Velvet Revolver – Libertad (Release Year-2007)
The new Velvet Revolver is here! With the new release “Libertad”, hopefully people will treat this as a Velvet Revolver disc and stop the comparisons to Guns ‘N Roses.
The major question people are asking is, has the band gone into a sophomore slump, or does “Libertad” surpass the debut release “Contraband”.
I have listened to “Contraband” quite a bit, and believe “Libertad” surpasses the first disc, and has more potential for hits than its predecessor. “Libertad” however is a grower. I didn’t get into it completely on the first listen. Some of the songs definitely get better with repeated listening.
The first single seems like an odd choice to me. There are more infectious songs that “She Builds Quick” machines on this disc.
She Builds Quick Machines
I actually think the opening cut, “Let it Roll” is a better song. It is a heavier track with superb guitar work and a great bass groove. “She Mine” is another song that is really growing on me.
My early favorite off of this disc is “Get Out the Door“. This is song is quite infectious, and has an awesome beat. “Pill, Demons & Etc.” is also very catchy. Slash’s playing on this track is excellent. I am betting that “American Man” is going to get a lot of radio airplay before the end of 2007. I like this song a lot.
“The Last Fight” almost has a Tom Petty style about it. This song is about as close to “Fall to Pieces” as you are going to get on “Libertad“. This song has radio hit written all over it.
I will admit that there are a couple of songs that I didn’t care for. The Album closer “Gravedancer” sounds closer to the Rolling Stones, and this country flavored rock doesn’t work for me. The song “Spay” was a little too noisy for my tastes.
The cover of the Jeff Lynne penned ELO track, “Can’t Get it Out of My Head” seems out of place too.
The music on this disc is probably more like STP than Guns ‘N Roses. “Libertad” should bring Velvet Revolver continued success well into 2008. It is another solid offering by these hard rock veterans!
You can find more info on Velvet Revolver at the band’s myspace page or at their website here.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Let It Roll
2. She Mine
3. Get Out The Door
4. She Builds Quick Machines
5. The Last Fight
6. Pills, Demons & Etc.
7. American Man
8. Mary Mary Listen
9. Just Sixteen
10. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head
11. For A Brother
12. Spay
13. Gravedancer
14. Re-Evolution
Velvet Revolver is:
Scott Weiland – Vocals
Slash – Guitars
Dave Kushner – Rhythm Guitar
Matt Sorum – Drums
Duff McKagan – Bass
I couldn’t agree with you more Jeremy.
I have Velvet Revolver’s 1st disc.I never really played it consistantly, like G n’R's stuff.And I’ve owned Slash’s Snakepit on cassette for years now,as well as Izzy Stradlin solo stuff.And I dug STP’s 1st disc……but unfortunatly none of it came close to the sound my boom-box made in 1987 when I put that tape in,and heard “Do you know where you are?You’re in the jungle baby,you’re gonna die…”
I know exactly what you mean. It took me several spins before I found this one to my liking. Its good, but not great.
I liked Contraband, not loved. My liking for the Cd was deminished even more when I saw them in concert. Slash is my all time favorite axeman and even he could not save the show from bland mediocrity. Maybe it was just a bad night. Anyway, your review has motivated me to give Libertad another try. I want to like it, I really do, but you shouldn’t have to try so hard to like a Cd.
I just won this from a radio station rock show so will give it a good hearing before I review it. I fear comparisons to GnR will always be made because of the history of the players but when I review it I’ll try to steer clear as far as possible
I need to listen to this. I felt the problem with Contraband is that it took GnR and updated their sound to the mid-90s with the addition of Scott Weiland. He’s a good singer, but his former band was one of the least original of the 90s, so I was surprised to see his stamp on the album like that. They really need to find a cohesive sound that doesn’t just seem like STP on top of GnR. GnR was good enough that they can do their thing and Weiland is a good enough singer that he should be able to contribute rather than confuse.