[dorio]

submission courtesy of metallicac/dc


Band: Velvet Revolver
Album: Contraband




Release Date: June 8, 2004

Band Members:
Scott Weiland - vocals
Slash - lead guitar
Dave Kushner - rhythm guitar
Duff McKagen - bass
Matt Sorum - drums

Tracklist:
1. Sucker Train Blues
2. Do It for the Kids
3. Big Machine
4. Ilegal I Song
5. Spectacle
6. Fall to Pieces
7. Headspace
8. Superhuman
9. Set Me Free
10. You Got No Right
11. Slither
12. Dirty Little Thing
13. Loving the Alien

Just about everyone knows who Velvet Revolver is; rock super-group of the year with hits like "Set Me Free", "Slither", "Fall to Pieces" and the new single "Dirty Little Thing". Made up of the voice of Stone Temple Pilots, the bass, guitar, and former drummer of Guns N Roses/The Cult, and former guitarist of Wasted Youth, you can't go wrong. So one day I heard Set Me Free and I really liked it (first single on the Hulk soundtrack) then Slither came out. "Wow" was the first I said when I heard it. Everything was great about it; awesome riff, catchy chorus, amazing solo. So the day Contraband came out, I went straight to the record store and bought it (and you should too). When I first heard it, I didn't like it that much. But the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. Now I'll review my favorite songs from the album.

Sucker Train Blues - Starts (and ends) with a simple bass riff then breaks into one of the most rockin songs on the album. The whole song is a rocker with some strange lyrics like "Somebody raped my tapeworm abortion, come on motherf***ers and deliver the cow". Chorus has a nice melody, but the lyrics to it are actually quite dumb. Overall one of the best songs on the album.

Do It for the Kids - After Scott says "Went too fast I'm out of luck and I don't even give a f***", Slash and Dave play a rockin riff. Like "Sucker Train" the chorus is good yet the lyrics are dumb.

Big Machine - I never liked this song, but now I really like it for some reason. The chorus is great and tells about the life of a rock star (drugs, hardships etc).

Fall to Pieces - The ballad single from the album. This song reminds me a lot of Guns N Roses "Sweet Child-O-Mine" because of the tpye of song it is and the lick Slash plays after the chorus. Then after the slow bridge comes one of Slash's best slow/melodic solos he's ever done.

Superhuman - Starts with Slash's best lick since "Sweet Child" then goes into a heavy riff. Despite only four words, the chorus is great and easy to sing to.

Set Me Free - The first single VR put out and one of their best first appearing on the Hulk soundtrack. Even though it has no real solo, it's still a fun song to play and rock out to.

Slither - Everyone guitarist/fan of rock loves this song, especially when it first came out. Like I said earlier: "Wow". Just wow. What a great song. Riffs, solo, licks, fills, chorus melody, what else do you need? Nothing much to say about this song that hasn't been said before other than that if you haven't heard it before for some reason, download it or listen to it somewhere. My favorite heavy song on the album.

Dirty Little Thing - This song always had my favorite solo on the album and now it's their newest single. Fun song to play along to. Good lyrics in the chorus on this one and just a plain great, rockin song. My second favorite rocker on the album.

Loving the Alien - The longest song and my favorite slow song on the album. Lyrics are limited to a few lines, but Scott's amazing voice makes up for it. Reminds me of Stone Temple Pilot's "Creep" with the acoustic guitar and melody. Great way to end an amazing album.

A solid rock album front-to-back with a few bad songs here and there, but an overall great album. This is a must-buy for fans of rock, Guns N Roses, or Stone Temple Pilots. I don't like to label bands, but this is what GNR and STP combined sound like; straight up rock with great vocals. Overall, 9/10.

[metallicac/dc]

This review took me awhile because I really wanted to write something good. And I think I did just that.

[dorio]

Yes, you did ! And the track by track thing is a compulsory thing for reviews IMO

Thanks to you, now in this forum we have Slash as an influential / essential artist with Guns & Roses and now he has his place with Velvet Revolver. Good Call !

[Claptonman]

Good work. One of my favorite bands. Their live show is one of the best.

[guitarfan19]

Good Job! Some great solos on this album, very strong guitar parts, but i would have to agree with you about the lyrics on some of these songs. Not exactly written very well. Still a good album.

[velvetrevolver220]

Awesome review. Like Claptonman said, their live performance was amazing. They did really well on Fall to Pieces at the concert. They played Slither for a kick-ass ending. Only bad part of the show was Hoobastank opening for them.

[Will_Wood]

Most over-rated album of the last ten years.

[Claptonman]

Just go away, will.

[velvetrevolver220]

Will, why are you so against VR?

[Will_Wood]

Because Scott Weiland just can't sing like he used to anymore.

All of the members are shells of the musicians that they were, and this band is nothing but a whole bunch of hype about nothing.

[dorio]

It's not a compulsory thing to comment on albums that you don't like.

In fact the majority would rather comment the reviews of albums and bands they do actually like. It's more positive in my opinion.

[velvetrevolver220]

Go dorio.

[Will_Wood]

It seems I was doriowned.

I still have a right to say I don't like the album.

[dorio]

Fair enough, but surely there should be some of them albums you do like in this reviews collection.

[Will_Wood]

I am getting to those.

[InEEdEXLAX]

yeah dave is underrated, he did great stuff with wasted youth.

im writing a review on their best album, "Reagan's In"

[alcorn429]

I've been a Guns fan since I was a youngster but velvet revolver took the rough and gritty stuff that we all saw in in Appetite and thrives on it. Contaband is an awesome album on stereo but if you truly want to hear this music at its best then go see them in person. Oh yeah one more thing.
3 best songs on this album
1. Slither
2. Fall to Peices
3. Big Machine