I thought it would be interesting to see what the fans had to say about Duff's music. If you would like to make a contribution please email me at Bonnfa@aol.com. Thanks and Peace!-Imakagan
Pafni is a friend from the Yahoo clubs. She is so sweet. She felt that since she was a fan and loved everything that Duff has done that instead she would send me some reviews from magazines! Thank you Pafni. Love ya! Peace!-Imakagan
Q magazine: Flabby,beer-sodden bassists don't usually make remarkable solo albums when they slip out of their main money earner but,to his immense credit, Guns n' Roses' Duff Mc Kagan has shaken his bottle blonde locks into action and produced a fine modern rock set that mixes gritty blues,jazzy simplicity,rock riffing,rap ideology and the inevitable verse/chorus prowess of his parent band at their most punky.
At times sounding like Johnny Thunders's Heartbreakers,Mc Kagan's trio of allies infuse enough aggression into the basic subject matter(just the two songs with "fuck" in the title)to make Believe In Me work of its own right.Add to them Jeff Beck,Slash and Gilby from Guns,Lenny Kravitz and Skid Row's Sebastian Bach and you've got a party in the studio with the sole aim-to "really rock out"-being quickly achived. Powerful songs,great hooklines and guaranteed mass exposure through the Guns connection. 4 stars out of 5.
Greek edition of KERRANG: After Izzy Stradlin,Duff made the big step.He created his first solo album and this isn't bad ,not bad at all.In Believe In Me,Duff plays all the instruments and he accepts valuable assistance by all Guns n'Roses members-except Axl Rose.If Axl is the frontman-and a dick at the same time-if Slash is the powerful guitarist,if Izzy is the man who did an amazing composing work for the band,then Duff is he who gives GNR a different sound because of his punk roots.
These punk roots are very well shown in this album and are combined perfectly to GNR's hard rock influences. Maybe the ideal guitarist for this album could be Steve Jones,while the ideal vocalist is Duff.There are many good songs in Believe In Me like "I love you","Man in the meadow","10 Years","Lonely Tonite". Believe in Duff and get this record.Especially if you like the punk sound in hard rock songs. 4 stars out of 5.
Pop&Rock: I don't think we need to say much more about Duff Mc Kagan.Guns N'Roses bassist had his first solo album out.Believe In Me can be regarded a musically well-sructured record.Songs like "Man in the Meadow" are influenced by Aerosmth's sleasy sound,"Lonely Tonite"by Nazareth and songs like "Fuck you" and "Punk Rock Song" have a Sex Pistols attitude.All the songs in this album show Duff's talent as a composer.Next to Duff there are guitar players like Jeff Beck and Lenny Kravitz,while there are also 2 Greek musicians in the group,guitarist Joie Mastrokalos and Teddy Andreadis.Ted has worked with Guns n'Roses too.
Duff's solo effort is regarded satisfactory and mature and it hasn't got any hypocritical or snobbery tricks.Believe In Me is a personal "colorful" record. 3,5 stars out of 5
Greek edition of METAL HAMMER:
Maybe some of you might think:"Who is this Duff
guy?".Those of you who aren't Guns n'Roses fans are
justified not to know the man,but if you are a GNR fan
and you don't know the band's bass player,then you
might as well kill yourselves!
Usually all the solo efforts that come from members of big bands are based on the so called "rock syndrome".Many members in order to divert their boredom and establish themselves as good,autonomic musicians,come up with boring solo albums.Fortunately,in Believe In Me,this is not the case.
This is a "true" solo album.Duff wrote or co-wrote the lyrics,produced and mixed the record,played the guitars,the bass,the drums,the keyboards and every other instrument you can imagine!He had a little help from his friends of course.All Guns n' Roses members-except Axl-guitar god Jeff Beck,Lenny Kravitz,Sebastian Bach,Snake and Rob Affuso from Skid Row are present in this album.In Duff's group two Greek musicians play too!The keyboard player Teddy Andreadis and the guitar player Joie Mastrokalos(ex Circle Of Soul).
All the songs are short in duration;from 1,5 min. to 5 min. at the most,and they show Duff's and GNR's great loves and influences.There are elements from Lynard Skynyrd,Nazareth,Aerosmith,Hanoi Rocks,Sex Pistols and Exploited.
Duff's heart and soul truly can be found in this album.Believe in him. 9 out of 10.
