2016.04.11 - Mariskal Rock TV - Manny Charlton, Guns N' Roses' First Demo Producer, Speaks

Transcript:

[speaking in Spanish]

Manny Charlton: Through their label, through Geffen Records, contacted me and said the new band they were signing they were thinking signing, and wanted me to produce their first album. At that time I was working with Nazareth and we were making an album called Cinema and I said, "Yeah, I'll come over and I'll meet the band," for they had given me cassettes, called Board Mix, the PA live, yeah, they make a cassette Guns N' Roses playing live. But I could not hear very good, not very clear, so I said, "I'll come to LA, I meet them, talk with them, and if we like each other and I like their music, it's possible I can produce them." And so I met with their A&R guy, Tom Zutaut from Geffen who signed Motley Crue also, had big success with them. So he came to meet me in Scotland and told me what they wanted to do and I said, "Ok, I come to Los Angeles and we go in a studio and we make very good demo," so I can hear them play, I can hear what they sound like, and then I can listen and then we could talk about it. Because I need to know if I like the music because Guns N' Roses were nobody. "Nope, Guns N' Roses who? Who is Guns N' Roses?" Anyway, I went to LA and we went in a really good studio, Sound City Studios. And I had them in the studio, play live, and record. No multi-tracks, no overdubs, live, but recorded really good in the studio.

Interviewer: All of the band, complete?

MC: All the band at the same time. Axl singing, the band playing live-

Interviewer: Like a concert?

MC: Like a club. And straight to stereo. It sounded great. They sounded really, really good. And I made the tape, I took the tape home with me to listen to when I go home. And I said to them, "I'm making an album with Nazareth," and, "Right now I am doing an album with Nazareth I need to finish. If we can get our schedule, your schedule, my schedule, together then maybe we can work together and make an album." So after that I went back to Scotland [cut off]

Transcribed. Too bad it is cut off and we don't get to hear what happened next, his story about why he didn't end up producing Appetite.