Guns N Roses/Appetite For Destruction

So what am I gonna say about a album that has sold 28 Million copies worldwide? Lots….well kinda! Just my Simple  Simon two cents worth…

There’s no need for me to go into the background history of Gunners as well all know the deal but a while back some one asked me to jot down some words on this classic piece of Vinyl Slab! My apopologies to the person who requested as I forgot who it was who asked! My Bad!

Appetite I purchased in late 1987 as i was so heavily Into Drugs! Hahahaha….kidding i was heavily into The Cults Electric album. A bonafide all time classic here at Arena Rock(‘YaYa’ Sez Ian Astbury) and it was Gunners who were the opening act for the Cult on there 1987 Canadian Tour. So I figured If The Cult is ripping out AC/DC style riffs and drums on Electric these Gunner fellas must be doing the same …

Kinda,Sorta!

The Songs were street rock,oozing with sex,dope,hookers,cranked amps,crazy wired lead singer,raw production no gloss as it was opposite to what was the current sound of late 1987 early 1988 (take a bow Mr Coverdale and Bandanna Micheals) a sound myself and Tbone had only heard on a album like Aerosmiths Toys In The Attic and Rocks! Basically the common theme running with the two Aero records and Appetite you believed what you heard both lyrically and musically! Not to many of those low down dirt street albums are out there if you ask me.

Mike Clink the fella who produced this album has to be given props as well. He kept the production raw,simple like plug in a record! Probably has more to do with budgetary reasons than anything and for that it’s for the better sonically speaking!

One of my fav all time concert Intros was when myself,Oinks,Andre and few others caught Gunners on there second show of the Use Your Illuison Tour(May 1991)…the voice that introduced Gunners said… “You Wanted The Best? Well They Didn’t Show Up!”

Perfect….

Oh,one  more thing! For the Love of God Guns  please don’t reunite for anything ….keep your history how I wanna remember it! Sleazeball Rock before the Lawyers/Handlers/Suits/ Destroyed it ……just leave it man ..

Slash,Izzy Stradlin,Steven Adler,Duff McKagan and Axl stomp on Poisons lipstick and make B Micheals cry!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE-So it begins the riff! And from there here’s  Bill Bailey doing his siren wail like snakey slithery slippery drawl and we’re off! Guns a storming and setting LA fires as they go! Slash rips into the solo and I love the breakdown of the track when Adler nails his cowbell quicker than Tbone downing Tequila on a Saturday Night! The song cranks back up for one final push towards the drugged out finish line and man oh man what a stomper of a track!

ITS SO EASY- Duff launches his soon to be out of tune bass with a real wicked opener and it’s one of those bass lines that’s just DNA ‘d into the sonic regions of your Noggin! Adler,Slash and Izzy all join in and here comes Axl in that deep style singing which I actually prefer to his screech at times! This song is total destruction! No one and I mean no one has come close to these kind of tunes since than in regards to a debut! It’s all here on this Firecracker of a song! Of course right before Slash blasts off on the solo(I dig that little breakdown before the solo ) Axl throws down of of his many F Bombs on this album and well this song who knows how many? A Bakers 12 pack of F Bombs! Sure it’s all here….! Years ago (1988) myself and Tbone were in our local deptmartment store at then time (Zellers) and in there music section they had a actual juke box loaded with 45s! Of course we mosied on over and took a gander at such selections and Lo and behold there was a 45 record of Gunners Sweet Child Of Mine and on the flip side! Yup you guessed it it was It’s So Easy. Boom! I emptied my pockets dumped the change in and selected Its So Easy except for the fact that when it came on it was a live version and Hahahahaha….all you could hear was Axls voice throughout the store especially at the end of the song when he loses his shit on the F Bombs! Hahaha…. A few weeks later we were back at Zellers( we bought Project Driver at Zeller!!)and the jukebox was still there but the Gunners 45 was pulled! Ha!

NIGHTTRAIN-Adler smashes the tar out of his cowbell and we’re off with a huge dose of GNR smatterings all over the musical map! Axl man say what you want about his zany crazy off stage antics but lyrically the cat could write lyrics! I recall Tbone saying this exact comment to me when the Illusions came out to the effect of that there was a ton of lyrics written! Axl was never at a loss for words that’s for sure! Ha!

