Media Reviews of Libertad

[Alan]

VELVET REVOLVER - Libertad

Rating ****

IN the year we?re finally being promised the new Guns N? Roses album Chinese Democracy, Axl?s old chums get in first (not difficult) with the follow-up to 2004?s debut VR album Contraband.

For hard rock fans it doesn?t get much better than this, a consummate exercise in ecstatic riffs and earth-shattering rhythm.

Add in a volley of outrageous Slash guitar solos and towering vocals from Scott Weiland and Libertad is destined to be a hit.

The only blip comes with an ill-judged cover of ELO?s Can?t Get It Out Of My Head which suggests VR should sticking to their striking originals. Over to you, Axl. CS

-------------

review from the sun newspaper in the UK

[LunsJail]

Any word on SPIN and RS reviews?

From Daisy518 at velvetrevolverforum:

Velvet Revolver
Libertad **1/2 (out of 5)

For brand-name hard rock, it doesn't get any better--sadly

...and the single "She Builds Quick Machines" sounds like it was constructed from the better parts of GNR's "Rocket Queen"

Wow, has this person ever heard either one of these songs?

[freedom78]

Any word on SPIN and RS reviews?

From Daisy518 at velvetrevolverforum:

Velvet Revolver
Libertad **1/2 (out of 5)

For brand-name hard rock, it doesn't get any better--sadly

This supergroup, featuring former Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland and three ex-Guns N' Roses members, isn't a band from which major revelations are expected, and you won't find any here. But Libertad does improve slightly on the mostly hookless choogling of the band's 2004 debut, Contraband, with songs that are punchier and a bit more memorable. Opener "Let It Roll" is a respectable two-minute blast of Zeppelin bravado, and the single "She Builds Quick Machines" sounds like it was constructed from the better parts of GNR's "Rocket Queen" and STP's "Sex Type Thing." Still, their cover of ELO's "Can't Get It out of My Head" is probably the only track that will actually get stuck in your head.

The better parts of "Rocket Queen"?  Is this reviewer fucking serious?  Hell no does that song sound like it is anywhere near the better parts of "Rocket Queen".  That's a crock of shit if I've ever read one.

Ali

I must have missed that "Rocket Queen" comparison.  I think RQ is one of the best Appetite tracks, and NOTHING on Libertad comes within 1000 miles of AFD. 

VELVET REVOLVER - Libertad

Rating ****

IN the year we?re finally being promised the new Guns N? Roses album Chinese Democracy, Axl?s old chums get in first (not difficult) with the follow-up to 2004?s debut VR album Contraband.

For hard rock fans it doesn?t get much better than this, a consummate exercise in ecstatic riffs and earth-shattering rhythm.

Add in a volley of outrageous Slash guitar solos and towering vocals from Scott Weiland and Libertad is destined to be a hit.

The only blip comes with an ill-judged cover of ELO?s Can?t Get It Out Of My Head which suggests VR should sticking to their striking originals. Over to you, Axl. CS

-------------

review from the sun newspaper in the UK

If the review weren't so positive, I'd assume that "outrageous Slash guitar solos" is meant to mean "outrageously bad Slash guitar solos."

[GeraldFord]

Any word on SPIN and RS reviews?

From Daisy518 at velvetrevolverforum:

Velvet Revolver
Libertad **1/2 (out of 5)

For brand-name hard rock, it doesn't get any better--sadly

This supergroup, featuring former Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland and three ex-Guns N' Roses members, isn't a band from which major revelations are expected, and you won't find any here. But Libertad does improve slightly on the mostly hookless choogling of the band's 2004 debut, Contraband, with songs that are punchier and a bit more memorable. Opener "Let It Roll" is a respectable two-minute blast of Zeppelin bravado, and the single "She Builds Quick Machines" sounds like it was constructed from the better parts of GNR's "Rocket Queen" and STP's "Sex Type Thing." Still, their cover of ELO's "Can't Get It out of My Head" is probably the only track that will actually get stuck in your head.

Is that from SPIN or RS?

[Booker Floyd]

Is that from SPIN or RS?

