Media Reviews of Libertad

[makane]

I don't think any review could increase the sales.
The "supergroup" hype has worn off and the mediocrity of the album doesn't help. Don't get me wrong, I think the album is quite good, but it just isn't what people we're expecting after 'Contraband'.

[John Daniels]

Don't get me wrong, I think the album is quite good, but it just isn't what people we're expecting after 'Contraband'.

Really?

So could you tell me what I was exactly supposed to expect?

..as I'm liking this album very much and I think quite of many are liking this album

[Krispy Kreme]

I don't think any review could increase the sales.
The "supergroup" hype has worn off and the mediocrity of the album doesn't help. Don't get me wrong, I think the album is quite good, but it just isn't what people we're expecting after 'Contraband'.

Who are  "people"? That phrase is meaningless.
It  is not a mediocre  album at all.
It is not a classic--there are few classic  albums. If classic  was the norm, then classic would not be special.
But the album is far above average, even really good. Even very good. Slash's words  were "amazing." I have a problem with the use of that word today and am not sure  what it  means. But certainly most  people with any musical taste whatsoever would agree the album is not mediocre.

Why are "people" so critical, especially in this environment  of 99% of rock is pure  shit. I mean: PURE SHIT.

[whiny]

here's the rs review by david fricke...

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/15258013/libertad

Velvet Revolver are an impressive act of defiance: a band of old-school bad boys from twentieth-century megagroups who make a rocket-guitar racket that is more compelling than most current woe-is-me punk and emo. The blitz in "Let It Roll," "Get Out the Door" and "Pills, Demons & Etc." may be second nature to guys who did time in Guns n' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, but there is plenty of thrill in the fuzz-lined hard-rubber bends of Slash's guitar breaks and the way bassist Duff McKagan keeps time, like a cop swinging a billy club. There is honest depth here too. Since Velvet Revolver's first album, 2004's Contraband, singer Scott Weiland lost his brother to a drug overdose - a tragedy deeply etched into Weiland's fallen-dandy howl in "For a Brother," the deceptively grand ballad "The Last Fight" and, strangely, the cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head," which may be Weiland's way of describing the daily battles he still fights with his own dark impulses.

DAVID FRICKE

[GeraldFord]

here's the rs review by david fricke...

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/15258013/libertad

Velvet Revolver are an impressive act of defiance: a band of old-school bad boys from twentieth-century megagroups who make a rocket-guitar racket that is more compelling than most current woe-is-me punk and emo. The blitz in "Let It Roll," "Get Out the Door" and "Pills, Demons & Etc." may be second nature to guys who did time in Guns n' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, but there is plenty of thrill in the fuzz-lined hard-rubber bends of Slash's guitar breaks and the way bassist Duff McKagan keeps time, like a cop swinging a billy club. There is honest depth here too. Since Velvet Revolver's first album, 2004's Contraband, singer Scott Weiland lost his brother to a drug overdose - a tragedy deeply etched into Weiland's fallen-dandy howl in "For a Brother," the deceptively grand ballad "The Last Fight" and, strangely, the cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head," which may be Weiland's way of describing the daily battles he still fights with his own dark impulses.

DAVID FRICKE

3.5 stars

[Eazy E]

So does this VR review appear in the "Appetite turns 20" issue of RS?  Maybe they held off for that reason?

[LunsJail]

So does this VR review appear in the "Appetite turns 20" issue of RS?? Maybe they held off for that reason?

I think it's because the last issue was a stupid Summer of Love '67 issue that had no new reviews in it.  RS might be going a little overboard on the retrospectives but I won't complain since its Guns this time.

[Ali]

here's the rs review by david fricke...

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/15258013/libertad

Velvet Revolver are an impressive act of defiance: a band of old-school bad boys from twentieth-century megagroups who make a rocket-guitar racket that is more compelling than most current woe-is-me punk and emo. The blitz in "Let It Roll," "Get Out the Door" and "Pills, Demons & Etc." may be second nature to guys who did time in Guns n' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, but there is plenty of thrill in the fuzz-lined hard-rubber bends of Slash's guitar breaks and the way bassist Duff McKagan keeps time, like a cop swinging a billy club. There is honest depth here too. Since Velvet Revolver's first album, 2004's Contraband, singer Scott Weiland lost his brother to a drug overdose - a tragedy deeply etched into Weiland's fallen-dandy howl in "For a Brother," the deceptively grand ballad "The Last Fight" and, strangely, the cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head," which may be Weiland's way of describing the daily battles he still fights with his own dark impulses.

