The Witch Trial:
Slash, the hedonistic guitarist from one of the most notorious rock and roll bands in history tells his story. His life might have been so easy, when everybody was tryin' to please him - but how will we judge him?
Who:
Written by Slash and Anthony Bozza
What:
Biography
Why:
Tells the story of Slash and Guns N' Roses
When:
Published 2007
Where:
American guitarist from Los Angeles
If you are looking for a warts and all story then this book delivers in the most literal sense. Saul Hudson, better known to the world at large as Slash, is not ashamed to tell you all about his life as a band member of Guns N' Roses, including anecdotes about genital warts! Seriously he tells you in detail exactly what you can expect as one of rock n' roll's most infamous guitarists.
Firstly though he goes into great detail about his childhood and growing up with parents from different ethnic backgrounds (I hate the term 'mixed race', aren't we all part of the human race?). This part of a biography can sometimes be a little bland as people generally want to get to the part where someone becomes famous.
In terms of understanding Slash as a person though, it is intriguing to learn the history of his upbringing and the type of social circles his parents moved in. His mother is a designer of clothes and had some pretty famous clientele; David Bowie being one of them who she would later go on to have a sexual relationship with. His father is an artist who did, amongst his many works, album covers for musicians.
So from an early age Slash was growing up in a rather bohemian lifestyle. His own artistic endeavours took him in a different direction to begin with and he describes his love of BMX riding before he picks up his first six string. I found this early life story to be fascinating and it really made me rethink why he displays some of his behaviours. Having been brought up in such an eclectic environment would certainly have had a major influence towards his outlook on life and this certainly comes across on the pages.
He then moves on to his early appearances in local bands that he formed with friends and other local musicians, Steven Adler being one of his earliest friends and the person he credits with getting him to first take up an instrument. What I do like about this section is that Slash doesn't brush past it in a few pages. He takes his time to introduce the people in his life at this time and give us anecdotes so we get to know this period of his life.
There is an attention to detail here that allows you to appreciate what Slash and his fellow band mates were experiencing as they tried to achieve a small level of success at such young ages. There is also no holding back on letting the audience know how readily available and eagerly consumed drugs were in this early stage of his life. When one thinks of a typical rock n' roll lifestyle it is easy to assume that a drug user only really became one once fame has been found. In the case of Slash though, he was already on that slippery slope before the formation of Gn'R.
The coming together of the five musicians who would go on to form one of the greatest rock acts is also given its due diligence. He explains how his relationship with each member develops and grows as they get to know one another. From here you can see how certain alliances fell into place as friendships evolved. You get a really good insight into the mechanics of this band.
Slash also takes his time to explain how the songs that would appear on Appetite for Destruction, their seminal debut, came about and gives credit where credit is due as to who brought what to the table. His honesty and sincerity shine through, as well as the pride that he takes from knowing he helped create this music that has been enjoyed by many people across the world.
As a music fan it is exactly this sort of information that I love in a musician's biography. I want to know the details of how a certain song came together and the inspiration behind it. This is especially true of a debut record as it is often the one that bands get to work on longer than others; as debuts tend to consist of the songs they have been playing since their formation, right up to getting signed to a record deal.
Bands tend to have a much closer affinity with these particular songs as they have formed the backbone for their career during its infancy. Slash obviously feels a similar way about the Appetite for Destruction album as it definitely gets the most attention to detail out of their catalogue.
During the telling of these events he doesn't hold back in telling how much his drug use had taken hold of his life. He is also rather forthcoming about how many drugs were consumed by the people around him; including members of his own band as well as other musicians they were acquainted with. You get a clear indication that he just wants to tell it as it is and let you form your own opinion of whether what they were doing was right or wrong.
As far as Slash is concerned this was a normal existence for him and his cohorts. It isn't his place to pass judgement when he is one of the worst offenders. He does fully acknowledge his own shortcomings and recognises that he has to fight the same battles that all addicts go through. He is also man enough to admit that he has experienced his ups and downs during these fights and that there is no miracle cure for an addict; you just have to take it day by day.
We get a rundown of the tours, the girls, the drugs, the booze and the run-ins that accompany the lifestyle of the rock star. There are some funny moments scattered throughout as you would expect when discussing the anarchic activities of a touring band. Some of these raise a smile and others have you shaking your head, wondering how they were able to get away with some of the things that occur from a legal standpoint.
Slash also includes accounts of friends who have passed away; mainly from overdoses. Some of these are quite heartfelt and you can tell they have affected him deeply. Again there is that acknowledgement that this lifestyle will eventually catch up with you.
Eventually he comes to the breakup of Gn'R and the deterioration of his relationship with Axl Rose. He explains, as his story unfolds, how the group divided before the inevitable final nail in the coffin. It is only one side of the story, his side, and Axl no doubt has his own version of events. That being said Slash does put forth his reasons for leaving and debates what could have been had things turned out differently.
