Scotland’s top music festival is set to take place between July 8-10 next year. A limited number of advance tickets for the festival go on sale this Friday (December 3) from www.aloud.com.

Biffy Clyro will support at both shows with Death Cab For Cutie on the bill for July 2 and Jimmy Eat World are set to play on July 3.

Words by Michael Dickinson

Here it is. The album that fans of the man in the hat with the axe have been waiting for. When Slash’s laid-back autobiography crept on to our bookshelves back in 2007 it announced with no small modesty that there would soon come an opus featuring many of his iconic friends. While Slash’s work has always got me giddy as a school girl, from Guns N’ Roses to Velvet Revolver, I have always had a fondness for his collaborative efforts. ‘Give in to Me’ with Michael Jackson is probably one his best, most underrated songs. ‘I Ain’t No Nice Guy’, a Motorhead song which he appeared on with Ozzy is one of Lemmy’s most considered and cruelly overlooked.

However when I heard that this crazy idea was finally being released I was unsure. Slash is an old-style guitar virtuoso playing in an age where the solo’s have been replaced with breakdowns. In the past guitarist/non-singers like Jeff Beck have released albums with a whole cast list of singers and the results have been pretty meh. Looking at the list of names on show here I became quite worried (Fergie? Adam Levine?) Was this album going to become a case of a man guy who’s trying to keep up to date with what all those crazy kids in the discos listen to. Damn the kids I say! Let’s do this.

Ghost (featuring. Ian Astbury)

As the lead singer of ‘The Cult’ Astbury and Slash go way back as it was The Cult who first took GN’R out on the road with them. Astbury’s voice sounds more ravaged than it used to but it still sounds great. A catchy backing riff and chorus are the main things to remember about the song. It’s not a great opener to be fair. It has everything you’d expect. Slash noodles away in the background before going off on one whilst the rest of the band sit back and let him do his thing.

Crucify the Dead (featuring. Ozzy Osbourne)

These two men have had a good history so I was looking forward to this track. The track starts off nice and slow harking back to “I Ain’t No Nice Guy”, Ozzy is Ozzy and Slash’s solo is less bombastic and more soulful this time. But it’s not coming to get for me. This just sounds like an average track you would find on an Ozzy album, not the nut shattering collabo I was expecting. It’s a slower paced track than ‘Ghost’ but maybe they should have just gone for it instead.

Beautiful Dangerous (featuring. Fergie)

After two “all right” but not great songs we get to the one with Fergie. Oh dear.

Hang about this song isn’t half bad. In fact it’s really good. Starting off with a dirty little riff, Fergie shows off her rock skills. This is easily one of the best things I’ve ever heard her sing. This is also the first song where Slash really complements the singer rather than just standing around hammering away with no real regard to the songs melody. This sounds as though it’s been crafted to get heads nodding and feet on the dance floor but it doesn’t come across as cheap or radio friendly.

Back From Cali (featuring. Myles Kennedy)

The first track on the album for Kennedy, who will be taking vocals for the entire project when it tours this summer. Back From Cali is the first track that sounds like it could have been written specifically for Velvet Revolver (even though ‘Ghost’ WAS actually written for them). Kennedy has great range and there is nothing wrong with the song, but like the earlier tracks lacks that edge.

Promise (featuring. Chris Cornell)

Slash’s little flourishes are also starting to come together nicely, driving the song rather than interrupting them. The track has a good epic feel to it. Cornell’s voice seems to get smokier and heavier as he gets older (hopefully at some point he will sound like Al Pacino) but by gum can he hit those notes.

By the Sword (featuring. Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother)

Ah, one of Slash’s new friends. I’m personally still unconvinced by Wolfmother but Stockdale really impresses here. The opening guitar work brought up the image of a desert town from any number of Italian westerns and the raspy vocals strengthen the image further. I have to say there are times when Stockdale sounds not too dissimilar to *whisper* Axel Rose. Slash then caps it off with a suitably mammoth solo.

