Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan Searches for Peace on Gospel-Influenced ‘Lighthouse’

Guns N’ Roses’ bassist, Duff McKagan, wants your guiding light on “Lighthouse,” the gentle title track from his upcoming solo album. “Won’t you be my lighthouse?” he sings over a gospel backdrop of organ and backup vocalists. “Give me sight and lead me on/Oh, shine on me, my lighthouse/And dry my aching bones.” The music then shifts gears and becomes more uplifting as McKagan leads a choir singing “Shine, shine, shine,” building bigger and bigger. The full album will shine its light on Oct. 20.

“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,” McKagan wrote in a statement. “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.”

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McKagan started working on Lighthouse before the pandemic lockdowns in 2019, working in his home studio with producer Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Brandi Carlile). He invited some of his friends to play on the record, too, 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).”

Last Month, McKagan surprise-released an EP of songs to bring attention to mental health awareness month. The record’s “This Is the Song” found him singing, “This is the song that’s gonna save my life as I scrape for sanity.”

McKagan will be on tour with Guns N’ Roses this summer. The band will start a North American leg in Aug. in Canada.

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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