Post your own Contraband review here

[Jizzo]

My question is this.

Just because you heard a poor quality version of the edited album, if you were gonna buy the album before, did you change your mind?

[JustWckd]

What i found funny is how this was expected to be the hardest album and the songs that really stand out are the ballads (YGNR & FTP), albeit the rockers songs are good too

[Mr Cowbell ?]

I thought it was disspointing. Not because it was bad, i think the whole cd is awesome, but i wasnt completely blown away. Its still better than anything else today but its not great great.

Yeah Look at who people consider "huge" rock bands, Limp Bizkit, Puddle of Mudd, my god I could release better things then that. Saying they are the best out doesnt say much

[grumpy young man]

Well, apparently there isn't any shortage of opinions on this record.

Here's mine...I've listened all the way thru once and am now listening to a couple of songs for the second time.

Lyrics are quite obviously from the head of Scott Weiland, which means they're fairly weak and cliche.  Not as cliche as the shitty bands that people call rock these days but still poor.

Music is pretty derivative of STP.  I don't hear much "guns." If I didn't already know that was Slash, I probably wouldn't have guessed from most of these songs as the riffs are generic but still somewhat catchy...especially the two singles, set me free and slither.   This could be a lot of early to mid 90's bands.  This band and record are simply not "dangerous" as Duff and Matt like to claim.  They're not doing anything new or terribly interesting.   The material would definitely be better live and they could develop some more interesting ideas if they manage to stay together/alive/out of jail.

I can't see this affecting Axl in any way, positive or negative so take that for what it's worth.

I will definitely give this album more than a few chances to stick with me but It's pretty much what I expected, which is disappointing.

[Mr Cowbell ?]

I will definitely give this album more than a few chances to stick with me but It's pretty much what I expected, which is disappointing.

Remember the Pottery Barn if you broke it, you bought it. If you downloaded it and enjoyed it or listened to it a few times you better be buying it. Dont be cheap

[bill213]

For my little review......I'm not dissapointed with this album......I got everything I expected from it.......some damn good tunes to crank aka Sucker Train Blues, Superhuman(my fav) and Slither.  I don't think it's one of the best rock albums ever but it's definitely a breath of fresh air for anything i've listened to in the past few years.  Cheers guys

[Oddy]

ok i downloaded the album. 1st i don't buy many albums at all because 1 there's not many bands that i think deserve my money today and 2 all my money is spent on guitar gear to make my own music due to reason number 1.

I think i will buy Contraband after listening to the 1st half of the cd so far. That's already saying a lot especially for me.

I think there are some awesome songs on here. Infact there isn't one i can say i don't like so far. To me it sounds extremely modern (something i usually hate) and i still like it.

It's definitely doesn't sound like classic rock or off anything off of appetite, but i guess they wanted to stray away from that.

I can understand why people are disappointed, Weiland is probably a big factor for that. I dunno when i listen im only listening to the instrumental side, guitars bass drums and vocal melody which are all amazing to me. I've heard people complaining about lyrics.......and i have to agree, there's nothing i'd sing a long to on this album, only bang my head. I dunno much STP or anything like that, but just from this album i can see Weiland has a talent for writing some damn good vocal melodies, but his lyrics don't stay with you at all, not even after 5 or so listens, but you'll definitly be humming it. Just my opinion ofcourse.

So far Illegal I is my favourite song, it's damn rockin, i have no idea what weiland is going on about (only heard the song twice) but it sounds similar to Janes Addiction which is awesome, just has that vibe. I can pump this in my car and piss people off ie: all the people that listen to terrible rap & hip hop songs full blast in their car, you'd think they could actually listen to good rap instead of the latest album from a wanker named j kwon   *end rant*

yep i'll be off to the music store soon to buy contraband, the young heart attacks album misty rowe......and maybe a turbonegro album.....then i'll be done for the year, what a music industry!

[Bahad]

Loving the alien, You got no right, Fall to pieces are great tunes. Slash rocked on these ones.

Forthe rockers Sucker train blues,Do it for the kids, Superhuman,Set me free, Slither all awesome.  

This band is really good. And this band is really doing something. Not sitting on their ass like some do

[starchild_666]

interesting thing about album is that I'm listening to Contraband all the day and just can't stop  

[AxlsPiano]

out of the studio versions, i've heard slither, ygnr, ftp, loving the alien, and im listening to illegal i right now (which sounds badass, might i add)

I am a sucker for the slower ones sometimes, so thats what I started out with. And ill say that all of the slower songs on here are grade A shit in my opinion. right now my favorite of the slower songs is LTA, its really a beautiful piece of music. The little guitar part during the chorus that slash does is a great hook, and though scott only repeats the one line during it, he does it in a really nice melody  
Now that i finished with Illegal I im gonna say that if you're looking for an AFD type rocker its not gonna be right up your alley, but I think you'll take a liking to it. I sure have. it's got a wild vibe to it that keeps me listening.
Fall To Pieces sounds really great, I can't wait to hear even better quality on the CD.
You Got No Right is amazing, its definitely gotta be one of the best. I hope they release it as a single. It's got a lot more distortion in it which I like, its so much better than their performance at that fashion show.

I havent listened to the whole album yet so i cant give a fair rating, but from these songs its hard to give it anything less than an 9 out of 10, and I didnt even like when they chose Weiland as their singer not as much anymore though..

[cruizerdave]

 This band and record are simply not "dangerous" as Duff and Matt like to claim.  They're not doing anything new or terribly interesting.  

