"Not that 'Chinese Democracy' was necessarily a huge success, but I think in a lot of ways it was, because it came out and, you know, people bought it."
I found Tommy's last comment pretty interesting.
In a way, he acts almost
surprised that the album came out and that anyone actually bought it.
A while back, I remember Axl saying that he didn't doubt that the album would come out; only if it would be released in its finished form.
If Axl didn't doubt the album's eventual release, why would Tommy? Furthermore, why is he surprised that anyone bought it?
That almost seems like he questioned the quality of the material.
I suspect that statement meant 2 things:
1) It was a dig, by Tommy, at the label and at the way the album was distributed (and the way their manager managed that process).
2) The tenacity from the band to PUSH the album out. By the accounts we've heard, that was a grueling process for everyone involved on the band's side.
It's like in sports: Sometimes you play a grueling, scrappy, arduous match/game which, ultimately, brings the team closer together even if, technically, you've "lost". It yields better results down the road, and you learn from the experiences you went through to become better.
None of that has ANYTHING to do with the quality of the material.