Despite being one of the coolest people on the planet, it’s hard to not feel a little sorry for Slash sometimes. The man has dealt with some pretty intense LSD in his career… Lead Singer Disease (The BourbonAndVinyl Worst Cases of LSD – Lead Singer Disease). The man had to put up with the paranoid, megalomania of Axl Rose who single handed-ly squeezed Slash, Duff, Izzy and everybody else out of Guns N Roses. Then in Velvet Revolver Slash had the unreliable, drug addled Scott Weiland to contend with, may he rest in peace. That’s a lot to take on in a career. Slash is one in a long line of great guitarists who can’t sing a lick and therefore have to rely on someone else to bring the vocals. Jeff Beck had his Rod Stewart. Jimmy Page had his Robert Plant. Angus Young had Bon Scott, who he lost and then Brian Johnson who he may also have lost. Poor Angus may end up working with Axl, inheriting Slash’s problem. Guys like Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan are lucky enough to be able to sing as well as play guitar… That must be freeing.

I was very happy to see Slash get back together with Axl and Duff (although I wish they’d cut Izzy in on the reunion, money kills all cool things) and take GnR back out on the road in 2016 (Concert Review: Guns n Roses, Kansas City, 29Jun16: The Power & The Glory). While that was really cool, I think we all were kind of hoping for some new Guns N Roses music. Slash has hinted that they may be working on some new stuff, but so far all they’ve put out was an expanded version of Appetite For Destruction. Of course if they do record, they’ll miss Izzy’s songwriting chops, but I’m getting off topic here… In the interim we have some good news for hard rock fans, Slash has reunited with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Todd Kerns on bass guitar, Brent Fitz on drums and now officially in the band (previously just a touring member), Frank Sidoris on rhythm guitar, for a new album, Living the Dream.

When GnR broke up, I sort of lost track of Slash. I totally missed out on the whole Slash’s Snakepit thing. They put out two LPs that I must admit I have never heard. No one has ever reached out and told me to find them, so I’m guessing I didn’t miss much, but with Slash in the band there had to be something good to hear there. I did jump on the Velvet Revolver bandwagon – Slash, Duff, Todd Sorum on drums, Scott Weiland – and I dug those guys. I think Contraband was my favorite of those two records, you can’t argue with tunes like “Sucker Train Blues” or “Slither.” I even heard a few covers those guys did, Pink Floyd’s “Money” and Aerosmith’s “No More No More,” that I liked. But alas, the wheels came off that band too. Weiland quickly decamped to reform Stone Temple Pilots before his untimely demise.

At that point, Slash decided to go solo. He released his first truly solo album in 2010, creatively titled, Slash. I’m sure the eponymous title was a declaration of independence and solo-hood. He went the Santana route and had a host of different singers he collaborated with. As you could probably guess, with that many different singers, it was a bit of a hodge-podge. I still loved that record. Ian Astbury seemed to bring out the best in Slash on the killer track, “Ghost.” There were also great tracks with Chris Cornell and Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale. Hell I even dug the song with Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. Old timers like Ozzy, Lemmy and Iggy all showed up and rocked. I was amazed at the diversity of sound Slash could make with his different collaborators. Of course there were misfires – the songs with Kid Rock and Adam Levine (Maroon 5) – I could have done without. The only singer who stuck around for more than one track was former Alter Bridge front man, Myles Kennedy who did two tracks. It was Myles who actually went on tour with Slash in support of that album. It seemed, at last, Slash had found a lead singer who sang without the drama.

Somehow I missed 2012’s Apocalyptic Love, Slash and Myles’ first full album collaboration. It was my friend Stormin’ in Denver who called in 2014 and said, in his usual brief way, “Slash, World On Fire, get it now.” Of course I complied. When Stormin’ calls with rock and roll, B&V takes notice. World On Fire was an epic hard rock album. Coming in at 17 songs and over an hour and fifteen minutes, it was a lot to take in. Slash played both the rhythm and the lead guitars. Myles hammered every song home at the top of his voice. I liked that record a lot, if you dig hard rock how could you not, but I found it a bit monochromatic. It was just full out rock, all the time. “30 Years To Life” had a touch of bluesy slide guitar, but other than that these guys just stuck to the hard rock script. There wasn’t much variance. Turn it up to 11, rinse, repeat.

Flash forward to 2018 and Slash, Myles and the Conspirators are back on Living the Dream with one key, critical difference. Frank Sidoris, who played rhythm guitar on tour, has officially joined the band and was involved in the recording of this album. While I was impressed with Slash’s ability to play lead and be a Keith Richards-like Riff Meister at the same time, I think Sidoris’ presence on this album has freed Slash up a bit in terms of his playing lead. The more of the rhythm stuff Slash turned over to Sidoris, the more solo’ing he was able to focus on. And the solo’ing on this album is epic. I have to wonder if not only having a rhythm guitarist on board helped, but having been on tour with GnR reconnected Slash with that melodic solo’ing from days of yore. Slash’s lead playing on this album is as out front as anything I’ve heard him play since Velvet Revolver. The solo from “Lost Inside the Girl,” a mid-tempo, ballad thing is as searing as anything on World On Fire.

This is a really strong hard rock album. I like that it’s only 12 songs, I think trimming World On Fire in a similar way would have helped that album. I also like that there’s a variance of sounds on this record. There are a few mid-tempo songs and ballads, so it’s not pedal-to-the-metal from start to finish. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I like to catch my breath every 4 or 5 songs. Mix it up a bit, why not? I’ve never been the biggest Myles Kennedy fan, although my friend Drummer Blake says I’m wrong on that, but I have to say Myles impresses me on this album. His vocals, like the music on this record, is more varied and nuanced. The entire band seems more relaxed, less frenetic than on World On Fire. The band just sounds looser, while still rocking out.

I liked the crunchy rocking first single, “Driving Rain,” which I reviewed previously, Slash: New Single, “Driving Rain” With Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators. It’s a strong track. My favorite is probably “My Antidote.” Fitz’s drumming is great on that tune. It’s atmospheric and dare I say, textured. “The Call of the Wild,” the track that opens the album is a great kickoff track. “Serve You Right” has a great, dirty riff… it jumps out at me. While Myles will never have that dirty, banshee wail of Axl, he does the song justice. “Mind Your Manners” is one of those great, play fast and meet me at the finish line tunes. There is a lot of tasty hard rock to enjoy here. “Sugar Cane” keeps things rocking as well…

“Lost Inside the Girl,” and “The One You Loved Is Gone” are the quieter moments on the album, ie, ballads. Slash’s guitar work on these tracks calls to mind that melodic work he did on Velvet Revolver’s “Fall to Pieces.” “The Great Pretender” starts off with a great little lead riff from Slash. These tracks give the album more texture than their previous work and I think it makes for a more interesting listen.

While I’m still hopeful we’ll still get some new Guns N Roses in my lifetime, Slash’s new set certainly satisfies that hard rock itch I’ve been feeling. It’s got me rocking this week… I’ve been bouncing from Living The Dream to Sabbath’s Vol 4 to Motley Crue’s Shout At the Devil and back again, all week. Hard rock is just good for the soul… it occurs to me, listening to all this hard rock, I may just be living the dream…

It’s been a dark and ugly week… rock and out and have some fun. Inject as much heavy metal into your life as you can. Cheers!