Guns N’ Roses guitarist, Slash has talked about how he came to include AC/DC’s Brian Johnson on his new album, Orgy Of The Damned, which is to be released on May 17 via Gibson Records. The track, a cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor,” features Johnson and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler on harmonica. Slash said he thought that Johnson’s “grittiness” suited the song and that Johnson, who is a great admirer of Howlin’ Wolf’s music, was excited to take part. Tyler’s involvement was more spontaneous. Slash played him the track, and Tyler suggested he play some harmonica.
Slash’s the new album comes with the promise of other stars, including Iggy Pop, Chris Stapleton, Demi Lovato, Dorothy, Paul Rodgers, Chris Robinson, Tash Neal, Beth Hart, Gary Clark Jr., and Billy Gibbons. He is set to cover several blues standards such as Robert Johnson’s “Crossroad Blues,” Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign,” and Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man.” The sound is stripped-down and raw, rather than homogenized and produced, which he said it has brought “an off-the-cuff” feel.
The honest and authentic character of the album is highlighted by Slash’s insistence that the cover songs spoke to the artists, not just to him. The stars’ stories all seem to mesh with the blues. Brian Johnson, a lifelong blues fan, was excited to participate in the project, whereas Steven Tyler’s additional harmonica playing was a last-minute, spontaneous addition.
Slash’s upcoming blues album has been lauded for its promise of stripped-down authenticity, due in part to the rawness of the cover songs, but also because of the spontaneity with which they were recorded. The album features various artists passionate about the blues, including Brian Johnson and Steven Tyler, who have contributed their time and talents to make the Blues genre shine
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