I agree. This was an okay album, but it wasn't dangerous. Where are the dangers in this album? They played it pretty safe most of the time. Hell, they didn't even have enough confidence in themselves to put some solos in the majority of the songs. I'd like to see what they come up with in a few years after actually being a band for a while.

[TK1]

I've listened to the album a few times off the VH-1 web site. I must be one of the minority who think it's better than I thought it would be.  I don't think it's going to go down as one of the greatest albums of all time, but it's a good, straight up rock album, which is what VR was going for.  I'll admit there a couple of songs I will probably skip over occasionally, but I do that on almost everything except Appetite.   However, it does have some really strong songs.   Give these guys a chance.  We're talking about a band that's only a year old or so.  If they continue to bond as a band, the next album could be amazing...

[badgirl]

I've listened to the album a few times off the VH-1 web site. I must be one of the minority who think it's better than I thought it would be.  I don't think it's going to go down as one of the greatest albums of all time, but it's a good, straight up rock album, which is what VR was going for.  I'll admit there a couple of songs I will probably skip over occasionally, but I do that on almost everything except Appetite.   However, it does have some really strong songs.   Give these guys a chance.  We're talking about a band that's only a year old or so.  If they continue to bond as a band, the next album could be amazing...

dude, i totally agree. i am listening now and am blown away. so much better than anything i have heard in a long time.

ETA: say what you all want about Scott's lyrics, his voice is absolutely beautiful.

[Mutherfunker]

Can people stop saying they like it and then qualifying it with "it's so much better than anything else today"?

The album is ok for me. It is better than many things today but it just doesn't have that special spark.

There's something missing that makes it sound a little one dimensional. It's like Slash and the guys rock, but the song writing just doesn't jump out at you and grab you.

Weiland is definately the weakest link here.

I'll be buying it but it does make me want CD even more.

@#$%Muther

[Buritoking]

Ok, Stright up, I think it's crazy that so many people are trashing this album because what they hear on 64kbs stream....that's insane.

But then again I guess it means what I'm aobut to say is crazy....

I love it, plan and simple, one of the best album I've heard in a while.

Everything is exactly the way it should be. The rockers rock, hard at that. The ballads, very imaginitive, with some great melody's and amazeing guitart stuff throughout.

Let's be honest what was everyone expective, AFD again, come on. This album is amazeing, and i garuentee after a couple listen to the real alubm this tuesday like 3/4 of the people on here will change their tune.

Let's go through the album, just so i can give my opinion on why I think it rocks.

Duff and Matt laid down some amazeing rythem stuff throuh out, infact I'll say plainly this is Duffs best bass work, just awesome. Slash did exactly what he was supposed to do, some chunky riffs, with some baddass fills, and some killer solos. Now let's get on to what made this CD a success. Dave is (to me anyway) the star throughout, you can hear all the texture's he laid down throughout, ensureing this cd would have it's own flavour, and really cannot be compared to STP or GnR. And Scott, well people keep ragging on his lyrics, but I think they are good. Axl has been one of those few people who can pull off great lyrics in a rock song (which is often difficult), and do it consistently. But Scott's got a body of work that has shown he's a great lyricst, if you don't believe me pick up his solo album 12 Bar Blues, it's little out there, but it's great.

All in all i'll give this album 9.3/10, it's wicked, and I know alot off people are going to like it alot more next week....

[GnRNightrain]

A lot of this album reminds me of my reaction to St. Anger.  I think the instrumentals are good, but the singing and flow of the vocals doesnt fit the instrumentals very well.

I know people dont like making the comparison, but too me Axl's newGnR songs contain far better lyrics and I think Axl is a far better singer than Scott.  But on the other hand, I think the instrumentals on this album are great and blow the new GNR out of the water.  Most every song on here has better guitar then any song we have heard from the new GNR.  
The truth is, Scott did bring down this band a little.  I thought the ballads were good, but the others were nothing special.  

I think if Axl had worked with the instrumentals on this album it would have been an unbelievable album.

[younggunner]

I think if Axl had worked with the instrumentals on this album it would have been an unbelievable album

Where can I get my hands on Chinese Democracy the album?

[dave-gnfnr2k]

A lot of this album reminds me of my reaction to St. Anger.  I think the instrumentals are good, but the singing and flow of the vocals doesnt fit the instrumentals very well.

I know people dont like making the comparison, but too me Axl's newGnR songs contain far better lyrics and I think Axl is a far better singer than Scott.  But on the other hand, I think the instrumentals on this album are great and blow the new GNR out of the water.  Most every song on here has better guitar then any song we have heard from the new GNR.  
The truth is, Scott did bring down this band a little.  I thought the ballads were good, but the others were nothing special.  

I think if Axl had worked with the instrumentals on this album it would have been an unbelievable album.

Well you cant really compare the instruments of the studio versions of VR to the live versions of new gnr since even with VR when we finally heard the studio versions/album versions there were a lot of the melodys that were left out.

But with that being said, i still think the madagascar solo is better than any VR solo.

[dave-gnfnr2k]

How can anyone say it was better than they expected.
Slash compared  fall to pieces (I think it was that song) with nov rain and it was not even close.

[AxlGunner]

How can anyone say it was better than they expected.
Slash compared  fall to pieces (I think it was that song) with nov rain and it was not even close.

Because we don't force ourselves to believe blindly every single word that comes out of our idols' mouths. Hence, when Slash says something like Fall to Pieces is as good as November Rain, I don't necessarily expect it to be literally as good- I wait to form my own opinion.

That said, I think it's close to November Rain, and its aa fuckin great song that exceeded my expectations also