SPIN

[Booker Floyd]

Thanks again to Daisy518 at velvetrevolverforum.com:

Billboard

ARTIST: VELVET REVOLVER

ALBUM: LIBERTAD (RCA Records)

Admit it; you wondered if Velvet Revolver would live to see a second album. Skepticism is an occupational hazard for such supergroups, especially by those whose frontmen have reputations staked in self-destruction. But "Libertad" is one of those sophomore albums that builds on the strengths of the first and offers enough fresh stuff to establish a new standard for the band. The quintet's stock in trade remains such muscular, big-chorus riff-rockers as "Get Out the Door," "Just Sixteen," the Stooges-like "Let It Roll" and the single "She Builds Quick Machines," all vehicles for flash 'n' trash from guitarists Slash and David Kushner. There are also detours into soul ("The Last Fight"), garage rock ("American Man") and Eastern flavors ("She Mine"). A terrible cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head" is the lone stumble on this thoroughly satisfying second effort.

[GeraldFord]

What's up with people trashing the ELO cover? It sounds fuckin' sweet!

[freedom78]

What's up with people trashing the ELO cover? It sounds fuckin' sweet!

I thought it was possibly Slash's best effort on the entire album.  But these magazines want to push whatever is new and a cover, by definition, revisits old material.  So...they hate it!  Because if people like it, and then they explore ELO, they might start to like CLASSIC rock, and then they'd realize the shit they're pushing is inferior, and then they'd stop buying these magazines.  Or, at least, that's MY music industry/journalism conspiracy theory.

[chinese democrazy]

I have my own theory, I think some of these music critics are a little sheepish of their own musical judgement. So, before they write or post anything they read the general consensus of other reviews. The classic rock magazine being one of the first out the gate, and looking well written, I think they sorta read that and were like "yeah, yeah, that sounds about right"

[Irish rose]

I like the ELO cover...id put it in the top 5 on the album, i think its the best solo on the album too

[m_rated96]

Big machine filler?? i rate it as the best non single. its AWESOME.

Libertads sweet, but i dont think it will do very well. No promotion, no hype no nothing is its biggest weakness. They should be playing off guns n roses sucess... but i like it heaps. As good as contraband.

[CheapJon]

Big machine filler?? i rate it as the best non single. its AWESOME.

Libertads sweet, but i dont think it will do very well. No promotion, no hype no nothing is its biggest weakness. They should be playing off guns n roses sucess... but i like it heaps. As good as contraband.

big machine sux

[BillBailey]

I hate that the people reviewing this album probably haven't heard messages. It is the best new song by far. Songs like this can sway a critic to rate the record even higher. Stupid RCA.

[The Catcher]

is anyone surprised?
anyone with a tad of taste in music knows that vr blows horseshit.
it's embarrasing to watch but yet i can't look away. it's like watching a trainwreck unfold infront of your eyes.

[m_rated96]

Big machine filler?? i rate it as the best non single. its AWESOME.

Libertads sweet, but i dont think it will do very well. No promotion, no hype no nothing is its biggest weakness. They should be playing off guns n roses sucess... but i like it heaps. As good as contraband.

big machine sux

You suck 

[metallex78]

is anyone surprised?
anyone with a tad of taste in music knows that vr blows horseshit.
it's embarrasing to watch but yet i can't look away. it's like watching a trainwreck unfold infront of your eyes.

Thanks so much for your insightful comments.

[Booker Floyd]

Thanks to Peebs at velvetrevolverforum.com:

New York Post

VELVET REVOLVER "LIBERTAD"
By DAN AQUILANTE


July 1, 2007 -- In the wake of pop?s recent chart domination, there?s been little that?s heavy enough to demand you headbang to the beat. With the release of Velvet Revolver?s towering second CD, ?Libertad,? the drought is over.
The title might be gleaned from various tunes that use freedom as their theme, such as ?Let It Roll,? ?Get Out the Door? and ?American Man.? But it?s also a reference to liberty from both Guns ?N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, the groups that spawned VR.

Ex-Gunner Slash?s guitar riffs throughout this new record are as aggressive as a caged cat (check out the solo on ?Mary, Mary?), and singer Scott Weiland?s vocals are crisp and controlled yet passionate. When Weiland is singing, you believe him. His delivery here tops his previous work for either VR?s debut or anything in the STP catalog.

I could have done without the cover of ELO?s ?Can?t Get You Out of My Head,? but then again I didn?t like the original, either.

Download: ?Let It Roll?

Velvet Revolver
"Libertad"
RCA

[Booker Floyd]

Thanks to M i k e at velvetrevolverforum.com:

The Ottawa Sun

LIBERTAD

Velvets still rock heavy on seocnd disc

By DARRYL STERDAN -- Sun Media


Some bands have all the luck. Velvet Revolver has never been one of those bands.

