Here Today... Gone To Hell!

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html

**Mon 03 Nov 08**
CHINESE DEMOCRACY

[A reader has seen the sleeve notes of the long-awaited Chinese Democracy album, and wrote in that Brian wasn't credited on Catcher In The Rye.]

Ah ... well, I did not know this ! Thanks, Thomas.

Well, it is a shame, perhaps ... I did put quite a lot of work in, and was proud of it.

But I could understand if Axl wants to have an album which reflects the work of the members of the band as it is, right now.

I do have mixes of the tracks with my guitar on, work tapes at the time, but they will remain private, out of respect for Axl.

Thanks for your kind wishes, Thomas.

Cheers
Bri

? brianmay.com
(See Copyright Note)

A shame.

poor guy, he sounds a little bummed.

and we are sure that the booklet that guy has seen is real  ??? ... anyhow; we'll see soon enough and I am sure BM will understand if BH or BF are playing  on CITR  ;)

v. ..

Until we have the CD in hand will we know if this is true or not. I personally wouldn't have emailed Brian May with this until the official release had happened, but that's just me.

If in fact he's not credited, could it be because his guitar parts were replaced?

a.

If true, I am beyond bummed.

We're not allowed to talk about the "booklet" here, but in fact, we have to wait until we see the actual booklet to see if May is or isn't on Catcher. I do hope he is!

The album will be out in less than three weeks.

We'll know for sure then.




/jarmo

why should we talk about leaked fake booklet at all? I have just emailed BM and told him that he should maybe have waited for real booklet ... hope that will clear it ...

v. ..

Robin plays on the final version, and it's good. Brain May does get a thank you off Chris Pittman though.

How do you know that? Do you really believe that leaked booklet is genuine?

As Jarmo said, we we'll only need to wait 3 weeks to know the truth.


anyway, Ronaldo owns both  :hihi:

I probably know why he was replaced... obviously because Ron and Finck made a much, much better job. Bumblefoot played on every track and we know that he added an old school rhythm to almost - if not all - the songs. Finck's solo are always great/amazing, as well as Ron's - if you don't believe, just listen to Abnormal... his melodic solos are the best of the record. I assure you: Ron and Robin's version is at least as good as May's, if not Better... I'm pretty sure it's better, much better. ;)

my queen fanatic brother-in-law was only gonna buy it coz it had May on it  :(  ahh well..

from bp on cd.com
That 'Sleeve' is not the final one and is not finished. much of the input was from Universal in that version.

he should just be thankful axl invited him to the studio at all.  he's just a guitar player.  there are millions of them.  but only one axl. 

I think there should be some kind of entrance exam for being able to post here.   ::)

yeah, well maybe there should be some kind of loyalty test too.  if you care more about brian may's hurt feelings then axl rose's art, then maybe you should join queen forum instead.

If you think Axl Rose would pat you on the back for "loyally" dissing Brian May, you should probably read up on Axl while you're at it.

That said, I'm sure BBF and Robin will sound just fine.

who's dissing him?  i just said he's a guitar player who should be thanksful for getting the chance to work with axl.  you want to disagree with any of that?

i think he's getting at the fact that brian may is a legend. no argument. He is held in the highest regard by the most technical proficient guitar players out there, (satriani etc.) the fact that he should  "thankfull" appears a little bit more than disesepectful towards im.

IMO the song will lose it's sort of retro 70's, beetles vibe it had with out brian may. i think this was good for the song as its written about the assasination of John Lennon which happened around that time.

Shame really.

Kind of a shitty thing that Brian has to hear from a 'leak' fan that he's not on the album...I can see why Bumblefoot was so frustrated with the foamers out there, now.   :no:
There is reason guys like Jarmo have access and are respected, and it is not ass-kissing - it is being respectful and doing the foaming (if he does) privately.  This shouldn't have happened, shame on this 'fan'.   :rant:

Thank you for saying it better than I did. 

And perhaps I overreacted a bit, but I think the basic sentiment is right-on.

Unless I'm mistaken, or unless Axl has radically shifted his views in recent years, an assessment of Brian May as "just a guitar player" demonstrates a general disregard for his place in rock history, the esteem universally granted him by other guitarists, and the fervor and appreciation Axl Rose holds for Queen generally and May particularly.

