Not surprisingly the guitar work is exquisite. Floating from hard rocking to bluesy to plaintive and everything in between, Slash provides yet another document of why he may in fact be the greatest guitar player alive today.
On the vocal side the album is more hit and miss. Some of the pairings are inspired, some fall flat, others are downright painful to listen to.
It's no surprise which songs click the best. The hard driving "Ghost", featuring former Cult frontman Ian Astbury and Gunner Izzy Straddlin, as well as "Doctor Alibi" grunted by Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister burst through your speakers and shake you by your lapels.
On paper collaborations with Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale ("By the Sword") and Ozzy Osbourne ("Crucify the Dead") look promising. In both cases though they lack a spark to ignite them. The same holds surprisingly true for "I Hold On", with Kid Rock on vocals. Chris Cornell's go at "Promise" is just plain dull. Iggy Pop's turn on "We're All Gonna Die" is also surprisingly uninspired.
Predictably "Beautiful Dangerous", featuring Fergie, is a disaster. The music sounds like a Chinese Democracy outtake, while hearing the Black Eyed Pea try to sound hard is laughable. Maroon 5's Adam Levine is wimpy and out of place on "Gotten".
Some performances are pleasant surprises though. In particular Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy proves he can be soulful ("Starlight") and powerful ("Back from Cali").
From a strict perspective of guitar rock, Slash is an undeniable winner. Toss some questionable vocal performances on top though, and this one is not for everyone.
Stream the entire album here.
Best tracks: "Ghost", "Starlight"
Track listing for Slash:
- Ghost
- Crucify the Dead
- Beautiful Dangerous
- Back from Cali
- Promise
- By the Sword
- Gotten
- Doctor Alibi
- Watch This
- I Hold On
- Nothing To Say
- Starlight
- Saint Is a Sinner Too
- We're All Gonna Die
6.0/10
Slash's websiteSlash's Myspace
9 praise/complaints:
Ian Astbury isn't the "former Cult front man", - he's the "Current" Cult front man - though more irrelevent these days, they're still around and are releasing a 4 song EP this summer.
I've got the album and I agree that "Ghost" is a great start to the Album...
I agree with your article for the most part. It is pretty tough to put an album like this together and hit the mark on every track. Having said that, I think the album is done very well given the personalities in the studio at any given time.
from what I've read so far, many people seem to hate the Fergie tracks. I might be one of only a handful that think she sounds great.
I grew up with G'N'R and have to remind myself that it's 2010 from time to time. This CD does a pretty good job of mixing nostalgic sounds with current themes. If I had to make one criticism, it would be to politely ask Ozzy to stay home. I'm an Ozzy fan but somehow feel including him borders on cliche. Maybe this opinion will change after a few more listens.
Bottom line: Well worth the 10 bucks or so on iTunes. A few great songs to drive in the fast lane to but don't get caught speeding. The rest of the cd will grow on you eventually.
Thank you and enjoy!
Everyone is forgetting about "Watch This Dave" with Duff on bass and none other than former Nirvana drummer ( and current Foo Fighters guitarist and vocalist) Dave Grohl ON DRUMS!! He still shreds hard, and this instrumental is one of the best tunes on the record. Slash has scored big time with this disc.
I also dug the Fergie track, and I'm a hard-core old school GN'R fan. I think she's got some pipes. The sampling isn't too off-putting, it gets eaten by the guitars and drums soon after the beginning of the song. Other than that, I think we agree pretty well. No mention of "Watch This" or "Nothing to Say" though? They're two of my favorites off of this one.
I really got into Osbourne in Crucify the Dead and Stockdale in By The Sword, but they are both vocalists that I really enjoy the sound of anyway so I may be a little bit biased. Crucify the Dead has been at the top of my playlist for the past week though.
I agree with aixelsyd13's comment - I'd love to hear the authors thoughts on Watch This Dave and Nothing to Say!
To be honest, this a most refreshing set of songs I've heard in a while. However I must disagree with your comment about Stockdale. The song is a reminder of my youthful Zepplin days. Great track. Love them all. Well done slash.
I think this review is extremely unfair. I believe what Slash was really going for in this album was to show the diversity in his compositions, and he does very well with that. The only real gripe I had with this album was that the lyrics werent great - i like a well written song.
I am not a Wolfmother fan, but i feel "By the Sword" is one of the best songs in this album along with "Ghost", "Beautiful Dangerous", "Promise" (maybe becoz I think Cornell is the best of recent times), "Gotten", and one song no-one seems to have mentioned - "Saint is a sinner too" which I feel is one of the strongest in the album. The comment about Fergie trying to sound hard is laughable - I think there was a lot of good she did in that song!
Damn, this is the first review I have ever read on this site, off to a bad start, arent we?
As far as I am concerned, this is a great album. I think every song is fantastic. Slash shows the diversity which is excellent. It is more that I can say for some of the garbage on ITUNES, like Justin Bieber,,,
Post a Comment