OUTTA GET ME-is a great rock track its Gunners skidding off the road  and I mean everyone in Axls Noggin was out to get him! The verse  has a real chill vibe and of course the chorus ramps up and Axl delivers us his sermon from the Rock Temple Of LSD(Lead Singers Disease) and we are followers and we all believe! Like Axl Sez its a song about people trying to hold you back yada yada yada! Like I would hold him back if I bumped Into Axl. Tbone though would pull out his business card and go a different route with Axl in conversation  and it would probably pay off! Trust me I seen Tbone live and in action hand his business card to a very famous Canadian Musician and man I fuckin giggled like a school girl after that move! I will tell all in a review coming up…..(hype)

MR BROWNSTONE-one of the best Guns tracks! Love the percussion at the beginning with Izzy and Slash wahing out there guitars and its a real cool groove that is Mr Browstone! The lyrics like so many or should I say all of them are street! You believe Axl when he says ‘ “worryings a waste of my fucking time!” Great vibe and the chorus is Gold! Drugs especially Heroin are bad kiddies Uncle Ax is telling us so!  This is a Groovers delight! The second video is Mr Brownstone a bootleg from Philadelphia. It’s ruff and live man……ain’t no slick polish police around these parts known as Gunnner County!

PARADISE CITY-we all know  the the lyrics right?  Slash begins the festivities with a nice little cool hum and strum and Heeeeeeeeere’s Axl! The song has a jacked up what sounds like to me a cranked up synth and Axl blows his whistle and we’re off! Back in day I loved this as a single because you had your Warrants/Poisons/Firehouses singing there syrupy ballads of  love and heres Izzy and company blasting that shit into the next decade and here’s Paradise City cranked and no ones  worrying about love…..

MY MICHELLE-a super fried out space cadet named Michelle is the topic of Axls story line and that’s what this song is about! Porno,Heroin,Partying …well well well……that Michelle she’s a messed up bird but like Axl says be careful because most of all this song is true! The rawness of this track is great. More Cowbell,Thanks! Great solo and the chorus just kicks it into another frontier! Also bonus points for the end of the song when Ax sounds like he’s comimg unglued for like the 150th time where here hollers..My,my my my my my my Michelle(repeat as many times you like …Go)

THINK ABOUT YOU-once again some great cowbell kicks this tune off and it’s a song no one ever talks about it eben Gunners! So here I posted this track as the video as its a little hard nut kicker of a track! It should get its due and by golly I giving it it’s due! I mean I could go with other tracks but c’mon peeps I can’t be that predictable…..

SWEET CHILD OF MINE-Slash man one of his epic guitar tunes and solo! What the hell could I possibly add in  regards about  this track?

YOUR CRAZY-Wowzers! The band fires up the Party Bus and lifts off into no mans land! Dig the chill vibe during the chorus and boom it ramps up with Adler and Slash leading the charge!

ANYTHING GOES-this one has a Aerosmithy vibe at the beginning and it could have fit snugly on side two of Aeros Rocks after Lick And A Promise and before Combination! Great tracks! Cool tempo change as well..

ROCKET QUEEN-the ultimate song ends this album! Adler and Duff lay down the groundwork and before you know it Slash and Izzy join in and Axl lays down a real good rock voice along with lyrics and man the chorus is DA SHIT! Over 8 minutes of Gunners weaving in and out of different grooves and how about the second part of the song where Axl goes real high with his voice! Man he’s one cooked dude! But he delivers it in spades here! Kudos to the other guys as well! Mint man Mint!

IN CONCLUSION- this review was more about mine and Tbones shenanigans than anything Ha! High jacking Juke Boxes,  handing out business cards,purchasing cassette copies of Project Driver! Frigg that’s lame oh! But if I told Ya all we were doin  hookers,blow,money and partying on the Nightrain you wouldn’t believe us so…..lame it is!

Seriously though when I think of this album 27 years later….Classic comes to mind! It does not get any more street than this ……

One of the all time best……

Hope ya’s dug the ramblin!