That's why this move (if true - always IF true around here) seems odd to me.  It's not about BBF or Robin being better, it's about losing the "feel" that is unmistakably Brian May and also (in a positive way, for this song) unmistakably '70s/'80s.

That said, it's really not my place to take shots (cheap or otherwise) at board members, so for that I apologize.

Now let's just wait and see if we get some Red Special love on Chinese Democracy.

 :peace:

PS - is it just me, or does "Red Special Love" sound like a brilliant title for a porn movie?

C'mon now. That's Brian May. He should be thankful? I think that's ridiculous. I am sad that May's guitar may not be on Catcher. I am holding out hope that it is, but I get the feeling it's not. People make a nice point that Axl may be trying to get his new bandmates involved, but I think he could have made an exception for Brian May. If he ended up perfering a different sound, well that's something else as well. All I know is, I've got my fingers crossed he's still on there.

this is supposed to be a gnr fan board, right?  so how come everyone suddenly thinks they're smarter than axl when it comes to making his own music?

brian may is a talented guitar player, but he is clearly no robin finck.  chinese democracy will prove that.  if brian may's solo was so amazing it would be on the album.  but it's not. 

if you think you can do it better than axl, go record your own album.  i can't wait to hear it.

In other news, Michelangelo was a pretty decent painter, but obviously not as good as Jackson Pollack.

Seriously, I dig Robin.  Saw him live.  But to suggest that Brian May is somehow inferior to Finck is silly.  I'm pretty sure Finck would tell you the same thing.

But you are right about the fact that, in the end, it's Axl's album.  He knows what he wants and that's what we'll get.  I have no problem with that. 

If May had Axl record guest vocals for the new Queen + Paul Rodgers album and then decided not to use them, I would feel the same.  It's their album, not mine.

But until Finck does something to get himself in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, I'll not be taking comparisons between him and May seriously.

Hmm I'm guessing this falungong69 character is someone who's been banned before and just came back to stir shit up...

ahahahahahahahahahaha

hahahahahahahahahahaha....oh my....i needed a good laugh today...thank you.

the level of ignorance in that statement is astounding, and proof that you have no idea why you are talking about...Brian May has forgotten more kick ass riffs than any guitarist in Guns N' Roses has ever known.

falungong69 , how old are you?

First: We still don't know if May is or isn't on CD, let's wait.

Second: Of course this is a GNR forum, but that doesn't mean we'll start saying bullshit like "Axl is God", "Greatest frontman ever", GNR is the greatest band ever etc...

Third: Let's get things straight here, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath.. are in a higher level than GNR, period. I'm sure Axl will be the first one to recognise that! Brian May is a legend, and if anyone should be thankful this is GNR for having a legend in the record. 

These kids... :rofl:

come to think of it, that is really be the only sensible solution to this.

edit: the positive thing about this change is that it gives me hope that the drumdude is deleted too and that Brain plays on it!

To be honest, I never expected Brian May to be on CD as he was only filling the void left by Robin when he left in '99. Once Robin came back I assumed that Axl would go back to the original guitar parts which he felt so bummed about having to abandon earlier (thus leading to May recording his parts). But as some stated eariler, we don't know yet. Let's just wait and see.

I think we all should be happy right now. Why? Our sloppy guitar players played a better/more soulful lead than the legend, the man himself, the untouchable Brian May. :peace:

I'm gutted that Brian May has been removed from the record, it was a beautiful song and a fantastic collaberation.

He does sound disapointed to have been given the boot as well as very proud of the work he did, but he sounds philosophical at least. But given that he is generally known as the nicest guitarist/chap in the world, its not suprising.

 :(

Oh no they fucking didnt - oops, sorry *Cough.*...ahem...    I mean who knows at this point in time.

 :no:

Brian May worked with Freddie Mercury, who joins Axl as a top 10 frontman of all time.

I hope some of the guest spots were kept. Less than 3 weeks to answers........

Just lie to him and if hes not on it.  Tell him you didnt know.

No need to bash on Brian May...he is amazing...i however will not be let down if he is not on the album...He is NOT in Guns N Roses, I would much rather hear a solo by Bumble, Robin or Richard...thats just me though..I thought the Catcher song sounded a little TOO much like Queen, especially with the May solo...It would be interesting to see how this song changed....

I also will not lose sleep if May IS on the album....im good either way...

