Slash — Orgy Of The Damned (Gibson Records)
There are covers albums…
… and then there’s Orgy Of The Damned.
As a blue(s)print for reinvention, rebirth and a quasi-religious celebration of rock’s undeniable roots, it’s right up there.
No lazy rehashes of bona fide blues staples here. Not a chance.
If you’re looking for note perfect renditions of familiar favourites you’ve found the wrong record.
But putting a new spin on old classics doesn’t mean messing with the DNA of the game-changing tracks that pace a stellar set.
You see Slash carefully treads that fine — and this is truly fine — line between core authenticity and cool tweakery.
It’s like looking at the blues through a fresh, fiery, feisty filter.
Orgy Of The Damned is a sumptuous celebration of the past supercharged by the present — and the presence of a dizzying cast of starry collaborators.
Slash has rock and roll’s glitterati on speed dial but even he must have put a serious shift together gathering this impressive crew.
Introducing Dorothy and Demi Lovato alongside Billy Gibbons and Brian Johnson is pure genius.
But when your mission is to breathe new life into the blues the gloves are off.
Make no mistake — this is a passion project in the purest sense.
But Slash, ever the consummate professional, never allows that passion to spill over into self-centred, six string foppery.
The Guns N’ Roses man keeps it real. And he keeps the blues incredibly cool.
Damned fine supporting cast
Where to start with the friends and acquaintances that make Orgy Of the Damned a party for the ages?
AC/DC frontman Johnson warms up for his band’s huge arena tour with a crushing version of Chester Burnett’s Killing Floor.
Oh, and just in case things couldn’t get any better, a certain Steven Tyler pops up to add some well-placed harmonica.
The Aerosmith frontman hooked up with The Black Crowes earlier this week and it’s Chris Robinson who kicks everything off here as he joins Slash for seven minutes of Wayne Hoyt Axton’s The Pusher.
Dorothy dazzles on Key To The Highway but the standout collab here?
It has to be Slash and Iggy Pop: the duo’s meandering, magical take on Awful Dream is sublime in the extreme. Stripped back, emotionally rich and expertly executed, it’s blues at its mind-blowing best.
Elsewhere country king Chris Stapleton whips up a storm on the Peter Green classic Oh Well and Paul Rodgers rolls back the years on Born Under A Bad Sign.
Slash doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, anymore.
But this compilation for the ages is a swaggering reminder that those sleazy Appetite-era riffs were firmly rooted in guitar music’s glorious past.