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Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQm7tanGAtk#t=8m31s
"To be honest, [when I joined the band,] it wasn't in the middle [of CD]. Honestly, I think it was more near the end. Overall, the songs were mostly written. The odd thing I wrote was, like, the chorus of Better. But that was all... it was pretty much done. I played on the whole thing, but I replaced other people's parts. I was playing, and they took somebody's elses part out and I put something in. But the songs... near 90% of it was done, as far as the songs having been written. I did all my stuff in less than a week on that entire album. Think I played on almost every song.
I've also heard that Axl sang that whole record in less than a week. Like, 90% of it was done in, literally, days. There was just so much stuff going on around the recording, that it took time, moreso than the actual recording. But, that being said, they had studios blocked out for long periods of time. It went through different producers. The record company said, 'No, we want to use this guy', and Axl said, 'OK, I'll try it'... They'd try it, would it work, they'd go in with somebody else. So, I think that's how I figure it amassed.
At that time, music still had value. People were still putting out records and touring to support the records. People don't do that anymore. People put out records to support a tour."
Producers coming in happened in '97-'98, before they landed on Sean Beavan.
I did hear the finished product... I thought, it came out 12 years after I did it or something, but I was surprised 'cause Roy Thomas Baker took over and then some other people were doing some stuff on it, and I figured there'd be nothing on there. It turns out almost every vocal track was a vocal track I did. -src
Axl’s main Vocals: Chinese Democracy, Prostitute, If The World, There Was A Time, Madagascar, Riad N’ The Bedouins, I.R.S., Street Of Dreams recorded by Sean Beavan, engineered by Critter, re-edited, processed and engineered by Caram Costanzo (all Axl’s vocals produced by Axl).
8 vocal tracks recorded in less than a week in '99, I'd say.
That leaves Better, Shackler, Scraped and Sorry to around 2001. This was the Roy Thomas Baker / Tom Zutaut -era, during which Brain and Bucket were encouraged to bring in their own material. They wrote those three of songs starting with an S with Pete Scaturro, I think. Better, a Robin song, has post-Beavan vocals.
TIL could be from anywhere since '93. Notably, Beavan lacks all credit on this song. Axl apparently worked on the song through the years as an aside - a bonus track or a soundtrack inclusion instead of actually including it on CD.
Fortus showed up in between the Vegas New Year shows and the '02 tour.
The album was almost done. What happened during and around that ill-fated US tour is still one of the great mysteries of the saga.
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
I was always pretty shocked to hear the same vocals on IRS and its 99/98 demo... same with Catcher and its demo if I'm not mistaken.
Fits the narrative that Axl's vocals on the album were finished a long time before the album was released.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
I was always pretty shocked to hear the same vocals on IRS and its 99/98 demo... same with Catcher and its demo if I'm not mistaken.
Fits the narrative that Axl's vocals on the album were finished a long time before the album was released.
The Catcher vocals are definitely a different take on the demo (though the final album version vocals may still date from the same time). A while back I wondered if it was possible to "uprate" the demo by mixing it with elements from the Rock Band multitracks, and quickly ran up against the problem that the vocals are different.
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
Yeah this was one of the eye opening interviews of the saga. Too bad we hadn't heard this at least 10 years ago.
Its pretty obvious he practically abandoned the project back then...at least from a creative standpoint. Nothing new brought to the table after it was initially wrapped up. The rejection in hindsight basically killed the project. We just got to run in circles for years.
He was also lazy with his own vocals and this goes completely against the perfectionist label that some of his hardcores like to use to describe him.
Perfectionists don't wrap up the vocals on their album in a week....especially for an album that takes a decade for a release. Most singers would spend more than a week just in the demo stage. Once he gets the vocal take down, apparently its finished on his end no matter how it sounds.
- Mama's Good Boy
- Rep: 25
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
Its bizarre how it all played out. TO say the least.
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
Wonder how long he spent on the lyrics.. Half an hour?
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
How about the booklet done overnight?
Hi guys, some time ago I contacted Ryan Corey (Chinese Democracy's art director) by email. I sent him several questions involved with his work on the album. He´s a cool dude because he replied the email and answered all the questions (he even ask for an opinion related to the finished work).
I want to share it with you. There are some interesting facts. Here we go!
1- When did you start working with the art of the album?
We only started working on this project shortly before its release. We had a bit more time to focus on the cover, but once that was decided, the rest of the package had to be completed in a matter of days. (I was only allowed one long night to complete 99% of the work).
2- Did you have a call from Axl or the management team? I mean, how did the relationship start?
We had a lot of meetings with Axl's management, but no direct contact with him at all. He's pretty reclusive.
3- About the work. Did you receive clear work instructions? Did you have freedom in the creative process?
Axl had the bike photo to begin with. My understanding was that he had had it in mind for the cover for a couple of years prior to the album's release. So we had pretty clear instructions that that photo was going to be on the cover. We did many different cover options and eventually Axl settled on the one that was released.
After that it was more about figuring out what the rest of the pieces should look like in accordance with the aesthetic of the cover and how to work in all the photos of the band members, lyrics, etc. within the pages allotted. Then there were some very specific instructions as to where some things should appear and the inclusion of the paintings that appear in the booklet etc.
4- Maybe you're not a GNR fan, but this album was surrounded with mystery through the years. What did it mean for you to do this job? I mean this was Axl Rose's comeback.
I was aware of the magnitude and the mystique surrounding this project, so I felt proud to be able to be a part of it; I knew that a lot of people would be anticipating this record.
At one point the album art leaked to the internet before its release and that was almost a big fiasco. How has the art been received by GnR fans? Do they like it or no?
(I like it, but I told him there are mixed opinions about the artwork)
5- How about the alternative covers? There are plenty of them online, some of them are supposed to be fake, but the “red hand” cover is shown in the Smog site as an original piece of work. What is the story behind the different covers? Which is your favourite one? The bicycle or the hand?
The only two covers I know about are the bicycle and the red hand, both of which were officially released by Geffen. After the bike package was out, Axl wanted to do a special "art edition" that featured art that he personally selected from various sources. That turned out into a completely alternate package and I think was only a very limited release.
As far as the covers are concerned, it's hard to chose one or the other. Maybe it's because I had stared at the bicycle for so long that it was refreshing to look at something different. And I like the red hand because I think that artist does interesting work. But the bicycle has good traits as well.
Axl recalled the alternative artwork somewhat differently.
There are two more covers/back cover combos and the real booklet that is all artwork, that will be out shortly in some form... My fave is the 'How Are You' Grenade cover...
The booklet or artwork has always been something I've been passionate about, and to release the album with unapproved and unseen final artwork, with a 1st work only error-filled draft - when others, more recent, were readily available - still has not been explained, but is finally getting cleared up... It's been an ugly battle that hasn't made any sense to anyone.
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
When I say to people CD's release was rushed they think I'm making a joke.. and a little bit of my soul dies.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
The irony is that the actual work took hardly any time. Vocals took a couple of weeks, most of the songs were done by 2001… it was management and suits fucking around that ate up the years. And Axl got the blame, and an unwarranted reputation as a tinkering perfectionist.
Re: Half of CD vocals done in a week?
The song structures were done, the vocals were done.
Starting with Fortus in '02, there was the gradual piecemeal of replacing older parts with takes from current members.
Bucket's & Brain's work was on until 2006, one would think. That's when Ron and Frank started adding in stuff.
Fortus went back intermittently to record bits and pieces over the years. Tommy redid some stuff.
The album was in a polishing mode for a long time - smart money would've mastered it early and put the extra effort on CD2.
