Velvet Revolver
Contraband
RCA Records
Here it is. Being a couple years in the making, the debut release from
Velvet Revolver is finally out. As if you didn’t already know who this is, it’s Slash, Duff, and Matt from the band formerly known as
Guns n Roses, with Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. Musically, it tends to sway toward the GNR end of the meter rather than the STP side. You can’t deny the obvious influences like Slash’s great guitar playing or Scott’s vocals, but this is a different animal all together. I never was a big fan of Scott’s moaning/whining vocals, but he doesn’t sound like that here. At times he trespasses into the Axl Rose wail, but it's not overt like he's trying to mimic it. The "unknown" member of the group is Dave Kushner from 80's/90's thrash band
Wasted Youth.
There’s a little something for everyone in this buffet of goodies. Rockers. Ballads. Punk influences. It’s pretty radio friendly, with the exception of the occasional...ok, frequent naughty word. As long as you can listen to this and realize that it is NOT the
Stone Temple Pilots or Guns n Roses, then you’re all set. But I think it's because of
Velvet Revolver members’ previous endeavors in their respective former bands that
Velvet Revolver will make a name for itself and will do quite well. However, that also means that the endless comparisons will be made as in, "It's not as good as
Appetite For Destruction". Well no shit! On that note, the baggage is seemingly a good thing, since
Contraband debuted at # 1 on the Billboard charts.
Oh yeah...you get your choice of colors. The sleeve comes in red, black, white.
