The Story of GNR's Long-Awaited Album

''What's taking so long?''

A new book, Magnum Opus: The Unbelievable Saga of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, delves into why Guns N' Roses took fifteen years to release an album. 

It didn't help that the lineup kept changing, as did producers and studios. 

The writer, James Greene Jr, also discusses the band members' experiences with other music-makers. They include Soundgarden, who opened for GNR, but were not happy about it. So Guns N' Roses' crew referred to them as ''Frown-garden.''

Nirvana was asked to support the group as well, and turned down the opportunity. While the lead vocalists didn't get along, they had quite a bit in common.

Both Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain were major public figures who were not accepted in their hometowns. When it came to band decisions, each had the final say, even when it didn't benefit the other musicians.  

In addition, each man was fond of guns. Kurt believed the ammunition was necessary for his protection. Axl, on the other hand, used guns to intimidation.

The singer himself was apparently afraid and unsure of himself. Greene doesn't explore this angle, but why else would Rose keep making changes to his new music and constantly listen to other artists for inspiration? Not to mention his tendency to take offense easily, and further sabotage relationships by arriving late--if at all--to recording sessions, concerts, and other events. One associate said he was bipolar, so one never knew which Axl (funny or furious) would show up.

With the star's track record, there were doubts that Guns N' Roses would show up and perform at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. This was already a challenging evening. As it was close to the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks, more security measures than usual were in place. Even Axl had problems getting into the venue. 

The event was also noteworthy because the band played a track from Chinese Democracy. It took another six years before the record was released, and reviews were mixed. 

It was just a couple of months ago that Guns N' Roses released two new singles. Both originate from Chinese Democracy sessions conducted over two decades ago.

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