THE SEARCH FOR A LOST GN'R MASTERPIECE

How a group of hopelessly devoted Guns N' Roses fans leaked 19 CDs of outtakes from one of the most notorious albums in history - with major consequences for one of them

- David Peisner

In the parking lot of a Panera, just off I-95 in Stafford, Virginia, Rick Dunsford climbed into the passenger seat of a white Ford F-350 pickup. Depending whose account you believe, he was holding either $12,000 or $15,000 in cash. It was late afternoon on a Friday in July 2019. Dunsford had been driving through the night, making stops along the way - in Charlotte, North Carolina, to pick up an associate, Madeline Rose; at his sister's house in Virginia, to collect some of the money; and at a couple of different Wells-Fargo locations to get the rest of it. Madeline was in the back seat of the F-350. In the driver's seat was Robert Bird, who'd brought what they'd come for. * Before Bird handed it over, he offered them a taste. He slipped a CD-R into the stereo, and out it came through the speakers: a spacey synth line, then a big guitar riff and a crash of drums, and finally, the unmistakable howl of Axl Rose.

The song, "Atlas Shrugged," was recorded as part of the sprawling, chaotic sessions that would eventually birth Guns N' Roses' 2008 album, Chinese Democracy, but hadn't made the final track list. It had never been played live or appeared on any of the bootlegs that zipped around the Guns N' Roses fan community. For years, within that community, on message boards, Discord servers, and podcasts, "Atlas Shrugged" was a legend, a ghost, more rumor than fact. Some called it a lost masterpiece. Some doubted it even existed. Now, in just a few moments, Dunsford would have not only "Atlas Shrugged," but a thumb drive that held 19 CDs' worth of previously unreleased GN'R tracks.

As he sat in the truck listening, he choked back tears. "I was so happy," he says. "I don't think anything will top that feeling. I spent 20 years looking for this, so much time on these message boards, so much work, and I finally fucking found it."