DAVID FRICKE

3.5 stars

Fair review.  David Fricke is a pretty fair reviewer, very knowledgeable too.  Glad he reviewed the album, not one of their smartass pricks that likes to see how creative he can get with an insult.

Ali

[FunkyMonkey]

Tuesday July 31, 2007 @ 08:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

VELVET REVOLVER Libertad (RCA/Sony BMG)

Not as boring as Audioslave, as pretentious as Satellite Party or as lame as The Panic Channel (and let's not even touch Rock Star Supernova), Velvet Revolver ? the only mainstream rock supergroup left standing ? continue to assert their own relevance, even if those left listening are Slash devotees and cougars who love Scott Weiland. At least the band know their audience. The opening of "Pills, Demons & Etc." is so '80s rifftastic that you almost expect Axl to come in caterwauling during the first verse. Too bad we instead get a crooning Weiland, who sounds less edgy than ever. Given the members' pedigrees (and notable past infamies), VR don't exactly benefit from this level of sonic sheen. They ought to be the aural equivalent of a big, rumbling, scuffed-up motorcycle. Instead, they're a shiny, souped-up Camaro. What horrors hath detox (and possibly ProTools) wrought on our gritty hard-rock heroes? Bring back the filth and the fury!

Caitlin Hotchkiss

[GnR-NOW]

There a decent band, and Libertad is a decent album especially with Messages on it.  It's hard to re-create what STP did, or what the old GNR did.  Axl's took the new GNR songs in a completely different direction then just making a rock song.  VR it seems to me is trying to keep that rock alive but its just not getting the response they thought.  Media reviews however don't mean shit to me, if you like the album then like it, if you dont like it then dont like.  To me its a decent album/

[FunkyMonkey]

This reviewer feels "The band actually sounds fantastic" and "The blame must goes to the material".  This review is dated today?


Oct 2, 2007 9:58
Disc Reviews
By DAVID BRINN

VELVET REVOLVER
Libertad
(NMC)

Velvet Revolver plays it safe on their second disc Libertad. The would-be supergroup, featuring Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland and three ex-Gun & Roses members - guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum - stay away from any volatile edges their former bands skirted with and stick firmly with tried and true "middle of the riff" rockers.

The strange thing is that both of the mother bands had loads of personality and attitude, while this second marriage has practically none of either. Weiland sounds anonymous for all intent and purposes, trying to fill the rock cliches in the lyrics with misplaced machismo. And Slash, who used to be one of the most distinctive guitarists around, could be another hard rock session musician for all the individuality he adds to the songs.

However, the problem doesn't lie particularly with the performances themselves. The band actually sounds fantastic, thanks to the clear as a bell production of Brendan O'Brien and the years of experience the basic G&R band has working together.

The blame must goes to the material - the ensemble Velvet Revolver writing team simply hasn't come up with any songs that stand out.

The opener "Let It Roll" has one of the quintessential hard rock riffs that every young guitarist learns at 15, and is seductive in a bluesy Aerosmith kind of way.

But the "heard it before" element soon blunts any excitement generated by the performances. Only when the band occasionally breaks out of their self-imposed confines do they display signs of growth - the slightly more melodic songs like "The Last Fight," "American Man" and "Mary Mary" offer a semi-successful synthesis of hard rock and pop that's much more memorable than the rest of the album.

But when they get to covering the ELO hit "Can't Get It Out of My Head" - featuring one of Slash's few awe-inspiring solos - it becomes clear what's been missing on Libertad: great songs. It simply puts the rest of the album to shame. Maybe next time, Velvet Revolver should have Jeff Lynne write all their material.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257210498&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[LunsJail]

This reviewer feels "The band actually sounds fantastic" and "The blame must goes to the material".? This review is dated today?


Oct 2, 2007 9:58
Disc Reviews
By DAVID BRINN

VELVET REVOLVER
Libertad
(NMC)

Velvet Revolver plays it safe on their second disc Libertad. The would-be supergroup, featuring Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland and three ex-Gun & Roses members - guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum - stay away from any volatile edges their former bands skirted with and stick firmly with tried and true "middle of the riff" rockers.

The strange thing is that both of the mother bands had loads of personality and attitude, while this second marriage has practically none of either. Weiland sounds anonymous for all intent and purposes, trying to fill the rock cliches in the lyrics with misplaced machismo. And Slash, who used to be one of the most distinctive guitarists around, could be another hard rock session musician for all the individuality he adds to the songs.

