Anyone else bored by Slash's solo output?

blass

I am a long time Slash fan. Having been a G n R nut in my teens I am also enjoyed the first VR album “Contraband” and bits of the second “Libertad”. I still go to see him play live given the chance such is the electric atmosphere at his shows..

However, since he went solo again with the eponymously titled Slash (2010) I have sadly become increasingly disinterested in his recorded output.

The songs seem uninspiring and lacking in any spark or surprise. It could be any radio conscious L.A. band attempting to emulate GnR (and coming up short).

“Slash” (2010) suffered from a severe case of identity crisis. Was it a solo album or a showcase for fading rockers and wannabe crossover artists (less said about Fergie and the Maroon 5 guy the better).

Maybe it was both. Such output is usually found as a bonus disc with a deluxe copy of a new studio album or retrospective box set (here’s my mates singing my songs thanks for buying the actual product). Don’t get me wrong his playing is still more than proficient, however, the overall predictability of it all is the killer for me. Whilst these albums may sell well to teenage boys and fans of Maroon 5 etc my contention is that Slash has lost touch with whatever zeitgeist that originally brought him to prominence. The new songs themselves sounds so familiar, bland and jaded. To give him his dues Myles Kennedy is technically an excellent singer with great range, however, his vocal style just grates on my nerves. I have to turn off the song anytime he starts singing/wailing. This is sad for me because I WANT to listen to and to like Slash’s music. Slash’s new effort Apocalyptic Love (2012) has done nothing to sway me either. Myles Kennedy is now omnipresent in the band which increases my malaise further.

What needs to be done? My theory is that he is now the “Leader” and main songwriter who is surrounded by hired hands and acolytes who are not of the same calibre as those he collaborated with in previous song writing partnerships.

Slash has always functioned best when paired with Musicians who are his peers (not employees). He seems to do his best work when surrounded by people like Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin and a strong vocalist such as Axl or Scott Weiland. Musicians of similar merit and standing who are also fine songwriters (There was one glorious instrumental on “Slash” (2010) which was my highlight of that album which was co-written with Duff McKaggan of GnR/VR fame and also a certain David Grohl?) The musicians seemed to provide the framework/support (Breathing space maybe?) for Slash to essentially thrive and ultimately apply the midas touch which lead to a synergy that once caused riots and generated millions of dollar of sales in spite of the (for the most part) blatantly radio un-friendly nature of Appetite for Destruction. Could be that carrying the whole burden of creative responsibility is weighing heavily upon his song writing skills or is it a case of here’s the music just stick some words to it and lets go on tour?

Hopefully it’s not the latter. It could well be that he is now so heavily involved in commercial pursuits that he is being “guided” to be as commercial as possible musically by including anodyne rockers and schmaltzy ballads as par for the course. The more acclaim an artist receives from Middle of the road fans the more middle of the road their output tends to become (Metallica 1990 to 2008 anyone? 2008’s Death Magnetic was a return to form of sorts) unless they are very careful to steer through those choppy waters and emerge with their credibility intact. Maybe I should hack Slash’s Facebook and send love notes to a certain Bill W.Axl.Rose Bailey…. Am I the only one to feel this way?

Hannibal

blass wrote: »

I am a long time Slash fan. Having been a G n R nut in my teens I am also enjoyed the first VR album “Contraband” and bits of the second “Libertad”. I still go to see him play live given the chance such is the electric atmosphere at his shows..

However, since he went solo again with the eponymously titled Slash (2010) I have sadly become increasingly disinterested in his recorded output.

The songs seem uninspiring and lacking in any spark or surprise. It could be any radio conscious L.A. band attempting to emulate GnR (and coming up short).

“Slash” (2010) suffered from a severe case of identity crisis. Was it a solo album or a showcase for fading rockers and wannabe crossover artists (less said about Fergie and the Maroon 5 guy the better).

Maybe it was both. Such output is usually found as a bonus disc with a deluxe copy of a new studio album or retrospective box set (here’s my mates singing my songs thanks for buying the actual product). Don’t get me wrong his playing is still more than proficient, however, the overall predictability of it all is the killer for me. Whilst these albums may sell well to teenage boys and fans of Maroon 5 etc my contention is that Slash has lost touch with whatever zeitgeist that originally brought him to prominence. The new songs themselves sounds so familiar, bland and jaded. To give him his dues Myles Kennedy is technically an excellent singer with great range, however, his vocal style just grates on my nerves. I have to turn off the song anytime he starts singing/wailing. This is sad for me because I WANT to listen to and to like Slash’s music. Slash’s new effort Apocalyptic Love (2012) has done nothing to sway me either. Myles Kennedy is now omnipresent in the band which increases my malaise further.

What needs to be done? My theory is that he is now the “Leader” and main songwriter who is surrounded by hired hands and acolytes who are not of the same calibre as those he collaborated with in previous song writing partnerships.

