5 Great songs on Contraband

[drpoon]

I have listened to the album about 20 times in the last 3 days.  

This is the best album I have heard in years, and is the first rock album that reminds me of the last good rock period in my opinion (1988-1995) when bands like GNR, STP, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Nirvan, Black Crowes, Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden were all in their prime and kicking ass.

It seems like most "albums" today consist of 1 good song, 1 okay song, and 8 or 9 piles of sh#t.  The other songs may grow on me, but their are five EXCELLENT songs on this album.

Slither-
At first I thought this song was kind of boring.  The more I listen to it, the more I like it.  I initially didn't like the chorus, but it has really grown on me.

Set Me Free-
I overlistened to this a year ago, but this song is pretty kick ass.  I think they probably would have been better off waiting to release this and putting it out now, as I think it didn't get the exposure it would have with the album.  Still a kick ass rocker.

Fall to Pieces-
This is a really cool power balad with a great Slash riff.  It is a good balad without being cheesy, and I think it is very original.  I love it.

Loving the Alien-

Not really sure what the title means, but also a very original ballad that succeeds at being good without being overly sentimental.  

Superhuman-

I think this song is the best on the album.  At first I didn't, but I find myself playing this one over and over.  It is basically about Weiland being f'd up, dressing up like a chick, going through rehab, crashing cars, etc.  It actually reminds me a lot of "Mr. Brownstone" as being about self destruction or like "Pretty Tied Up" about all of the spoils of being a rockstar that screw you up.

I think what really stands out about this album to me is that it is very genuine.  Most music today is very unoriginal and not very genuine.  The songs on this album are real experiences (Weilands divorce, drug use, etc.) and the passion shows through.

I hated all of Slash's previous efforts with the two Snakepit albums, but this one really rocks.  These guys really seem to have come together as a band and produced a real piece of music.

Usually Supergroups don't succeed, but I was pleasantly surprised by Audioslave last year.  Velvet Revolver is much better than the Audioslave album, and I liked that album.

The strange negativity toward this album confuses me.  This band is more GNR than the current GNR, and I love seeing the video for Slither and seeing Slash, Duff and Matt up there kicking ass.  It makes me sad to think what might have been and that 10 plus years and a ton of potential was wasted.  I really believe that had GNR stuck it out that they would have been in Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones territory as one of the greatest rock bands ever.  They are still considered great, but they would have been universally regarded as top 5 with 2 or 3 more good albums.  

What I like however is that these guys say "f it" and stand on there own.  It is clear to me that the creative influence lyrically is Weiland, as the sound and the lyrics are very much like STP.  I was really bummed when STP went downhill after their last good album in 1995.  I loved there first three albums and I think Weiland is an extremely charasmatic front man.

I like that he is not an Axl imitator and has his own style and his own charisma, but has similar rock star, bigger than life qualities that Axl had/has.  Weiland has a bigger than life presence and a charisma that is very rare.  He also has the dangerous rockstar persona that made old GNR so exciting.

I hope that Axl and his band come out with a great album with Chinese Democracy, but I think part of the downfall of GNR was that Axl tried to do everything in a grand, epic scale all the time.

I had Appetite in high school and bought the Illusions at a midnight sale when they came out, but even during the Illusions era I felt like Axl's attempts to be epic all the time hurt the band.  The Illusions are classic, but they actually took 4 plus years to produce, and I think they lacked a lot of the raw emotion and spontaneity that made Appetite great.  

Axl got way caught up into making it a two album epic, making epic videos, adding sound effects and movie quotes, and in the tour he added annoying backup vocalists, a horn section, etc.  It seemed a little self absorbed and in my opinion I liked the scaled down band better that just came out and rocked.

It is nice to see that Velvet Revolver got in the studio and just kicked out a kick ass album in a couple of months.  They captured the moment and made a spontaneous album.  I wish that Axl would have been able to do this, but instead he seems intent on over-doing everything, making it impossible for anything to live up to the hype and the 10 year wait.

Guns N Roses in their current incarnation are extremely fan-unfriendly (I was at the Philly concert, so I am aware of this first hand) and it isn't a very rewarding experience.

I love that Velvet Revolver has a website with regular comments by Weiland, that they are humble enought to play small clubs, and that they don't think that they are above going out and hitting the streets and earning credibility.

Weiland, Slash, Duff, and Matt have arleady had enough success that they don't need to play clubs, tour non-stop, play Letterman, etc.  What is refreshing is that they genuinely enjoy it, and I really think that they are earning new respect all over again with a great new band.