Gotten (featuring Adam Levine)

Starts of nicely with some of Slash’s more laid back playing but as soon as Levine kicks in I felt like I was listening to a Maroon 5 song. Although the more the track progresses the more his voice seems a good fit. Slash has molded the song to suit the singers style and for the first time on the album throws some strings in for good measure. Rather than making the song more twee though it lifts it in a lovely way.

Doctor Alibi (featuring. Lemmy Kilmister)

Ha-ha. From Levine to Lemmy in seconds, one of the reasons this album deserves respect. Instantly this is a different affair. This is a Motorhead song in all but name. The lyrics are virtually autobiographical from Lemmy, telling a doctor that he isn’t about to let the notion of death get in the way of his good time. Slash really lets rip here too. If you love Motorhead this could be your favourite, if not it may be a bit boring.

Watch This (featuring. Dave Grohl and Duff McKagan)

Here’s the song I couldn’t wait to here when I first heard about it. And I’m very happy that it is as awesome as I hoped. Switching between an A-Class jam session and chilled out noodle, it’s never anything but compelling. Slash really shows off why he’s one of the best, playing some of his very best stuff. Grohl reminds us yet again that he is an awesome drummer and McKagan is always welcome on my stereo, the dude can play.

I Hold On (featuring. Kid Rock)

Not a huge Kid Rock fan. But this song has a classic, hair rock sound to it, I could have been listening to Kansas or Lynrd Skynrd. Everything from the lyrics to the gospel singers cries out retro. But once again it works nicely.

Nothing to Say (featuring. M.Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold)

As the track gets going you could mistake it for an Iron Maiden ditty. Musically Slash seems to be channeling the metal Gods. Saying that though this also sounds like one of the freshest offerings on the album and Slash uses that opportunity to switch up his style a bit which is nice of him. M. Shadows voice works perfectly with the sound.

Starlight (featuring. Myles Kennedy)

I’ve been trying to hold it back but this song does sound like it could have come off ‘Use Your Illusion’. Good thing for me that I like it. This is a close as the album has got to a ballad but Kennedy’s voice is so likable and the chorus so singable that it could become your guilty pleasure of the album. For it has mine.

Saint is a Sinner Too (featuring. Rocco DeLuca)

I know nothing of DeLuca but after this track I will be investigating him further. I always enjoy tracks that bring up religious imagery about death and the devil. I don’t know why I think it makes thinks “cool”. Musically the song sees Slash at his most reserved, sounding the whole way through like the closing bars of GN’Rs ‘Double Talking Jive’.

We’re All Gonne Die (featuring. Iggy Pop)

Although lyrically and musically this is one of the simplest songs on the album Iggy makes it work. He’s a man who’s always had the great ability to take something average and inject it with the attitude that only he posses.

Bonus Track

Baby Can’t Drive (featuring. Alice Cooper and Nicole Scherzinger)

You can kind of see why this was only included as a bonus track. Cooper and Scherzinger have great synergy and Slash brings out his 80s style play for a track that feels very retro.

I really appreciate it if you’ve made it this far, so I’ll be brief. This album could have sucked something rotten. But Slash has managed to keep true to his style and brings some new flavours in without sounding like he’s pandering to new trends. It’s a surprise that it is the newer names who shine whilst some of the icons fizzle out somewhat. That being said I would seriously recommend picking this up

Slash, the iconic musician consistently referenced as one of the best living guitarists, has landed on the top of the charts with his first true solo album, SLASH. After huge performances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Lopez Tonight,” and “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and rave reviews from People Magazine and Reuters, the guitarist has officially secured his place at the top of the rock charts with his remarkable ranks as #1 Rock Album and #3 overall on Billboard’s coveted Top 200 charts.

Released in the US on Slash’s own Dik Hayd label, the album debuted as one of the highest-charting self-released albums ever, and the highest debut of the week. Slash partnered with Los Angeles-based management firm, The Collective, who handled the marketing & promotion campaign for the album. By creating a series of ground-breaking strategic partnerships that targeted fans directly through non-traditional retail outlets and digital partnerships, coupled with an EMI distribution deal to traditional retail outlets, the album entered the Billboard Top 200 charts this week at #3 (#1 on the Rock Chart, #1 on the Independent Chart & #1 on the Hard Music Chart). The album also became the #1 overall digital album and #1 on iTunes in 13 countries. Internationally, The Collective created licensing deals in each territory, which delivered similar success, including Top 5 chart positions in more than a dozen major countries and #1’s in Japan & New Zealand.