I believe the best version of the song will be on the album.. guessing that is finck, as shadows above me, i'm good either way..



also.. i think may played on and recorded more songs then catcher in the rye.. there's a chance he will feature on future albums :yes:

I agree, it won't matter to me who's on it lol.. well I am a big Robin Finck fan ! ;D

Kinda bummed if this is true, Brian's guitar is pretty signature, you know it's him when he plays.  

Geez man, it was a collaboration.  It's like Alice Cooper or Shannon Hoon singing on GN'R tracks... or Slash playing on a Lenny Kravitz song.  Why do they have to be "IN" Guns N' Roses to contribute something to the song?

Anyways, if this is true, I'm a little disappointed.  I'll wait to see what comes on the album, but there was a "feel" to that song that I hope they don't lose.

If they take May off the record,  I just pray that whoever plays the solo doesn't fuck it up and turn it into something that doesn't serve the song.

nothing wrong with a collaboration at all...like I said im good either way...

Aren't you confident!





/jarmo

have you guys heard bumblefoots normal cd? he has a track in there called Breaking wich has a solo that sounds a lot like brian may... maybe the new catcher solo could've been re-recorded by him, and kept the same melodies and a similiar tone and feeling adding bumble's trademarks in there... just sayin, it's not like we could actually find that out before the 23rd

although i think it would be very cool for may to be on the song and the album, axl knows what he is doing, and may is very classy in what he said about axl, they are good friends and i think something little like that wouldnt hurt their friendship and yes ron or robin would do a great job with the guitar work on the song, cant wait to hear the finished track! DEMOCRACY IS COMING! :beer:

If he was taken out of the track, it would be done with good reason without a doubt!!

Thing is i.m.o. the sound of BM's Red Special is unique and quite terrific, but honoustly it takes you back in time, so in MY ears sounds "dated" if you will.

That coming from a huge Queen/Brian fan so don't shoot me  :hihi:  , so if GNR want to be back, brand new and fresh, their own sound all over the album it would be justified.

Perhaps as a b-side or added bonus-track (CITR feat. B.May version) it will be used.


I think that Brian should have kept from replying to this all together without being shure, and certainly should have not publicly outed his disappointment adding that he put in quite the
effort on this.

i hope it's robin's solo now. good axl trusts his band members on this...

I think Axl probably told Robin to play it note for note like Brian did, but with his own "feel"

This is exactly what worries me, because Brian May's "feel" on this song added something really special in my opinion.  Let Robin have his "feel" on the rest of the CD!

cmon people, everyone is getting mad at each other for comments and we dont even know if its true yet! just wait it out and we'll see. the wait will be over soon.

Probably AXL told May to play it note for note like Robin did....



Robin played first on the track. : ok:

We probably shouldn't speculate on things we don't know about, but that has never stopped us before.  I can see this both ways.  Having Brian May on the record would be a special thing, he's a legendary guitarist, maybe draw interest from some May/Queen fans.  But I can see Axl wanting to compeltely legitimize the guitarists that are IN the band.  If they play CITR live, and the studio version had Brian on it, people could scream "where's Brian" and may not give Robin/Ron/whoever plays "his" parts a fair shot, much like some people do with Slash.  Now I know a lot of us have already heard CITR with May on it, but there's still a LOT of people who will hear the song for the first time when they hear the album cut.

It is possible they could use the version with May on it (if there is a mastered version) as a "b" side or bonus track.  That would be cool.

To my knowledge, Axl once hosted a TV special covering the life of Freddie Mercury?

I don't think Axl would discredit Brian May's work on the song, unless the parts were not used in the final version.

Queen is one of Axl's influences, and I'd think he has the utmost respect for them.

Just 2 points I wanted to make that haven't been made in the thread so far -

1. If Axl removed Brian's parts because he only wanted the current guitarists in the band on the album he wouldn't have left Buckethead all over the CD would he? He'd have had Finck/BBF re-record all his shit too. It's obviously down to quality and what Axl thinks sounds better.

2. If Brian May was on the final finished version of 'Catcher' don't you think he would be aware that version was being used by now? The album's out in less than 3 weeks! Surely Axl or the label would have contacted him. I think we can pretty much rule him being on the album out unfortunately.

I would imagine Brian recorded the parts and left it up to Axl what to do with it...  I don't think anyone would need to contact him regarding the matter, which explains the somewhat suprised tone of the note he wrote.