Herecruited a baker’s dozen vocalists, each of whom took on lead vocals for onesong on his new album, save for Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge, who sang two.
Despitethe many vocalists and personalities involved, Slash says recording the albumwent smoothly.
“Youknow, it was a very simple record to make,” says the guitarist known as SaulHudson to the Social Security Administration. “It wasn’t complicated, and itwasn’t fraught with issues or ego problems or anything like that. It was very,very, sort of casual and relatively simple, just coming in and doing it,hanging out for a while and taking off. It was one of those things that couldhave been a real hassle, but it wasn’t.”
Slashsays he had the idea to do this sort of album while on tour with VelvetRevolver in 2007; he moved forward with the project after singer Scott Weilandleft Velvet Revolver in spring 2008.
“Ijust sat down and wrote a bunch of music,” Slash says. “Then I would listen tothe music and it would sort of dictate to me who would be the appropriatesinger. And then I would seek out the vocalists, song by song, and send themthe demo and sort of impress upon them that it was a completely open forum,that they could do whatever they wanted with the material and it was subject totheir interpretation.”
Eachguest singer offered a different degree of input, Slash says.
“Likewith Fergie (of the Black Eyed Peas), we did the music exactly the way I wroteit,” Slash says. “She sang to exactly what I wrote. We didn’t change anything.That happened a lot on the record. But then with Kid Rock, with M. Shadows (ofAvenged Sevenfold), we worked on those songs from the ground up. They reallyhad an idea of the parts they wanted to do.”
Thealbum shows surprising variety. “Crucify the Dead,” with Ozzy Osbourne, is thekind of eerie rocker one might expect to hear on one of the former BlackSabbath singer’s own albums. “Beautiful Dangerous,” featuring a full-throatedperformance by Fergie, is a stomping dance-rocker. “Promise” puts Soundgarden’sChris Cornell into a brooding but hooky pop-rock setting, and Iggy Pop cutsloose on “We’re All Gonna Die,” a track that merges garage rock and moodymetal.
Thefreedom Slash felt in writing for his album was a major contrast to his timefrom 1985 until 1996 in Guns N’ Roses, where singer Axl Rose was leadsongwriter, and even to Velvet Revolver, where it’s been reported thatespecially on the group’s second album, Libertad,Weiland was wielding the most control over the music.
Slashplans to return to Velvet Revolver soon.
“We’regoing to get together at some point in October, when I’m on a break from thistour, and start compiling (vocalist audition tapes from) everybody that we havethat sounds worth listening to a second time and start working on…going back tothe audition process hopefully, and do all that between October and January,”Slash says.
Asfor Guns N’ Roses, the band will be eligible for induction into the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame in 2013. That has spurred speculation that the band might atleast regroup to perform at the ceremony, but Slash won’t show his hand on theprospects of some sort of reunion.
“Iknow we’ll be eligible, and when that time comes, we’ll deal with it then,” hesays.
Fornow, Slash’s main priority is his U.S. tour. His band includesKennedy on vocals, Bobby Schneck on guitar, Todd Kerns on bass and Brent Fitzon drums, for a set that encompasses Slash’s entire career, from Guns N’ Rosesthrough Snakepit, Velvet Revolver and his solo album.
“It’scool because, since it’s my solo tour, I can do whatever I want and I can playstuff from my entire catalog, whereas in Velvet Revolver and even Snakepit, Ihave to concentrate on that particular band,” Slash says.
Slash plays the PabstTheater on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m. with openers Myles Kennedy and TakingDawn.
