This section covers what is happening with Ain't Life Grand - the
singles, the videos and so on. The album has 12 basic tracks. The Australian
release has one bonus track while the Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese
releases have two. Here is the list of tracks on Ain't Life Grand
using the Japanese release as the example since it is one with two bonus
tracks (click to hear a clip from the album..all clips are authorized by
SLASH):
Track List - Ain't Life Grand - Japanese Release
1. Been There Lately
2. Just Like Anything
3. Shine
4. Mean Bone
5. Back to the Moment
6. Life's Sweet Drug
7. Serial Killer
8. The Truth
9. Landslide
10. Ain't Life Grand
11. Speed Parade
12. The Alien
13. Rusted Heroes (Bonus Track)
14. Something About Your Love (Bonus Track)
2/7/2001 - "Mean Bone" will be
the second single off the album. Already promo copies have been mailed
to radio stations. The video for "Mean Bone" will premier on
Friday, Feb. 16, on VH-1's Rock Show. The video will be in
rotation there as long as there are requests for it!
11/15/2000 - In November Koch records announced
that the Australian release would be nearly the last one to come out.
The good news is the Aussies got something special. Their release consists
of the 12 regular tracks and one bonus track. They join the Japanese in
having "Something About Your Love" on their release. This one belongs
in every SLASH and Snakepit collection. The Aussie release tends to be
about $6 US more as an import than the Japan was. Both should be readily
available at music dealers on the net.
10/08/2000 - The Japanese release of Ain't Life Grand
has been out since September 26. Reports are that it is readily available
in Europe, too. US fans will need to order the album from Japan or Europe
until US distributors get it in. The Japanese album has two bonus tracks:
"Rusted Heroes" and "Something About Your Love". Inside are the regular
CD booklet and another with all the lyrics (in Japanese and English). And
there's a sticker with a picture of SLASH and the album name. The catalog
number is VICP-61160.
This one is definitely worth getting, too.
Track List - Ain't Life Grand - Japanese Release
1. Been There Lately
2. Just Like Anything
3. Shine
4. Mean Bone
5. Back to the Moment
6. Life's Sweet Drug
7. Serial Killer
8. The Truth
9. Landslide
10. Ain't Life Grand
11. Speed Parade
12. The Alien
13. Rusted Heroes (Bonus Track)
14. Something About Your Love (Bonus Track)
10-03-2000 - SLASH gave permission for "Just Like Anything"
to appear here. It is a clip of the track, but you'll hear SLASH loud
and clear. As you know, "Been There Lately" is the first single off the
album. However, it may only be a promotional song and never released
to the record stores. The Japanese version of the album is out now and
can be ordered through Japanese cd stores on the web.
The first single off the new album is
"Been There Lately" which is just a super, rocking choice. Promotional
materials are appearing for the big media blitz very soon now. Call your
radio station and request Snakepit's "Been There Lately", and if they
need a single, let us know! We'll get one to them. Fans will soon see
the Snakepit van at the shows with listening posts where they can hear
the music and pick up free stickers and posters! Ain't Life Grand
is now available for preorders on all the big cd merchant sites on the
web at about $14. The Japanese album will be out Sept. 21 and will have
two bonus tracks, "Rusted Heroes" and "Something About Your Love". The
import price on this album is $40. If you want those tracks, that's the
only way to get them right now.
SLASH has given his permission to us to put a clip of "Been There Lately"
on this page. The song clocks at 4:00 while the clip is 3:06 with the
second verse excised. It's great! Check it out:
09/04/2000: Ain't Life Grand is now due out in the
US on October 10, 2000. SLASH says that some countries may have different
release dates. Japan will most likely be the first release at the end
of September. Their CDs will contain extra track(s). Net music stores
are taking pre-orders at about $40 per cd for the import. SLASH says there
will be a single coming out around September 26. He says there are about
four singles on the album. The first will be "Been There Lately", and
there should be a video right around then, too.
08/11/2000:
SLASH's Snakepit is the opening band for AC/DC on the North American
leg of their tour. The tour extends from August 1 to September 20 and
will hit cities around the US and four in Canada. When the tour ends,
AC/DC will move on to Europe, and the 'pit will be home for a couple
of weeks getting their own tour in order. They will be going to Japan,
Europe, possibly South America. They will return to do a tour of the
US and Canada. SLASH says they will play the biggest venues they can
fill.
7/1/00: SLASH has signed a
recording contract with Koch Records. Koch has a domestic and an
international branch with SLASH, of course, signing with the domestic
group. Koch is located in Manhattan in New York City. SLASH enjoys
visiting New York, so he's happy with their location. SLASH had promised
he would know a release date when he signed. Although a number of sites
on the net are saying Sept. 26 for the release of Ain't Life Grand,
SLASH said the official date is not yet set. This should happen very soon.
The world tour may begin with SLASH's Snakepit opening for AC/DC on the
North American leg of their tour. Again, this is not finalized but should
be soon. SLASH is happy to do these shows if AC/DC chooses to invite them
along as opening act.
5/31/00:SLASH left Interscope/Geffen
when he finished Ain't Life Grand. He wanted a record company
more capable of promoting a rock album. Interscope/Geffen are more
hip hop oriented at this time. SLASH had discussions with several labels
and has settled on one. He is in the process of negotiating a contract
with that label now. The record company name has yet to be made public
since negotiations are ongoing. When SLASH signs a contract, Ain't Life
Grand can be released. The recording, mixing, mastering are complete
as is the artwork. It would still need to be manufactured and distributed
as well as promoted.
SLASH at one point said he still intended to do a one month promo
tour in support of the album. Whether this will still be done is not
announced at this time. Certainly the world tour is still on. No exact
dates or venues are announced. SLASH recently said he would take Snakepit
to Japan first and possible other countries in that area (such as Korea,
Australia). Then the tour would move on to Europe. He has mentioned to
fans that he will be coming to the UK and Italy. Other countries are on
the list, of course. At that point, there have been no further announcements,
but the US expects a visit and so does South America!
Thats's all the news at the end of May. We will keep this updated when we
receive additional information.
1/29/00: At this time, the new album is recorded, mixed and mastered.
The recording was done at SLASH's home studio, Snakepit. Jack Douglas
produced the album. SLASH took Ain't Life Grand to New York City
for the mixing and mastering. At this point, the album had 16 tracks
which were chosen from the band
from about 30 that they recorded. 16 was reduced to 14. It's
not clear if all 14 will be on the new album or not.
The album will be released by Geffen/Interscope. Original release dates
were given as February. Those dates slipped to early March, and they
are still under discussion. SLASH wants to do a promotional tour and
a world tour and has very definite ideas on what he wants done for
promotion. He is meeting with the record label at this time to reach
an agreement on what will be done. When these details are resolved, a
definite release date will be named. At this time, although the album is
complete, the date is just not set.
Ain't Life Grand will most likely be released in Japan first.
This may be as little as a week early. It's definite that the Japanese
release will have a bonus (extra) track. The Japanese release and date
are marketing decisions by Interscope/Geffen.
If you saw the band during the pre-album tour, you may be familiar with
some of the new songs. You can find some tracks in the Video Section of
the SLASH page. There are some audio clips in this section (exit and
go to Pre-Album Tour). There is a tentative list of tracks out. This
is not a finalized list but is probably close to what will come out.
These tracks are:
Been There Lately
Anything
Shine (most likely first single and video)
One Mean Bone
Break You
The Truth
Landslide
Ain't Life Grand
Speed Parade
Serial Killer
Something About Your Love
The Alien
Bleed
What Kind of Life
This is up to date as of the end of January. As things move forward,
this section will be updated.
