Slash’s much-anticipated blues cover album is studded with fine performances – Chris Stapleton singing on “Oh Well”, Iggy Pop on “Awful Dream”, Brian Johnson loving it on “Killing Floor”.
Oh, and the guitar playing is pretty good, too, skillful and accurate, intuitive and nuanced, with some tasty, blistering, extended workouts.
Some collaborative projects like this can seem indulgent and some seem to have naturally evolved from the seed of a worthwhile idea. Some are for the birds, some for the purists. Orgy Of The Damned (Gibson Records) sounds like the result of a process of logical evolution and, in the main, is one for the purists – although it’s hard to please all the Blues crews all the time.
Did Slash sell his Soul, and some R&B, however you define it, to the Devil at the “Crossroads”? There’s “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”, with a tad lightweight Demi Lovato, and even Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City” – a righteous version, though, a tale full of Blues, of course, and Tash Neal nails the vocals. Just don’t tell the cat in the hat some of this nostalgic collection might qualify as “easy listening”, he’ll have my guts for geetar strings.
The title Orgy Of The Damned itself apparently hints at the Blues and rock ’n’ roll being “taboo” and “the Devil’s music”. But several of these very personal selections are delivered in a seamlessly smooth, slick fashion while lacking the genuine rawness many aficionados may prefer; the magical, primordial essence of what was and is a very special realm, that place called the Blues.
The enigmatic Mr. Slash, now 58, is no stranger to all-star vocalist get-togethers (check out his first solo long-player, Slash, from 2010) and has already performed a number of these songs with live outfit Slash’s Blues Ball.
AC/DC’s Johnson is on top form throughout the aforementioned Howlin’ Wolf classic, with hot harmonica by Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler, no less, while ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons adds gravelly, authentic vocals, guitar licks and nice soloing to “Hoochie Coochie Man”.
Peter Green’s “Oh Well”, with the always spot-on Stapleton, is another stand-out, and a genuinely impressive guitar track. And on “Key To The Highway”, Dorothy Martin (of Dorothy) brings her high-wire combination of power, emotion, and brave balladry.
Rock wouldn’t be where it is today without Slash and Guns N’ Roses, and so many rock icons owe so much to the Blues. Led Zeppelin wouldn’t quite be Led Zeppelin without Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon. Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Who followed Mose Allison… the list never ends.
Other modern artists have tried to pay homage to their inspirations, but self-proclaimed B.B. King acolyte Slash has taken a different route to most, with no little chutzpah, in his choice of songs, his often individual, original playing, and a moonshine jug-sized helping of his inimitable “if you don’t like it, get off the boat” attitude.
The twelfth and final track is an adept and impassioned instrumental, “Metal Chestnut”, written for the album.
Other guest singers include Chris Robinson (also on harp), Gary Clark Jr. (also guitar, with solo), Beth Hart and Paul Rodgers. Thank God there’s no Ryan freakin’ Gosling.
Buy the album here:
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8 / 10
CALLUM REID