“This whole thing started out as a wish list of artists to collaborate with and it ended up being a dream come true,” said Slash. “I got to create and collaborate with people I wanted to work with and it turned into a chart topping album. I really couldn’t have dreamed of a better situation. Everyone on the album is beyond talented, they all brought their best game to the table, and we really just had a lot of fun making these songs.”

The album features an all-star roster of guest musicians including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother.

Since emerging into the frontline of iconic rockers with the late-‘80s surge of Guns N’ Roses, though, Slash has usually been on the other end of the phone calls when people are looking for someone to add a special touch to recordings. From Michael Jackson (“Black and White,” “Give In to Me”) to Ray Charles to Stevie Wonder directors Quentin Tarantino and Darren Aronofsky (core contributions to the soundtrack of “Jackie Brown” and the signature sound of the score to “The Wrestler”), the top figures in modern music and popular culture demanded the definitive rock guitarist of a generation, the man whose figures on “Sweet Child O’ Mine” has battled Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” in fan polls for the top rock riff ever, who himself was named in a Time Magazine survey second only to Hendrix among electric guitarists.

Slash enlisted services of producing partner Eric Valentine (Queens of Stone Age, The All-American Rejects) and compiled a rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and drummer Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and hand-picked each guest artist. The album’s guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the songs.

Slash will further promote his album when he kicks off a world tour this summer. Cities and dates to be announced shortly. Check www.slashonline.com for updates.

The SLASH album is produced by Dik Hayd Records, LLC and released through EMI Label Services.

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SLASH BACKGROUND
Slash is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time. He has received countless accolades and awards including a 2007 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside his idols Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. An original member of iconic rock band Guns N’ Roses, Slash helped the band create signature sounds like the guitar riff of #1 hit “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” The band dominated the 1980’s and 90’s music scene selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and ushered in a decade of hard charging rock music. After the band’s break-up, Slash went on to critical acclaim in his personal project Slash’s Snakepit, and global success with supergroup Velvet Revolver. He has been widely sought after by the biggest musicians of all time, performing with everyone from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Ray Charles. Slash is one of the marquee playable characters in Guitar Hero III, has two signature Gibson guitars in his name, and authored his own top-selling biography Slash in 2007.
Track listing
1. Ghost (Ian Astbury)

2. Crucify The Dead (Ozzy Ozbourne)

3. Beautiful Dangerous (Fergie)

4. Back From Cali (Myles Kennedy)

5. Promise (Chris Cornell)

6. By The Sword (Andrew Stockdale)

7. Gotten (Adam Levine)

8. Doctor Alibi (Lemmy Kilmister)

9. Watch This (Dave Grohl/Duff McKagan)

10. I Hold On (Kid Rock)

11. Nothing To Say (M Shadows)

12. Starlight (Myles Kennedy)

13. Saint Is A Sinner Too (Rocco De Luca)

14. We’re All Gonna Die (Iggy Pop)

Words by Brendan Monteiro

What else is there really to say about probably one of the most legendary shows the Reading Festival has ever brought us. Back in 92 I was just stumbling across Nirvana and had never heard of the Reading Festival but as I have grown so too has my desire to have been present at that show. The feedback from the press back in the day was utterly immense and it was said to be one of those shows that you should lie about being there.

So fast forward to modern day and finally the 1992 date has been brought back to life in this never before seen DVD with remastered work from the original takes. In a way I found it a little sad watching Kurt rummage through greats like Sliver, In Bloom and my all time favourite Love Buzz (which unfortunately is not on the CD version). The reason that makes it so sad is on the frightful day back on April 4th 1994 the rock world lost one of it’s greatest assets it has ever had. His stage persona was at times a little confusing to the public but looking back through their monstrous 25 song set a lot of respect has to be given to him, he really was a truly gifted talent.

