Well someone can say that the metal and rock community have had it up to here with all star albums. Such is Slash’s attempt to make a record out of hangin’ out with well known musicians and many of his personal ideas on composing rock songs, the same ideas which were well buried six feet under when he played along with Velvet Revolver, not so long ago. The last really good attempt of this like was Dave Grohl’s “Probot”, an attempt of a real rock star gathering his favorite artists as a child and creating a masterpiece. Without any comparisons with such albums, what can someone say on Slash today?
First things first, seeing these names gathered in one album…well I got dizzy! Ian Astbury, Ozzy, Chris Cornell, Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Iggy Pop etc. But can even these names turn a bunch of mediocre songs into masterpieces? The answer is, of course, no. On the other hand, Slash shows out a unique skill of creating unique songs that fit to every artist that sang along with him in this record. Some heavier, some not so and one or two can be considered as closer to pop sound with rock elements. The conclusion is that every song seems to have been written with a purpose to be included in each one’s own record.
However, we can’t say that the outcome is something astonishing. With the exception of some tracks that can stand along with Slash’s past hits, the rest of the album is nor something innovative neither something that will stand the test of time or survive the judgment of the rock community. In the first category we can include “Ghost” (Ian Astbury), “Crucify The Dead” (Ozzy), “Back From Cali” (Myles Kennedy) and “I Hold On” (Kid Rock). We can also add the surprisingly good “Beautiful Dangerous” in which Fergie of Black Eyed Peas comes out as a natural born female rock singer! Another surprise is brought by Myles Kennedy who seems to giving his heart to the songs that he was called to sing proving that he’s one of the best in his field today. The mediocrity of the rest of the tracks is balanced by the fresh sound that all the tracks tend to have, giving the album a new perspective.
On the whole, Slash cannot surprise us with his first solo album. Yet, it was a difficult attempt and his work can be at least characterized as respectable. I’ll have to admit, though, that some of the songs will continue to play on my speakers for a long time to come and pure rock fans will surely like this album even if they expected something more, if we take Slash’s heritage as a fact.
| Track List | Line Up |
| 01. “Ghost” (feat. Ian Astbury) 02. Crucify the Dead (feat. Ozzy Osbourne) 04. Back from Cali” (feat. Myles Kennedy) 05. Promise” (feat. Chris Cornell) 06. By the Sword (feat. Andrew Stockdale) 07. Gotten (feat. Adam Levine) 08. Doctor Alibi (feat. Lemmy Kilmister) 09. Watch This (feat. Dave Grohl & Duff McKagan) 10. I Hold On (feat. Kid Rock) 11. Nothing to Say (feat. M. Shadows) 12. Starlight (feat. Myles Kennedy) 13. Saint Is a Sinner Too (feat. Rocco DeLuca) 14. We’re All Gonna Die (feat. Iggy Pop) |
Slash – Lead guitar / rhythm guitar Chris Chaney – bass Josh Freese – drums Lenny Castro – percussion |
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