The jig is up for Stenning’s biography of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash as early as the introduction. Stenning says, “In examining his close associates it is when we often learn the most about Slash himself.” Forget the clumsy prose, the real concern is Stenning’s tacit admission that he’s got nowhere near Slash.
For a biography this isn’t necessarily a crime. But then, this isn’t really a biography. It’s more a potted history of Slash’s musical career which, at times, turns into a full-blown love letter to the rock clich� machine that was Guns N’ Roses. Stenning buys into this stereotype completely, and relies on a stream of references to Jack and Cokes, Les Pauls and groupies to mask the fact that he has seemingly gleaned very little of Slash’s personality.
The end of the book is devoted to Slash’s post-G N’ R output with Slash’s Snakepit and Velvet Revolver. It’s mildly interesting, but ultimately shallow. The author may be right to point out that his is the first Slash biography, but it’s certainly not a good one.
