Media Reviews of Libertad

[Eazy E]

The Ottawa Sun is a rag, but it's cool that they liked the CD

[DemocracyRose]

From a danish newspaper...

EB 2/6 stars...

http://ekstrabladet.dk/flash/anmeldelser/musik/article314475.ece  (not nice reading)

[GeraldFord]

All Music Guide 3.5 (of five stars)

Can't stand Erlewine, btw.

Velvet Revolver always seemed like the answer to a quintessential L.A. rock & roll question: what does the engine of Guns N' Roses do when they're left to rust by the side of the road? It was long past the point when Slash, Duff, and Matt Sorum could possibly hope that Axl would abandon Buckethead, Tommy Stinson, and whoever else was toiling away in the studio under the GNR banner and go for a reunion tour, and old rockers need a place to make noise even while they're in the process of fading away, so they started a new band (Izzy may or may not have been invited to the party, but he long ago started following his own path and never seemed interested in coming back into the fold). A band as big as this needed a true star to front it ? a lesson well learned from the charisma-free black hole that was Slash's Snakepit, where the vocalists never could quite spar with the guitarist ? so even if they flirted with Buckcherry's Josh Todd, there really was only one choice to fill the singer's slot and that was Scott Weiland, who wasn't abandoned from his own imploding band, Stone Temple Pilots, as much as alienated from them due to a combination of ego and excess. A band in search of a singer, a singer in search of a band, both parties calling Los Angeles their home, both well-known for their all-encompassing love of rock & roll debauchery ? it seemed like nothing could go wrong.As it turned out, nothing quite went unquestionably right, either, as their 2004 debut, Contraband, met the GNR-meets-STP expectations but never transcended them. It was far from a flop ? selling millions around the world ? but it wasn't quite compelling either, partially because it was too easy to hear the separation between Slash's sleazoid blooze riffs and Weiland's hazily psychedelic melodies, and they had yet to find a common ground apart from a handful of songs. Despite this, it was hard not to feel some affection for Velvet Revolver, since they were so unrepentant in their love for old-school rock & roll theater, and also since they were driven by Slash and Duff, two of the most lovable characters in '80s hard rock, and there was a certain joy to hearing them play again on a big stage where they belong. But the key problem with Velvet Revolver is that the GNR aesthetic doesn't quite gel with Weiland. If GNR are the kind of band all rock fans feel good about loving, Weiland is the kind of frontman who gets grudging respect; it's possible to love his music, particularly the irresistible swirling melodies, without really loving him. A large part of this is that he exudes a reptilian coldness that doesn't thaw even when paired with the big, blowsy rock of Slash and Duff, but instead of giving the music tension it just means that it doesn't quite gel, since both parties play to their strengths instead of finding a collective sound.

That's as true on their second album, 2007's Libertad, as it was on Contraband, but this record is more cohesive than the debut, partially due to the presence of Weiland's old STP producer, Brendan O'Brien, who lends the recording color and texture that enhances the melodies while still giving the guitars considerable muscle. O'Brien amplifies the energy for both the singer and the band and, taken on their own terms, they sound quite good. Weiland gets off some great tunes (as on the "Days of the Week" sequel "She Mine"); sometimes the band dominates (as on "Spay") and sometimes everything suddenly clicks (as on the relentless opener, "Let It Roll," where both parties shine). Too often, though, there are concessions between Weiland and the others during the course of a song, with the bandmembers getting to ride their riffs during the verse, then fading into the background as Weiland delivers a chorus that is indelibly his own, as on "She Builds Quick Machines," which seesaws between the two extremes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because both camps are good at what they do and the individual pieces of the songs are pretty enjoyable, but as Libertad rolls on, it's hard not to wish that Velvet Revolver buckled down and acted like a band, finding a way to fuse their two aesthetics into a whole, instead of stroking their individual egos by indulging in what they're good at.

