STRADLIN STILL SNARLING
BY PAUL L. HODGES
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL; JUN. 1, 1998
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
IZZY STRADLIN: 117 Degrees (Geffen).
The former rhythm guitar slinger for Guns N' Roses swaps monster metal for stripped-down boogie on 117 Degrees. Track Ain't That a Bitch is a rollicking shuffle. Surf Roach's twangy reverb invokes guitar virtuoso Dick Dale and images of his theme from Hawaii Five-O. Stradlin also faithfully covers Chuck Berry's Memphis.
But mindful of what brought him this far, he tosses in Parasite and Methanol, pedal-to-the-metal thrashers that would shudder and shake sympathetically alongside Guns N' Roses' snarling debut, Appetite for Destruction, 117 Degrees officially ends the Gunners' streak of atrocious solo discs.
