This Japanese-made steel-string acoustic isn’t the oldest guitar in Slash’s collection, but it is the one he’s had the longest. “I think I was probably in high school when I got it,” he says. “And I cherish the fact that I’ve managed to keep it and nothing’s happened to it.” No one expects the rug to be yanked out from underneath them; life-changing events usually don’t announce themselves. While instinct and intuition can help provide some warning signs, they can do little to prepare you for the feeling of rootlessness that follows when fate flips your world upside down." Afterwards, my infatuation turned into a deep obsession which made me decide in my pre-teens to buy every single one of their albums, sadly to say I haven't gotten Use Your Illusions I just yet. My favorite song turned from "Paradise City", to "November Rain", to "Estranged", and then "Welcome to the Jungle", "Garden of Eden", "Sweet Child O' Mine", "Civil War" and then just about every single one of their songs.

When we think of Slash’s Les Pauls, designs like the Derrig and his signature models come to mind. But it’s likely another Les Paul, one he calls Jessica, that we’ve seen him wield most often. Slash acquired the guitar from Gibson – one of the two factory seconds with three-piece tops the company sent him after he retired the Derrig copy from road work. “It became my main stage guitar with Guns and through Velvet Revolver,” he says. “It still is.” I noodle with the guitar a bit and I would have liked some more insight into Slash’s technique and approach, but he steers well clear of this kind of thing (for the most part), opting to focus on the lifestyle and the people involved instead. The book is sordid and tragic and funny and a whole lot of other things, but it provides a great snapshot of the musical scene at the time of what Slash refers to as the Guns ‘n Roses Reign of Terror, i.e. the 80s and very early 90s. Something else that fans will want to read is the depiction of events leading up to the end of Slash’s tenure with the band, and the issues with Axl Rose. In addition to chronicling dozens upon dozens of instruments from Slash’s substantial stash (including, in a very cool move by Gibson, many quintessential non-Gibson models) compiling The Collection: Slash afforded the musician the opportunity to become reacquainted with some of the lesser-used six-strings in his life. Slash also has a strange way of pinpointing the exact locale of every event. He even sometimes remarks about what is currently at the particular location, which is completely uninteresting to someone who has never been to LA. My wife, Perla, [...] had the record company remake me platinum copies of all of my records. She hung them on the wall leading up the stairs in our house. I think they lasted a week; they drove me so nuts I took them down one night and put them in storage. I don't need accolades on the wall to remind me who I am. (p 215)

Navigation menu

Yea, you favorite band doesn't have to be the one with your favorite guitarist or singer. It is called a BAND for a reason.

In the process, he has influenced countless guitarists and musicians across generations and genres — and has amassed a staggering collection of about 400 guitars, from holy-grail vintage pieces to prototype Gibson signature models, to guitars made by B.C. Rich®, Guild®, boutique acoustic luthiers, and plenty more besides. What a dissapointment it was. First of all, I felt like Slash took Anthony Kiedis's Scar Tissue and rewrote it - he only changed the names and made it 10 times worse. Then I changed my mind because Anthony focused mostly on drugs and selfanalysis, and Slash - on music. You would think it's good, but it's not. It's just simply BORING. I was reading it and reading and it was such a struggle. The thing is, it's not written well. It's just one fact after another, nothing to make it interesting. I didn't get to know anything about Slash. The only thing I know after reading it is that 'Axl is an asshole'. That's it. This sentence is also a great summary of this book. Slash relates how he eventually achieved stability and sobriety after his second marriage and the birth of two sons. The tone of the book is neither boastful nor repentant. Slash tells it like it is, without false modesty. I appreciated the shooting-from-the-hip approach, except possibly for one thing, namely the peer-bashing (It comes across as slightly narcissistic when “every other band is rubbish and hateful except us”). Taking into account, however, the nature of the L.A. scene at the time, and the larger-than-life personalities involved, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that there would be some bad blood.

Of course, I'm automatically biased when it comes to Slash. He's my favorite guitarist and I've got a lot of respect for the man. It would actually be unfair to leave it at that. Yes, there is the debauchery, the indifference to your own health, and the natural musical gift. But this is not all that we can learn about Slash from his biography. There is an important thing missing. And it is this: Besides being a junkie and cocaine addict (not even mentioning the groupies...) he was such a severe alcoholic that he drank around four liters of vodka every day (not counting in the beer and whiskey he did at night). I'm surprised and glad he's still alive after all this excessive debauchery.