Album review: SLASH – Living The Dream
Roadrunner [Release date 21.09.18]
For me, things have gone consistently ‘downhill’ since Slash released his eponymous debut with a plethora of guest vocalists back in 2010. Every track on that album was an absolute peach.
Since then he’s stuck with Myles Kennedy (and The Conspirators) – no bad choice – and we’ve had Apocalyptic Love (2012), World On Fire (2014), and now Living The Dream.
The last two releases were both OK albums, a clutch of standout tracks on each, very few, if any runts, but in the main bog standard guitar loaded rock ‘n’ roll that you rather feel Slash could, most likely, knock out in his sleep.
And so it is with Living The Dream. Same template, same result – maybe three top notch numbers – ‘Serve You Right’, ‘Driving Rain’, and ‘Sugar Cane’, and while the rest are good, not sufficiently so that they would demand long term set list inclusion, or merit ‘best of’ status.
It’s all, sad to say, rather predictable. Albeit with all Slash’s trademarks licks and flicks.
Whether he just had a stack of great songs backed up for his debut, or whether working with different singers raised his game, we’ll probably never know. But for someone who’s supposedly achieved ‘icon’ status, I’d expect more.
At the very least it would be good to see him pushing the envelope, or trying something just a little different. But hey, if it ain’t broke, and it pays the bills, why bother? ***1/2
Review by Pete Whalley
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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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