Slash named the only guitarist “that blows me away”
Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash has been universally hailed as one of the greatest players of all time for nearly 40 years. A master of the fretboard, his highlights just so happen to be some of the most well-known rock tracks of the modern era, including ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, two moments that resoundingly demonstrate his talent.
In his time, the top hat-donning whizz has cited many musicians as his guitar-playing heroes. Indicative of his taste’s broad reach, he even names former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor as his “biggest influence”. Noting the older statesman’s blues-heavy style – something they have in common – he told Louder: “Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones had the biggest influence on me without me even knowing it.”
He continued: “As I got older and started playing guitar, I always gravitated to his sort of style. People always mention Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and Angus Young – all the obvious ones – but there’s guys like Mick Taylor and Joe Walsh that were as important. [He] had this really cool, round-toned bluesy sort of thing that I thought was really effective.”
Despite saying that people always cite “all the obvious ones”, Slash is also greatly indebted to the work of the late Jeff Beck. Famously, the British guitarist was a master of finger-picking, and as a solo artist and in The Yardbirds, he left a tremendous legacy. Whether it be ‘Beck’s Bolero’ or ‘Happenings Ten Years Time Ago’, many compositions prove why Jeff Beck is one of the finest of his era.
Slash is so indebted to Beck that when speaking to Guitar Magazine in 1988, the Guns N’ Roses man labelled him the only guitarist “that blows me away.” He credited Beck with significantly influencing him to refine his self-taught style when younger. However, he did note that Beck got “too jazzy” as time went on.
He said: “I’m completely taught by ear. If there was something that I liked, that I thought was cool, I’d learn it. I’d learn Jeff Beck like you wouldn’t know. I’d learn any lick that I thought was really good from Wired, Truth and Blow by Blow. Then he got into There and Back and it was too jazzy for me. Jeff Beck is the most amazing guitar player out of anybody that I can think of. He is the only guy that blows me away. So I would sit down and learn licks that hit me.”
Watch Jeff Beck in action below.
