“Sleazy, sexy”: The guitar riff that introduced Slash to “hedonism”
Hedonism and Slash are inextricable. These days, the Guns N’ Roses guitarist lives life in a way that would have seemed unfathomable when the band’s hell-raising was at its peak, with the many tales from this era inescapable. For better or worse, the Californian group bore the baton from the hair metal acts that came before them and took hard living to new heights.
Alongside their commercially potent fusion of hard rock and glam metal, Guns N’ Roses created notoriety, which only helped sales, as a back story emerged that heightened the frenetic nature of the music. The classic rock period might have ended years before, with punk and all its offshoots coming to the fore in the 1980s and changing the landscape and context of popular musicians, but that would not stop them from delving back into the past. They brought what many thought were the ghosts of the era back with a vengeance. This was something Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon would take immense issue with.
The old concept of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll quickly became part and parcel of the quintet’s career. While for a time it would pique interest and be taken relatively lightly, as their careers wore on and their dedication to the hedonistic lifestyle remained, the darkness would descend, with it affecting band operations and producing a morass, which ultimately left frontman Axl Rose as the only constant member.
For Slash, many years of alcohol and drug abuse would see him being diagnosed with a form of heart failure at the age of 35 in 2001. Initially, he was even informed he had between six days and six weeks to live, but he miraculously survived through physical therapy and the fitting of a defibrillator. He has since been sober for years and hasn’t smoked since his mother’s death from lung cancer in 2009. He is what you might call a changed man.
While the hellraising sleaze of the 1970s would be mirrored in Slash and his bandmates’ lifestyles, it also coursed through Guns N’ Roses’ work, particularly elicited by the guitarist’s hard-rocking fire on the fretboard. He might have emerged in the late 1980s, but his style was very much rooted in the Les Paul-wielding heroes that inspired him in the previous decade, with the grit and swagger of their humbuckers speaking to something deep within. There would have been no ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ or even ‘You Could Be Mine’ without them.
However, there is one band he simply would not have existed as a musician without: the great Led Zeppelin. While the British group were a transformative force on music, taking the mantle from The Beatles in terms of innovation, their leader and guitarist Jimmy Page stands out. Not only did he mastermind their efforts, but he quickly became deemed the finest guitarist of all time, pipping Jimi Hendrix and his old friend, Eric Clapton. His many boundary-pushing steps continued to suspend the life force of the six-string.
Famously, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ from 1969’s Led Zeppelin II opened Slash’s eyes to the power of the British band and guitar. When listing his 12 favourite guitarists for Esquire 2014, he recalled the moment he first heard the anthem and its main riff, describing it as “the most primal and most sleazy, sexy” thing he had ever encountered at that green point.
Furthermore, the song would prove to be Slash’s philosophical starting point. He explained: “And it was such the introduction to the hedonism that would be the seventies. I was only seven. I didn’t know that I was going to be playing guitar way down the line. But that sticks out to me as the most influential moment that Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin ever had on me.”
Given Guns N’ Roses’ reputation, I would love to know what Jimmy Page thinks of the idea that he is the man largely responsible for their rise. After all, his career was filled with the oscillating nature of hedonism.
Listen to ‘Whole Lotta Love’ below.