SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SLASH – LIVE AT THE S.E.R.P.E.N.T. FESTIVAL

SLASH
LIVE AT THE S.E.R.P.E.N.T. FESTIVAL
EARMUSIC

Last year saw the release of Slash’s highly collaborative studio album, Orgy of The Damned, which was a record of covers featuring Gary Clark Jr. Billy F Gibbons, Demi Lovato, and Iggy Pop, among many more. It was followed by the subsequent S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival tour, which featured a rotating lineup of veteran and up and coming blues artists. Now, Slash has returned with Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival. Backed by the Blues Ball Band, including Tash Neal on vocals and guitar, Michael Jerome on drums, Johnny Griparic on bass, and Teddy ‘ZigZag’ Andreadis on keys, the live album offers a different performance style, serving as a fantastic reminder that, underneath all the riffs and solos, Slash is a bluesman through and through.

Opening on an explosive note, Slash and company open Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival with Bukka White’s “Parchman Farm Blues.” Immediately, Neal’s burly vocals evoke the bombast and devil-may-care attitude of blues singers long gone while backed by the full power of the Blues Ball Band. It goes without saying that Slash remains an impressive force, commanding attention as he ebbs and flows between rhythm and lead parts seamlessly. This is continued on “Killing Floor” and “Born Under A Bad Sign” before he truly cuts loose on Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.” By this point, the band is warmed up, performing incredibly tight, and Slash rips a pair of stellar solos.

Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival is primarily comprised of the blues covers and the sole original, “Metal Chestnut”, that were recorded on Orgy of the Damned as Slash and The Blues Ball Band perform ten of the twelve album cuts. The remaining five songs on his latest live album see Slash dig deep into the blues lexicon, including renditions of Freddie King’s “Big Legged Woman,” and Elmore James’ “Shake Your Money Maker.” In traditional blues fashion, much of the record is benefited by expanded arrangements that allow for Slash and the band to stretch out through extended solo sections as perhaps best heard on “The Pusher” and a near 10-min jam on “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.” This is especially notable on a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Stone Free.” While Slash shines, naturally, throughout the record, clocking in at over 11 minutes, this cover is something special.

Much like Orgy Of The Damned, Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival is a love letter to the blues. Between both records, every element demonstrates a great level of intention, from the curation behind the tracklisting to the exceptional performance that feels both traditional and modern, ultimately denoting the continued relevance of the blues. Slash sounds reinvigorated in this new chapter of his career as he breathes a new sense of life into this classic, and absolutely necessary, chapter of the American songbook.

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