From the git-go, this supergroup of ex-Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner and three Guns N' Roses alums -- top-hatted guitar hero Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum -- has seemed on the verge of implosion. Overdoses, rehab stints, drug busts, court cases. And that was just Weiland.

While making this sophomore CD, the singer was apparently on good behaviour. But there were still plenty of hassles. The band reportedly had trouble coming up with tunes. They went through two producers (including Rick Rubin) before settling on Brendan O'Brien. Schedules conflicted and time was tight. Both Weiland's and Sorum's brothers died of overdoses. A few members supposedly backslid into some nasty habits. They even ended up dickering with their record label over the choice of single.

But if all that discord, decadence, dissent and disaster had any major effect on Libertad, you'd never know.

The disc dishes up another helping of the same meat 'n' potatoes arena-rock as their 2004 debut Contraband. Maybe it's a little looser and rawer and more spacious, with songs based around grooves and simple riffs instead of Slash's complex fretboard fireworks.
 

But even if doesn't always deliver the same wallop as its predecessor, it's still probably gonna be the guitar-rock record of the summer.

If that's what you've been waiting for, this is your lucky day.

Let it Roll 2:32

As they did on Contraband, the boys bust out of the gate with a hard-driving opener. The descending guitar riff supplies the momentum, while Scott's boomy vocal recalls Jim Morrison.

She Mine 3:24

Here's a change; the band channels the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a funky beat, some wicky-wicky guitars and lyrically flowing verses. The anthemic chorus and bridge bring the rock.

Get Out the Door 3:14

Guitarist Kushner supplied this rubbery riff-rocker, but the rest of the guys punch it up with a plonking cowbell and alien backup vocals. But geez, Slash -- you coulda let Dave do the solo.

She Builds Quick Machines 4:03

The record label pushed the band to pick this Slither-y rocker as the first single. Whatever. We just dig the syncopated guitar interplay -- and the moody middle that sounds like The Who.

The Last Flight 4:03

A martial snare and some of Slash's unmistakable burbling arpeggios introduce this midtempo, surprisingly poppy power ballad. Check out the big backup harmonies.

Pills, Demons & Etc. 2:54

Weiland sings about what he knows, while Slash pumps the wah-wah, scratches out some wicked licks and pushes the band through this dark funk-rock workout.

American Man 3:56

Duff earns his keep on this bass-driven rocker while the guitars jangle and clang on the sidelines. Weiland belts out the CD's biggest chorus, then lays back on a conga-flecked bridge.

Mary Mary 4:33

Sorry, it's not The Monkees tune. It's a swaggering number, driven by a low-rolling beat and big meaty riffs -- and accessorized with another hooky pop chorus and whoo-hoo harmonies.

Just Sixteen 3:58

Weiland sings the praises of a teenage teacher's pet while the band pumps out some chugging retro-rock that splits the diff between Chuck Berry and Buckcherry.

Can't Get it Out of My Head 3:57

Yep, it's a cover of the Electric Light Orchestra classic. Producer O'Brien reportedly suggested it. Not sure why -- but the dusty glam vocal and shimmering guitars speak for themselves.

For a Brother 3:26

The verses have a gritty riff spiked with cowbell and a buzzy countermelody. The chorus is catchy enough, but seems from a different song. The spacey bridge doesn't help.

Spay 3:06

Slash busts out the slide guitar for this fuzzy barnburner. The punchy, offbeat chorus is a killer. Ditto the searing solo.

Gravedancer 4:38

A classic closing power ballad brimming with jangly arpeggios and slowly weeping wah-wah licks. It's a pretty if predictable sendoff. But hang around for the real treat: The hidden track Don't Drop That Dime, a hilarious piece of Stonesy country-honk with acoustic guitars, barrelhouse piano and twangy nasal vocals.

[Smoking Guns]

^^^^^^$10 says this guy is on the forum.  His reveiws and comments sound like that of us!  Nice read!

[CheapJon]

Big machine filler?? i rate it as the best non single. its AWESOME.

Libertads sweet, but i dont think it will do very well. No promotion, no hype no nothing is its biggest weakness. They should be playing off guns n roses sucess... but i like it heaps. As good as contraband.

big machine sux

You suck?

96.. does that mean you were born in that year?