Even though I dug GN’R music back in the day, I wasn’t a huge fan, mainly because of Axl Rose who really annoyed me with his well-known and well-publicized antics. While I appreciated Slash’s playing at the time, that annoyance with Axl unfortunately made me write him off. My bad.
But lately, I’ve been revisiting GN’R. Just the other day, while driving to work, I was greeted to “Welcome to the Jungle” playing on my favorite classic rock radio station, 98.5 KFOX. I’ve always dug that song, and it has been a mainstay in my iTunes collection for years. In any case, Slash gets a couple of lead breaks during the song, and this time, I really listened to what he was playing.
No, he’s not particularly fast, he doesn’t do two-handed tapped arpeggios. But what he did in that song was so melodic and fit so well, and his tone was so definitive of Marshall “mojo” that I gained a completely new appreciation for his playing.
So I spent lots of time during work listening to the GN’R tunes I have in my library and playing GN’R and Velvet Revolver videos on YouTube; not for the bands, but to listen to Slash play.
And after that, I came to a conclusion: Of all the hard rock guitarists out there, I believe Slash is underrated. He doesn’t do anything flashy, but what he does, without fail or variance, is play exactly what fits with the song; nothing more, nothing less. To me, that’s the mark of a truly great musician. There’s so much attention paid to the great shredders out there nowadays, but I believe that Slash’s tone represents the model and epitome of a Les Paul played through a cranked up Marshall. Admittedly, that’s a tone that I’ve been really getting into lately. I love the bite and sustain of that combination of guitar and amp, and Slash simply nails the tone!
But in addition to his awesome tone, one thing that I really “got” yesterday was what a great rhythm guitarist he is. Again, he plays solely what is appropriate, but it provides a foundation for the songs he plays that are as definitive as his leads. Again, that’s musicality, and musicality at its finest.
If you’ve ever written Slash off in the past, give him a listen, and you’ll realize like me what a truly great guitarist he is!
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I dunno about “underrated”–he’s one of the most famous and celebrated guitarists in the world–but I agree he sure is fantastic.
I love that his playing is melodic and can be beautiful. He doesn’t try to play too fast all the time, and when he does (in between the two solos in “Sweet Child” for example) it creates a real effect in the song, because of the contrast.
Good point. Thanks! Maybe I should’ve said something to the effect of “under-appreciated.” He is indeed well-known, but part of me wonders if that celebrity is more due to his association with GN’R or his playing, which is why I posed the question in the first place.
I totally got what you were saying. A lot of my more talented guitarist friends don’t think too highly of Slash “other than a couple songs what has he really done”. But I will say that his tone inspires me in the same way Santana’s does.. I just love it.. Don’t care for Axhole Rose much either..
While he isn’t trying to be a Joe, Eddie, etc.. he definately is an influence for me at least in tone and writing lead parts that fit in a song and stand out at the same time.. Music is about an emotional response and even now when the intro to Sweet child comes on it winds me up…..
exactly true guys……he is awesome…his meloious leads just seems the extension of the lyrics and in anutshee defines the whole feel of the song.not many guitarists can do that
Hit the nail on the head, Ravi! He is such a great player!
Slash……is a beast, enough said.