![Brian May’s ‘Odd Experience’ With Axl Rose](https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2022/04/attachment-may.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Brian May’s ‘Odd Experience’ With Axl Rose
Brian May recalled the “odd experience” he endured after being invited to appear on Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy album.
The Queen guitarist composed a guitar track for the song “Catcher in the Rye” in the mid-'00s and attended a series of recording sessions to lay it down. But Axl Rose – who at that time was the only original Guns member in the lineup – was hardly ever present, and May’s contribution was later abandoned.
"It was an odd experience," he told Classic Rock in a recent interview. "I think it was about midway through the whole thing. By that point, Axl was pretty much a recluse. ... He was working in his house, and I was working in the studio at the bottom of the hill with his engineer at the time, and he only rarely came down. Now and again he would call in and get all enthusiastic and talk a lot, and then he’d be gone again. I don’t think any of what I played actually got onto the album."
Chinese Democracy was released in 2008 after more than 13 years of production amid a series of lineup changes, legal battles and artistic rethinks. May discovered his input wasn't used when a fan wrote to let him know. “Well, it is a shame, perhaps,” he responded at the time. “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.”
Guns N' Roses Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide (We Think)
More From 102.9 WBLM
![Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose Takes Tumble Onstage in London, Recovers Like a Champ](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2023/07/attachment-Axl-Rose-Fall-London.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Brian May – ‘We’d Love To’ Make a Sequel to Queen Biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2019/01/Queen-Rami-Malek-Brian-May.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Dave Grohl Joins Guns N’ Roses’ Polarizing Glastonbury Set + Fans Have Mixed Reactions](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2023/06/attachment-guns_n_roses_dave_grohl_glastonbury_2023_reactions.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![11-Year-Old Electrifies Brian May + ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Audience With Queen Guitar Medley](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2023/05/attachment-Harry-Churchill-Brian-May-Britains-Got-Talent-Fans.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![10 of the Wildest Insults Rock + Metal Stars Have Hurled at People](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2023/05/attachment-liam_gallagher_potato_wolf_van_halen_grape.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Queen’s Brian May Names His Greatest Guitarists of All-Time, Praises Kurt Cobain’s Guitar Legacy](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2023/03/attachment-Brian-May-Kurt-Cobain.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Rock Stars Celebrating Birthdays in February](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2021/01/February-Birthdays.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Every Rock + Metal Artist on Rolling Stone’s Updated List of 200 Best Singers](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2023/01/attachment-ozzy_osbourne_courtney_love_chris_cornell_freddie_mercury_best_singers.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Axl Rose Makes ‘Tossers Anonymous’ Joke After Mic-Toss Incident](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2022/12/attachment-guns_n_roses_axl_rose_2020.jpg?w=980&q=75)