I've been following the formation of this group for a while now... in the search for a singer, their initial songwriting with Izzy Stradlin, through the moniker 'The Project', and rumors of Sebastian Bach being the frontman.
The first I heard form them was watching the remake of
The Italian Job, as the credits rolled I heard Slash playing guitar on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Money". While Slash isn't the most technical player ever, in my opinion he plays with feeling & enthusiasm that matches that of those like Eric Clapton, BB King, & Jimi Hendrix. I knew it was him, so I looked up info on the soundtrack & discovered that it was indeed the band I had been hoping for for so long, fronted by Scott Weiland, still only listed as seperate artists as if it were a one time collaboration. Apparently that hadn't yet settled on a name. Ex GN'R members Slash, Duff, & Matt along with Dave Kushner had been playing w/ the name "Revolver" until Scott came in & added his flavor with the suggestion of "Velvet Revolver".
Next, they appeared on the
Incredible Hulk soundtrack with the track "Set Me Free". It was released to rock radio w/o much hype, and the movie sorta tanked... in my opinion it weighed the single down. Next was the single & video for "Slither"... both tracks are now featured on
Contraband.
I picked this album up last week the day it came out while on vacation on Florida. While
Appetite For Destruction is my all time favorite album & will probably never be topped, Contraband has a great place right beside it in the collection. Matt Sorum is much more powerfl on drums that Steven Adler was, and Duff provides the essential melodic/harmonic in-&-out bass that ties those drums seamlessly with the rest of the music. The guitar play between Slash & Dave is great... both of their styles mesh well. Slash as always is pretty much the clean Les Paul through some distorted & some clean marshalls, sometimes through a Wah. Dave is very effects-heavy, but in no way over the top... his fills are seamless and dance around Slash's riffs like it's an aural rock n' roll ballet. Scott Weiland is the kind of singer/frontman that this band needs. While I enjoyed STP's radio & video hits, I wouldn't call myself a big fan, & never picked up any of their stuff. I think the purchace of this album has convinced me to. From what I understand, the bad wrote the riffs, Scott wrote all the lyrics, & they put them all together.
I have the Slash's Snakepit albums, Duff McKagan's
Belive In Me, the Neurotic Outsiders CD, and Izzy & The JuJu Hounds' 1st CD... and while they're all great, you could see the best song crafter was Izzy. I miss the songwriting & structuring of Izzy & Axl slightly, but the Velvet Revolver certainly has the power & drive to make up for it... and I belive it can only get better from here. There is a wide range of stuff, & I think it can fit into the soundscape of popular rock radio right now. Slash isn't so over-the-top on solos, but I think even he's concentrating on the songs, & what he does play is powerful... from his signature emotion-evoking slow bends, to short bursts of rapid explosive energy, he certainly shines through on the guitar.
Sometimes Scott's words are a little too off the wall and trippy for me, but with each listen I appreciate that more & more. "Do It For The Kids" has a riff thats dangerously close to "Paradise City"... which I thought was odd. "Set Me Free" is my favorite track, "Loving The Alien" is close behind... In fact, there's not a song that I
don't like on the CD at all.
I suggest any fan of high energy riff-heavy rock n' roll picks up this disc.
I just ordered the "Slither" single from a store in Australia that features a live version of the Sex Pistols' "Bodies", and a studio cut of a sped-up Nirvana tune, "Negative Creep". I also bought a bootleg concert DVD a while back. It looks liek they'll be a killer live band.
For crazy amounts of downloadable audio, video, photographs, and interviews, check out one of the best fan-based sites for any band that I have ever seen at:
http://www.velvet-revolver.com
For the official band site, check out:
http://www.velvetrevolver.net