 

 

SONIC WAVES ..Slash,Myles Kennedy &The Conspirators /Live At The Roxy 09/25/2014

So we all know that Slash and Company’s album World Of Fire was my fav album of 2014 that I called back in September of that same year  a full 3 months before Mike Ladanos end of the year lists went up on his site!  He did ? me about it saying would  Slashs album be my fav as there was still time left in the year of 2014? Nothing came close as Slash,Myles,Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz slapped me outside the noggin with World On Fire….to refresh yourselves read it here….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/sonic-waves-slash-feat-myles-kennedy-and-the-conspirators/

(Actually the comments from fellow readers on the Word On Fire review are classic…man I laughed at those comments than and still laughing now!)

Also of note when you play the two vids posted there are 10 second advertisements before the Slash Performances! Arena Rock Thunder does not support this method as I don’t cater this blog to Corperate Bullshit! Having said that to get my message across with my babble it’s important to feature video so you as the reader can figure out just what the hell I’m going on about! How’s that??……Ha!

June 16 2015 and heres  Slash releasing what has been becoming the norm for many a rock act! Which is DVD and Digital release. So I preordered this bad boy a few months back and well it’s time to yammer on a review of this real solid live release!

2015 and the last 3 albums I have purchased have been Van Halens Live At The Tokyo Dome,Sammy Hagar and The Circle and now Slash,Myles and there peeps! Basically all live albums! Yeah I love them! These three I mentioned are worth your cash…..

Poor Poor Axl!(that ones for you Robbo!)

GHOST- is a great opener as Slash opens the proceedings with his signature sound and we’re off! Slash on tour is aided by Frank Sidoris who handles all the rhythm fine and dandy and should be giving some kudos as well! Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz nail down and keep everything in check and like why wouldn’t they there fellow Canuckleheads as well! Myles Kennedy like I have said before is one of the best Rock vocalists plying his craft right now!

NIGHT TRAIN- Fitz nails down some cowbell as the band ploughs forward and its Guns N Roses time folks and Kennedy when I hear him sing these GNR classics the question of “why bother” comes up which is really Theres no need for Slash to do a GNR reunion. Like why,when you got Myles who shows up gives it 120% every night singing your old bands songs! Stay drama free Slash!

HALO-this song keeps the pace going! great guitar-in from Slash and Frank and the band as well is tight! Halo keeps the rock vibe going and  Slash has built up quite the the catalogue since he enlisted Myles. They are for all intent purpose a very good rock n roll duo!

BACK FROM CALI-this tune has a laid back vibe to it at the beginning of it with just Slash picking and Myles vocally leading the song out of the gate but before you know it all hands on deck as the rest of the fellas strike up the song and it features a great groove a even better chorus and some neat little intricate time changes! Great song!

STONE BLIND-has for me become one of my fav Slash and Company tunes ever! Love how the intro has some kind of trippy hippy vibe and than boom into the money shot of the song which is the verses! Myles man the dude can write lyrics and these are some great lines here! Slash and the rest of the  pack keep the tune a grooving ala Aerosmithy kind of vibe.

YOU COULD BE MINE-Brent Fitz does that real cool drum intro that we all know and Frank An Slash rip there guitars to shreds and Slash  nails down the solo and we’re off! This is classic GNR! One of there best tracks and this song just rocks from start to finish!

DR ALIBI-Todd Kerns the bass masher steps up to the plate and sings Dr Alibi and the dude has a real good rock voice himself and for all of us Canuckleheads we all remember him when he sang and played geetar in Age Of Electric! So yeah he’s one of Slashs secret weapons and that’s Kerns who can take the song vocally and make it his own! This song is a straight ahead 4 on the floor rocker!

YOUR CRAZY-Dr ALibi ends and milliseconds later were right into another GNR Classic and guess what kiddies Todd handles the vocals once again and gives Myles a double break! ( I’m sure when Myles takes this break in the show he’s probably writing lyrics for the next Alter Bridge album!) Kerns gives it gas here I mean lets all say it! “Your Fuckin Crazy,” see don’t we all feel better!

WICKED STONE-boom this song kicks ass! Great driving rhythm and the song cooks in a Slash kinda way! Love the groove oooozes with Aero drippings in spots!

