Slash by Slash, Anthony Bozza
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Book Reviews of Slash
Book Review: Slash and Burn
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember going to see them at the Cathouse, I never realized they had so much history before that. Then seeing them with Metallica and the Stones, man that musta beem some ride.
I saw Axl give his famous speech about 'dancing with Mr Brownstone', we all knew he was talking about Slash.
But I get ahead of myself.
By the time Appetite foe Destruction came out, It'd already been a long time since we've seen them, and we were totally fired up. Our boys had done good! But the air was rife with talk about all the drugs and alcohol they were consuming, and to be honest with you, THAT'S what drove me to the first live 'concert' as much as their awesome new album. Whether or not they could produce THAT stuff all doped up on stage.
I'm fairly connected in the music business, so I managed to procure some backstage passes, to experience the mayhem 'first-hand', so to speak. When I got to the show, I was talking to the stagehands and the road crew before the show, and believe it or not, they actually had a POOL to see which of the boys were going to keel over first!
This did not bode well.
When the band took the stage, I went back to the VIP section at the front of the stage. (It's about the first five or ten rows, and you need backstage passes to get down there, but once your there, there's no assigned seating) I took a seat in front of Slash, to check him out, basically to see if he could pull that stuff off live, like he did on the album.
I had brought my girlfriend (at the time) and she was sitting next to me when Slash nodded in our direction. "He's not talking to you," she whispered in my ear. I just shrugged, "I don't know."
Later on, during one of the lead guitar solos, Slash came running from the far side of the stage and stood right in front of us, and pointed directly at us, or so it seemed, and ripped into the most amazing fretwork I'd ever witnessed, then he looked back at us with a "Well?" expression on his face, so I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He winked and nodded, sort of a "Cool!" gesture. We'd had a conversation without words. My girlfriend leaned over and said, "He really was talking to you!"
And after the show we went backstage to see what trouble we could get into back there, with the legends these guys produced, you never know what might happen. The only G-n-R member left by the time we got there was Duff, his other bandmates must have fled immediately for the privacy of their dressing rooms, and according to Slash's book, more 'dancing with Mr. Brownstone'. Anyway Duff looked totally exausted, but he signed my girlfriends program, and we drank some beers and watched everybody clamoring to get a peice of the famous Duff, rock-n-roll hero, while we waited for someone else to come back out. Apparently there were so many people, that they just bailed.
But, to Slash's book, It's an amazing record of an historic time in the popular music world. A once in a lifetime experience that, apparently, will never be duplicated.
Slash, you're an amazing guitar player, a husband, a father, and now, with the help of Anthony Bozza, a writer and historian. Glad to have to still with us. Cheers, my friend. Well done.
Slash
Book Review: Dual purposes: introspective memoir and the definitive insider GNR history
Summary: 5 Stars
The story of Guns N' Roses is one of the most controversial in rock n' roll history. GNR has had a famously terse relationship with journalists and authors, and in recent years, former band members have publicly disagreed about the "real story" in the press. The band even threatened bodily harm to journalists in the lyrics of the Use Your Illusion albums! For the first time ever, someone on the inside has gone on record with to describe the genesis of the band, how they wrote and performed one of the most definitive rock albums of all time, the changes in the band's lineup, and finally, the implosion of all things GNR related. Who knew it would be the notoriously private lead guitarist, a soft-spoken man hidden behind a famous mop of hair, who would step up and tell the story?
Slash's memoir is the diary of a dope fiend (released a month after the autobiography of his friend and former heroin-buddy Nikki Sixx). Well, the diary of a dope-, and women- and coke- and crack- and alcohol-fiend. Have anything else debaucherous? The late 1980's and 1990's Slash would have tried it for sure. During one cocaine-induced hallucination of an attack by blue-gray Predator-like creatures with machine guns, Slash punched out his glass shower door and ran naked into the streets in terror. The incident got Slash into rehab, but no sooner than his limo driver picked up the "cured" ax man, he was downing half a liter of vodka in the backseat.
What doesn't Slash want to talk about? Well, don't bother asking if GNR is getting back together (I'm not even going to acknowledge the current faux-lineup). Slash says it won't happen, ever. The ten-years-delayed release of Axl's Chinese Democracy album? Slash gets asked that question in every interview, and he leaves it out of his memoir. In an interview about the book, Slash stated "Axl works in a different time zone than I do. So what may seem like a long time to other people is a tick of the clock to him. It'll come out, though. It will." Even Axl's famous tour cancellations and delays are treated matter-of-factly--Slash doesn't attempt to analyze or explain the behavior of his bandmate, nor does he seethe with anger or resentment.
Others have tried to write the history of the band, but most are hacks or fanboys who strung together quotes from numerous previously published sources. Before Slash spoke up, the only other worthwhile title was rock journalist Mick Wall's The Most Dangerous Band in the World (1992), and the VH1 Behind the Music production (2004). Thank you, Slash, for letting all rock fans into the inner world of GNR, featuring your toxic twin Steven, current bandmate and forever friend Duff, the laid-back and gifted Izzy, and the enigmatic Axl. You've treated the story with humor, candor, honesty, self-reflection, and respect, even for those from whom you are currently estranged.
