Slash – Slash
Dik Hayd Records
www.slash.com

Rating: B

Yes, Slash has joined Sinatra and other greats of the past by releasing an album and having guests appear on each song.  And, yes, he is taking that next step to superstardom and becoming a one-word named icon that even your Grandmother recognizes, like Sting and Prince.  And, finally, yes, his newfound popularity has even garnered him an upcoming ceremony to give him his own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.  Despite all of this, Slash’s new CD is pretty damn freaking good, and at times, pretty damn freaking excellent.  In fact, Slashy is playing with power and exuberance not seen in literally decades.  Screw the Snake Pit, Velvet Revolver and even the Spaghetti debauchery; this is the best stuff Saul Hudson has written in a long, long time.  

“Ghost” starts things off and Ian Astbury of The Cult and Slash make a powerful team.  These two should team up for an entire album worth of new music.  Ozzy makes an appearance and predictably it is one of the best of the bunch.  “Crucify the Dead” sounds like one would expect the musical marriage of Slash and Ozzy to sound.  Surprisingly, one of the best songs on the CD comes from one of the most unlikely musical pairings.  Fergie gets her rock on and Slash finds his funk on “Beautiful Dangerous.”  These two crossover musically in a really unique way, kudos to Slash for having the insight to think outside the box.  Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother and Slash create a 70’s vibe with “By the Sword” but it is the appearance of Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmeister that brings the album to its pinnacle.  Lemmy and Slash bash out a tune titled “Doctor Alibi” that SHOULD be a huge hit.  Come on classic rock radio, get off your ass and quit playing “Free Bird” and give “Doctor Alibi” a chance.  Listeners will respond in droves!

At the end of the day, there are a few clunkers, “Back From Cali” is kinda boring and “Gotten” and “Promise” fail to reach the bar set by Lemmy and the cast of characters mentioned earlier.  That said, Slash has proven he can dominate outside of a band setting.  This one is definitely worth the purchase price.

-          Jeb Wright