The quality will never be the same as modern day hollywood so don’t let that disappoint you when watching, there is just something for me in that old vintage styled film that makes the whole experience more real, and I think that if it somehow came out in full HD it would lose the organic feel and maybe have people questioning if this iconic show was just another moon landing filmed in a basement. The audio is great, this is not the only live recording of Nirvana that I have had the pleasure of seeing and it is by far the most enthralling sonically. Another great thing about this live performance is how Nirvana let their mistakes really shine through, they weren’t trying to deliver something polished and generic, what they do is authentic and shows the viewer what music is all about and that is having fun. Some people might get aggravated and blame Kurt’s drug misuse but I think it was just the style in which he played, whether intoxicated or not. I don’t want to give to much away about the performance because I hate it when somebody tells 75% percent of a story and then you watch it and it’s seems rather pointless as they could of just dropped in the last 25% and saved you the time. What I will give away is my favourite part of the DVD even though it may sound a little cliche, the chords to Boston’s More Than A Feeling echo out into the cold night followed by Krist Novaselice’s rather off key singing, Kurt then changes it into Smells Like A Teen Spirt and the effect is just absolutely bloody phenomenal. Kurt literally played until his fingers bled (in the final scenes if you look closely you can see blood in Kurt’s scratch board) and the show ends with the stage in ruins typical of the band. But I could of told you all of this way before the DVD came out, because I was there myself (I wish).

Strangely some lucky guy is handed Kurt’s guitar personally to him in one piece once the stage destruction comes to an end, can you imagine getting that at a show?

While the show’s centerpiece was a performance of nearly the entire Nevermind tracklist, also noteworthy were early performances of three as yet unrecorded songs which wouldn’t be released until two years later on – In Utero’s All Apologies, Dumb and in its first ever public performance, tourette’s. The career-spanning setlist also reached back to the band’s 1989 Sub Pop debut album, Bleach, for Blew, About A Girl, School, Negative Creep and first single Love Buzz and even further back to the mid-‘80s for Spank Thru. Other songs from the Reading set would appear in studio form on the Incesticide compilation later in the year: Aneurysm, Been A Son and Sliver. Additionally, the band played a pair of beloved covers by two bands that helped shape the formative Nirvana sound – The Money Will Roll Right In by Fang and D-7 by The Wipers.

“Nirvana headlining at Reading in 1992 was something you had to see, and if you didn’t see it then it was something you pretended you saw.” –Kerrang (October 2003)

“The staggering energy and intensity radiating from the stage never let up… Cobain’s ravaged pop songs coming off like some dream marriage of the Sex Pistols and the Beatles, borne on bracing waves of distorted guitar noise.” –Rolling Stone (October 29, 1992)

Only 2 of the 25 performances on the DVD have ever been released before.

Nirvana Live At Reading DVD:

1. Breed
2. Drain You
3. Aneurysm
4. School
5. Sliver
6. In Bloom
7. Come As You Are
8. Lithium
9. About A Girl
10. tourette’s
11. Polly
12. Lounge Act
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit
14. On A Plain
15. Negative Creep
16. Been A Son
17. All Apologies
18. Blew
19. Dumb
20. Stay Away
21. Spank Thru
22. Love Buzz*
23. The Money Will Roll Right In
24. D-7
25. Territorial Pissings

*not included on CD

The honored attendees were treated not only to a parade of FF favorites, but also witnessed the first ever live performance of the brand new song “Wheels.” The studio version of “Wheels” will be one of two new tracks the band has recorded with producer Butch Vig specifically for an as yet untitled collection due out this November.

The new tracks–all recorded by Foo Fighters core foursome Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett this year at Foo Fighters’ own 606 studio complex–hold their ground and then some alongside classics from the band’s six platinum-plus, multiple Grammy-
winning studio albums, including individual Grammy recipients “The Pretender,” “All My Life” and “Learn To Fly.” Perennial FF staples–”My Hero,” “Times Like These,” “Best Of You” and more–provide an overview of the band’s 15 year and counting career, while the two new tracks hint at even greater heights to be scaled in the future of this quintessential American rock band.