VELVET REVOLVER's 'Contraband'

[PHOENIX]

VELVET REVOLVER's 'Contraband' To Top 200,000 Copies Sold In First Week - June 8, 2004

According to Hits Daily Double, early midday (Tuesday) reports from retail have VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" exceeding expectations and debuting at No. 1 on next week's The Billboard 200 chart. Reorders from the majors have reportedly been pouring in all day, with the album slated to easily top 200,000 copies.

As previously reported, "(Inside)Out: The Rise of Velvet Revolver", a behind-the-scenes look at how VELVET REVOLVER got constructed, from the songwriting process to the singer search and studio sessions, will premiere on VH1 on Wednesday, June 16 at 10:00 p.m. EST / 9:00 p.m. CST.

[tobinentinc]

Awesome! Good to see a rock album at #1.

[Warham]

I did my part and bought a copy.

[alexpgrimes]

Picking my copy up on friday. 9.99 at best buy.

[Vanstonica]

It's well worth the purchase price. Great album.

[FORD]

Just got it tonight, and so far it sounds great except.....

WHAT THE FUCKING GODDAMN HELL IS THIS COPY PROTECTION BULLSHIT THAT GENERATES WMA FILES ON YOUR COMPUTER AND DOESN'T EVEN PLAY THE ACTUAL FUCKING CD???

If I wanted to listen to a lossy compressed copy of the thing, I would have downloaded it off of WinMX, not paid for it.

I want to listen to the actual ALBUM you RIAA fascist Busheep sons of bitches

[Steve Savicki]

They're playing here tonight. Do you think they will outsell Van Hagar?

[ZOSO]

Got mine the day it came out. Very satisfied. Hope this leads to a second album. Rock on guys!

[FORD]

Originally posted by ZOSO
Got mine the day it came out. Very satisfied. Hope this leads to a second album. Rock on guys!

Yeah, I was a little disappointed when the last "almost GNR" project, Neurotic Outsiders, didn't stick around for a second album. I actually like that CD better than Velvet Revolver, but I'm sure this one will grow on me. And like you said, hopefully they'll stick around. If they can keep each other out of rehab.

[BrownSound1]

It is great to see an album like this do so well. Sounds damn good too.

[ZOSO]

Originally posted by FORD
Yeah, I was a little disappointed when the last "almost GNR" project, Neurotic Outsiders, didn't stick around for a second album. I actually like that CD better than Velvet Revolver, but I'm sure this one will grow on me. And like you said, hopefully they'll stick around. If they can keep each other out of rehab.

We'll have to wait and see how Scott's ordeal goes, I guess. As far as any complaints go, I would would have been nice to have some of Izzy's alleged collaboration on the disc, or any presence of his songwriting for that matter. Then again, throw that into the mix and you might as well call them Neo-GNR, so I guess the absence of the above collaboration keeps things new and balanced.

[BIGBADZERO]

I'm interested in hearing the album but don't bother seeing them live cuz they suck. (See my post on Velvet Revolver thread.)

[pete]

source

Sound: The sound on Contraband is absolutely amazing. The guitar work that Slash uses is simply taking every other modern band to school. Velvet Revolver is bringing back pure rock n roll. The drumming is also pretty good, just like the 70s-80s era. Pretty much every song is in standard tuning which is good because like I said, it's like the time when rock n roll kicked major ass. I am stunned on how good Velvet Revolver is. The funny part is I expected this, but I am still surprised. [5]

Lyrics: Scott Weiland's lyrics are ok throughout the album and his voice is perfect for all of the songs. He deserves to be in such a good band after his STP break up. Working with Slash, Duff, Matt and Dave has brought up his skills in the Lyrics department. [4]

Overall Impression: This album is one of the best I own. Better than the majority of the 60+ albums I listen to frequently. Since I bought it, I just can't stop listening to it. Amazing riffs on the bass, guitar and drums and most importantly the guitar solos are back! Slash pulls out a face - melter (as Jack Black says) in practically every song. I recommend that if you consider yourself a rocker, you buy this album. It kicks everybody's ass. I am still shocked on how good this album is, even though I expected that. There are a couple slower songs on the album which were pretty good, but I like those six songs the best. Guns n Roses + STP = One of the best bands ever! This album is kick ass! [5]
[POSTED: 2004-06-11 by Unregistered]

Sound: I Just bought the CD and it rocks! GNR and STP blend to make the ultimate flavor. Pure rock n roll, the way it should be. Slash is back and hasn't lost anything from the old days. His guitar work is beautiful on all songs and the song that really stands out to me are the ballads: Fall To Pieces and Loving The Alien. Great sound. [5]

Lyrics: Scott Weiland actually does a great job lyrically and vocally. The lyrics are satisfactory and his voice is soothing for the music. I think that it all meshes pretty well, I know Scott Weiland isn't the best singer or writer but this cd has made a better name for him. [4]

