Slash might be best known for his solo and Guns N' Roses work, but there's no denying he's also the ultimate collaborator. From his work with Michael Jackson, to trading licks with Iggy Pop and even whipping up a solo on I’m Just Ken from the 2023 blockbuster Barbie, Slash has racked up his fair share of credits.
As such, it takes a lot for Slash to be starstruck. However, he couldn’t help but do “a double take” when he was invited by producer Don Was to feature on Bob Dylan’s 1990 release, Under the Red Sky, and walked into a session full of legends.
“The scene at the studio was a total trip,” Slash told Guitar World in 1990. “I walked in at about 2 p.m. and George Harrison and Kim Basinger were there hanging out – I did a double take on that one.”
Yet, he nearly missed Dylan himself. “Next, I noticed this little guy wearing leather gloves and a hooded surfer's sweater, which struck me as odd because it was warm out. Finally, I realized it was Dylan. I thought, ‘What's going on here?’”
Slash described Dylan as “pretty quiet” while “George was laying down some slide, and we started just getting drunk and stuff.” Slash was asked to play on a song with “a pretty silly title, Wiggle Wiggle.”.
“I just learned it on the spot,” he remembered. “It was such a simple [song], yet superb.”
Yet, Dylan had a very specific direction in mind which took even Slash by surprise.
“When I went to play the lead, Bob came up and asked me to play like ... [incredulously] Django Reinhardt! l couldn't figure out where he was coming from. I didn't hear that at all!” he recalled.
“So basically, I just laid down the part I thought should be there. Everybody seemed to be happy with it. It was just a funny day, but the song got done.”
The solo was eventually left on the cutting room floor as Dylan thought it sounded too much like Guns N' Roses.
However, in a more recent interview with Gibson, Slash said that he’s more than grateful for the experience, as, legends in one room aside, “at that time, I hadn't done a lot of session work and it was a great learning experience.”
And, speaking of Slash, one of his crew members revealed what it takes to tech and tour with him.