However, the problem doesn't lie particularly with the performances themselves. The band actually sounds fantastic, thanks to the clear as a bell production of Brendan O'Brien and the years of experience the basic G&R band has working together.

The blame must goes to the material - the ensemble Velvet Revolver writing team simply hasn't come up with any songs that stand out.

The opener "Let It Roll" has one of the quintessential hard rock riffs that every young guitarist learns at 15, and is seductive in a bluesy Aerosmith kind of way.

But the "heard it before" element soon blunts any excitement generated by the performances. Only when the band occasionally breaks out of their self-imposed confines do they display signs of growth - the slightly more melodic songs like "The Last Fight," "American Man" and "Mary Mary" offer a semi-successful synthesis of hard rock and pop that's much more memorable than the rest of the album.

But when they get to covering the ELO hit "Can't Get It Out of My Head" - featuring one of Slash's few awe-inspiring solos - it becomes clear what's been missing on Libertad: great songs. It simply puts the rest of the album to shame. Maybe next time, Velvet Revolver should have Jeff Lynne write all their material.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257210498&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

This review pretty much sums up exactly what I feel is wrong with VR. Good post.

[dont_damn_me]

Agreed....very good review....I'm bummed that VR turned out alot weaker than i was anticipating...i wanted to like Libertad, its just lacking any special qualities to me....except Get out the Door......Contraband and Libertad, both are good albums but really no better than most of the ex-gunners projects.  I think the bottom line is that VR don't make great songs is because there are too many egos in the band. 

Its odd, like the article says neither slash nor scott stand out at all.  Hopefully they get someone to push them harder on the next album or they drastically change something up and take a big risk, which at this point won't be much of a risk at all, its essential to see this bands full potential. Something along the lines of the STP song DOWN would be a good start for a newer sound. 

[Ali]

Agreed....very good review....I'm bummed that VR turned out alot weaker than i was anticipating...i wanted to like Libertad, its just lacking any special qualities to me....except Get out the Door......Contraband and Libertad, both are good albums but really no better than most of the ex-gunners projects.? I think the bottom line is that VR don't make great songs is because there are too many egos in the band.?

Its odd, like the article says neither slash nor scott stand out at all.? Hopefully they get someone to push them harder on the next album or they drastically change something up and take a big risk, which at this point won't be much of a risk at all, its essential to see this bands full potential. Something along the lines of the STP song DOWN would be a good start for a newer sound.?

Do you really think that any deficiencies in song quality are because of the egos?

I think that if there are deficienices in the quality of the songs it's because Weiland isn't the best fit with Slash and the guys as say Josh Todd would've been.

Ali

[dont_damn_me]

Agreed....very good review....I'm bummed that VR turned out alot weaker than i was anticipating...i wanted to like Libertad, its just lacking any special qualities to me....except Get out the Door......Contraband and Libertad, both are good albums but really no better than most of the ex-gunners projects.? I think the bottom line is that VR don't make great songs is because there are too many egos in the band.?

Its odd, like the article says neither slash nor scott stand out at all.? Hopefully they get someone to push them harder on the next album or they drastically change something up and take a big risk, which at this point won't be much of a risk at all, its essential to see this bands full potential. Something along the lines of the STP song DOWN would be a good start for a newer sound.?

Do you really think that any deficiencies in song quality are because of the egos?

I think that if there are deficienices in the quality of the songs it's because Weiland isn't the best fit with Slash and the guys as say Josh Todd would've been.

Ali

I think egos is a big part of it, I heard Duff say that Weiland writes all the lyrics and obviously does all the vocals.  Maybe if they'd get more of a band collabortion especially for the lyrics and vocals....maybe let Duff sing a song or two and do some  backing at least.   

I do agree that it appears that Weiland and slash aren't a great fit but at the same time Slash doesn't appear to be close to his potential and same with Wieland for that matter.  Its like they have gotton together and just bring out the worste in each other or something.  I was thinking with all the egos around, nobody wants to step on anyone else feet, keep the vibe all relaxed and cool, rather than question the quality of the songs. 

I think they need more time together to come up with more ideas and think ouside the box abit for a 3rd album.  Slash needs to be heard more and get his signature sound back and Weiland needs to have more diversity and help with vocals,lyrics,songwriting from Duff and dave.