30 YEARS TO LIFE-love the slide guitar opener of this track! Brent Fitz kicks his snare into overdrive and Slash and company rock it to the top! Another catchy tune like these guys just drip coolness with there own rock vibe. Slash knows the deal as were all getting older but you can still blast the Rock loud! This is loud …don’t believe me….buy the damn thing! Real cool rock tempo,cool verses and real slick chorus!

ROCKET QUEEN- 17 minutes 4o secs of Rocket Queen! Yeah you read that right! You know what folks,i’m totally ok with Slash doing this as he kicks the song in the ass with a real long jam between at first him,Kerns and Fitz driving the bus. Slash keeps the mojo cooking with real cool slick lead fills and does not over due it and Kerns lays down some real cool bottom end and after a few minutes Frank joins the party and its a free for all jam! Myles gets a break and he should  as he’s  always giving it in the vocal department! Smart move by Slash instead of doing the obligatory 7 minute guitar solo which i would listen to not as much as the song Slash keeps the band moving forward. Thanks man for not doing guitar wanking 101! I salute you!

BENT TO FLY-is a great Rock track it starts off kinda moody but not to mopey and by the time we get to the chorus the song ramps up with power chords and macho swagger just letting me know that were not wimping out here but we’re actually ramping it up kids! Cool Slash and you know it’s him once the solo starts I mean the guy has classic written all over him! He ebbs and flows up the fretboard with relative ease and man what can Ya say! I was Bent To Fly!

STARLIGHT-i’m really surprised that Myles can sing this tune at the top of the vocal register without tossing out his lung! This is back to back(along with Bent To Fly) chill Slash! Good song and Slash can chill ,Slash can Rock and for that all is well at Arena Rock!

YOUR A LIE-love the power down slammer hammer of this tune and it comes across live! Great verses and chorus and thanks Slash for just flat out rock in the year of 2015! Thanks also for not sapping out!

WORLD ON FIRE-whoah I love this tune I really love it! This  kicks serious ass! This was Slashs first single from World On Fire! This song kicks ass the verse is sick good! Myles lays down super cool vocals and Kerns like he does all over this album provides grade A backing  vocals amazing that the dude who does the backing vocals is solid in his own right! Smart move Slash roping in Kerns! This song Smokes! Watch the video and see how it’s supposed to be done! FYI take Myles advice…just trip the wire!

ANASTASIA-Slash plays a real cool opening on acoustic and shifts to electric in a rock second and were off with cool time changes and once again more money shots in the chorus also love how in the middle section of the tune Slash hops back on his acoustic and before you know it he’s back to the electric ….bada bing bada boo!

SWEET CHILD OF MINE-Ummm what needs to be said about this tune that already hasn’t been said? Yeah that’s what I thought!

SLITHER-is the sleazy tune from Slashs Velvet Revolver Daze! I dig the opening of this tune as Kerns lays down some sleazy like bass action in synch with Fitzs drums and Myles introduces the band members and than they take it up a notch with Slither! Great all round rock tune!

PARADISE CITY-hey! What I said about Sweet Child also applys here!

IN CONCLUSION- if you haven’t figured it out by now I really dig this live opus by Slash and Dudes! These guys rock it up big time but keep themselves in check and that’s by playing the tunes and not letting ego dictate drum solos,guitar solos. Just  feed me 17 minutes of Rocket Queen and we all can go home happy!

Request Of Vinyl…Guns N Roses/Live At The Ritz

 

Special thanks to Mikey at mikeladano.com for sending me a copy of Live At The Ritz! (Fm Radio broadcast) All he asked for in return was to read my spin on it…..also folks this is my 100th post! Crazy that just this past August I started this blog with a push from Aaron,Mike and Rich and for everyone else who has been supportive at reading my stories,posting comments,following me on WordPress and Facebook ..for that…

Thanks!

Here it goes…

Some bands would self proclaim themselves as the Most Dangerous Band in the world,Ummm, when I would read stuff like that in magazines back in the day the first word I would think of was Poser! I mean c’mon man no one but no one is dangerous except for well ….

