Listen to Contraband at MTV.com!!!!!!!!!!

[starchild_666]

Dirty Little Thing is killer!   thw whole album is killer  

[gezm]

stop saying thay sound like so and so thay sound like vr to me no one else

[welshrose]

Man am I the only one who thinks that this album sucks??...geez

Its so generic, so bland, no hooks, I didn't get any of the chorus' stuck in my head

Big Machine might be the worst song I have ever heard in my life..it sounds like Motley Crue on a bad bad night.

And before the VR fans attack me, be serious, be 100% serious with yourself, take away everything about the members pasts and judge it as a rock n roll album...

Its just very average

Welsh

[younggunner]

I have finally heard the album in its entirty thanks to MtV. I dont know why the band would let MTV stream the album but thats not my business...anyways heres my review....

My feelings on the songs and album as a whole are basically the same. Theres some good parts and pieces but nothing over the top or complete. Except for YGNR.

The best rocker on the album is "Illegal I". It has punch and is something a lil different. Musically and vocally its good. Good vibe and you can feel the energy. Sounds like Janes Addiction and a little Led Zepellin. Fun Song.

The other "rockers" are descent. But they arent classic or even really that grimy rock the band has been talking about. Like another poster has said its more on the alternative side.
Headspace, and  Superhuman{except for the chorus} are good songs as well.
Like I said there are some good parts on the songs and they are catchy but I was expecting something different. Except for YGNR and maybe Illegal I, there nt one song that captures everything the band could offer. 1 song might have good guitars but lack lyrics and vice versa. Just sounds a lil rushed and the production wasnt great either.
Spectacle and Dirty Little Thing shouldt even be on the album.

As for the ballads. Overall they are much better than the rocker type songs. And thats probably the biggest surprise to me regarding this bands first effort.

The best song on the album is "You Got No Right". Its got the classic Slash solo that is great. And Weiland actually doesnt ruin the song. The intro to the song reminds me of the Beatles a little. This imo, is the best song on the whole album.

FTp is another good ballad. Its great musically and its catchy lyric wise. I wish the lyrics could have been better but overall its a good song.

LTA is good musically but Weiland kinda ruins it. It sounds liek an STP ballad{which is not a good thing}. What saves it is Slash's solo and guitar throughout the song.

Overall i would prob give this album a "C+ maybe B". I think its a fair grade. Like I said theres a lot of good parts and stuff but it just seems like it was rushed. Theres a handful of songs that standout and even those could have been better. But those aside, the rest of the songs particularlky the "rockers' are the same. Its definately better than the stuff thats out there so thats a positive. They have the right attitude so i hope in their next album they capture everything in every song.

When I first heard about this band getting together I was extremely excited. I love stp and Weiland. And Ive always loved slash and duff. I must admit I have lost a little love for Weiland though. It seems like he didnt step up. SLash stepped up in this album. I haved crititsized his work post gnr, but he def. stepped up in a big way. His guitar work on this album is excellent and I finally get to hear the Slash I know. For the most part he showcases his great talents on this album. So im happy about that. But weiland seemed liek he couldnt keep up with the band lyricly. HEs great at writing catchy chorus and stuff but it kinda gets old as you listen to the album. I really didnt feel the energy and emotion from him aside from some of the ballads.

Im happy to see slash and duff doing well. Like i said overall the record is good. And im proud of them.  I hope this band does well. They are  awesome live and you should def check them out. Its a great experience. Enjoy the album and Vr.....peace....

[welshrose]

YOUNGGUNNER,

That was a perfect review, a lot of it does feel rushed, the chorus' are particulary the weak points..but Fall to Pieces, You Got no Right and Loving the Alien are good songs

I should have made that more clear before


GRADE: C

[GNRisAFD]

The irony for Slash in particular is that the ballads are the strong point of the album as opposed to the hard rock songs.

The problem with the rock songs is that they pander to a modern rock audience, they can't compare to anything from the old Guns n Roses.

I said from the beginning that Scott was starting to assert his musical influence too much for my liking, and it shows on this album. Slash and Duff still deliver strong performances despite the shortcomings of Weiland.