Slash has always functioned best when paired with Musicians who are his peers (not employees). He seems to do his best work when surrounded by people like Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin and a strong vocalist such as Axl or Scott Weiland. Musicians of similar merit and standing who are also fine songwriters (There was one glorious instrumental on “Slash” (2010) which was my highlight of that album which was co-written with Duff McKaggan of GnR/VR fame and also a certain David Grohl?) The musicians seemed to provide the framework/support (Breathing space maybe?) for Slash to essentially thrive and ultimately apply the midas touch which lead to a synergy that once caused riots and generated millions of dollar of sales in spite of the (for the most part) blatantly radio un-friendly nature of Appetite for Destruction. Could be that carrying the whole burden of creative responsibility is weighing heavily upon his song writing skills or is it a case of here’s the music just stick some words to it and lets go on tour?

Hopefully it’s not the latter. It could well be that he is now so heavily involved in commercial pursuits that he is being “guided” to be as commercial as possible musically by including anodyne rockers and schmaltzy ballads as par for the course. The more acclaim an artist receives from Middle of the road fans the more middle of the road their output tends to become (Metallica 1990 to 2008 anyone? 2008’s Death Magnetic was a return to form of sorts) unless they are very careful to steer through those choppy waters and emerge with their credibility intact. Maybe I should hack Slash’s Facebook and send love notes to a certain Bill W.Axl.Rose Bailey…. Am I the only one to feel this way?

If you look at the history of GN'R you'll see that Slash wasn't one of the main songwriters, they were Axl and Izzy. Slash was a fantastic musician who penned some of the greatest and iconic riffs and solos of modern rock who worked off the creativity of Axl and Izzy.
I am a hell of a lot more disappointed by the output of Axl Rose in the last 20 years than that of Slash. I personally have always felt and still feel that Axl and Slash need each other as much as Jagger and Richards need each other and Lennon/McCartney. They're all combos that bounced off each other, I'm not saying Axl/Slash are on a par with Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards but I certainly do think that without each other they're just two washed up ordinary rock stars.

blass

Dotsey wrote: »

If you look at the history of GN'R you'll see that Slash wasn't one of the main songwriters, they were Axl and Izzy. Slash was a fantastic musician who penned some of the greatest and iconic riffs and solos of modern rock who worked off the creativity of Axl and Izzy.
I am a hell of a lot more disappointed by the output of Axl Rose in the last 20 years than that of Slash. I personally have always felt and still feel that Axl and Slash need each other as much as Jagger and Richards need each other and Lennon/McCartney. They're all combos that bounced off each other, I'm not saying Axl/Slash are on a par with Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards but I certainly do think that without each other they're just two washed up ordinary rock stars.

Agreed for the most part.
Good points. If Slash's productivity could be married to Axl (and izzys if only) songwriting things wiuld be looking up.

karaokeman

I really enjoyed Slash's output in Appetite For Destruction era Guns, but it hasn't sustained over time.

I actually find him to be quite overrated as a guitarist, seen as how he's been stuck using the same techniques as years before. Good at what he does, but should never be in a top 10 list, as is often the case.

A Primal Nut

I liked his first album - some really good rockers on there especially Ghost and We're All Gonna Die. The second solo album was boring and repetitive.

AFD was a great rock album but I still think his best guitar work was on the Use Your Illusions albums - the solos on almost every song are incredible - Estranged, November Rain, Coma, Don't Cry, You Could Be Mine, Double Talkin' Jive, Get In The Ring, Civil War, Don't Damn Me, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, 14 Years, Pretty Tied Up, Locomotive, The Garden, etc; even on average songs like Bad Apples he saved it with an amazing guitar solo.

shebafay

im still a loyal fan, love the solo on anastasia

SilverScreen

He's a one-trick pony as far as I'm concerned. Appetite For Destruction is still a good album but anything he's been involved with after that has bored me to tears. Now he's parading around with that guy from fucking Alter Bridge...

Kess73

I reckon he chose the wrong member of Alter Bridge to be his vocalist. Much prefer Mark Tremonti's voice. Come to think of it I much prefer Tremonti's guitar play to that of Slash also.

Sugarlumps

Great post Blass.

blass

Dotsey wrote: »

If you look at the history of GN'R you'll see that Slash wasn't one of the main songwriters, they were Axl and Izzy. Slash was a fantastic musician who penned some of the greatest and iconic riffs and solos of modern rock who worked off the creativity of Axl and Izzy.
I am a hell of a lot more disappointed by the output of Axl Rose in the last 20 years than that of Slash. I personally have always felt and still feel that Axl and Slash need each other as much as Jagger and Richards need each other and Lennon/McCartney. They're all combos that bounced off each other, I'm not saying Axl/Slash are on a par with Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards but I certainly do think that without each other they're just two washed up ordinary rock stars.

I am disappointed with the lack of output from Axl but a lot the songs on Chinese.....were actually quite good even though they were way over produced in the studio.