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Velvet Revolver

Libertad  Hear it Now

RS: 3.5of 5 Stars Average User Rating: 4of 5 Stars

2007

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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

(Posted: Aug 1, 2007)

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Review 1 of 16

jimmypagerocks writes:

5of 5 Stars


I think Libertad is a great album; pure, simple rock and roll in a heavy envelopment. I like this much better than bands such as Breaking Benjamin, beacause of its simplity; no special sound effects, clean soundpicture and great instrumental work.

Aug 18, 2008 13:01:36

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Review 2 of 16

chadderack writes:

3of 5 Stars


Coming from a huge STP fan and mild G'n'R fan--Libertad isn't terrible; it just starts off bad.

Yes, it starts off loud--but uninspired. What Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins has called "jack-off soloing" rears its ugly head in the first part of this record, and the result is a bunch of unremarkable, loud guitar dirges punctuated with the requisite guitar solos.

Finally, with "The Last Fight," the band begins to re-discover some melodic songwriting ability, and that continues with "American Man," "Mary Mary," and "Just Sixteen."

The ending of the CD saves it from being a used-bin toss off. Fortunately, in this age of iPods, we listeners can pick and choose the good and salvage efforts like "Libertad."

Dec 27, 2007 19:50:41

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Review 3 of 16

TSLover writes:

2of 5 Stars


has everyone gone mental Contraband was much better than this album, I am a die hard Guns N' Roses fan and I bought this album the day it came out, because I loved Contraband so much. But soon I was bruttaly dissapointed. The highlights of the album are Let it Roll and She builds quick machine but other than those two songs, this album was really a complete snore fest, and I got bored of it really quickly. I really thought better of Velvet Revolver oh well I guess I can always hope they will come out with something to their rock god stature next time

Oct 29, 2007 07:11:31

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Review 4 of 16

JesseGNR writes:

4of 5 Stars


This album kicks ass. Great lyrics, vocals, and guitar. A unique sound, yet a bit of old school in there also. I was impressed.

Sep 13, 2007 01:01:02

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Review 5 of 16

wangcomputers writes:

3of 5 Stars


Libertad is not as good as I was hoping for. To be sure, it
buries all those crap-ola pop-punk bands that are played on
MTV non-stop, it is a solid rock album that rocks. Play it loud
during beer drinking time. But after a few similar songs it
starts to sound like they ran out of ideas. Towards the end of
the album the songs start to slow down, “Can’t Get You Out of
My Head” and “For a Brother” touch on an interesting avenue
of sound for VR.
Musically it doesn’t have the attitude or the memorable riffs
one would expect from Slash and company, and Scott Weiland
tends to drone on about the same topics he usually does.
Slash resorts to playing power chords with an occasional dull,
weak riff. And the production is way to polished and sterile
sounding. I wasn’t expecting a Guns n’ Rose album mind you,
but I was hoping for some of the grittiness and killer riffing
that Slash was a master at once upon a time.

Aug 28, 2007 20:44:04

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Review 6 of 16

EAMONREILLYDOTCOM writes:

Not Rated


We are so lucky to be on earth at the same time as these Rock Gods.These are living legends in the true sense of the word. Another great album from a super group.

Aug 14, 2007 07:32:31

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Review 7 of 16

jfsain writes:

4of 5 Stars


Its now been over a month that I've been listening to Libertad, almost non-stop. Personally, I believe this is a much strong effort than "Contraband". This is much more straight ahead rock n' roll. The writing is tighter and deeper. The playing is louder, faster, and, well, rockin'. On the whole, this is a better album. And for anyone who mentions STP or GN'R in their review of this album, I'd like to say, "Welcome to the 21st century". To state the obvious, this isn't GN'R or STP so stop comparing the bands. I am glad that all the members are able to keep moving ahead and explore themselves. I don't want an "Appetite For Destruction" for 2007, nor do I want a new "Core". Those albums are amazing and to attempt remaking them or re-doing their styles would not only make the new material weak, but it would depreciate the value of the artist. Long live Velvet Revlover, long live rock n' roll.

Aug 12, 2007 01:22:28

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Review 8 of 16

AZ1 writes:

3of 5 Stars


This is a much weaker effort than their 2004 debut. Weiland had said that producer Brendan O'Brien had allowed them to explore their more far-reaching musical influences and it's readily apparent that that may not be a good thing when your last name isn't Springsteen. I've listened to it a dozen times now and each time I've had to remind myself it's on. A country-parody that lasts 8:42?! To end the album?! If that's O'Brien's idea of exploration leave certain waters uncharted. Thank God Billy Corgan broke the rock out.

Aug 11, 2007 19:36:56

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