Stitch and Bear

A long-running Irish blog with reviews of the best restaurants in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Some wine and cocktails thrown in for good measure!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Slash - The Autobiography

I was never quite of the Guns'N'Roses era - I was a tiny bit too late for that. However, "Welcome to the Jungle" is constantly on the playlist on my iPod along with other tracks. There is no doubt that Guns'N'Roses were an incredibly successful rock band, due to the excellent vocals of frontman Axl Rose and amazing sounds of guitarist Slash. Their debut album Appetite for Destruction was a major success but the band fell into controversy over the death of two fans at a concert in England and the controversial cover artwork for "Appetite for Destruction".

Slash was the lead guitarist from nearly the start of the Guns'N'Roses story and is an immediately recognisable figure due to his trademark top hat and big hair. He is acclaimed as one of the modern guitar heroes and even featured on the cover of the game Guitar Heroes III.

His autobiography (assisted byAnthony Bozza) is Slash's own attempt to tell his story. He tells it in a manner that is open and honest. He rarely apologies or attempts to conceal his actions. He simply tells it as he saw it. He begins with his childhood and family life and descibes his initial encounter with a guitar. However from there on in, there is very little mention of music in the book (in a technical sense that is). The book is more about Slash than about his music. His alcohol and drug-related excesses are presented as is his struggle to eventually become clean and be a father to his two sons.

Fans of Guns'N'Roses will love the descriptions of the band's rise to success and manic tour adventures. The tension between Axl and Slash is described, with long-reaching roots to early days. Slash often refuses to say anything truly bad about his former band member and this is to his credit.

Slash is famous for his open character and honesty, and that shines through in this book. His love for the music and respect for the fans is evident. This is the real story of how it all went down.
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