^Yup, that's a theory that's been passed about.
Don't know how we can examine it.

If people who had some of the other material could make guesstimates what they think would have or could have fit on Chinese (if they could figure out the titles, that is, apparently no one could figure names out ala "new song 2" = prostitute), then it would be interesting.

Skwerl leaks gave us, for first time, a decent recording of Rhiad, Prostitute, If The World, and...that's it right, as far as new songs - the others had found their way out or had been heavily played right?

Shacklers, Scraped, and Sorry were left.

What songs do you think would have been off the record had they not leaked? I've thought about this and I just can't pick.

If The World was attached to a movie, so I think it was going to be on there anyway.

We'd heard Rhiad like...two times(?)... they never played it in 2002, never in 2006, and I think it fits well with Scraped and Shacklers.

Prostitute does so well closing the album out, and Axl used to play the piano part before November Rain, so, I think that would have been on there, too.

Unless we think back and wonder if IRS, TWAT, Madagascar, and/or Street weren't going to make the cut but since they had decent leaks come out, they were thrown back in. They played IRS and Street a bunch though, and Madagascar all through the tours before the release. (I'd love to have had all these songs replaced by fresh ones, in retrospect! But I don't think there was any doubt they'd be on there since he kept playing them.)

I've heard CITR was a last minute addition, who knows if that's true. That song only leaked in pretty bad form awhile before the Skwerl leaks.

Not putting Better out... maybe they wouldn't have after Robin left, or maybe they would have. But they played it a bunch so again it would have been awkward to have not been on the album.

I just can't figure out what 'should' be gone and what would have stayed. I'm sure if they hadn't toured and played new songs *so* removed from the actual release that they would have had more options. I think that hurt flexibility more than the leaks did. Maybe.

I just can't speculate.=/

Topic:
I'm sure Bumblefoot and the others would enjoy getting new (or other things, even if old that they worked on) out there for people. That would make many people happy, and putting out something that's recorded and talking about it to magazines over the phone is a little easier on the back than 3 hour shows.