Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - Living The Dream (2018) [CD Rip]

Snapping back from the sprawling 2014 set World on Fire, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators get down to business on Living the Dream, keeping their third album on the straight and narrow. That doesn't necessarily mean that they play it clean, though. Living the Dream is filled with dirty riffs and overdriven amps, which is expected from Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, yet underneath that noisy surface, they focus on songs, delivering 12 tight tracks that coalesce into a tight album. Apart from a couple of feints toward funky rhythms, most notably on "Slow Grind," Living the Dream doesn't deliver much in the way of surprises, but given how Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators often seemed diffuse on their earliest records, this concision and focus is welcome: this is the sound of a working band locking in on their groove. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine