Guns N’ Roses bass guitarist, Duff McKagan, releases ‘Lighthouse,’ the title track from his forthcoming solo full length.
Over a a gospel-tinged backdrop of organ and backup vocalists, the musician sings “Won’t you be my lighthouse?” “Give me sight and lead me on/Oh, shine on me, my lighthouse/And dry my aching bones,” before the music into high gear as McKagan leads a choir singing “Shine, shine, shine.”
In a statement about the album that comes out on October 20, the rocker said
“The crashing … the cresting waves, the falling through of all that surrounds you — life sometimes tosses us around, and we feel the want of comfort and the pull of home.” “A ship tossed like a toy through the Cape, sails ripped and the wood groaning with the scraping of its ballast … a soul trying with all its might to find peace and a center. Find a lighthouse. I have my lighthouse … its beacon swirling in the darkness with her warmth and promise of nurture, love, laughter, and all that is true. Won’t you be my lighthouse, give me light … and bring me home.”
Duff began work on Lighthouse in his home studio with producer Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Brandi Carlile) before the pandemic lockdowns in 2019, and he invited some of his famous friends to play on the record, including Slash and drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr. (from Paul McCartney’s band) on “Hope” and Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell on “I Just Don’t Know.” Iggy Pop joined McKagan on “Lighthouse (Reprise).”
To bring attention to mental health awareness month, in May McKagan surprise-released an EP of songs including “This Is the Song” which found him singing, “This is the song that’s gonna save my life as I scrape for sanity.”
Lighthouse track list:
1. “Lighthouse”
2. “Longfeather”
3. “Holy Water”
4. “I Saw God on 10th St”
5. “Fallen”
6. “Forgiveness”
7. “Just Another Shakedown”
8. “Fallen Ones”
9. “Hope” (feat. Slash)
10. “I Just Don’t Know” (feat. Jerry Cantrell)
11. “Lighthouse (Reprise)” (feat. Iggy Pop)
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Silvio Tanaka