Album Review: Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, 4

Ten years on from the debut of this supergroup, on 4, fret wizard Slash proves he still has plenty of tricks left up his sleeve (or under his familiar top hat). Keen to put a fresh spin on their classic rock sound, Slash and co decamped to Nashville and roped in country producer Dave Cobb. Long-time GNR fans shouldn’t be too alarmed, though; Slash hasn’t swapped his Gibson for a pedal steel. In fact, Cobb’s production turns everything up to ‘11’, and the band kick out the jams, warts and all.

Album opener (and highlight) ‘The River Is Rising’ will be a live favourite, thanks to a stomping, Motörhead-style outro, steeped in Lemmy and Phil Taylor-isms. Elsewhere, ‘April Fool’ impresses thanks to a frankly filthy riff, while ballad ‘Fill My World’ is a proper show-stopper. But not everything on 4 impresses, with ‘C’est La Vie’ and ‘Spirit Love’ sounding formulaic. The bombastic ‘Fall Back To Earth’ ends proceedings in style, tipping a cap to GNR’s more unhinged moments on Use Your Illusion II. Interesting.