Saul Hudson, best known as Slash started his musical career in 1981 and alongside Duff McKagan, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler made “Appetite For Destruction” in 1987, which showed the world that Guns N’ Roses would be one of the biggest bands in the world. But obviously, before reaching that songwriting peak, the guitarist was influenced by many different kinds of artists.
Besides being a big fan of albums released in the 60s and 70s, he also loved some records from the 80s. In an interview with 95.5 KLOS in 2024 the musician recalled how many great albums were released in the early 80s and listed three of his favorite ones. Rock and Roll Garage selected what the guitar player said about those bands over the decades.
The 3 albums released in the early 80s that Slash loves
Ozzy Osbourne “Diary Of a Madman”
Released in 1981, “Diary of a Madman” was Ozzy Osbourne‘s second studio album and it had many famous tracks like “Over the Mountain”, “Flying High Again” and “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll”. At the time his band was formed by the guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake.
Slash is a good friend of Ozzy and even had the chance to play with him many times. In 2010, for example, Ozzy sang on Slash’s solo track “Crucify the Dead” and on Ozzy’s 2022 album “Ordinary Man”, released in 2020, Slash played the guitar in four tracks.
In an interview with Rockklassiker in 2024, the musician said that he was happy that Ozzy would finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I think it’s great. I think Ozzy is one of the most influential people in rock and roll — period. And there’s legions of fans out there that will agree with me on that. So it’s a no-brainer that he should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame — as Ozzy. Because Black Sabbath is one thing. But when Ozzy went out on his own and did ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’.”
“I think it was 1980 or ’81, that record came out. Right around the same time that ‘Back In Black’ came out, that was a huge year in fucking music. And Ozzy went on to become one of the biggest record sellers in the business. So, yeah, I think that it goes without saying that he should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,” Slash said.
AC/DC “Back In Black”
Slash is also a big fan of AC/DC and “Back in Black”, released in 1980 is one of his favorite albums of the band. It was the first record to feature the vocalist Brian Johnson, who replaced Bon Scott, who tragically passed away at the age of 33 that year. It had songs like the title-track, “Hells Bells”, “Shoot to Thrill”, “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”.
Curiously, in an interview with Consequence Of Sound, Slash said that the guitar solo in “Hells Bells” to this day, is one of his favorite ones of all time. “(Back in Black) It was a killer record from start to finish – every song was good. The single ‘Back in Black’ was as good a single as a rock ‘n’ roll single gets. I think one of my favorite songs on the record was ‘Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution.’ And then, even to this day, one of my favorite guitar solos of all time is in ‘Hells Bells.’”
“So that particular record, it was pivotal for me. I just started playing guitar. It was the first really great rock and roll band to come along in a little while. Obviously, it was a big record for AC/DC. (It) garnered them a place in history books that would go on forever and ever after that,” Slash said.
“Back In Black” is AC/DC’s best-selling album but also one of the best-selling albums in the history of music. It sold an estimated amount of more than 50 million copies worldwide.
Black Sabbath “Heaven & Hell”
Another band that influenced Slash a lot and the musician praised many times is Black Sabbath. However, besides the original formation with Ozzy on vocals, the Guns N’ Roses guitarist also likes the albums the band released with Ronnie James Dio. The one mentioned was “Heaven & Hell”. On that album, besides Ronnie, the band had the original members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.
Besides the title-track, the album also had famous tracks like “Children of the Sea”, “Neon Knights” and “Die Young”. It is Sabbath’s best-selling album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals.
In an interview with Rock Radio back in 2011, Slash said that Ronnie James Dio was one of his favorite singers of all time. “Ronnie was awesome, one of my favorite singers of all time. It only seems like yesterday (he passed away). I never worked with him but we both got our hands in the RockWalk in L.A. at the same time. And that was the first time we ever met. He was a true gentleman, one of the nicest, unassuming rock stars you’ll ever meet,” Slash said.