Artist: Slash
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release: 2010
Length: 60.29
Rating: 3/5
It’s funny how every barely noticeable twitch of a vital sign from some ex-Guns N’ Roses member sends the music world into sudden outbursts of exaggerated emotion in every shade imaginable. All the more so when the activity in question belongs to the maned, gentlemanly top-hatted figure going by the name of Slash. The (permanent) hibernation of the Velvet Revolver circus has certainly done its part here, since its get-up-and-go over the last few years is about as lively as roadkill stripped bare in the blazing sun. Anyway, “Slash” is the guitarist’s simply titled debut and, despite its recognizable sonic traits, anything but a nostalgic trip. A good dozen tracks of that typically juicy heavy rock texture do remind you here and there of rolling around in roses, with a revolver in the belt, of course, but taken as a whole the album is a real revelation, combining diverse musical ingredients with raw efficiency. To pull it off, Slash leaned on the one “healthy” option: recruiting guest musicians, vocalists above all, whose picks are bound to raise an eyebrow or two among the “hard core” fans as a sign of displeasure or disapproval.
Of course, predictably, Slash also stays true to his signature musical moves, which gives the overall sound of the guitarist’s solo debut a hefty dose of aggressive retro aromas at times. There’s a fair bit of heavy-iron rattling here, and besides the quiet offspring of glam metal there’s no shortage of juicy blues-rock impulses either. All kinds of subgenre sprouts are stuffed into the same sack, and surprisingly they don’t clash, which proves the album isn’t short on creative spirit. Add the guitarist’s distinctly individual take on his famous sound and the fun can’t be far off. Slash still feels best sniffing around the classic hard rock form, as he brazenly signals with the opener “Ghost”, which, thanks to Ian Astbury’s vocals, carries the character of one of the Cult’s assault anthems. Those shift, naturally, depending on who’s at the mic, and some of the vocal turns don’t manage to win you over completely. It’s interesting, for instance, to hear how neutered Lemmy sounds without the droning Rickenbacker distortion on “Doctor Alibi”, and Iggy Pop’s “We’re All Gonna Die” pays a similar price for its “misfit” nature. The situation is far from critical, but the excellent collaboration with Ozzy will settle into your ears a lot faster. On “Crucify the Dead” he directs a phenomenal half-dark ambience that, alongside “By the Sword”, is without a doubt competing for the most convincing moment of the entire album.
Slash clearly needs challenges of a special kind every so often. He found one in a very successful “adventure” with Fergie, otherwise the starlet of hip hop attraction Black Eyed Peas. The girl surprises on “Beautiful Dangerous” with a raw vocal approach, and I’d even dare say a very decent Wendy O’ Williams clone. There’s no shortage of more accessible moves either, with which the guitarist sets the tone for some fairly radio-oriented rock. An enviable level of listenability is wrapped around “Gotten”, on which Maroon 5 songbird Adam Levine is hitched up in all his sugary soft-heartedness. “Starlight” and “Back From Cali” go after the mainstream’s attention, both in likable vocal executions by Myles Kennedy, and in the same breath it’s worth mentioning Cornell’s sentimental glide through “Promise”, which we’ll probably have a hard time escaping on the airwaves in the coming weeks.
So Slash has finally landed a solo debut too, and it turned out to be way more than solid. The sheer number of guest musicians is of course the reason for the album’s stylistic inconsistency, which is far from distracting. In fact, it brings a good dose of unpredictability that keeps widening the listener’s field of view as they stroll from track to track and doesn’t let them stay indifferent. If we finally bear in mind the permanent paralysis of Velvet Revolver mentioned in the intro, which in the end never hatched the long-awaited Guns N’ Roses “reunion”, the reasons for the universal enthusiasm flooding us through the media practically since the record dropped become plain to see. Frankly, though, it’s also enthusiasm in the heat of the moment, since there’s simply too much passion given the album’s otherwise high quality.
Lineup
Slash – guitar
Chris Chaney – bass guitar
Josh Freese – drums
Lenny Castro – percussion
Production
Eric Valentine
Track list
1. Ghost (Ian Astbury)
2. Crucify the Dead (Ozzy Osbourne)
3. Beautiful Dangerous (Fergie)
4. Back from Cali (Myles Kennedy)
5. Promise (Chris Cornell)
6. By the Sword (Andrew Stockdale)
7. Gotten (Adam Levine)
8. Doctor Alibi (Lemmy Kilmister)
9. Watch This/Watch This Dave (Dave Grohl & Duff McKagan)
10. I Hold On (Kid Rock)
11. Nothing to Say (M. Shadows)
12. Starlight (Myles Kennedy)
13. Saint Is a Sinner Too (Rocco DeLuca)
14. We’re All Gonna Die (Iggy Pop)