Of course, indulgence is the very reason the band exists: it's what made them stars, and without GNR or STP around, all the guys in this band need some outlet for their energies (which may only be partially musical). And in that regard, Velvet Revolver fulfill a need for the bandmembers, but also for an audience that is craving rock & roll that is proudly about good times ? an audience that is not insubstantial in 2007, but is poorly served. Libertad won't necessarily provide that audience with lasting sustenance, but it is a quick enough fix of old-fashioned rock & roll hedonism that does do its job reasonably well, as it has the riffs and melodies to please, even if they're not quite pulled together as full-fledged songs. And that's all down to the band acting as a group of stars instead of a group ? the charisma of each individual bandmember still shines brightly, but if they can funnel that into some kind of group charisma next time around, they might finally have an album that lives up to their past instead of merely doing no disservice to it.

[GeraldFord]

Too often, though, there are concessions between Weiland and the others during the course of a song, with the bandmembers getting to ride their riffs during the verse, then fading into the background as Weiland delivers a chorus that is indelibly his own, as on "She Builds Quick Machines," which seesaws between the two extremes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because both camps are good at what they do and the individual pieces of the songs are pretty enjoyable, but as Libertad rolls on, it's hard not to wish that Velvet Revolver buckled down and acted like a band, finding a way to fuse their two aesthetics into a whole, instead of stroking their individual egos by indulging in what they're good at.

  Whatever Ereladick.

He only got his gig at the AMG because his uncle runs it, btw.

[freedom78]

It's an ok review, but more a review of the band's history than of the album, which is only about 1/3 of the write up. 

[Booker Floyd]

Can't stand Erlewine, btw.

I generally like his reviews, but this one is slightly disappointing.  That he doesnt like the album as much as I do isnt the issue, its his lack of details on the actual songs.  Im also puzzled by his description of Contraband - "sleazoid blooze riffs?"  "Hazily psychedelic melodies?"  Thats not what I hear on that album. 

[GeraldFord]

Can't stand Erlewine, btw.

I generally like his reviews, but this one is slightly disappointing.? That he doesnt like the album as much as I do isnt the issue, its his lack of details on the actual songs.? Im also puzzled by his description of Contraband - "sleazoid blooze riffs?"? "Hazily psychedelic melodies?"? Thats not what I hear on that album.?

He?s extremely pretentious. And I think he often gives a CD a superficial listening, and then just pulls a lot of? pseudo-intellectual mumbo-jumbo out of his ass. Plus his reviews are often written in an overly academic styling. He thinks he?s just sooooo smart and I find him to be obnoxious and full 0f himself.? ?

What the fuck does "sleazoid blooze riffs?"? and? "Hazily psychedelic melodies" mean anyway?



^Douche

[Smoking Guns]

One thing he got right was his opinion of Let It Roll.  But this guy is a major clown.  The review from Ottowa or wherever is much better.

[FunkyMonkey]

New York Times

VELVET REVOLVER
?Libertad?
(RCA)

Velvet Revolver is: 1. a middle-aged hard-rock supergroup; 2. the flagship band of the fifth decade of Hollywood rock; and 3. releasing its second album. It is awfully hard for this group, starting from any one of those terms, to feel free, even if it?s going to make a record called ?Libertad.?

?Libertad? sounds old, heavy, wrapped in a tough skin. At the same time, by virtue of sheer outdated flamboyance, it seems almost willfully na?ve. Experience here starts to take on characteristics of innocence.

Scott Weiland, the singer, compounds various kinds of rock-star affect, from Iggy Pop to David Bowie to Kurt Cobain; Slash, the lead guitarist, plays with a heavy hand and a light imagination. The album?s sound and songwriting fuse together the work of hard-rock bands that have pop-radio hits, including Aerosmith, Van Halen and Nirvana. Those groups had a foundation of youthful craziness, but this one is founded in caution; the joy in these songs usually comes with a warning.

Most of them ? if the bad lyrics can be parsed ? are about various kinds of need. (As one song title puts it, ?Pills, Demons & Etc.?) The members of Velvet Revolver ? Mr. Weiland, once of Stone Temple Pilots; Slash, the bassist Duff McKagan and the drummer Matt Sorum, all, during various periods, of Guns N? Roses; and the guitarist Dave Kushner, once of Wasted Youth ? have a fairly decent knowledge of substance abuse. Drugs crop up here and there as perfect deceitful enemies, the kind that promise escape, but then take your family away.

Let?s see: drugs, rock ?n? roll and... right, sex. This music is pole-dancer rock with lyrics haunted by lips and legs and sexy-lethal dancers. Does the record contain a fantasy about a boy getting intimate with his high school teacher? And does that same song have glammed-up Chuck Berry licks in its guitar solo? Yes ma?am to both, in ?Just Sixteen.? Does the album have another about being almost fooled by a transvestite hooker on Sunset Boulevard? Sure. How about vaguely critical songs about American entitlement, which manage to be both castigating and pompous? Why not? It?s a free country. BEN RATLIFF

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/arts/music/02choi.html

[GeraldFord]

Oh my. I really don't like reviews like that. It doesn't really tell you a whole lot about the album. It's just some guy attempting to sound witty.

Honestly, a good amazon review is a lot more informative and useful.

[Ali]

All Music Guide 3.5 (of five stars)

Can't stand Erlewine, btw.

Velvet Revolver always seemed like the answer to a quintessential L.A. rock & roll question: what does the engine of Guns N' Roses do when they're left to rust by the side of the road? It was long past the point when Slash, Duff, and Matt Sorum could possibly hope that Axl would abandon Buckethead, Tommy Stinson, and whoever else was toiling away in the studio under the GNR banner and go for a reunion tour, and old rockers need a place to make noise even while they're in the process of fading away, so they started a new band (Izzy may or may not have been invited to the party, but he long ago started following his own path and never seemed interested in coming back into the fold). A band as big as this needed a true star to front it ? a lesson well learned from the charisma-free black hole that was Slash's Snakepit, where the vocalists never could quite spar with the guitarist ? so even if they flirted with Buckcherry's Josh Todd, there really was only one choice to fill the singer's slot and that was Scott Weiland, who wasn't abandoned from his own imploding band, Stone Temple Pilots, as much as alienated from them due to a combination of ego and excess. A band in search of a singer, a singer in search of a band, both parties calling Los Angeles their home, both well-known for their all-encompassing love of rock & roll debauchery ? it seemed like nothing could go wrong.As it turned out, nothing quite went unquestionably right, either, as their 2004 debut, Contraband, met the GNR-meets-STP expectations but never transcended them. It was far from a flop ? selling millions around the world ? but it wasn't quite compelling either, partially because it was too easy to hear the separation between Slash's sleazoid blooze riffs and Weiland's hazily psychedelic melodies, and they had yet to find a common ground apart from a handful of songs. Despite this, it was hard not to feel some affection for Velvet Revolver, since they were so unrepentant in their love for old-school rock & roll theater, and also since they were driven by Slash and Duff, two of the most lovable characters in '80s hard rock, and there was a certain joy to hearing them play again on a big stage where they belong. But the key problem with Velvet Revolver is that the GNR aesthetic doesn't quite gel with Weiland. If GNR are the kind of band all rock fans feel good about loving, Weiland is the kind of frontman who gets grudging respect; it's possible to love his music, particularly the irresistible swirling melodies, without really loving him. A large part of this is that he exudes a reptilian coldness that doesn't thaw even when paired with the big, blowsy rock of Slash and Duff, but instead of giving the music tension it just means that it doesn't quite gel, since both parties play to their strengths instead of finding a collective sound.

That's as true on their second album, 2007's Libertad, as it was on Contraband, but this record is more cohesive than the debut, partially due to the presence of Weiland's old STP producer, Brendan O'Brien, who lends the recording color and texture that enhances the melodies while still giving the guitars considerable muscle. O'Brien amplifies the energy for both the singer and the band and, taken on their own terms, they sound quite good. Weiland gets off some great tunes (as on the "Days of the Week" sequel "She Mine"); sometimes the band dominates (as on "Spay") and sometimes everything suddenly clicks (as on the relentless opener, "Let It Roll," where both parties shine). Too often, though, there are concessions between Weiland and the others during the course of a song, with the bandmembers getting to ride their riffs during the verse, then fading into the background as Weiland delivers a chorus that is indelibly his own, as on "She Builds Quick Machines," which seesaws between the two extremes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because both camps are good at what they do and the individual pieces of the songs are pretty enjoyable, but as Libertad rolls on, it's hard not to wish that Velvet Revolver buckled down and acted like a band, finding a way to fuse their two aesthetics into a whole, instead of stroking their individual egos by indulging in what they're good at.

Of course, indulgence is the very reason the band exists: it's what made them stars, and without GNR or STP around, all the guys in this band need some outlet for their energies (which may only be partially musical). And in that regard, Velvet Revolver fulfill a need for the bandmembers, but also for an audience that is craving rock & roll that is proudly about good times ? an audience that is not insubstantial in 2007, but is poorly served. Libertad won't necessarily provide that audience with lasting sustenance, but it is a quick enough fix of old-fashioned rock & roll hedonism that does do its job reasonably well, as it has the riffs and melodies to please, even if they're not quite pulled together as full-fledged songs. And that's all down to the band acting as a group of stars instead of a group ? the charisma of each individual bandmember still shines brightly, but if they can funnel that into some kind of group charisma next time around, they might finally have an album that lives up to their past instead of merely doing no disservice to it.

I have to agree with this guy's assesments of Contraband and of Weiland.  While I don't agree that there was necessarily a push and pull between Weiland and the band during the songs, I feel that there were times when Slash was allowed to shine more than others and that it wasn't necessarily consistent from song to song.

Ali

[Ali]

New York Times

VELVET REVOLVER
?Libertad?
(RCA)

Velvet Revolver is: 1. a middle-aged hard-rock supergroup; 2. the flagship band of the fifth decade of Hollywood rock; and 3. releasing its second album. It is awfully hard for this group, starting from any one of those terms, to feel free, even if it?s going to make a record called ?Libertad.?

?Libertad? sounds old, heavy, wrapped in a tough skin. At the same time, by virtue of sheer outdated flamboyance, it seems almost willfully na?ve. Experience here starts to take on characteristics of innocence.

Scott Weiland, the singer, compounds various kinds of rock-star affect, from Iggy Pop to David Bowie to Kurt Cobain; Slash, the lead guitarist, plays with a heavy hand and a light imagination. The album?s sound and songwriting fuse together the work of hard-rock bands that have pop-radio hits, including Aerosmith, Van Halen and Nirvana. Those groups had a foundation of youthful craziness, but this one is founded in caution; the joy in these songs usually comes with a warning.

Most of them ? if the bad lyrics can be parsed ? are about various kinds of need. (As one song title puts it, ?Pills, Demons & Etc.?) The members of Velvet Revolver ? Mr. Weiland, once of Stone Temple Pilots; Slash, the bassist Duff McKagan and the drummer Matt Sorum, all, during various periods, of Guns N? Roses; and the guitarist Dave Kushner, once of Wasted Youth ? have a fairly decent knowledge of substance abuse. Drugs crop up here and there as perfect deceitful enemies, the kind that promise escape, but then take your family away.

Let?s see: drugs, rock ?n? roll and... right, sex. This music is pole-dancer rock with lyrics haunted by lips and legs and sexy-lethal dancers. Does the record contain a fantasy about a boy getting intimate with his high school teacher? And does that same song have glammed-up Chuck Berry licks in its guitar solo? Yes ma?am to both, in ?Just Sixteen.? Does the album have another about being almost fooled by a transvestite hooker on Sunset Boulevard? Sure. How about vaguely critical songs about American entitlement, which manage to be both castigating and pompous? Why not? It?s a free country. BEN RATLIFF

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/arts/music/02choi.html

I wish this guy would've described the songs more.  Same thing for the AMG guy.

Ali

[FunkyMonkey]

Chicago Tribune

Velvet Revolver
Supergroup makes music by the numbers
By Kirk Miller
 
ALBUM: "Libertad" (RCA)
Stars: 2 out of 5

The backstory: It's the second album by the world's most unlikely supergroup?one-fifth 90s grunge (ex-Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland), three-fifths classic Guns N Roses (Slash, Duff, Matt Sorum) and, uh, one-fifth guitarist Dave Kushner.