I would consider from the 70s Aerosmith as a dangerous band as you did not know what the hell was gonna gonna happen at a Aero show! Like would Steve Tyler pass out halfway thru the show,tumble off the stage or would Joe Perry impale at a moments notice his stratocaster into his Marshall stack! And fuck right off out of the building they were playing in!? Who knows but at least it may or may not happen and they walked that fine line of not knowing themselves! But I was too young to catch Aerosmith at there drug fuelled over the top off the rails heyday but one band that a lot of us do remember from our era is Guns N Roses circa 1988!

Live At The Ritz is one of the best unofficial live releases ever!  Recorded Feb 2 1988. This is early into Guns rise to the top of the World Charts later in the  80s! This is Gunners playing at a 1500 seater on the back of one record with the original dudes …Axl/Slash/Duff/Izzy and Steve before fame turned them into a self destructing corporate rock act by like say 1993 or maybe 1992 when Guns got a brass section a extra keyboardist and they lost that street rock cred in the matter of say a few years by 1992 when they went all Vegas like with there band! Even more goofy was all these other incarnations of Guns touring around that Axl has put together! Too bad I mean back about 12 years ago I had a hard time watching bootleg vids of Guns N Roses of a guy with a upside down KFC chicken bucket on his fuckin head(Buckethead was his name,great guitar player but…)

Anyways this Live At The Ritz was broadcast on Muchmusic on there Big Ticket concert broadcast and Yep my Vcr was a rolling and man I watched this thing over an over and Geezus Much had to edit this thing to the nines so when Axl dropped the F Bomb! Mr Muchmusic Sensor guy would push the Beep Button….beep,beep,beep It’s so Beep Easy,Beep,beep and more beep like Beep right off!

I could never understand why Gunners never released this? Perhaps MTV owned the original rights? Who knows? But whatever 26 years later and Mr Ladano has Hooked me up!

Drop your change and let’s climb aboard the Night Train….

ITS SO EASY- oh yeah man,you hear the crowd and now you hear Duffs bass and Axl and everyone else joins and Guns is wired, fried,playing and swerving all over the musical map and it’s only the first song! Axl gives Er with his deep voice and goes all crazy at the end! It does not get I repeat does not get better than this! This is live folks,Duffs bass cuts out towards the end of Its So Easy and its just Slash/Izzy and Steve trying to keep the train from derailing……

MR. BROWNSTONE-Steve lays down the drums and this dude could play before he was punted from the band less than two years later! Slash and Izzy are the guitar duo in action here and they are locked and literally loaded! Love the performance on this album. Best version I have ever heard….that Ol man he’s a really Motherfucker gonna kick him on down the line! Nuff said!

OUT TA GET ME- Axl tells us all don’t take  bull dung from anyone cuz everyone is Outta To Get Me! This is a straight ahead rocker! You have all heard it. Gunners have entered the saloon,have drank everything in site and have taken they’re party onto there bus! Thats Out Ta Get Me…..to Axl everyone is Out Ta get him and guess what,I’m not! Hahahaha…..

SWEET CHILD OF MINE- later by the summer of 1988 this song was everywhere! I mean this song launched em worldwide. I still remember being in Sears in the summer of 88 and as I walked by there TV display the Sweet Child vid was on so well I cranked the display TV as high as it would go and walked away! Gunners had crossed over into Sears…tell Axl that he would have punched me in the throat! This song as we all know has one of the greatest guitar solos of all time! Slash man what can Ya say! The dude smacked out on whatever vice it was still pulls it off man it’s just sick! Great version !

MY MICHELLE- love this tune on here! Slash and Izzy start off with some moody strumming and than bam the volume goes up 10 fold and here’s the drums and  cowbell,love Duffs chill out backing vocals and Axl( he’s wired to say the least on the video ) proclaiming that your daddy works in porno,now that mommies not around….hahahaha….think about this song for a sec. Here you have Guns In 1988 saying My Michelle is strung out,there’s no way out,doing coke for free,party til your connection calls basically the dregs of living on the seedier side of the tracks and than you have Poison in 1988 singing cheeseball anthems like Nuthin But A Good Time …end of story!

