Chinese Democracy "Chinese Democracy", tour for a year or two, then release the second album without having to return to the studio. The band worked with producer Sean Beavan from 1998 to 2000. Stinson stated that "most of the songs on the album started and ended with what [Beavan] did". Beavan worked with the band when Rose recorded most of the vocal tracks that appear on the final album in 1999. Rose's vocal parts were recorded in less than a week. Beavan claimed to have worked on 35 songs during his time with the band. In late 1999, Guns N' Roses released
Chinese Democracy fist holding a star covered by flailing human figures. Photographs of the Hong Kong skyline and the Chinese military also appear in the booklet. The booklet also includes pictures of Rose, Buckethead, Stinson, Pitman, Finck, Fortus, Bumblefoot, Reed, Brain, and Ferrer alongside lyrics to the songs. Rose stated in December 2008 that two alternate booklets were pending release, adding "the 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."