Brian May's involvement

[the dirt]

Did Axl ever want him in the band?
I'm pretty sure he jammed in the studio with some of them.

Was he ever a possibility, if he was, what went down?

If Buckethead is gone for good, maybe he should be on the album to replace him...

[Chief]

no, i think axl just wanted to collaborate. he played on 3 songs as i recall, hopefully we will hear them.
he spoke about it in an audio interview on some UK station.

im pretty sure he also said that it was never an intention for him to actually join the band.

[HoldenCaulfield]

They asked him in an interview if he would ever join and tour, and he said he was kinda past that in his life, but that he might. I think it would be cool, but

[loretian]

I believe Axl invited Brian May to help out when Robin Finck temporarily left the band a few years back (I don't know the exact year).  Axl didn't know Robin was going to come back at the time, but he really liked Robin's work, so he asked Brian to write new lead guitar work that "wouldn't make him feel bad about erasing the old" or something along those lines.

[Will]

Brian May once said on his web site that Axl NEVER asked him to join the band, he only asked him to play on a few tracks.

From Brian's web site:

I was NEVER, NEVER asked to join Guns n Roses. The truth is I was invited by Axl to play on 3 tracks a while ago, on an album which they were making in L.A. I had a great time playing, and interacting with the guys, and I was hugely impressed with the material they'd already put down. To me Axl is one of the great untamed talents of our age. Since the album is still not released I have no idea if the tracks I played on are still in consideration. But I'm damn sure it will be worth waiting for!

P.S. I also NEVER would have given away the titles of songs I had heard - I regarded the whole experience as confidential. I am VERY upset that this writer has made it look like I blabbed.

God, I HATE journalists. Fabrications like this can destroy friendships.

[This is Brian's reply to the ARTICLE in Classic Rock October 2003, page 10, titled "NO THANKS, AXL"]

Source: http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssbsep03.html#20

[shaun]

Heh, when i first read that interview with Brian May (in Kerrang! i think?) all those years ago, i was under the impression the album was almost ready for release and was going to be called 2000 Intentions, how wrong i was