Overall Impression: This CD is the best you will find these days. Rock the way we wanted it, no more Drop D every song, only power chord screaming nu metal, Velvet Revolver are here to save the day and hopefully set an example of how to rock for the future of bands. Must buy. Great album. [5]
[POSTED: 2004-06-09 by bennie_2006]

Sound: Very fast paced and catchy. This album is a really good new age rock compilation by the proclaimed "supergroup". Contains everything you would expect a rock album to have: Catchy hooks, "rippin'" guitar solos, scratchy yelling vocals, just follow the cliche. Thats my more disappointing part of the album. [4]

Lyrics: Quite frankly, Scott Weiland's lyrics are crap. But they sound good and I believe that was the intention. It comes through that Scott was trying to write to make the lyrics sound good and not actually be good. [3]

Overall Impression: It's exactly what everyone needs finally. Not Nu-metal, not punk, not pop-punk, not EMO. F--ing rock and roll. The more impressive songs on the album are definitely "Slither", "Set Me Free", "Loving the Alien", and "Superhuman". I love how this album is high energy and fast all the way through. If I lost this album I would replace it. It is definitely worth the buy and this is definitely a combo the world has been needing for a while. [5]
[POSTED: 2004-06-09 by dudebud]

Sound: The main sound on this record is just straigh, in-your-face Rock n' Roll. The album has 10 rockers, 1 power ballad and two slow ballads. Dave brings a great industrial side to the album and blends with Slash's Les Paul perfectly. The Rockers on this album are all accompanied by Duff's groovy bass work and Matt's hard hitting snares. Together with Slash's awesome solos and Scott's powerfull, low voice it creates a bit of a dark atmosphere of people who've been through all the shit of the music industry, and now just want to rock. The ballads on the album are also very good, with Loving The Aliens (Sometimes) being the best of them, with Pink Floyd meets GNR sound to it. That song is one of the best in recent years, and surely the best work Slash has done since the GNR days, with great guitarwork and amazing emotional solo.

The best part about the album's sound is the guitarwork, with Slash's amazing Les Paul and Dave's great industrial sound they create great stuff, not the most innovative things, but surely great stuff are different from what we got used to in the last couple of years, i.e Superhuman, Dirty Little Thing. [5]

Lyrics: The lyrics have been the fans' biffest concern before this album came out, since scott is not known for his great lyrics. But in this album scott really proved that not only he's a great vocalist, he's also a good songwriter, Superhuman, Loving the Alins (Sometimes), Do it for the Kids and You Got No Right are the lyrical highlights for me in this album. Also the lyrics are not mindblowing, it's decent enough, together with Scott's voice, which sounds better here than on any STP record, it's all good. [4]

Overall Impression: Great great album. If you're expecting a GNR sequel, you won't get it. If you're expecting an STP sequel, you won't get it. If you want Rock and fuckin' Roll that is all about rocking and kicking ass, together with quality guitar playing (by both guitarists, Dave raeally surprised me) like the music industry haven't had in years, that's exactly what you're gonna get. This album is for hard, heavy Rock n' Roll fans. No keyboard, violin, special effects bullshit! [5]
[POSTED: 2004-06-07 by Unregistered]

Sound: Absolutely fantastic album! Great from start to finish, not a weak song around! Slash stamps his name on each track with beautifully performed licks and solos, the one that sticks out the most is the November Rain-esque "Fall To Pieces". Slash is back in a big, big way! Matt is his usual excellent self on the drums, and Duff goes without saying. Scott Weiland provides a mind-blowing experience with his superb rock-suited voice. Dave Kushner is also a brilliant talent on rythym guitar. It's a very Guns N' Roses album, with hints of Stone Temple Pilots. Full marks! [5]

Lyrics: Beautifully written lyrics, especially on "Slither", "Fall To Pieces" and "You Got No Right". I go more for the music than the words, but Scott's lyrics hit the spot on every recording, lots of depth, lots of meaning, and plenty of emotion! [5]

Overall Impression: In my opinion the best album of its kind since G N' R released Appetite For Destruction in 1987. Every song sticks in your head, makes you wanna listen to it again and again. An excellent collection of songs from an excellent selection of rockers, "Contraband" is a must for any fans of great music. I love Slash's solos though, I've always been a huge fan of his, and he does himself justice with his awesome sounds. I will definitely buy this album, probably 3 times over, just in case anything happens to my first 2 copies, it really is that good! [5]
[POSTED: 2004-06-07 by Unregistered]

Sound: The sound on this albums is so clean and so tough, and yet so very heavy and melodic and sexy all together. Scott's voice is just rough and very nice to hear his voice with heavy guitars again. If you expect to hear somthing like Guns N Roses, and Stone Temple Pilots so you have a good reason, you can hear both bands on almost every song. Slash with his awsome solos, and Matt's heavy drums, and Duff's funky yet hard bass lines, and dave is awsome guitarist. Slash did a solo every song, I think exept one song but that's cool. [5]

