is what counts for me, the genereal public listens to crap music anyways. also i think that axl knows what he does.... does anyone of you seriously think he/management needs your advice??

Which Summer 07? 08? 09?    Not really kidding...

Don't forget about '10, '11, '12, and '13. ;)

To each there own, but many of us here enjoy pointing to the ridiculous commercial success of AFD and would like to see CD be successful as well. ?

As far as your comment about "needing our advice" - you got to be kidding. ?Giving our opinions on matters outside our expertise is what we do here. ?You're saying none of your 1822 posts involves your criticizing Axl/management in any way? ?People express opinions and enjoy debating matters like music, sports, politics - even though they don't work in those areas. ?It would be a good idea to get used to that.

I think it's important for this album to be a commerical success, give axl confidence make the record company money... it could influence the release of other material, and less disappearing acts from axl these days..

I can't see this as a possibility whatsoever, how will they have the time for it...it'd have to come out in about a couple weeks.   :P

I remain skeptical that we will see CD anytime soon, but who gives a fuck when I'll be seeing them in less than 3 weeks :D

don`t get me wrong...  of course i`d like to see chinese democracy be succesful, but that`s not really important to me....

and well....  i visit this board daily for the last 3+ years and it?s getting annoying to read the same discussions again and again and again....  it`s getting lame...  i don?t want to spoil your fun here though, so i hope you don`t feel offended : ok:

i`ll wait for the actual release date announcement and the shows this summer... i got my hopes up way to often and i don`t like all this speculation anymore... i got to a point where i just want to get FACTS :peace:

I agree, they need some promotion. It shouldn't be hard to get a new generation of GNR fans. I mean look at Greenday! :hihi: If they can become that popular with teens, I'm sure Guns can.

Totally understand. ?We get frustrated with all the speculation and lack of facts and we deal with it by speculating. ?I and many others here are guilty of that. ?In any case, I think with the summer concerts and all (here I go speculating again), we will be getting a ton of information this summer... information more substantial than Perla Hudson's animal sacrifices. ?Whether that will include a CD release, we just don't know. ? :peace:

Regardless of whether GNR is a name brand or not, the label will want some promotion - which is probably what this tour is all about.

CD is *NOT* at all like AFD and in fact the band is in a much tougher position than back then... with AFD, failure meant what? I firmly believe at least Axl and Slash and probably Izzy (songwriting wise) would have had enough talent to be successful later down the line (i.e. VR). Failure for the new band now? There's no more second chance. CD is a one-shot release.

There's not going to be another long slow burn towards a hit record, because the diehard fanbase is  going to pick up the album right away, and after that, if the first single isn't huge, it's going to quickly vanish from the charts. People know the name and if it sucks, they'll write it off rather quickly.

Promotion *can* help that. Getting maximum radio and TV exposure... getting it in the right places. Only hopefully CD is far superior musically to most of the crap marketed today.

If the label wants to recoup their losses, there will be promotion. If they just want it over and done with, they'll just throw it out and and see what happens.

Realistically, the band should be thrilled if they do between 2-3 million, though I doubt that would recoup all the losses if you count in advertising... and the fact that the books were wiped clean back when the label changed hands.

How could they mention Think About You along w/ wttj and november rain

Michael Jackson - Invincible (at least $20 million recording + $10 million promotion)

Axl Rose - Sued people for millions over the rights to own his music

Michael Jackson - Sued by millions for touching kids

Axl rose has stated that "chinese demcracy"will be released before the summer of 2006. here is the article.this article was posted on gunsnroses.us.

 ROCK IN RIO V website has posted the following:

Full Article [1]

It?s been 12 years since Guns n? Roses? last album was released and Axl Rose claims that Chinese Democracy will be released before the summer.

Guns n? Roses are still considered the largest music phenomenon in the world, in part because of Axl Rose?s unique persona.

The band?s frontman insists that the album release is due shortly. Rumours have flown all over the Internet claiming Chinese Democracy was played during Axl?s birthday party in New York recently, but the story has yet to be confirmed.

Axl Rose seems determined to end the long wait and finally release the record which, according to Geffen Records, ?until now has cost 13 million dollars?.

?The Spaghetti Incident,? released over 12 years ago, was Guns n? Roses? last full length album. But not even the long wait has deterred millions of fans worldwide to give up hope. Many are still eagerly waiting the release of Chinese Democracy and the chance to see GnR live this summer.

The snippets of information divulged by Axl Rose point to Chinese Democracy hitting the stores this year. According to some sources, March was considered the ?it? month, but once again, Guns fans were left hanging with no offical word.

While we creep towards the beginning of May, everything seems to point that any new confirmed information will present itself during the warm-up performances in New York (May 12th, 14th, 15th and 17th), in preparation for their European Tour. This Tour will kick-off at Rock in Rio-Lisboa on May 27th.

Despite all the doubts, it is impossible to deny that Axl Rose still has a hold of millions of fans hearts. Some fans have never had the experience of seeing Guns live and are anxious that the day has come when they will be face to face with the Guns n? Roses legend.

The truth is that Axl is still the life and soul of the band that engraved songs like ?Welcome to the Jungle?, ?November Rain?, ?Think About You? in the annuals of rock history. Who better than Axl to keep the fans? interest going for over 12 years?

The one certainty we have is that on May 27th Guns n? Roses will be at Rock in Rio-Lisboa where they will kick-off their European Tour. With or without the release of Chinese Democracy, this show will be unforgettable.

Edited for length, content and grammar

Source: RIR V online

Dude this has been posted already  : ok:

I haven't seen this. Is it official?

straight off the RIR website.

Well, then, if it is true, I'll go shit my pants.

i hope it is true, bc i would definetly want it to play it especially with all the good times im goign to have this summer

It would be the smartest thing for GN'R to put on the album before the European Tour.

They just showed a spot on portuguese tv sic, right before the 1 oclock news update, it played Civil War, with flashes of violence images, like they show on the news, the lirics of CW were translated and poped in diferent places of the screen, and at the end there was something writen in the lower right corner, that i didn't catch and then a "spread the news" in full screen.
Did someone saw it? was it the promotionl spot for RIR, or something else :beer: i'm late for work as it is i can't stay in front of the tv the rest of the day

Sorry, I beat you to it.