Why you should care: For better or worse, "Libertad" wallows in nostalgia. Yes, Slash's guitar solos are still slithery beasts, albeit straight outta "Appetite For Destruction." And while Weiland may inject a little more swagger into his vocals, his growl is pleasantly familiar. It actually fits the classic rock/hair metal style of VR better than when he was pretending to be Eddie Vedder. That said, this is simply rock by the numbers, whether that means overuse of cowbell ("For a Brother") or an intricate examination of sex-car relationships ("She Builds Quick Machines")

The verdict: A competent, oddly reverential take on classic Sunset Strip metal from the '80s. A shame they forgot to write a hook.

The X-factor: Track eight, "Mary Mary," is neither the Monkees nor the Run-DMC tune. It's actually a rather boring piece of psychedelic rock.

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/music/natent-music-cdreview-velvetrevolver-s,0,4927245.story?coll=mmx-music_leftutility

[Smoking Guns]

Yahoo gave it a damn good review today.

[GeraldFord]

Chicago Tribune

Velvet Revolver
Supergroup makes music by the numbers
By Kirk Miller
 
ALBUM: "Libertad" (RCA)
Stars: 2 out of 5

The backstory: It's the second album by the world's most unlikely supergroup?one-fifth 90s grunge (ex-Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland), three-fifths classic Guns N Roses (Slash, Duff, Matt Sorum) and, uh, one-fifth guitarist Dave Kushner.

Why you should care: For better or worse, "Libertad" wallows in nostalgia. Yes, Slash's guitar solos are still slithery beasts, albeit straight outta "Appetite For Destruction." And while Weiland may inject a little more swagger into his vocals, his growl is pleasantly familiar. It actually fits the classic rock/hair metal style of VR better than when he was pretending to be Eddie Vedder. That said, this is simply rock by the numbers, whether that means overuse of cowbell ("For a Brother") or an intricate examination of sex-car relationships ("She Builds Quick Machines")

The verdict: A competent, oddly reverential take on classic Sunset Strip metal from the '80s. A shame they forgot to write a hook.

The X-factor: Track eight, "Mary Mary," is neither the Monkees nor the Run-DMC tune. It's actually a rather boring piece of psychedelic rock.

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/music/natent-music-cdreview-velvetrevolver-s,0,4927245.story?coll=mmx-music_leftutility

I don't know where to start....did this guy even listen to the album?

Hook--see "Mary Mary"

[Eazy E]

Now that the album is out, MetaCritic.com will start to round up all the reviews and put them in one place with a scoring for the CD (out of 100)...

So far they've only collected 4 (EW, Billboard, Amazon and Blender)... right now the album is rated 84/100 which qualifies as Universal Acclaim, but this will likely drop once a few more reviews are added.

Contraband finished with a 65.  Here's a link to the Libertad reviews:

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/velvetrevolver/libertad

[freedom78]

Now that the album is out, MetaCritic.com will start to round up all the reviews and put them in one place with a scoring for the CD (out of 100)...

So far they've only collected 4 (EW, Billboard, Amazon and Blender)... right now the album is rated 84/100 which qualifies as Universal Acclaim, but this will likely drop once a few more reviews are added.

Contraband finished with a 65.  Here's a link to the Libertad reviews:

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/velvetrevolver/libertad

They include Amazon.com reviews (an average, I assume)?  Talk about your selection bias.

[Eazy E]

They include Amazon.com reviews (an average, I assume)? Talk about your selection bias.

Somewhere on the website there is a description of how they determine the rankings... Certain reviews carry a heavier weighting based on credibility.  Regardless, it's an easy way to read a bunch of album reviews.

[freedom78]

They include Amazon.com reviews (an average, I assume)? Talk about your selection bias.

Somewhere on the website there is a description of how they determine the rankings... Certain reviews carry a heavier weighting based on credibility.  Regardless, it's an easy way to read a bunch of album reviews.

That's good, and I'm not saying it's unfair in favor of Libertad, because they presumably include Amazon reviews for ALL albums, but it's a good way to skew it toward the high end.

[younggunner]

The All Music Guide Review pretty much nailed it on the head. I have basically said the same thing since CB.

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.

thats vrs fault. when are they gonna take responsibility for there own band?? You have 3 accomplished big name players if they used there voice things would go there way.
Next album title should be Albums: This Version, That Version , All Colors , Etc