Duff McKagan’s musical CV reads like a ‘The Dirt’ Hollywood comeback script. From his early Punk days in Seattle to decamping to L.A where he subsequently hooked up with Slash and Steven Adler. Guns ‘N’ Roses reformation (of sorts) back in 2016 was greeted by millions of delirious fans and a massive fourth ever highest grossing sold-out world tour. In-between GNR Duff went to rehab via the emergency room after his pancreas burst due to his gargantuan alcohol consumption. What followed was a turn round of Lazarus proportions firstly he surfaced with fellow Guns member Matt Sorum to form the Neurotic Outsiders with Duran Duran bassist Jon Taylor and Sex Pistol Steve Jones. The band only released one album, the Sex Pistols first live activity in three and half decades put paid to that particular project, the album is well looking out for and if reports are correct it’s about to be re-released. Next up was Velvet Revolver which saw him reunited with ex-Gunner Slash along with former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland. Weiland sadly passed away in 2015 aged just Forty-Eight. After two albums VR split amidst claims of Weiland becoming unbearable due to his addictive nature and unpredictable performances. Duff has also written two best sellers, gone back to school and started his own company Meridan Rock who offer wealth management advice for musicians, which all leads us to ‘Tenderness’ his first solo album for Twenty Six years… Duff recorded his first solo album, back in 1993 in between GNR tours he laid down the multi-city, star-studded ‘Believe In Me’ and ‘Tenderness’ is a million miles from that album and the Duff that drunkenly stumbled his way through the process and short promotional tour.
Opener and title track ‘Tenderness’ flickers with an acoustic Country flame, lived in vocals and piano notes that tease like pre-storm raindrops. The cut has an educated ballad texture that avoids the cheese-heavy later day Jovi-isims or the vomit inducing bearded hipsters jamming in a make-believe local for that saccharine cider advert in which the crowd look like they will be suffocating their children in their own it’s all about me, beard oil, facetime, middle England smugness. Country musician Shooter Jennings directorship and continuing influence marry perfectly with Duff’s reformed Sunset Strip hellraising history to reveal an almost perfect surf ‘n’ turf combination. Next up is the late night Cowboy kissed ‘It’s Not Too Late’ which has some beautifully disarming slide guitar crossed with Duff’s distinctive delivery. ‘Wasted Heart’ resonates like a love poem from the depths of rehab and early morning workouts while ‘Falling Down’ swirls around a slightly more modern hippie-ish sound. Duff has been quoted as this album was written instead of a book about the past two years in GNR and their fourth biggest grossing tour, ever. The tangible honesty reverberates on both the overly extended ‘Last September’ and the Stones smoke bomb of ‘Chip Away’. If there is a criticism of ‘Tenderness’ it’s that the pace, subjects and flow almost merge into one as the lack of contrast, at times, can find the attention waning. This is not to say the songs aren’t all superb, they are but need to be consumed in quarters rather than as one whole listening experience. ‘Cold Outside’, a gospel-tinged ‘Feel’ and the saloon sing-a-long ‘Breaking Rocks’ further cement McKagan’s credentials as a premier songwriter and musician. The USA’s seemingly futile love affair with guns and there right to bear arms bullshit theory is laid out in its simplest terms by naming just a handful of the High School shootings tragedies that continually stain its nation’s flag. The grand finale of ‘Don’t Look Behind You’ closes a lid on Duff McKagan’s second solo album. In parts, this is a beautifully subtle collection that gently draws you in, like last nights pizza. It’s an album that requires your listening patience… just a little patience.
DUFF MCKAGAN
TENDERNESS
UMC
7.5/10