Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick [Album]

Century Media

June 16, 2009, 10:01 PM

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Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I find when band members venture off in to the land of solo projects, you find out who the truly talented members in a band are and who are just the hangers on. This has been shown across many bands, for example Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters is an amazing drummer and a fantastic vocalist but his solo project lacks that oomph which is obviously added by Mr Grohl. Axel has found this to be true in the form of the absence of Slash and Duff. But is it slash or duff that holds the major talent that axel misses. Well from listening through Sick I would believe that it is mainly Slash. Sick is not a bad album but the problem with writing an album after you’ve been part of such great acts as Guns and to some extent Velvet Revolver, is that you have to try and keep up to that previous standard and try to keep up with the creative ability of Slash and Axel as well as your own previous efforts. So to conclude the point, Duff is not Slash and neither is he Axel, therefore Sick is not anywhere in comparison to any Guns or Velvet album, but then again I don’t think it’s trying to be.

What Sick is, is a straight edged rock and roll album with no major twists or turns just a few good hooks and a couple of catchy chorus’. There are no massive solos, no epic build-ups, just to the point rock with a punk edge. Duff doesn’t have the most outstanding voice but he is solid and consistent and there are some solid harmonies in there. One point I noticed is that Duff clearly isn’t a guitarist, as we all know what he is famed for. I wonder if he had handed over the lead duties to a seasoned pro as I’m sure he is not short of knowing any, that the guitar could have been played a bit more creatively with some better solos.

But to step back and take this purely for what it is, without comparison to back catalogue, Sick is not a bad album and has some very good high points in tracks such as ‘Flatline’ and ‘No Shame’. I think massive fans will be able to give this a good listen and appreciate Sick for what it is, a great rock album. It is hardly a classic but there are tracks on there that you will return to and play again and again.

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