I bet the finished lyrics have something to do with Axl getting information that had been withheld from him.

Yup, the disco hit Eye on You has that, but so do many other CD songs (TWAT, Fall from Grace, The Blues...).

And call me crazy, but I like EOY

Wait, did some instrumentals leak or something?

Were they any good? Have lived under a rock recently

It all reminds me of Theseus' ship.

"The ship of Theseus is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object."

On CD, we have at least four separate eras; '94-'96 / '97-'99 / '00-'02 / '03-'08. The album is the end result of that, and half the tracks have been re-recorded by other two lineups.

Josh Freese, for instance, is still interwoven in the arrangements of the Beavan-era songs, even if Brain & Tommy re-recorded the backing tracks many times since. They're still essentially the same songs.

Fortus has divulged that about 3 unreleased songs are based on Slash's riffs / song ideas, recorded in '96 or earlier. At this point, it only makes sense to put Slash back on them.

It all adds up to 48 songs in toto, or about 3-4 discs of rough mixes. The quantity of Axl's vault has been questioned over the years (Axl said 70 in late '99; even Kurt Loder ahem'd) - but now we have a pretty reasonable song listing.

CD is indeed the ship of Theseus, you can release it and it still remains out there

Looking at the dates, a few things come to mind.

Late March, 2000. Josh Freese had just left Guns because he felt the album was going nowhere and had no finish line in sight.

Axl had started to record lead vocals after Robin left the previous August, but new mixes were still inbound. In Dec '99, an instrumental mix of Oklahoma was played to a reporter. A week or two after Josh left, mix #10 was done, apparently with vocals.

Me & My Elvis, D Tune and Curly Shuffle also got new mixes.

Days after, Catcher, Prostitute, IRS, Perhaps, State of Grace and Quicksong were newly mixed. All Beavan tracks; the bits and pieces album, built from midnight jams with Paul Huge and friends.

Axl would've, almost certainly, played these mixes for Roy Thomas Baker. This "additional production" might've also, effectively, pushed Josh out.

On 07/14, Tonto (mix #3). RTB-era, maybe an older sketch.

Around August. Bob Ezrin heard these mixes (and then some). He thought Axl's painted over the songs too many times. No kidding. Prostitute had 23 mixes, Atlas, 25, Catcher, 30...

Ezrin moved the band from Rumbo to Village. The aforementioned tracks were then left alone until, at least, early November.

Brain's drums are set up at the attic of the studio, once a Masonic temple.

Between September and October, new Bucket and Brain songs came in. Shackler, Real Doll.com, Sorry. Billionaire (mix#2) may also be from this batch.

Devious Bastard, Dub Suplex and Dummy already had 5-8 mixes by October, so they might've already been on Beavan's B-list.

November 5th, CD (& Maddy); the first Brain version. Axl wanted the drums to have Brain's feel, over Josh's notes, while sounding like Dave Grohl. He may have played this mix to Tom Zutaut and they agreed it didn't come out as Teen Spirit.

November 7th, new mixes galore. If the World, Riad, Silk Worms, As It Began, Circus Maximus, Eye on You and Moustache.

Yet, all "new" songs? Beavan is credited for recording and editing both If the World and Riad, with "initial production" and arrangements, respectively.

Axl has insisted there was a concept of two albums in the Beavan sessions, with the second one more electronic. Were some CD2 songs now pushed up as alternatives after Ezrin's quip?

The next day, Nov 8th, PRL was mixed, without Thyme or guitars. Axl may have had a wild idea to fuse two separately named sketches. Nothing was also mixed. Zodiac 13 is on its fourth mix, still instrumental.

Hardschool got new vocals, on its 12th mix. It's likely a track from the Beavan album.

Dec '00 - Jan, '01. HOB & RIR3. Much rehearsal for big shows. This band would have some awesome material to preview. They go with... Oh My God, CD, Maddy, The Blues - and from the Nov 7th batch, Riad and Silkworms. Should've really gone with If the World.

No Bucket & Brain songs at all.

Bucket left the band around this time, in case anyone missed it.

In February, Axl calls Tom Zutaut and complains about lack of progress. He plays... these mixes, quite possibly.

Zutaut has a sojourn with Bucket. They hit off with the idea of a chicken coop. At the Village. But why not, the drums are already at the attic.

The chicken coop sessions may have yielded bits for $3.00 Pyramid and Inside Out. Titles seem apt for songs written in a chicken coop, watching porn.

The date on those songs, April 3rd, places them neatly between Zoot's arrival and Bucket's illness, first reported in early May. Guns also had a summer tour coming and Axl scolded Bucket about the porn. Might've made him sick. The dates were rescheduled into December. 

Also, Tommy recorded some demos. Yay.

Instead of touring that summer, a whole lot of Josh's drums got re-recorded. Axl also took Zoot to see Yoda.

Bucket left the band around this time, in case anyone missed it.

Then came the dog-poop. In the chicken coop. The Village Studios had to love Guns, those rascals.

In early November, Goldstein cancelled the rescheduled tour. He apparently forgot to tell Axl about it in the first place. Just days later, new takes on Prom Violence and $3.00 Pyramid came up.

Two Vegas shows were booked for the New Years. Small compensation on Axl's part, since the band had grown eager to play live.

Dec '01 - Jan, '02. The Joint. Much rehearsal for club shows. This band would have some awesome material to preview. They go with... Oh My God, CD, Maddy, The Blues and Silkworms.

No Bucket & Brain songs at all.

Not even Moustache instead of Silkworms.

Oh, well.