This album is as good as STP's second album in my opinion, and maybe actually better (the one with Vasoline, Interstate Love Song, etc.).  That was a kick ass album.

I really hope that Velvet Revolver is able to keep this thing together for a while and put out a couple more great albums, and I have to say that this is the first time in 10 years that I have gotten real enjoyment out of anything from people connected with the old GNR.

This album rocks.

[Billo]

Interesting ....but u left out..You got no right...
Its fucking AWESOME!!!!!!!YGNRight is the best track..

[page]

Cool post  

You said what I would have said

[badgirl]

I pretty much agree with what you are saying but i wanted to point out that without Axl's vision and those 4 years and over-production, we wouldn't have Estranged, which touches me more than any song on Appetite ever could (Locomotive as well). There was a BIG payoff for Axl and the band taking that time and staying true to thier vision, as least in many fans minds.

About the album, yeah, you definitely left off You Got No Right. It's funny because when i heard the title of the song weeks ago, i thought it was going to be a rocker (because that is a pretty aggressive sounding title). Imagine my surprise when i heard those opening chords and Scott's lyrics. whoops!  

But i was thinking the same thing about most albums. 1 or 2 hits, the rest total shit. I like every song on this album and i can't remember when that happened before. Probably Ten or Illusions II.

Also a great point about their relationship with their fans and playing the small clubs, doing the PR work, gaining back their credibility.  

I don't understand the negativity toward this band either. I think it is either expectations that can't possibly be met or sour grapes over Guns N Roses. Either way, it's unfortunate because this album is really wonderful.

[Eeebs]

Thanks for the great review.  I am very much looking forward to pickin up a copy of Contraband in what - three days??  

From what I have heard, again, unlike other albums where there are one or two stand out tracks, I enjoy all of VR's material that I have heard so far.  Still holding out on downloading / listening to the other 4 tracks until I actually have the album in my cd player.  

[drpoon]

You are correct:

6 Great Songs.

You got no Right rocks.  The more I listen to this album, the more it rocks.

[jrs2001_99]

I'm really liking Headspace right now... that riff is heavy, it rocks. It's like an updated version of It's So Easy, it just conveys the same anger and fury  

[tomass74]

I'm really liking Headspace right now... that riff is heavy, it rocks. It's like an updated version of It's So Easy, it just conveys the same anger and fury  

At first I thought it was a weak tune from the crappy version. I just downloaded a good one from the album and it pretty much kicks ass. Cannot wait til Tuesday.

[speed_stone]

god i hate the expression "power ballad".
lol @ velvet revolver fans trying to find 5 good songs on this album.

[Imfuckincrazy]

god i hate the expression "power ballad".
lol @ velvet revolver fans trying to find 5 good songs on this album.

Just a question: Why are you on this board?

If you want to give an honest review - and no, I'm not saying it has to be a positive one - in the review thread, then that's fine. But it's clear that you are just an attention seeker like Dave.

[speed_stone]

who's dave? and i'm here because i'm a guns n' roses fan and i'd like to comment on slash and duff's latest project. i don't really care what you think about that.

[badgirl]

and because Mommy and Daddy are out for the evening...  

[speed_stone]

yeah, that too.

[starchild_666]

nice review!   but I love all the songs on album  

[dustNroses]

Contraband rules. i listened to a burnt copy of the album when it came out. So i printed the song lyrics off the net and was reading the lyrics with the cd in my car stereo... I almost crashed..

[D]

U messed up dude

there are 11 great songs and 2 good songs which are spectacle and Illegal I

Do It For the Kids and Dirty Little Thing are my current favs.

[mikegiuliana]

I never get tired of this album.. There are plenty of damn good songs.. ygnr, slither, set me free, loving the alien, dlt, headspace, stbs etc.. Matt sorum does some hard pounding drumwork..
I really enjoy illegal I and spectacle

[gunner1]

i like all songs on the album

[Jamie]

Yeah CB is a solid effort, I like every song from start to finish, of course some stand out over others, but I still like em all, but one thing I wanna see on the next album, is Slash's guitar work stand out a bit more than it did in CB. My faves on the album are "Sucker Train Blues", "Slither", "Illegal I song" and I also really like VR's cover of Bodies by the Sex Pistols.

Oh, and by the way, gunner1 you aint allowed have pics in your sigs. (Not my rule, just sayin)

[gunner1]

it's ok now jamie