Review Summary: After various projects, ex-Gunsman release's his first true solo album, and it was definetly worth the wait!
Slash is definitely one of the best guitarists out there. Without a doubt, if it was with Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver or anything, he's always awesome. And when he announced his first true solo-album, I right away decided that i was going to get it. Another thing that made me excited about this album was the great array of singers, from Ozzy to Iggy Pop, from Ian Astbury to ***ing Lemmy! All great singers. When it finally came out, i rushed out and bought it, so here are my thoughts on all the different tracks.
Track by track review:
1. "Ghost" (feat. Ian Astbury) was a song that I originally disliked. I just didn't like the feel of the song nor Astbury's vocals. But i have slowly started to like the song more and more, and when i played it in the new "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock", i finally realized how good of a song this is. Astbury's vocals are actually rather good and the riff, get's stuck in your head. Overall, this a song that definitely sets the right mood for the rest of the album, and is also a very early highlight for the album. One more worthy thing to say, Izzy Stradlin also plays on the song. 4.5/5
2. "Crucify the Dead" (feat. Ozzy Osbourne) is a great tune. Ozzy's eerie vocals give a very dark feeling and echoing guitars just enhance it. The lyrics are about the disillusion of Guns N' Roses. Although Slash denies this, Ozzy has said himself that thats what the lyrics are about, and if you listen to them you can clearly hear thats the case. 4/5
3. "Beautiful Dangerous" (feat. Fergie) is another great one. If you had your worries, when you heard that Fergie would be singing it, don't worry, this is pure rock song. The song starts up with some sexy "uuh's" and "aah's" from Fegie and then we blast into a straight up hard rock song, with an awesome chorus. 4/5
4. "Back from Cali" (feat. Myles Kennedy) was, along with "Ghost", a song that i originally disliked, but now i think it's really good. Myles Kennedy is a great singer, and fits the song really well. The songs beginning reminds me of a blues rock song, and might be somewhat blues-influenced. 4/5
5. "Promise" (feat. Chris Cornell) is a pretty good one. Chris Cornell is a really good singer (even though i don't really like his band Soundgarden) and the song has an awesome chorus, but it's not the albums best song by any means. 3.5/5
6. "By the Sword" (feat. Andrew Stockdale) is one of the albums best songs. Andrew Stockdale has a great and high voice and is one of the reasons this song rocks so hard. The chorus is really good and the guitar solo is a slow and easy one (but still rocks immensely). 4/5
7. "Gotten" (feat. Adam Levine) is a very emotional ballad and the first one so far. The singer on this one is Adam Levine from Maroon 5, who does a great job here. Levine's vocals aren't the best ever, but they fit the song and at the end we also get some string arrangements (although they're probably played on keyboards), which just enhance the emotional feel of the song. One of the albums best! 5/5
8. "Doctor Alibi" (feat. Lemmy) is a just a fun rock song. The lyrics tell it all and Lemmy's delivery is just so fun and laid back, that it make's it nearly impossible not to like this. 4/5
9. "Watch This Dave" is an instrumental and probably the weakest track on the whole album. Duff McKagan and Dave Grohl also play on the track, and do a very good job, but the song is quite weak compared to the other stuff. I might have been a lot better, if either Grohl or Duff had sung on it. 3/5
10 "I Hold On" (feat. Kid Rock) is the best song on the whole album for me! Kid Rock does a fantastic job singing this and is supported by (of course) Slash's amazing guitar work and some heavy backing vocals. The lyrics are also so emotional that it almost makes you wanna cry. 5/5
11. "Nothing to Say" (feat. M. Shadows) is the albums heaviest number and is probably the heaviest song Slash has ever done. M. Shadows does a fantastic job here (with a great vocal melody by the way), and Slash guitar work is heavy and menacing. 4.5/5
12. "Starlight" (feat. Myles Kennedy) is the second track to have Myles Kennedy and is unfortunately weaker to the first. The song starts out very good, but when the chorus hits, i feel like its missing that great hook. All the player's do a very good jo,b but i'm still missing that great hook. 3/5
13. "Saint is a Sinner Too" (feat. Rocco DeLuca) is a pretty odd number. It's a total shift from the rest of the album, having sort of a western movie feel, but not so great. It's not bad but it's so odd and is also missing a great hook in there. They should have just switched this one with "Baby Can't Drive" (which had Alice Cooper and Steven Adler on it). 3/5
14. We're All Gonna Die" (feat. Iggy Pop) is the definitive way to close out the album. The title says it all and we get what it promises; a fun, rocking tune! 4/5
Overall Slash has been able to mix different styles of rock to create a wonderful and rocking album! Although the album does get a bit tiring as it goes on, there is no reason why shouldn't go out buy it right now!
Recommended tracks:
"Ghost"
"Gotten"
"I Hold On"
"Nothing to Say"
