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AXL ROSE LOSES GUNS BATTLE:

July 8, 2004

Axl Rose has once again been shot down by the courts.

The Guns N’ Roses frontman has lost his bid to block the release of recordings by Hollywood Rose, an earlier incarnation of the chart-topping hair band.

The Roots of Guns N’ Roses, an album recorded by Rose, Guns guitarist Izzy Stradlin and two other rockers three years before Guns N’ Roses kicked off its careers with Appetite for Destruction, has been on shelves since June 22.

On Tuesday, some three weeks after the offending album’s release, the U.S. District Court in New York finally got around to officially denying Axl’s request.

The Roots of Guns N’ Roses contains five original tracks and 10 tunes that have been remixed with the help of band cofounder Tracii Guns, former GNR guitarist Gilby Clark and drummer Fred Coury of Cinderella fame.

Rose had sued Cleopatra Records, which released Roots on its Deadline Music label, for trademark infringement, improper use of his name and likeness and unfair competition. He claimed the album would put a crimp in the sales of the Guns N’ Roses Greatest Hits album, which debuted in March–and which he incidentally also tried to block.

A spokesperson for Guns N’ Roses could not immediately be reached for comment.

But this just doesn’t seem to be Axl Rose’s year when it comes to music. In March, a judge denied his request to block the greatest-hits collection despite Rose’s claim that the album would interfere with the band’s long-awaited reunion album, Chinese Democracy.

That album, created by Rose and a whole new roster of band members under the name Guns N’ Roses, has been in the works for several years now.

Rose spearheaded a reunion in 2002, reforming the band and planning a comeback Chinese Democracy Tour in 2002. Like the album, the Chinese Democracy tour stalled due to Axl’s antics and was never completed.

After taking 2003 off from the road, Rose returned to the studio to wrap up Chinese Democracy. It remains to be seen when that album will hit shelves.

Guns N’ Roses’ Greatest Hits, meanwhile, debuted at number three and had a long run in the Top 10.

As for the other original GNR rockers, Slash and Duff, they have formed a new band, Velvet Revolver, with former Stone Temple Pilot frontman Scott Weiland. Their debut album, Contraband, was released in June and topped the charts.

Julie Keller courtesy of E! Online