Anyone who doesn’t know Gibson as a guitar maker, will get to discover them as a documentary producer with the Making of 4, available to freely view on YouTube (and also Slash’s latest album Orgy of the Damned). The Gibson Films label is official, and while this work is no different from the other videos on this streaming channel, what’s offered shows higher production values and even bigger names getting involved in this venture. Some of my favourite musicians use Gibson guitars, and their signature sound really makes a different. From the classic years, I’d say Chuck Berry helped make this instrument iconic. And as a Blues music aficionado, I have to mention that Robert Johnson’s most famous photo sees him holding an L-1 Acoustic.
This feature length work takes viewers into a look back at how Slash put together his band, why he continues touring, and what Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators (SMKC) feel while on stage with this legend. I’d say he’s the face of Gibson back when GnR was still together. After parting ways with this band (and returning), he formed other groups to collaborate with to keep on rocking. After working with this particular crew for over a decade across four albums, we see what they’ve been up to during the pandemic years. These recordings (edited to music video standard) represent their best tracks! Although I wanted to know more about Myles and the group, what’s presented is a fair balance between them and who Slash is before taking up the guitar.
Simply titled, “4,” this effort topped the charts when it was released in 2022. It was recorded during the pandemic, and to get it done sounds amazing in itself. What’s revealed in this documentary mentions the hurdles, especially when one of them even got the dreaded COVID-19 virus.
My favourite track includes “Actions” with its hard rock country vibe, and “Fall Back to Earth,” where the high squealing melodies are cosmic! Although this work is more than a love letter to the man, it’s still a good watch to cement why he’s still a rock icon.
And with his latest album Orgy of the Damned available to listen to (for free on YouTube), I’m rocking to an even new take of the song, “Crossroads!” It is a faster song, with overdriven riffs and while it’s tough for me to say which cover is the best, my love will always remain with the original.
Other tracks include a the very snake like “Oh Well” with Chris Stapleton singing the tracks and the Motown driven funkadelic “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” with Demi Lovato. And I just feel like I’m at the juke joints with Beth Hart singing “Stormy Monday.” These covers just feel right, and honestly after listening to this album, I feel ready to pull that guitar out of my closet just to jam along too.
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