Book Review: I loved this book! And for those knocking it, give me a break.
Summary: 5 Stars
As a 21 year old music fanatic, I've just recently become infatuated with GN'R, and especially Slash. (I was only a year old when Appetite for Destruction was released.) I found this book to be really entertaining, and though it's 480 pages long, I read it relatively quickly and was sad to reach the end. It was really interesting to find out about Slash's background, his personal life, what exactly happened with GN'R, and Velvet Revolver. I've read through a couple of the other reviews, and it's weird that some people are complaining that this book sounds like it wasn't written by Slash because it uses bigger words at times, while others say that it seems like it was written by a high schooler. (Just a bit contradictory!) I've watched and heard a ton of interviews with Slash, and I don't find it too hard to imagine that he wrote most of this. Besides, when most people sit down to write a book, or even a paper, they don't write exactly the way they normally speak. I don't understand why it's a big deal. I don't think any of it takes away from the content. People seem quick to call him an idiot who can't string together a sentence, but from what I've seen, he's just as capable of speaking coherently as anyone else. I think some people may have had preconceived notions about the book and some kind of bitterness toward him before they even started reading it. The other thing is that people complain that all rockstars' lives sound the same - drug usage, alcohol, sex, etc. To that I say, if you're sick of reading stories about those things, don't read anymore rockstar (auto)biographies. What did you expect? Personally, I find all of those stories highly amusing because his life is the opposite of mine, and at one time or another, we all fantasize about being a rockstar. This book is just fun, and I don't think people should be so critical about the little things. I'm sure Slash didn't intend this book to be a piece of high art, but rather to tell his story and to answer all of the questions that people have been asking him for years.
One last thing... The pictures in this book are also very cool, and there are pages of color photos in the middle of the book. Also, if you're really into the music, the way he describes how certain songs were made will make you want to listen to them over again with attention to details you might have not heard before!
Book Review: A SLASH FROM THE PAST!
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading this autobiography by Slash I came away with a few things. The first thing worth mentioning is that this book was written from the heart. It is brutally honest and holds nothing back. How do I know he is being honest? Well, Slash doesn't necessarily paint a pretty picture of himself here and the whole time you're reading it you feel as if he is there talking to you. He comes across as a flawed but sensitive human being and you will walk away with a better liking for the man, if not his music.
Secondly, I have to respect a guy that never says a bad word about his ex-bandmates..notably Axl Rose. He pretty much says (and I paraphrase) 'Yeah, Axl did some dumb things, but you have to understand him to know just where he is coming from.' Instead of taking hacks at his former colleague, he shows empathy towards him but never makes any excuses for his, at times, radical behavior.
The last thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about reading this book is how Slash takes you inside the recording studio, explains how some of their songs were written and how they tried to catch that 'lightning in the bottle' sound that was "Appetite" but were never able to do so again.
Slash lets it all hang out, warts and all and seeing his flaws as he presents them honestly and intimately makes you feel as if you know him. The one thing that I'm dissapointed in is that Velvet Revolver has broken up, not that I was a fan, but at the end of the book Slash had seemed to have found the peace within himself and newfound focus with a true band again.
I saw Slash recently on a rerun of Conan O'Brien when this book came out and he mentioned to Conan that he still sends Axl Christmas cards.
How can you not be touched by that?
Highly recommended to fans of Slash or those simply interested in the life of a decadent, but likeable rock and roll star.
Book Review: Should be standard Kindergarten reading.
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't like GNR when i first heard them. In fact, I sold my tape to somebody because it didn't really fit in with the Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, etc., etc. stuff I was in to at the time. A year later, the album was everywhere. I hated Axl, but was secretly intrigued by Slash. First, he could play. Second, he was mysterious and I think it was years before I actually heard him speak. And finally, all these years later, he has proven that he is a solid musician who really has only one goal: to make music.
I read two pages of this book and was hooked. It's really a manual of how to have amazing fun and simultaneously screw up everything with heroin, crack, alcohol, and eventually oxycontin. Oh, and then to come through it all. Along the way, you will get some amazing insight into what GNR was, especially the weirdness of Axl Rose and how he really doesn't live on this planet and has no awareness of how he really screwed things up for lots of people. The weird thing is that Slash has no ill-will for Axl, in fact, he's pretty mellow about it all. Anyway, you'll learn everything - where did the hat come from? How did he get his name? What about his guitars? Who is that woman with her face buried in his buttocks? And, what's it like being on top of the world and living in a one-bedroom crackhouse apartment?
Whatever you think about Slash, GNR, or any of their related peoples, this book is a must-read! It made me miss the music (i kind of like it these days now that i can separate the music from the silliness of Axl), and I'm going to have to buy Appetite for Destruction again. Now I have such respect for Slash, and have a blueprint for my eventual demise/resurrection as a rock god.