The immortal intro to Welcome to the Jungle. The iconic riff to Paradise City. And of course, the facemeltingly awesome solo on Sweet Child O' Mine. Slash's guitar work for Guns N' Roses remains part of the cultural landscape more than 25 years after the release of the greatest debut album of all time, Appetite for Destruction.
After the gradual breakup of the classic GNR line-up, the guitarist embarked on a few projects of his own: two iterations of Slash's Snakepit, and supergroup Velvet Revolver, before releasing a self-titled 'proper' solo album in 2010 with guest appearances from Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, and Chris Cornell, among others, though it was his collaboration on two tracks with Myles Kennedy that would have a more lasting effect; following a tour that year with the Alter Bridge frontman, Kennedy has now taken the role of Slash's main collaborator and lead singer. 2012 saw the release of their first full album, Apocalyptic Love, with the follow-up World on Fire released in 2014.
Standing on stage in his trademark top hat, sunglasses and face-obscuring hair (cigarette no longer dangling from his mouth, though, following his mother's passing from lung cancer), my first chance to see Slash was at the Manchester Academy in 2010. In a sea of 2000 crazed fans, I finally got to bear witness to Slash's masterful fingerwork up close. While not possessing the awe-inspiring raspy screams and magnetic presence of Mr. Rose, Myles Kennedy does an admirable job of performing songs old and new (Jimmy Page considered touring with him), and is punctual ;)
Seeing them again in a much more subdued but no less intimate environment at the Brixton Academy in 2012, I could more finely appreciate performances such as that of neo-classical metal masterpiece Anastasia, while still headbanging to hard rock showpieces like Rocket Queen. Though there is often the danger at guitarist-centric gigs of descending into guitar wankery and overlong solo spots, there is never a dull moment at a Slash show.
GNR classics Nightrain, Sweet Child O' Mine, and Paradise City are setlist staples, with Welcome to the Jungle, Out Ta Get Me, and Civil War making frequent appearances. Velvet Revolver's two biggest hits Fall to Pieces and Slither also comprise the core setlist (the extended intro in performances of the latter is superb), with fan favourites from the Snakepit and solo albums in rotation as well.
After the Brixton show, with a little patience I got to meet the man himself. Signing my ticket, I geeked out and said "I'd love to hear Locomotive and Coma some time!" "Hahah, yeah.... That's not gonna happen." Nevertheless, I'll be seeing him again at Wembley Arena in Dec 2014, and there is no doubt in my mind that despite the larger venue, Slash's guitar will have the entire crowd riding the Nightrain down to Paradise City.
Alex Warren
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