Slash & Friends Release Album

Saul Hudson probably never planned on being in one of the biggest rock bands of their time. But as Slash that’s exactly what he did with Guns N’ Roses.

I reckon all Slash ever really wanted to do was be a guitar player and since G N’R that what he’s been trying to do. He’ll pop up as a guest player on any number of recordings or as a “surprise” guest at a live show. He’s formed a number of bands from Velvet Revolver to Slash’s Snakepit and tried numerous other collaborations along the way.

The guy just wants to play guitar.

Now Slash is releasing a new album and this time he pulled together a bunch of his famous friends to contribute.

Slash has good friends including  Dave Grohl, Ian Astbury, Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie (huh?), Chris Cornell, Lemmy Kilmeister, Andrew Stockdale, Iggy Pop, Kid Rock, and Adam Levine (from Maroon 5).

Slash said “The idea was really simple in the beginning. These are all artists I wanted to work with — that I thought it would be amazing to do something creative and collaborative. And I was so impressed with what everyone brought to the table. They were all so committed to doing a good job. And we had a lot of fun making these songs.”

In keeping with the G N’ R aesthetic Slash’s album is called ‘R&FN’R’.

Good on ‘ya, I say.

01. Ghost (feat. Ian Astbury)
02. Beautiful Dangerous (feat. Fergie)
03. Nothing To Say (feat. M. Shadows)
04. Crucify The Dead (feat. Ozzy Osbourne)
05. Promise (feat. Chris Cornell)
06. By The Sword (feat. Andrew Stockdale)
07. Doctor Alibi (feat. Lemmy Kilmeister)
08. Saint Is A Sinner Too (feat. Rocco De Luca)
09. Watch This (feat. Dave Grohl/Duff McKagan)
10. I Hold On (feat. Kid Rock)
11. Gotten (feat. Adam Levine)
12. We’re All Gonna Die (feat. Iggy Pop)
13. Starlight (feat. Myles Kennedy)

Them Crooked Vultures

You might not know the name but you’ll know the names.

Them Crooked Vultures draws together a extraordinary trio of  rock royalty Comprising drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Desert Sessions, Eagles of Death Metal, Screaming Trees) and bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) Them Crooked Vultures make their first tour of Australia in January.

The band also features Alain Johannes (What Is This?, Walk The Moon, Eleven, Queens of the Stone Age) as a live guitarist.

Wikipedia tells us that the collaboration between Homme, Jones and Grohl was first mooted by Grohl in a 2005 interview.

He was quoted as saying “The next project that I’m trying to initiate involves me on drums, Josh Homme on guitar, and John Paul Jones playing bass. That’s the next album. That wouldn’t suck.”

Grohl is a master of understatement.

Not much else was heard until NME reported in July 2009 that the trio had begun recording in Los Angeles.

Them Crooked Vultures performed its first show at the Metro, Chicago on August 9, 2009. The band played all original material during its 80-minute set, debuting such songs as “Elephants”, “Scumbag Blues”, “Caligulove” and closing song “Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I”.TCV made its European debut on August 19 with a performance at Melkweg in the Netherlands, the same day on which a short video clip of studio footage was uploaded by the band, featuring the song “Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I”.

With subsequent festival performances in Europe at Pukkelpop and Lowlands, the band first performed in the United Kingdom at London’s Brixton Academy supporting English alternative rock band Arctic Monkeys.  The trio subsequently performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Jan 19 Perth – Challenge Stadium
Jan 22 Melbourne – Festival Hall
Jan 25 Brisbane – Riverstage
Jan 26 Sydney – Hordern Pavilion
Jan 29 Wellington – TSB Bank Arena
Jan 30 Auckland – Vector Arena