Slash completely deserves his branding as the best rock guitarist in the world today!
Three decades in the music industry and finally, the legend that is Slash, in my opinion the best rock guitarist in the world, has released a solo album.
Featuring an interesting mix of guest musicians, from the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie to Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilminster, the sheer diversity of the album’s content has split music fans everywhere.
The album kicks off with ‘Ghost’, a simple, mid-range rock song featuring Ian Astbury. The track opens the album moderately pleasingly, but you can’t help but hope that there’s something better to come! The next track, ‘Crucify the Dead’ features Ozzy Osbourne and, unsurprisingly, is a dark, atmospheric number that gives the listener the first hint of what’s to come with a mind-blowing Slash solo. Third track ‘Beautiful Dangerous’ is also impressive, this time due more to the vocal skill of the beautiful Fergie; her seductive crooning will draw you in and you’ll be craving more when the track ends.
If anybody asked me to put together my dream rock band, without hesitating I’d choose Slash as the guitarist and Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy as vocalist so you can imagine my sheer delight when I saw Kennedy’s name listed as a guest vocalist on Slash’s album not once, but twice! ‘Back From Cali’, the first of the two offerings, is a decent hard rock tune but actually not that memorable; by now concern was starting to set in as half of the tracks I’d heard hadn’t made the expected impact. It also made me wonder whether Kennedy’s second offering, ‘Starlight’, would be any better...
Track five and a third of the way through the album. Roll up vocal phenomenon Chris Cornell and ‘Promise’. Always a safe bet, Cornell’s vocal performance was second to none but I was disappointed that Slash didn’t take more of an opportunity to show off his mind-blowing skill. ‘By The Sword’ with guest Andrew Stockdale came next; an intriguing track that took a while to kick off but when it did, boy was it a tasty little offering! Featuring a very sexy, laid-back guitar solo, this is probably my favourite track of the album so far.
Next track, the acoustic ‘Gotten’, featuring Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, is a great little ballad. The song is so simple but so beautiful, you’ll find yourself singing along with it and visualising a special loved one before you know it. OK, that’s more than enough mushy stuff for now! Move over Levine ‘cos Lemmy’s coming through! The Motorhead legend is the guest vocalist on ‘Doctor Alibi’, a raw, chauvinistic yet strangely appealing track that will put a wry smile on your face.
Next track ‘Watch This’, featuring Dave Grohl and Slash’s ex-GnR band mate bassist Duff McKagan, will take your breath away. The only instrumental track on the album, it shows off the raw talent of all three musicians, letting Slash loose to do what he does best. Building up to a huge explosion of sound, this was exactly what I’d been waiting to hear! This track alone proved that Slash deserved his branding as the best rock guitarist in the world today!
Unfortunately, following such an immense track, ‘Hold On’, featuring Kid Rock, was never going to press the same buttons as it would have had it been listed elsewhere on the album. The track is nice enough and does feature a stunning Slash solo, but I was still mesmerised by the previous track.
‘Nothing To Say’ is probably the heaviest track on the album and kicks some serious ass; with galloping rhythm guitar melodies, gritty vocals and guitar solos that are full of attitude, the adrenalin rush is overwhelming!
That moment was upon me... Myles Kennedy’s second contribution, ‘Starlight’, was about to kick off. Would it live up to my high expectation? Would my dream duo pull it off? The track had almost finished before my brain put itself in gear; this mind-blowing track had me speechless from start to finish and I’m not ashamed to admit I had a wee tear in my eye! Pushing the boundaries of Kennedy’s incredible vocal ability and featuring guitar shredding that will send shivers up your spine, this power ballad is by far the best track on the album. Despite its melancholy vibe, you can’t help but be blown away by the collective talent of these two guys. I challenge anybody not to like this track; I’ve had it on repeat for 2 hours now, I suppose it’s time to move on!
As with ‘Hold On’, Rocco Deluca’s ‘Saint Is A Sinner Too’ greatly suffers due to its album position. How do you compete with such a monster track, performed by a male vocalist that could quite easily be considered the best in the world? Quite simply, you can’t. The track is unassuming, laid-back and pleasantly warm but is forgotten as soon as it finishes.
Iggy Pop’s ‘We’re All Gonna Die (So Let’s Get High)’ brings the fun back to the album! The upbeat punk anthem will have all would-be rock stars strutting around the living room and reaching for their air guitars to join in with the intense shredding in no time.
Finally, hard rock tune ‘Baby Can’t Drive’, featuring Alice Cooper and Nicole Scherzinger closes the album on a cheap note. The sleazy track may appeal to some, but to me, it was a disappointing way to end the album. Nicole Scherzinger failed to convince me that she’s a (well disguised) rock diva, her weak vocals boring, failing to complement the legend that is The Coop. The song’s only saving grace is Slash’s short but memorable solo.
The diversity of this album has been criticised by some fans, suggesting it lacks any musical direction and is therefore a flop. I couldn’t disagree more with this statement; to me, the sheer diversity of this album just goes to prove how adaptable Slash really is. I do wonder whether some of the featured artist choices had anything to do with music politics, but on the whole this album is a huge success and one that will be gracing my CD player for the foreseeable future. Here’s hoping that there’ll be more Slash solo albums to come in the future; pure instrumental album, anyone?
Watch this space!