From feeling the Kenergy with Ryan Gosling and Wolfgang Van Halen, to jamming with Dolly Parton and Demi Lovato – here are 10 of the best recent Slash collaborations
Slash doesn't do holidays, so when he is not out with Guns N' Roses or putting together his own blues album and festival, he's a first-call special guest for some of music's biggest names
(Image credit: Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Images)
If you haven’t noticed, Slash is literally busier than ever before. And we’re not just talking about his ongoing Gun N’ Roses duties, his Capital One commercial, his new Orgy of the Damned album or his S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival.
We’re talking about guest appearances, people. Since 2023, the guitar icon has appeared on a whole lotta tracks – and it’s not by accident. As Slash recently told Guitar World, “I’m really not good at just sort of sitting around and spinning my wheels. I can do it for a few hours or a day, but I can’t go weeks like that. My mind would go crazy.”
Yeah, no kidding. Based on the volume of side hustling Slash has done lately, his inability to sit still checks out. Here’s a quick guide to his 2023 and 2024 guest appearances… so far.
Ian Hunter – Defiance (2023)
Ian Hunter - Defiance (Official Lyric Video) ft. Robert Trujillo, Slash - YouTube
Of all his recent guest spots, Slash’s sinfully bluesy cameo across Ian Hunter’s Defiance – which also features Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo – is his most, shall we say, familiar.
For those accustomed to Slash’s Les Paul-laden licks heard on GN’R, Slash’s Snakepit and Velvet Revolver classics, with its slinky riff and tone-soaked solo, Defiance is quintessential Slash.
Chris Janson – 21 Forever (2023)
Chris Janson - 21 Forever (Lyric Video) ft. Dolly Parton, Slash - YouTube
Slash tapped into his country side for this guest spot, and he did so alongside fellow guest star Dolly Parton. How’s that for a crossover? But then again, Slash is no stranger to slow-burners, so his understated solo is low-key on-brand.
Ryan Gosling – I’m Just Ken (2023)
Ryan Gosling, Mark Ronson, Slash & The Kens - I'm Just Ken (Live From The Oscars 2024) - YouTube
Can this track’s philosophical lament over Ken’s lot in life as “number two” behind Barbie be compared to Slash’s career beside Axl Rose? Who knows! But if we dig out of the emotional depths of plastic dolls turned real-life, the guitarist – in conjunction with Wolfgang Van Halen – simply does what he does best: rip some sleazy riffage.
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Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry [Rock Version] (2023)
Slash was known for peeling off the occasional solo for Michael Jackson, and in 2023, he did so for Demi Lovato by livening up Sorry Not Sorry with a chugging riff and a solo that exposes a new generation of listeners to Slash’s magic.
While McKagan played most of the guitars himself on Lighthouse (with a well-loved Burny Lawsuit Les Paul), he called upon his GN’R bandmate for Hope, a track filled with slinky riffs, gnarly tones and a vibe-filled solo that hovers over the track, setting the tone for one of this overlooked album’s most memorable songs.
Slash’s music is an amalgam of blues and punk. So as far as vibe checks go, Slash’s guesting on this Fear track makes sense. There’s not much here by way of solos, but in keeping with the punk theme, Slash lays down one hell of a rhythm part.
The Dandy Warhols – I’d Like to Help You with Your Problem (2023)
The Dandy Warhols - I'd Like To Help You With Your Problem ft. Slash - YouTube
The Dandy Warhols, who, by the way, already have two killer guitarists in Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Peter Holmström,cozied up nicely with Slash on I’d Like to Help You With Your Problem, which is graffitied with the GN’R legend’s wah-coated ostinato patterns, volume swells and descending Locrian flourishes.
The Shins’ James Mercer jumps into the fray as well, adorning key moments in the song with a “high Viking-rock wail,” as Taylor told Guitar World.
Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes – Going Home (2024)
Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes – Going Home (Theme From Local Hero) (Official Video) - YouTube
For Mark Knopfler’s remake-for-a-good-cause track Going Home (Theme from Local Hero), Slash goes back-to-back with Peter Frampton and Duane Eddy, each taking a few bars.
Slash doesn’t dominate this track, but given that we’ve just lost Eddy, recently lost Jeff Beck, and Frampton is winding down, this moment will forever be poignant.
Sure, it’s a bit more alternative than we’re used to hearing from Slash, but he does slip in enough gain-drenched licks to make himself known before letting loose a monster of a solo. So again, this isn’t your typical Slash fare, but his solo shows that he still knows how to mark his territory.
Michael Schenker – Mother Mary (2024)
MICHAEL SCHENKER - Mother Mary feat. SLASH & ERIK GRÖNWALL - YouTube
A reinterpretation of the UFO classic, it sees Slash and Schenker trading licks and makes fiery showcase for the rock legends’ respective solo-ing styles.
“When Slash came to the studio, I had my amplifier set up, and Slash actually played through it,” Schenker recently told Guitar World. “But I had already recorded my parts, and so we decided it was much better if we kept that and had Slash fill in the gaps where I left space for him.”
The GN’R man’s deft weaving creates a clever ‘push ’n’ pull’, adding a whole new dynamic to the song that really feels like they’ve gone toe-to-toe in the studio.
Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.
