4 (Slash album) explained

4
Type:studio
Artist:Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators
Cover:Slash-4-album.jpeg
Alt:Cover art for the Slash album 4
Studio:RCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee)
Length:43:35
Label:Gibson
Producer:Dave Cobb
Chronology:Slash
Prev Title:Living the Dream Tour
Prev Year:2019
Next Title:Orgy of the Damned
Next Year:2024

4 is the fourth studio album by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, and Slash's fifth solo album overall. It was released on February 11, 2022, as the first album from the new Gibson Records label.[1] The album was produced by country producer Dave Cobb in Nashville.[2] The album was announced on October 20, 2021, with the release of the first track "The River Is Rising" as a single.

Background

Though Slash reunited with Guns N' Roses in 2016, he has still continued with his solo work, this being the second studio album release in that time period. Writing for the album started during the 2018-19 Living the Dream Tour.[3] Slash stated of the album, "There's two or three songs on the record that were written during the pandemic; everything else was written before".[2]

Looking to record the album in a different style than previously, the band travelled to Nashville to record at RCA Studio A with Dave Cobb.[2] Cobb shared the band's vision of recording the tracks live together, a tactic they had not employed on the previous albums. Slash noted that "we did it more or less live, and the mistakes are all in there. It's the sound of the five of us just jamming together in one room."[4]

The band faced the complications of COVID-19 not only in a delay of getting together to record the album, but also with the recording itself. Myles Kennedy was the first of several band members to contract the virus. He points out that you can hear his congestion on the opening track but states that these anomalies make the album interesting because "We just let those imperfections lay."[4]

Personnel

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

Charts

Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 11
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[6] 61
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[7] 20

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Slash Announces New Album '4': See Release Date, Track Listing . Ultimate Classic Rock . October 22, 2021 . 24 October 2021.
  2. Legaspi . Althea . Guns N' Roses Are Fully Back — But Slash Can't Quit His Solo Career . . 24 October 2021 . 22 October 2021.
  3. Web site: SLASH Teases New Album: It's 'Probably The Best One We've Done So Far' . Blabbermouth . 24 October 2021 . 4 October 2021.
  4. Web site: Schaffner . Lauryn . Slash Drops New Song 'The River Is Rising,' Announces New Album . Loudwire . October 22, 2021 . 24 October 2021.
  5. Web site: Albumit 7/2022. Musiikkituottajat. fi. February 20, 2022.
  6. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums [2022/06/29 公開]]. Billboard Japan. ja. June 29, 2022.
  7. Web site: NZ Top 40 Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. March 14, 2022. March 12, 2022.