For fans of Guns n' Roses this is worth the time; or for any fan of music of this era or genre. There are certainly good moments to keep you entertained and enough insight into the way these musicians interacted with one another before imploding.
There are a few issues with the way the book is written, but I'll get to that later.
Slash spends a bit of time before getting to the good stuff, but I'll get to that later.
Some things he doesn't go into enough detail, but I'll get to that later.
Drug use does seem to be a bit glamorised, but I'll get to that later.
BUT I'LL GET TO THAT LATER. If I read this once, I probably read it a hundred times! For crying out loud! Slash had Anthony Bozza, an author and journalist, help him write this biography and there had to be an editor; but neither of them could be bothered taking out all the times Slash said "But I'll get to that later."
It was by far the most annoying thing in the book; to continually read this phrase over and over and over again. To his credit, Slash does indeed 'get to that later' when the time is right, but for the love of God; someone could have done a better editing job so some of the hints at what was to come were taken out and told in full in the correct chronological order.
This doesn't just happen in the early developing chapters as we get the groundwork of the story but continues well past the halfway point of the nearly 500 page story. I could possibly have forgiven one or two instances but the repetitiveness meant that at times I would know before the end of the paragraph, we would have Slash telling us to wait a little bit because he will finish this anecdote in a hundred or so pages time!
Now that major gripe is out of the way how about the rest of the biography?
While I did enjoy learning about his early years, it really wasn't imperative to learn about his youth for nearly a quarter of the books length. There are far too many instances from him growing up which are given more pages than they are worth.
Not only does he go in to too much detail during this phase of his life but later on, when you want to know more about a situation or event that he starts to describe, all you end up with is a brief description. If more time was spent expanding on these moments and others were trimmed back; then we could have ended up with a more in depth analysis of what helped shape his career. This is another example of poor editing.
It is a shame because the good stuff is really good and you kind of get the feeling that there could have been so much more like it. It is as if Slash thinks the bits that he remembers as having special meaning to him are the bits that the reader will also find to be just as special. This is not going to always be the case. An old relationship would be fondly remembered by Slash for very personal reasons but the average reader would rather hear more about his life as a musician.
While he is happy to talk about a few of his long term girlfriends he does come across as a bit heartless when it comes to dealing with these relationships. This is especially true when it comes to the eventual breakup with these ladies. Because women are so readily available to him; the impression you get is that they are treated just as much as a commodity as the heroin he loved to inject in his body.
This might make him sound like a misogynist which isn't the case at all. Slash comes across more as indifferent to the women in his life and the feelings that they have for him. He is more self-absorbed than anything else which is a common trait of addicts. You might go so far as to call him a narcissist, which I think would be a reasonably accurate description; but what rock star doesn't have a bit of narcissism in them? I think that has to be one of your traits to live that lifestyle.
There are some rivalries with other bands that are touched upon but he never really goes into any great detail. Poison were a band that they had a rather obvious dislike for and Slash says so here; but then that is really all you get. There is no elaboration on the matter and it happens more than once as he discusses his career.
The same can be said of some jealousies that are hinted at; such as with bands that might have been bigger than they were in the early days, ones that they would go on to surpass. You get the feeling that some resentment still lingers and that there is still some bitterness towards those peers. I think it is due to a lack of respect that Slash felt should have come their way.
He does like to air his distaste when he does bring up the petty rivalries and jealousies but they seem slightly sugar coated; as if he feels the need to mention them but doesn't really want to go for the jugular and upset anyone too much. I got the sense that each time he went for the kill, someone was reeling him back in from the precipice.
I felt the same way when it got to the point of him discussing the dissolution of Guns n' Roses and the court cases and mudslinging that followed. Slash comes across as the type of guy who would avoid confrontation if at all possible and he does so when it comes to tackling this subject. He pays it as much attention in the book as what he probably gave the actual court cases at the time they occurred.
This once again seems to be someone not wanting to rock the boat too much. It might be all water under the bridge for him now, but if you want to engage your audience they are going to want to know more details about these significant events in the bands life.
His output since Gn'R makes up a significantly smaller portion of the book and rightly so as it isn't the main focus of the story, especially for the year this biography came out. In saying that however, his time getting Velvet Revolver off the ground and the reconnection with some of his former band mates to start this band could have been given more space. Instead he focusses on their search for a suitable singer, rather than expanding on his time getting back with Duff McKagen and Matt Sorum as well as Dave Kushner who he had known from his youth.
Again this comes back to better input from his co-author and some tighter editing. If the advice he was given during the writing process was better, then the end product could have turned out so much more concise. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty to enjoy but you get the feeling that this is a bit of a missed opportunity to make a truly great rock biography.
Verdict:
Take him down to the Paradise City because we can't condemn Slash for wanting to tell his story. If anyone deserves a flogging here it is Anthony Bozza and whoever edited this work as they should know better.
Evidence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(musician)#1981.E2.80.931985:_Early_years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_N%27_Roses
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