It's never really that simple.

We're fast approaching the one-year anniversary of Axl's open letter, in which he announced the tentative release date of March 6th, 07 for CD. He mentioned minor, minor additions were left to be made, while Merck in a subsequent open response revealed a deal would still have to be with the label. Merck also said they'd "needed the money [from the European & US tours] to be able to complete the album and keep the band alive"; the project had been self-financed for several years now, and wasn't about to change at the last minute. "The record company refused to conclude the renegotiation until we were ready to hand over the finished album and refused to prepare a marketing campaign or commission video treatments until they had it in their hands."

One year later, there is no album out. It's said to be finished but Universal wasn't about to strike a deal last year before Axl had delivered. The reasoning that follows now is "no album this year, no new deal with the label, no album turned over to the label".

The album may be finished, you say. Damn straight, could be. Last we heard was in 02/22, when Del James descended from the mountain where the fire hasn't ceased to burn in well over a decade. Recording was completed, and the band had begun the mixing process. Baz had integrated himself into the recordings seamlessly and will have his presence felt. In other words, Axl heard him sing a chorus for Sorry after putting out his open letter and realized he could chalk it under those minor additions.

That's one of those things that stand up when looking at the CD saga. More than once, Axl's taken fancy of something and started to figure out how to implement it on his record(s), in atleast one of the songs. This I Love had a friggin harp added to it when the song was over twelve years old; not to mention the oft-rumored Prostitute which's been described as a hard-hitting rock track, despite having everything aside the kitchen sink crammed in due to the modest orchestration by Paul Buckmaster (ten 1st Violins, eight 2nd Violins, six violas, and eight cellos).

They also toured this past year. Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Japan (with apologies to South Africa); all very easy markets, where the enthusiasm for GNR today equals if not surpasses that of Europe. Merck said the touring money was needed when the label refused to budge. No doubt the album wasn't turned over by the summer, as touring without the album in those markets is best explained by the overall lack of funds. In that case, I hope Axl arranged his extravagant afterparties out of his own pocket instead of blowing some hard-earned dime from the band's war chest.

Axl has quite obviously put his own money into the project eversince February 2004. By now, he probably realized it's not a very healthy investment and by touring, he could get back the money he'd invested on top of Universal's $13 million. Even with royalty checks coming in, it's hard to believe Axl could sustain both the financing and his standard of living for years on without getting a bit worried. There are a few choices to resolve the matter; complete CD as well as possible with the money you're currrently willing to invest (which could mean no Baz sessions, btw) and crawl back to Universal - or tour, forget label money, cover your past expenses and perhaps even generate some surplus. In this digital day and age, touring already appears to be the main source of revenue of many artists. What a pioneer spirit Axl would thus be - generate money by touring and pour it all down to an album which a great many people will download, thus stealing you from the money you invested in the first place.

The problem only comes to play if Universal still takes as hard a stance as Merck suggested. No deal with Axl before CD means Axl could continue to negotiate with them and simultaneously finalize his album as long as he'd like, but they wouldn't give a damn before he'd actually turn it over. Every time he goes on tour, he buys more time. Every time the fanbase cares less. One might compare the situation to the Halloween parties he tends to host in Malibu.

Axl throws a costume party every Halloween for friends and their families. Enormous pumpkins ring the swimming pool, and spider webs hang in the trees. Specially built mazes and forts rattle with squealing children. Almost as excited as a child, Axl himself has been known to dash around and toy with every attraction. One past guest gets the impression that Axl is trying to re-create his own childhood, albeit one better than his actually was. The Halloween scene in the past few years hasn't been what it once was. "His parties have been getting smaller and smaller," recalls one recent guest. "The ever-shrinking universe." - RS, 2000

Of course, there's an exit. Various ("final") mixes of several songs do exist; the catch-22 is that they are behind a lock and key due to Axl's (n)ongoing negotiations with the label. If you'd ask the band, the response would be that there are no "final mixes", because those'd be the ones that would eventually be featured on the album. But then there are these "work-in-progress final mixes", which are an excellent way to measure the public interest regarding the project, and the only way imaginable to shift the pressure back to the label's end. "Release it before it all leaks, along with your $13 million."

If, by now, Axl has a trilogy of discs being readied, he has a good amount of potential tracks that might trickle out in the times to come. Those three tracks on Angel Down were nothing if not a short run of leaking Sorry. As long as the stalemate persists, Axl needs to remind everybody of what they're waiting for in the first place. That's the only real way to keep the audience on his side, and he does need to gather some major outside interest if he'd want to impress Universal.

Next year, the stakes get even higher as Axl's not getting any younger. 46 in less than two months, man. Isn't it time to take the stage again and say just one word?

"Sorry."