[jarmo]

The irony for Slash in particular is that the ballads are the strong point of the album as opposed to the hard rock songs.

Exactly what I was thinking. The one thing Axl is known for, the ballads, seem to be the most listener friendly / strongest material on the album.  

IMHO "Do It For The Kids" and "Headspace" are the best of the "harder" tracks. At least at the moment.




/jarmo

[Top-Hatted One]

Dirty little thing sounds like a motley crue song    

woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jizzo]

I just started my, connection sucks, but its nice to hear the what I can.

[Eduardo]

I said before that FTP wasnt that great.. But now that I hear a polished version I can tell thats its fuckin amazing and the solo rocks!!

[Naupis]

Maybe we're seeing now why the GNR ballads were what they were. Slash pumps out stud rifts even on songs he supposedly doesn't like playing. Maybe it blows up that theory he only ever wrote those rifts because Axl pushed him to do so. I would argue his rifts on FTP,LTA, and YGNR stand up to almost any of his best solos from his Guns days. I am very impressed with his work from this album. Very focused and motivated.

[Eduardo]

I think LTA solo could be better. Its still great though.

But on the other hand, this song has this nice little guitar riff on that "Im moving on...." part that just makes you want to hear the song over and over

[metallex78]

The problem with the rock songs is that they pander to a modern rock audience, they can't compare to anything from the old Guns n Roses.

I haven't listened to these new tracks yet, not from live bootlegs and not from this stream (because I dont have realplayer) but I guess they aren't trying to be GN'R, hence thats maybe thats why they don't sound like old GN'R.

That may or may not neccessarily be a bad thing, depending on what you were expecting.

I was expecting a more modern sound from the guys since thats what they've been describing ever since the inception of this band.

[GNRisAFD]

Metallex78,

I was expecting a bit of the old and a bit of the new.

I wasn't expecting it to be GNR but i was hoping for a little bit of the Gunners sound meshed in with their new direction.

[younggunner]

Its average not because its not as good or better than gnr but because its average stuff. Its kinda boring. I mean yea you can say it rocks...it does but what doesnt rock? When you have a talented band you want unique stuff. Why just settle for average when your capable of more. And as i stated in my review....

[killingvector]

Well, I feel this is a near miss. I agree that the ballads are very strong, namely LTA and YGNR, but the rockers are extremely bland and bleed into one another. I am a bit partial to SuperHuman, but honestly there is not much distinction between SuckerTrain, Do It, Headspace, and Superhuman.

Slash is excellent on this record but Weiland's voice doesn't dance around the melody as well as these songs demand. From what i remember from STP, the music stood out and cascaded about Weiland's steady lyrical and vocal talent. Here, the workmanship of slash, duff, and the rest isn't as dynamic as the Deleo brothers. The solos kill but slowly erode their novelty with a bombardment of redundancy, until they are  almost numbing with predictability by the end of the album. I really miss a solid Vaseline style hook; the too eerie resemblences of LTA riff to SCOM is a bit unnerving. Scott's vocal approach isn't too exciting as he lacks the range and schizo attitude of his predecessor. Lyrically, the content isn't anything to get excited about.

I agree also that this album needed to merinate a bit longer; it lacks a unique perspective and approach.

Overall, a serviceable approach but nothing spectacular.

5/10

[younggunner]

The solos kill but slowly erode their novelty with a bombardment of redundancy, until they are  almost numbing with predictability by the end of the album

In a nutshell that is a great review of the album...u hit it dead on

[Eduardo]

Sucker Train Blues solo is awesome!

[Top-Hatted One]

"but honestly there is not much distinction between SuckerTrain, Do It, Headspace, and Superhuman. "


YG...How is that a great review? Those song sound nothing alike. Suckertrain Blues is a bluesy rocker, Do it for the kids is a punk song with an amazing refrain and melody, Headspace is a catchy ass song in he vein of STP/Audioslave and Superhuman is STP with awesome guitar.

I don't know what you're talking about KV

[killingvector]

The rockers don't distinguish themselves; After two listens, they still sound too much alike for my money.

I'm sure if you hear these tracks over and over you can pin point the differences in style, but for my money, I was looking for variation of style which this album's faster songs failed to do.