KNOCKIN ON HEAVENS DOOR-Axl tells the crowd that there pal Todd Crew died after dancing to close to Mr Brownstone so they dedicate this Bob Dylan cover and this live version is there best one as well I found the one on Use Your Illusions to slick and polished…like this song how it’s done here!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE-U know where u are?? Yeah it’s the Jungle and were all gonna die! Classic song this is Guns blazing forward and kicking everyone’s ass in site ! Dig the part where it breaks down (Axl chirps …And when your high..)and builds back up and oh yeah that other part where Steve nails the cowbell super quick and Slash and Izzy solo out……it’s all here folks wound tighter than a top!

NIGHTTRAIN- more cowbell please and Steve Adler smashes the drums. This  song is a corker of a track! Bottoms up get aboard the NIGHTTRAIN. Great song Slash just about takes it off the rails solo wise but pulls it in last minute! Considering how kamikazed out these guys were at the time what is more impressive is how much we still talk about em today!

PARADISE CITY- shit this tune was another huge single….this version at the Ritz Is just  crazy nuts good! Watch the vid posted! The last minute forty of the vid is classic!! Slash is rolling around on stage. Axl hops off the stage,people mob him,Axl apears back on stage, does a quick jewelry check of himself and continues his  sleazy snakey slithering moves while head bobbing! See that’s what I’m talkin about ! That’s Rock!

MAMA KIN- Aerosmith is covered by Guns! This tune the way Guns play it could’ve been like they wrote it! Later on that year (1988) Guns opened for Aero! Wonder what Axl and crew were doing when Tyler and his posse would launch into Angel?! Hahaha….yeah I know…..where’s My Michelle?!

ROCKET QUEEN- the ultimate Gunners track it’s all hear. 7 minutes of up and downs,slips and sides,tempo changes,Axl blowing out his voice and on this track Axl just disappearing for a verse! You gonna tell him to smarten up? Yeah that’s what I thought so !  Man oh man I wish I could have been at this  show!

IN CONCLUSION- this is LIVE in the truest sense of the word! It does not get any better than this! At the time of this recording hard rock bands were putting out polished pieces of recorded work! Sure some of it was pretty good but man some was bad but Guns comes along kicks us all in the heads  with there street level sound and bad ass imagery! Enjoy this recording and these songs posted. I’m serious when I tell ya’s that this is the real deal!

SONIC WAVES…Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators/World On Fire

Yah man I’m breaking protocol and reviewing sumthin new and probably well too new for me but it’s not too often that a new release can come out and basically kick me in the ass of awesomeness but World On Fire has done that man and it will possibly quite well be my número Uno 2014 fav release!

Slash and the boys have outdone themselves here. I mean when I seen it was 17 tracks deep I was like ah no way man maybe 10 keepers and 7 close calls but nope nada ….17 little cookers that prove to me in the year 2014 that guitar oriented rock is alive and well in Slashville.

Lets see what’s cooking under the top hat!

WORLD ON FIRE-The boys kick out the jams right out of the gate with the catchy lead off single. Myles Kennedy is without a doubt one of the best rock singers out there right now period. The dude holds his own and it helps that they have cranked up Todd Kerns on bass and backing vocals I mean why not Kerns fronted Age Of Electric and now he slings the 4 string for Slash and man how many bands can you say out there right now have two lead vocalists ? Yeah and that’s this band! Slash is riffing like crazy on this and on all others! Yeah if you choose to play the vid on your big screen,make sure the kids aren’t around ahem! Just don’t trip the wire!

SHADOW LIFE-starts off moody kinda chill like vibe and boom into gear and big Chrous and like I said Kerns and Kennedy a one two vocal punch to the gut. There not screwing around and man these guys are locked in by track two!

AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE-this band just punches the gas and roars. You know the deal your baby is Automatic and she’s in Overdrive. This songs just clocks in under 100 mph so you know it’s a rocker. Slash has totally stepped up with the playing on this album. Man, you want huge riffs this is the place for em!

