“Absolutely killer”: The greatest Eagles riff, according to Slash
Slash continues to prove himself to be one of the most versatile guitarists out there. While this can be seen in the range presented by Guns N’ Roses, he really came into his own during his solo career. He worked with a range of artists with varying styles yet continued to provide exciting instrumentation that could fit whatever their vocal tone was.
When you listen to his self-titled debut album, you get heavy rock-infused riffs, like on the opener ‘Ghost’, which sounds like something that Slash would write for Guns N’ Roses. However, there are also gentle guitar lines from tracks such as ‘Gotten’ and ‘Saint Is A Sinner Too’, accompanying the voices of the people singing on them.
Slash is a fantastic soloist and rhythm guitar player, but where he thrives is the riff. Classics like ‘Paradise City’, ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ and ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ remain classics because of how instantly recognisable the riffs attached to them are. We hear them and know exactly what we’re in for. It’s a fine art, and it’s something that rock music as a whole continues to rely on.
Naturally, years of practice have helped Slash develop the skill necessary to write these kinds of riffs, but a wide range of music also contributes to his mastery. He listens far and wide, from classics from the ’60s to modern music and everything in between.
When asked about his favourite riffs, Slash referenced artists such as The Beatles, Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Metallica, Queen and Jimi Hendrix. However, there was only one band whose riff he described as “Absolutely killer,” which was The Eagles ‘Life in the Fast Lane’.
“Killer riff, absolutely killer,” he said when talking about the track, “God, I must have first heard this song when I was in elementary school. Shit, was it really that long ago?” Despite the first time he heard the song being a while ago, it still has a big impact on him, which no doubt helped drill the importance of a good riff into his music mentality.
While the riff helped Slash incorporate himself into the LA lifestyle and become a musician in Hollywood, the song ‘Life In The Fast Lane’ rebels against the kind of lifestyle that many musicians in that range have. Glenn Frey spoke about the song and said it was about trying to find something else in life other than just the glamour that came with being famous.
“[It] kind of expressed the stereotyped LA ‘run around in your Porsche’ 24-hour boogie mode that unfortunately is too true for a lot of people,” he said, “It wasn’t really a statement about the guys in the band, or anybody in particular – just it’s kind of disturbing to see the extremes that the bourgeois jet set will involve themselves in.”
