Eagle Rock/Armoury’s release of Slash’s Made in Stoke, 24/7/11 can be seen as quite a success. All you have to do is listen to it. The household name guitarist brings his A-game to this live show and the dynamic hard rock singer Myles Kennedy makes it sound even better by fronting the band at large.

I am always reluctant to listen to anyone other than Axl Rose sing classic GnR songs. However, Myles Kennedy excels on singing all the GnR gems. Take “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” for instance. I was taken aback by how well Kennedy handled it — no small task. Many fans — including myself — have given this song to Axl, forever. Until you hear a pro like Kennedy sing it. He employs a similar style with such effectiveness. And you want to listen to it again and again. That says a lot. And the same can be said for other GnR staples — “Mr. Brownstone,” “Paradise City” — Kennedy is really able to stand proud.

Slash has always maintained that Myles Kennedy can sing anything, any style or genre. His true gift still seems to be singing heavy blues (if only the Led Zeppelin “thing” worked out!). Listen to songs like “Beggars & Hangers On” (off the Slash’s Snakepit album It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere) on this disc — they ooze with such a huge energetic blues feel.

Slash, of course, is really wonderful to listen to, the whole way through this live show. Slash plays GnR classics with such solid authority that some will want to plead for an original member reunion. Axl Rose can get a dozen more guitarists to play with his “solo project” of Guns N Roses but not one can fit the bill like Slash. That’s a fact. It only makes the case that Axl needs Slash more than the other way around.

As a GNR/Slash fan this is a must not a bust. But if you are going to pick this up make sure you invest a little more and get the ‘special edition’ which has a live DVD. Even though only five songs are included on the DVD (and they are not GnR songs) it is a great compliment to the full live audio. The band has a great stage presence and the Slash songs shine even brighter. And then there is an added interview with the Slashman as well.