Lyrics: The lyrics are so beautiful and yet so tough. Scott was in rehab while the band recoded the songs and then he came to finish the lyrics, and you can tell on some somgs that he fought drugs, on songs like "Slither", or "Fall To Pieces" or "Superhuman". His voice is awsome! [5]

Overall Impression: I think this albums is one of the greatest rock albums to come out this year. This albums got it all, 2 slow songs, and another 11 hard rockin songs. I liked all the songs exept Illegal Song. As I said before this album has somthing of GnR and STP, and you can be sure that the match is very good. The only thing I hate about it is that Matt is just trying too hard on the drums. We all know that he is a great drummer but he dont need to try too f--kin hard. But that's only on couple of songs, on the rest he is kick ass. I heard people saying that the albums is very expensive but I can say that the album is worth it all. It's just a good album you can hear with friends or get drunk or lifting weights, or anything else you like to do this albums is almost perfect. Enjoy

[pete]

source

It’s easy to be cynical about so-called ‘supergroups’. All too often they consist of has-beens and also-rans desperately attempting to cling to the last shreds of their credibility (and usually failing). In theory Velvet Revolver seem to follow this theory perfectly - three former members of big-hair rockers Guns n’ Roses, Scott Weiland, the ex-singer with grunge stalwarts Stone Temple Pilots, and, well, some bloke called Dave.

However the theory is smashed to pieces during the first few bars of the opening track, Sucker Train Blues. You’re told in no uncertain terms that Velvet Revolver are no mere has-beens, these guys are here to rock. Nickelback had better run for cover.

Anyone expecting Appetite For Destruction is going to be disappointed, but hey, that was 17 years ago. Velvet Revolver are a band for today and beyond and you’d better get used to it.

Guns N’ Roses comparisons are inevitable, and on some tracks they frankly sound like the same band. The first time I heard the intro to Dirty Little Thing I honestly thought it was going to be Welcome To The Jungle. However, once the song starts the similarities end. In fact, it sounds more like Stone Temple Pilots’ Core albeit with a classic Slash solo, and that can’t be bad!

Contraband certainly isn’t a classic album and in a few places Weiland’s lyrics leave a lot to be desired ("Somebody raped my tapeworm abortion / Come on motherf*****s and deliver the cow"?!) but this is a damn fine debut.

If this record had been made by anyone else Velvet Revolver would probably be hailed as the ‘next big thing’, ‘saviours of rock’ and other such inanities, but because of who Velvet Revolver are it’s difficult not to measure Contraband up against their previous successes. No, it’s not as good as Core, or Appetite for Destruction but that’s not the point. The point is that five guys got together and decided to make a rock record. That’s it. And it beats the hell out of the competition.

[pete]

Buying the album now on ITUNES.

that said:I was expecting more than "sliver" (alot of production - not alot of substance) and I bet it won't be up to expectations. (what they're capable of)

here we go!

[VH LINKS SUCKS]

Originally posted by FORD
Just got it tonight, and so far it sounds great except.....

WHAT THE FUCKING GODDAMN HELL IS THIS COPY PROTECTION BULLSHIT THAT GENERATES WMA FILES ON YOUR COMPUTER AND DOESN'T EVEN PLAY THE ACTUAL FUCKING CD???

If I wanted to listen to a lossy compressed copy of the thing, I would have downloaded it off of WinMX, not paid for it.

I want to listen to the actual ALBUM you RIAA fascist Busheep sons of bitches

Disable autoplay before putting the CD in for the 1'st time and you'll have no problems.

[pete]

It's real good.

not great.

[DLR_EngineRoom]

This is a great CD, and if you like this, you'll also like Audioslave, Jet and Jane's Addiction's Strays.


Velvet Revolver: Do us a favour and KICK VAN HAGAR'S BUTT ON TOUR!

[pete]

Originally posted by DLR_EngineRoom
This is a great CD, and if you like this, you'll also like Audioslave, Jet and Jane's Addiction's Strays.


Velvet Revolver: Do us a favour and KICK VAN HAGAR'S BUTT ON TOUR!

Strays is awesome!

[tobinentinc]

I went to buy my copy at best buy and the damn thing was sold out!! They had a ton of shelves set up for it. I was pissed @ first, but then realized that they are bringing rock back. The guy said they were sold out the first day.

[POJO_Risin]

Well...at least someone is...I'd love to see Velvet Revolver be the group that brings it all back...

they've got the chops...

great album...

[Fairwrning]

im lovin this disc after a couple of listens..."suckertrain..."/ "big machine"/ "lovin the alien"/ and "fall to pieces" are my faves so far...