Album: Slash, Slash (Roadrunner)

Lead guitarists' solo albums can be risky affairs, often leading to over-indulgent soloing and even, in extreme cases, jazz-rock.

But this isn't bad at all: Slash has always been a disciplined player, ever mindful that his talent should first and foremost service the song, so his signature breaks here are models of sculptured brevity. And few guitarists are riffmeisters this capable, whether he's laying down the Sabs-style doom-treader foundation of "Nothing to Say" or the spiky arpeggiated figure of "Ghost". Of the guest vocalists, the older hands are the most entertaining: "Doctor Alibi" finds Lemmy drolly refusing to take his GP's advice to change his lifestyle, while Iggy's trademark blend of nihilist hedonism has never been more succinctly adduced than in the line "We're all gonna die – so let's get high!". Enjoyable, overall.

Download this: Doctor Alibi; We're All Gonna Die; Saint Is a Sinner Too