Talk about shreddin’.
The legendary Slash, lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, is teaming up with Chris Stapleton for a killer Fleetwood Mac cover.
“Oh Well,” which was written by Fleetwood Mac founding member Peter Green and originally released on the band’s 1969 album Then Play On, is a track that makes you feel like you just stepped into a grungy blues bar in the best way.
Slash says:
“So, this is the original Fleetwood Mac, which was founded by Peter Green, one of the greatest singer-songwriter-guitar players, he’s less known in the public, but very well known to us guitar players re the 60s British blues and he’s up there with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Mick Taylor. He sort of had a misadventure with drugs and disappeared early in his career, but he had some great f****** songs and ‘Oh Well’ is one of my favorites.
I remember hearing the song on the radio when I was probably 13, they used to play both the older version of Fleetwood Mac and the new version of the band with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham a lot. I always loved this song, and it’s a great guitar riff. I jammed it with the Blues Ball back in the ‘90s, and I’ve played it live here and there.”
And the album art is a vibe too:
If you are familiar with the Fleetwood Mac version of the song, you know it features heavy guitar picking that starts with an acoustic and is carried over to an electric.
Slash and Stapleton amp up the rock and roll early on in the song, giving it a modern refresh while still keeping the bones good. Stapleton pulls out his best raspy vocals on this track to sing the few lines of the song, but the single is really a showcase of their incredible talent on the guitar.
“I can’t help about the shape I’m in
I can’t sing, I ain’t pretty and my legs are thin
But don’t ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to…
Oh well”
Speaking on working with Stapleton, Slash says he knew that his gritty voice would be perfect for the cover:
“I knew from the beginning I wanted to do the song on this record. It was also one of the songs that I was trying to figure out who would be the right vocalist for it, and one of the ideas I had was Chris Stapleton, who is one of the most brilliant singer songwriters today.
He’s also got such a gritty and distinctive voice, so I called him up and he did an amazing job. I mean, his voice is so cool.”
This single will appear on Slash’s upcoming blues cover album, Orgy Of The Damned. Talk about one helluva album name. The record is slated for a May 17th release via Gibson and will feature collaborations from other stellar musicians, including Gary Clark Jr., Iggy Pop, and more on covers of legendary blues songs by Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and more.
Of course, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy this cover without the original, so fire that up while you are here, too.