WICKED STONE- man oh man this one reminds me for some reason of that big band Slash was in about 20 yrs ago. Slash puts this song on his back and carries it right thru. Also of mention again is the fact that Kennedy is a crafty lyricist and he delivers it vocally. Plus the fact that they got Kerns cranked up as well vocally is a smart move(dude can sing,don’t believe me check out Ugly from his old band Age Of Electric). This song just keeps the momentum going ! Holy crap still 14 more songs to go!

30 YEARS TO LIFE-Brent Fitz slams some serious drumming along with some killer cowbell on this road rocker. Actually this whole band is firing and now there on the run. 30 years in the clink. Well if your gonna get locked up Myles at least your going in style! Slash once again riffs and riffs but not to the point of overkill. Brent Fitz is kicking the crap out of his drums, man he’s good.

BENT TO FLY- whoa, Slash slams on the breaks and the boys kinda chill out on this one well until the big hooky Chrous with the big hooky voices. Even though it’s a little more slow paced. The boys keep it rocking in a different way I mean you can’t go 100 mph 24/7 anymore. Well maybe 85 mph24/7 actually I would be at roughly 33mph/24/7 you get the drill!

STONE BLIND- all right this one is a scorcher. The song starts off super chill with Kennedy just chillin and than boom The verse is so friggin catchy. This one just grabs ya and doesn’t let go! This song rocks from start to finish.

 

TOO FAR GONE- it’s all been decided your Too Far Gone sez Myles and the boys. Yep your right fellas this song reminds me once again of that ol band (GNR) but how could it not .Slash wrote some huge riffs back than. And he continues to do it to this day! More power to ya Slash!

BENEATH THE SAVAGE SUN- the beginning reminds me of ol school Aerosmith and that’s where the comparison ends. The band shifts into some different time signatures and Kerns drops down some cool low end bass in at as well. Kinda epic style Slash N Roll…

WITHERED DELILIAH- hey I think SMK&C may have a hit here. This song just rocks along and it will make a great single. This album courtesy of Brent Fitz has a bunch of cool percussive action going on this whole album!(COWBELL) Kudos to Slash for keeping this unit intact for a few years now and not some revolving musical door!

BATTLEGROUND-this is the close to 7 minute epic track…slow buildup and man it’s a diversion of the rock that so dominates this release. Cool that like I said earlier are many different musical moods and this is a moody piece….but in a cool kinda way!

DIRTY GIRL- song number 12 and Slash heads back to the Sunset Strip for some Dirty Girl!  Of course you knew this kind of song would be on here tucked neatly away and BAM here comes the Dirty Girl. Cool that dudes pushing 50 can still sing about sleaze and roll not be called out as creepy! YET!  Great song man….this will be on the radio for all ya ol farts!(myself included)

IRIS OF THE STORM-it’s always a buzz to get this deep into a album and you realize this is my favourite track! Oh wait yeah it is. Songs starts off slow and slowly picks up steam. Man this album is chock full of radio rock and this is one of em also. Dig Kennedy’s voice on this golden nugget of a tune!  The band is right in the pocket on this one!

AVALON-comes crashing out of the gate at rocket speed! SMK&C aren’t letting up man!  Good solid rock song that pushes almost like a Heavy Nine Lives Aero Feel at times….

THE DISSIDENT- starts of like a mono LP with someone going off about the objector well make that a F*%kin Objector and than Fitz and Slash kick off the festivities and man during the Chrous you get some whoas and double whoas and man this is now my favourite track currently. It’s so damn catchy you will cruise around your house singing it..u will man..u will!

SAFARI INN- just a cool little musical and hey were over a hour into this bad boy and ya gotta give the lead vocalist a break!

THE UNHOLY-ends the record with some more epic material kinda like along the lines of Battleground. It’s ok man,this song is a fitting end it build and build and it’s over!

IN CONCLUSION- To say this is a great rock record in the year 2014 would be a understatement! It for me is thee rock record of 2014! SMK&C take it to another level with this release. Solid songs,solid performances all around and solid production take a bow Michael Baskette! Like I said earlier it’s cool that Slash has kept this trio of guys with him for a few years now and it shows in spades the cohesiveness of this unit. Hundreds of shows played and well the boys bring it home! So basically set aside about  1 hour and 17 minutes and head out on a rock n roll journey!