Slash (Hardcover)

by Slash (Author), Anthony Bozza (Author)
Key Phrases: iron maiden, smart bar, shooting coke, Paradise City, New York, Motley Crüe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Entertaining and educational...a crash course for aspiring rock gods."" -- Spin magazine

"Wonderfully frank." -- Entertainment Weekly

Review
"Entertaining and educational...a crash course for aspiring rock gods."" (Spin magazine )

"Wonderfully frank." (Entertainment Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061351423
• ISBN-13: 978-0061351426
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,505 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dual purposes: introspective memoir and the definitive insider GNR history, November 7, 2007

By	Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The world of excess through the hazy eyes of Slash , November 20, 2007

By	Sal Nudo (Champaign, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you dig reading about rock 'n' roll excess and the Guns n' Roses years as they really happened, then you won't be able to put this book down. While I read "Slash," I couldn't help but compare his exploits to Anthony Kiedis's in the book Scar Tissue. Kiedis probably has Slash beat in the debauchery department -- but only just slightly. As advertised, Slash's tales of excessive drugs, drinking, sexual conquests and all-around craziness are shared in the book big-time. What starts as a tale of a sweet but troubled young kid turns into a monstrous, muddled life of dangerous drug use and plans gone awry. What's interesting is that the tone and writing style of the book is actually quite close to Kiedis's. And of course the tales Slash tells are the stuff of rock 'n' roll legend, either a total cliche or riveting reading, depending on your point of view.

Guns n' Roses deserved someone who could tell the band's story as it truly happened, and who better to do that than Slash or one of the guys in the band? Save for Axl Rose, whose words one might not be able to fully trust (especially as the band evolved), the rest of G n' R were pretty down-to-earth fellows who just loved recording and playing music -- when they could stay sober and on top of things. For me, it was very interesting reading about original Guns drummer Steven Adler, whose major drug problem over the years has been worse than even Slash's (that's saying a lot). Adler was a happy-go-lucky guy who just couldn't control his habit for a long time, and sadly, the band was probably right to kick him out. Still, as Slash mentions in the book, Steven's drums lent an enthusiastic and almost adolecsent feel to Appetite for Destruction that, in my view, Matt Sorum never matched.

It should be noted that Slash's knowledge of what makes a good music recording is pretty astounding. For instance, as a lead guitarist, he knows how the value of how a great rhythm guitarist, such as Izzy Stradlin, can enhance how his own lead playing sounds. The solid and tuneful texture of Izzy's rhythm work on "Appetite," for instance, and the way it naturally interwove with Slash's lead, was classic and made for complex guitar-driven music. In the book, Slash also talks about other elements of what goes on in the recording studio, which I found fascinating.

This book also revved up my appetite for Velvet Revolver's past and future work. After reading about how much VR means to Slash, I hope the band at least makes a few more albums. Slash's desire to simply write, record and play music live on the road is insatiable; besides being a good father, it seems that's all the guy wants to do. If Revolver ever broke up permanently, I think it would be a bad blow for Slash.

On a closing note, though Slash's words get a tad repetitive and overly woe-is-me toward the end -- and much of this book was horribly edited -- this is still a must-read for fans of Slash, G n' R, Velvet Revolver and whatever other music Slash has lended his formidable guitar-playing hand to over the years.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guitar God tells some but probably not all, November 3, 2007

By	Blues & Jazz Fan "Esmerelda" (new york, new york USA) - See all my reviews

Better written than I would have expected, interesting and informative about GNR and his life. What really makes this so much different from Eric Clapton's book or Nikki Sixx's trip through the hell of his own mind is that Slash never seems to have been unhappy or angry to have regrets. He did all the drugs, alcohol and sex for fun and because he is easily bored. This makes the book much more fun for the reader. Is he being truthful, private or shallow? Hard to say, but you can also see how he must have helped drive Axl crazy. On the other hand you can see that Slash would have been happier if he had a front man who wanted to tour all the time.